Jones 300 gallon reef tank.

[druid1200]

This is our (Pam and Jeromy Jones') reef tank we are building that we started in Jan. 2013.
-300 Gallon Glass Tank with Canopy
-Hamilton 6' (3 halide, 2 T3) light
-75 Gallon Refugium with sump

This is when we first put it together and added 200 pounds of live rock, It has changed tremendously in a year.
We also built a 20 gallon dome tank in the wall that we fabricated from scratch.

We also gutted out a lightbulb and made a nice Betta tank.

We have had so many fish come and go. Also had a bad crash about 2 months ago, but all is well now. Right now we have a great community of fish as follows.
-9 Chromis, 1 Sailfin Tang, 1- Yellow Tang, 1 Regal Tang, 2 Clown fish, 1 Clown Trigger, 1 Royal Angelfish, 1 Bicolored Angelfish, 1 Lemon Angelfish, 1 Sand Gobey, 1 Mandarin Gobey, 1 Royal Gramma, 5 Starfish, 1 Electric Scallop, 3 Firefish, 2 Bengai Cardinals, 1 Anenome, 2 Conch Snails, 1 Fire shrimp, 2 Turbo snails. We have had stingrays, Seahorses, Assorted Crabs.

We also have Coral now. Not much as we were working on our water parameters and getting a nice group of fish together, but we have some zenia, frogspawn, brains, and grassy green corals we will share as the build goes.

 

[druid1200]

We now have added 8 powerheads, new lighting, and more coral.

 

[berbotty]

poor beta - get it out of there

 

[druid1200]

This is our crazy Clownfish Spinny. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azk5yM_Ic6E&list=UUR3WbB-7DlXuIpDANQ6n1zg

 

[druid1200]

Why?... They are kept in much smaller containers in the store.

 

[druid1200]

Here are some more pics including our fish and the Power heads we covered with live rock.

 

[fishroomlady]

what did you keep in the dome that you built? that is very cool looking! I think the beta light is very cool but it does seem a bit cruel - I know that you see them in small spaces but that doesn't make it the right thing to do - could you duplicate that idea with a larger type of bulb?

The tank looks great, I do have a couple of thoughts....hiding the powerheads most likely will affect your optimal flow that you want - you want strong flow throughout the tank to keep detritrus suspended so it can be skimmed or taken out through other filtration.....I'd be concerned about the clown trigger - I know they are very cool looking fish (probably one of the most colorful fish out there) but they can become very aggressive and will eat any inverts and possibly smaller fish or at least nip at them. It looks like your little clown may have gotten nipped in the tail.

It's great that you're in the hobby together and you're very creative.

 

[druid1200]

Hello and thanks for your responses We appreciate it! In the dome we keep seahorses as pictured above. One thing I should note about the Beta Light.. It is a big light, not a normal size light bulb. I should post a pic to scale but I never thought that would get so much attention. The bulb is almost 10" in diameter and plenty big for a beta trust me, she is very happy!
I have a lot of flow in the tank and havent had a problem with build up yet, but I will keep that in mind thanks. Also I know about the Clown trigger but he actually gets along well with everyone. I think we got very lucky with him, even the guy at our LFS said he was not a normal trigger. Im glad because he now has a really good home and schools with everyone else and no problems. We probably spend at least2-3 hours a day in front of this tank.

 

[berbotty]

Just google tank size for betas. - they survive in small containers but do not thrive - same for a goldfish in a goldfish bowl - they need much much bigger tanks

 

[druid1200]

Tank size for Betta..

I did as you say and it seems its a huge debate with no real answers. Most say its just the water quality to watch out for, and since I change it out every other day I dont think thats an issue. Anyways like I said she is doing great and has been alive for quite some time so Id say she's fine. I appreciate the concern though. I googled Tank size for Bettas to thrive and heres the first result I got. "http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=42042"

 

[berbotty]

fair enough

 

[druid1200]

More pics as we go

We have enjoyed our tank so much it has become a piece of our lives. We enjoy the daily changes in the behavior of the fish and the new things that pop up on a daily basis. Here are some more pics.

this is our Crazy Decorative crab that took on an Anemone as a hat.

This is from our 30 Gallon tank, the Anemone moved to the top live rock and it made it look like a troll.

Our 30 Gallon tank before we jumped to our 300.

Just added the Salt mix. Sorry going a little backwards in this thread, posting as I find the pics.

 

[G_Sanab922]

Love your tanks and the great creativity! Regarding the beta, looks good to me, it just might be that us strictly saltwater people might freak out because we are used to fish that need a lot of swimming and hiding space. Betas are territorial and if you give them a 20 gal tank, they will take up about 1/4 of the whole tank or less. Which then would've been pointless in getting a tank that size... Back to your awesome other tanks, your hex looks nice! I agree the clown trigger might get aggressive but I hope it doesn't for you, you never know, if fed well i'm sure it will do great. Keep an eye on the yellow tang and sailfin tang, see how they interact with each other. Just a side note, nothing is definite in this hobby so what might happen to someone else might not happen for you, or vice versa.

 

[druid1200]

Find me! Yes, there is a Decorator Crab hidden in this picture.

 

[Fishmania21]

wow, great tankkkk