My 40g Shallow Macro Tank Build

[Reefer's Paradise]

Hey everyone, so to start off I was put on permanent disability about 9 months ago and my life changed from working 10-16 hours a day to being home everyday and that also changed my level of SW hobbyist lol. I went from 2 tanks to 4 tanks in a matter of months. As of last month tho I had a problem with disability because they haven't been paying me so had to go get a lawyer and you know the rest, but that financial change made me break down all of my tanks to make enough money to survive. I initially planned on taking a break from this hobby because as you could imagine 4 full reef tanks was enough stress and time consuming without the stress of financial struggle and court BS, but I've had this 40g shallow tank 30x30x10 sitting in my garage for over a year empty still wrapped in plastic wrap brand new and I just couldn't resist! It is just so hard to not have a tank, we get accustom to the smell, sounds, visuals and overall pleasure of having a tank in the home it's hard to just pull away completely.

So on to the tank! I've decided to do a macro algae lagoon tank with acouple zoas (couldn't resist). Reason being that I can still enjoy the love of having a tank without the everyday upkeep involved in a complex mixed reef. I plan on keeping all the different types of macro I can and only fish will be a banded cat shark hatched out of an egg and a Golden Dwarf Moray. I'll have a very extensive list of inverts that will be added to this tank and the main attraction apart from the eel, shark and macros.

Equipment:
Radion xr30w Gen 3 Pro
Ecotech Vectra M1 Return Pump
Ecotech Reeflink
Reef Octopus Classic 110INT Skimmer
Eheim 200w Heater
Pinpoint pH Monitor
Neptune Apex with EB8

Here's the tank build progress:

Plumbing almost complete and water being mixed

Custom light holder

Tank has been running for 21 days now. 35 gallons of seasoned water and all the sand added was taken from my running 30g tank that I broke down. Will update with more pictures tomorrow.

 

[basilon_a_lo_x]

Following the build good luck it's a gorgeous tank

 

[Reefer's Paradise]

Following the build good luck it's a gorgeous tank

Thank you! It's been sitting in the garage and I've had many different thoughts of its intended purpose (frag tank, shallow reef, growout tank, etc) I'm happy it's become my main DT and the route I took.

 

[steelheader.262]

Very nice.

 

[jasonandsarah]

Glad you seem to be getting back on track! Beautiful tank, can't wait to see it fill in. Who made the tank?

 

[Reefer's Paradise]

Glad you seem to be getting back on track! Beautiful tank, can't wait to see it fill in. Who made the tank?

I'm not 100% on who made it because I bought it from another member on SCR and don't remember if he said who made it. I wanna say an AA tank but not 100%.
Got it filled with some macro Acouple days ago and kept some corals from another one of my tanks before it was broken down. Added livestock about 3 days ago also, here's the list
250 Blue Legged Hermit Crabs
300 Cerith Snails
30 Astrea Snails
5 Nassarius Snails
6 Lettuce Nudibranchs
Australian Double Tile Starfish
Red Striped Brittle Starfish
Banded Cat Shark Egg
Skunk Cleaner Shrimp
Yellow Coris Wrasse

Everyone is doing very well so far! I also have red mangrove seedlings in the tank and Acouple have started to grow roots which is always exciting. I have the mangroves in the center back section and will raise and lower them every week until they start to grow thick roots to make great hiding places for the fish and inverts. Egg crate is to hold seedlings in place because they were floating lol.

And here's the pics! Taken with my iPhone 6 about 10 minutes ago

 

[Reefer's Paradise]

Acouple close up shots...
None all altered in any way taken with iPhone 6 minutes before this post.

 

[jasonandsarah]

This turned into a mixed reef fast! Lol I was gonna give you a few weeks at least before you added anything besides macros and zoas.

 

[Reefer's Paradise]

This turned into a mixed reef fast! Lol I was gonna give you a few weeks at least before you added anything besides macros and zoas.

