My First Tank Build, 75g.
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- Thread starter .Marshall
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.Marshall
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Thank you James!
I Took out the camera again yesterday while I was couch ridden from New Years Eve activities. After reading up on more and more photography tips, and watching many of youtube videos I think I finally "kind of" have a grasp on the basics of taking pictures with a DSLR and how the big 3 components interact with each other.
2 Newest editions to the tank:
Black Ocellaris
Lubbocks Fairy Wrasse (Male) - Caught him flashing, kind of why I broke out the camera.
Pink Lemonade - Fall Frag Swap coral, encrusting nicely.
PC Rainbow Acro - Fall Frag Swap coral, growing like crazy!!
ORA Red Planet - 3rd SPS added to tank, struggled a bit at first but is growing nicely now
Royal Gramma - or Royal G (as I like to call him) doing his thing; policing the other tankmates.
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.Marshall
Well-Known Member
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.Marshall
Well-Known Member
:tongue:
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.Marshall
Well-Known Member
Tank update!!
Picked up 3 SPS corals at the Reef2Reef.com and Cherry Corals Acropalooza live sale;
- Pokerstar Monti
- Sunset Monti
- Hellboy Acro ----- :nuts:
also won two $25 gift cards playing the mini games inside the live sale thread, all in all a great time! Koletang and Pumbooris were there with me the whole time (lasted until 3am).
Picked up my first clam at my LFS a couple weeks ago, it is doing well and I think I may have to pick up another one soon
Anyway, i'm going to let the pictures speak for themselves for this update. The Wild are on and I don't work tomorrow so we'll see where the night goes!
GO WILD!
Pictures!!!
First two separate FTS'; 1 with a custom white balance in camera (white object in tank trick) and 1 with the highest kelvin white balance available in camera.
Coral pics!
GARF Bonsai really starting to take off in branch growth
Sunset Montipora
Hellboy Acropora
PC Rainbow Acropora (lost some color after changing up the flow on the right side)
Pokerstar Montipora
New Maxima Clam (Top Down)
My new favorite way to view the inhabitants.. TOP DOWN!
Left side
Right side
A couple odd's and end's...
Picture of my Pineapple Sponge infested sump!
My Reef Calender, keeps me honest on my tank duties and maintenance!
had to get back on my Sunday WC schedule, didn't have time one week and waited until Wednesday, looks funny now Lol
Thanks for stopping by guys and gals!
...frag tank build coming soon
Picked up 3 SPS corals at the Reef2Reef.com and Cherry Corals Acropalooza live sale;
- Pokerstar Monti
- Sunset Monti
- Hellboy Acro ----- :nuts:
also won two $25 gift cards playing the mini games inside the live sale thread, all in all a great time! Koletang and Pumbooris were there with me the whole time (lasted until 3am).
Picked up my first clam at my LFS a couple weeks ago, it is doing well and I think I may have to pick up another one soon
Anyway, i'm going to let the pictures speak for themselves for this update. The Wild are on and I don't work tomorrow so we'll see where the night goes!
GO WILD!
Pictures!!!
First two separate FTS'; 1 with a custom white balance in camera (white object in tank trick) and 1 with the highest kelvin white balance available in camera.
Coral pics!
GARF Bonsai really starting to take off in branch growth
Sunset Montipora
Hellboy Acropora
PC Rainbow Acropora (lost some color after changing up the flow on the right side)
Pokerstar Montipora
New Maxima Clam (Top Down)
My new favorite way to view the inhabitants.. TOP DOWN!
Left side
Right side
A couple odd's and end's...
Picture of my Pineapple Sponge infested sump!
My Reef Calender, keeps me honest on my tank duties and maintenance!
had to get back on my Sunday WC schedule, didn't have time one week and waited until Wednesday, looks funny now Lol
Thanks for stopping by guys and gals!
...frag tank build coming soon
ReefPops
Well-Known Member
Great pics and updates. Love the top down shot and Royal G. Very cool. The calendar is such a good idea. I'm all over the place with that, but do seem to do a get my water change in either on sunday or monday. That's about all I can keep straight 
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.Marshall
Well-Known Member
Tank Update!
Took the T3i out yesterday and took some pictures, discarded the ones I didn't like and edited the ones that had potential! I am still experimenting with custom white balances and camera settings so there is a couple of the same shots just with different settings and editing techniques.
I made some frags of most of my SPS so I have colonies to frag from, they will go in the frag tank whenever that gets here. Still debating on whether to start another build thread just for the frag tank or continue the progress in this thread.. I think the latter, but a thread name will be needed then
- Don't mind the frag station sitting on the sandbed, it is in there to get some growth before going into the frag tank.
Enjoy!
Hellboy (getting used to the new environment)
Took the T3i out yesterday and took some pictures, discarded the ones I didn't like and edited the ones that had potential! I am still experimenting with custom white balances and camera settings so there is a couple of the same shots just with different settings and editing techniques.