Well the acans and pagoda are also from my tanks before the break down and weren't sold so that's why they're in the tank lol. I don't want them there and I plan on having a clam there

 

[Scott Chitwood]

Awesome looking tank. Rock work is really nice, love the mangroves.

 

[Reefer's Paradise]

Awesome looking tank. Rock work is really nice, love the mangroves.

Thank you very much! I've always loved mangroves since I had some in my first fuge. Now incorporating them into the DT I can't wait for them to grow and become wat I'm imagining. Most of them have started to extend roots about 1/8-1/4" so I'm pretty excited about that.
Need lots of macro tho cuz my hermits and snails are eating some of my macros faster than they can grow lol :/

 

[Reefer's Paradise]

Tank update!
So picked up some livestock yesterday from my LFS that I ordered weeks ago they finally came in. I ordered a blue linckia, Orange linckia, sand sifting star, blue bodied coral banded shrimp, and epaulette shark. Unfortunately they didn't get the epaulette and the blue linckia was deteriorating already so that was a no go. I swapped those two for a white spotted bamboo shark and blood red fire shrimp. The shark was already hatched which sucks cuz I really enjoy watching them grow in the egg and developing until they hatch but this gives my tank some added life with how much this guy swims!
Everyone else is doing great in the tank. I need to stock up on macros cuz my hermits and snails are munching on acouple of them before they can grow and will eventually eat it all so I'm going to get about 3x more and grow some in the sump just in case it happens again.
All my mangroves are extending roots now so this begins the fun part of raising and lowering the mangroves every other day so that they begin to grow thick roots to the sand and the main plant stock stays up higher.
The shrimp both entered the tank and were pretty reclusive so couldn't snap any shots yet and the sand sifting star also hit the sand and buried immediately so still waiting to see it again also.
Here's Acouple shots from yesterday afternoon before sun went down. I turned on tank lights to calm down the new inhabitants for acclimation just in case.
All pics taken wit an iPhone 6

Really need to invest in a camera!!

 

[Scott Chitwood]

What size tank is that?

 

[Scott Chitwood]

What do you do with the sharks when they get larger?

 

[Reefer's Paradise]

The tank is 30x30x10 and yea it is small for an adult shark but I'll be moving within a year and plan on having a 300-500g tank so that'll easily house them wit tons of room by the time the move happens. As for being babies they have more than enough space to swim and grow as they will be averaging 6" per year with maybe 10" growth at max within one year. These sharks are very well taken care of and not my first shark I have hatched and raised. And when they do become full adults I'll still be able to house them and if I want to start over with babies I'll either sell them or donate them and restart with eggs again, which in my opinion is the best part!

 

[Scott Chitwood]

I had sharks too, they are a very unique animal. But now I am back into reef tanks and sharks just don't fit into reefs very well.

 

[Reefer's Paradise]

I had sharks too, they are a very unique animal. But now I am back into reef tanks and sharks just don't fit into reefs very well.

Yea I started with reefs and set up a big cube and went for a simplistic look and had lots of open sand bed and got a shark egg and hatched it and from there they've just been my favorite

 

[Reefer's Paradise]

Hey everyone! Late night update of some new inhabitants.
Picked up a blue linckia, conch, and emerald crab! Shark has grown alot lately and now irs eyes are starting to form and his tail has almost fully taken shape! I'm very excited it'll just be Acouple weeks now.
Here's acouple photos from today

 

[Reefer's Paradise]

Hey all! Some photos from today

 

[Reefer's Paradise]

Hey everyone! Quick update I got some new zoas, a gorgonian and a sun coral from aqua sd the other day plus other zoas and a bling bling cyphastrea from BSA Corals to fill my zoa rocks for my gardens. Also raised my mangroves up and zip tied them to egg crate so they're higher and can grow their roots down to the ground to create caverns and hiding spots for my livestock. Shark is doing very well has grown alot can't wait for colors to start showing. In acouple weeks I'll be upgrading to a massive sump and building a new stand to add 2 new shallow tanks!
Here's some pics from today!

slowest race ever lol