I made some frags of most of my SPS so I have colonies to frag from, they will go in the frag tank whenever that gets here. Still debating on whether to start another build thread just for the frag tank or continue the progress in this thread.. I think the latter, but a thread name will be needed then
- Don't mind the frag station sitting on the sandbed, it is in there to get some growth before going into the frag tank.
Enjoy!
Hellboy (getting used to the new environment)
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.Marshall
Well-Known Member
Corals Corals Corals!
Hey all, received a nice shipment of corals today from Cherry Corals and a Private seller from Virginia. It was mostly SPS, but I couldn't resist a couple Acans from CC and then a mixture of the two
It is my first dabble into Acans so we'll see how they do in my tank! (hopefully better than chalices..)
New Coral:
Private Seller:
ATL Shades of Fall
Red Dragon
Strawberry Shortcake
Highlighter Acro? (free bonus frag)
Tierra De Fuego
Cherry Corals:
Jason Fox Jack O' Lantern Lepto
CC Sunset Milli
2 Acans.
I was also suppose to meet Montiporalova this morning to sell him my old TEK T5 fixture, well he was early and I was running late trying to dip and mount all the new coral so he was nice enough to drive all the way to St. Cloud. He did not leave empty handed, I gave him a frag of Copps Pink Lemonade for his troubles.
On with the show!
Not Pictured; Tierra De Fuego. Sorry it is on the back of the frag station and I couldn't get a good picture I will soon though!
New Acan
New Acan #2
Strawberry Shortcake
Red Dragon (Split the frag into 2; now I have 2 frags
)
JF Jack O' Lantern Lepto
ATL Shades of Fall
CC Sunset Milli
Mystery Frag (Highlighter Acro?) (Frag station is filling up!)
Next up on the To Do list:
- Install new 20 amp line & breaker (dedicated main tank power)
- Set up new Water change station ( 2x 35g horizontal leg tanks)
- finish frag tank stand, pictures coming s o o o o n....
Hey all, received a nice shipment of corals today from Cherry Corals and a Private seller from Virginia. It was mostly SPS, but I couldn't resist a couple Acans from CC and then a mixture of the two
New Coral:
Private Seller:
ATL Shades of Fall
Red Dragon
Strawberry Shortcake
Highlighter Acro? (free bonus frag)
Tierra De Fuego
Cherry Corals:
Jason Fox Jack O' Lantern Lepto
CC Sunset Milli
2 Acans.
I was also suppose to meet Montiporalova this morning to sell him my old TEK T5 fixture, well he was early and I was running late trying to dip and mount all the new coral so he was nice enough to drive all the way to St. Cloud. He did not leave empty handed, I gave him a frag of Copps Pink Lemonade for his troubles.
On with the show!
Not Pictured; Tierra De Fuego. Sorry it is on the back of the frag station and I couldn't get a good picture I will soon though!
New Acan
New Acan #2
Strawberry Shortcake
Red Dragon (Split the frag into 2; now I have 2 frags
JF Jack O' Lantern Lepto
ATL Shades of Fall
CC Sunset Milli
Mystery Frag (Highlighter Acro?) (Frag station is filling up!)
Next up on the To Do list:
- Install new 20 amp line & breaker (dedicated main tank power)
- Set up new Water change station ( 2x 35g horizontal leg tanks)
- finish frag tank stand, pictures coming s o o o o n....
Thanks for stopping by!
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.Marshall
Well-Known Member
Supdate!..
Today was a good day spent around the tank, I added a dedicated 20 amp circuit for the main tank, the circuit it was on up until today was also powering the garage lights and 1 wall of garage outlets.. I didn't like that and this makes me breathe much easier! Instead, the frag tank will run on the old circuit, much less power draw.
Pictures!
Receptacle;
From inside the laundry room (wall seperating the tank and a the circuit box):
The other project was the new water change station; bought these two 35 gallon leg tanks from plastic-mart.com $100 residential shipping but it was worth it, these tanks fit perfectly on my new 36"x18"x72" steel stand made by Edsal; it holds 800lbs per shelf and was very easy to assemble.Next up, plumbing! I will be hooking the RO/DI up to the top tank (with float valve) and the bottom tank will be for mixing saltwater.
The bottom rack will be used for hiding all the salt buckets!!
Today was a good day spent around the tank, I added a dedicated 20 amp circuit for the main tank, the circuit it was on up until today was also powering the garage lights and 1 wall of garage outlets.. I didn't like that and this makes me breathe much easier! Instead, the frag tank will run on the old circuit, much less power draw.
Pictures!
Receptacle;
From inside the laundry room (wall seperating the tank and a the circuit box):
The other project was the new water change station; bought these two 35 gallon leg tanks from plastic-mart.com $100 residential shipping but it was worth it, these tanks fit perfectly on my new 36"x18"x72" steel stand made by Edsal; it holds 800lbs per shelf and was very easy to assemble.Next up, plumbing! I will be hooking the RO/DI up to the top tank (with float valve) and the bottom tank will be for mixing saltwater.
The bottom rack will be used for hiding all the salt buckets!!
OP
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.Marshall
Well-Known Member
***Disclaimer***
Just updating my build thread on Reef2Reef so don't pay attention to the " did this tonight" , "doing this tomorrow" , etc.. Just updating this thread from my thread on the local forum!
Enjoy!
- Marshall
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Frag Tank sneak-peak!
Second addition to the fish nook.
Well first off I would like to introduce my new frag tank build into my build thread, i'm going to have to request a thread name change soon! First off, I am having Reef Savvy build me a custom tank, it is currently under construction and should be here sometime near the end of March. Some information about the frag tank...
Details:
- 36" Wide x 20" Deep x 12" High
- Front Starphire
- 3/8" Glass
- Right corner hybrid overflow
- Rimless
I have been building the stand for the last 2 months and I finished staining it tonight. It will have 2 doors on the front and 1 on the left side. Below is a time lapse of the stand throughout construction. Enjoy!
1st Stain coat
2nd Stain coat
I may add 1 more coat but that's just to clean things up a bit, Thanks for stopping by!
Just updating my build thread on Reef2Reef so don't pay attention to the " did this tonight" , "doing this tomorrow" , etc.. Just updating this thread from my thread on the local forum!
Enjoy!
- Marshall
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Frag Tank sneak-peak!
Second addition to the fish nook.
Well first off I would like to introduce my new frag tank build into my build thread, i'm going to have to request a thread name change soon! First off, I am having Reef Savvy build me a custom tank, it is currently under construction and should be here sometime near the end of March. Some information about the frag tank...
Details:
- 36" Wide x 20" Deep x 12" High
- Front Starphire
- 3/8" Glass
- Right corner hybrid overflow
- Rimless
I have been building the stand for the last 2 months and I finished staining it tonight. It will have 2 doors on the front and 1 on the left side. Below is a time lapse of the stand throughout construction. Enjoy!
1st Stain coat
2nd Stain coat
I may add 1 more coat but that's just to clean things up a bit, Thanks for stopping by!
OP
OP
.Marshall
Well-Known Member
Fish Nook 2.0
..going to have to change my thread name
To start it off I believe I will have to change my thread name soon, because hopefully within the next two weeks I will officially setup my second tank!
Most of this weekend was spent far away from the tank, me and some buddies went down to the WCHA FINAL Final Five on Friday to cheer on our St. Cloud State Huskies. They lost to Wisconsin 4-1 on Friday which was a bummer but just being down there for the last Final Five series was a treat in itself. It was my first Final Five and I am very sad to see all the teams go separate ways next year! The hockey atmosphere down around the Xcel energy center during the Final Five cannot be described, it truly is an experience seeing all the fans from all the schools flooding downtown St. Paul. Lots of hockey, lots of fun, and lots of beer!!
On to the saltwater business..
I finished the stand for the frag tank last week and moved it into its resting place on Friday. It turned out perfectly, and completes my "Fish Nook". Still waiting on the tank from Reef Savvy, but at this point I can't complain. Though it is about 2 months overdue on its completion and delivery Felix at Reef Savvy hooked me up! He upgraded the tank from front starphire to 3 sides starphire, free hybrid overflow upgrade with custom cover, and free black vinyl on back and bottom.
Flounder is also helping me out big time by building a custom acrylic sump for me, can't wait to pick both pieces up soon! Big Thanks to Carl for coming through in the clutch.
That's it for me, my brain can't handle any more sentences.. I need rest and water to nurse this hangover.
Thanks for stopping by!
..going to have to change my thread name
To start it off I believe I will have to change my thread name soon, because hopefully within the next two weeks I will officially setup my second tank!
Most of this weekend was spent far away from the tank, me and some buddies went down to the WCHA FINAL Final Five on Friday to cheer on our St. Cloud State Huskies. They lost to Wisconsin 4-1 on Friday which was a bummer but just being down there for the last Final Five series was a treat in itself. It was my first Final Five and I am very sad to see all the teams go separate ways next year! The hockey atmosphere down around the Xcel energy center during the Final Five cannot be described, it truly is an experience seeing all the fans from all the schools flooding downtown St. Paul. Lots of hockey, lots of fun, and lots of beer!!
On to the saltwater business..
I finished the stand for the frag tank last week and moved it into its resting place on Friday. It turned out perfectly, and completes my "Fish Nook". Still waiting on the tank from Reef Savvy, but at this point I can't complain. Though it is about 2 months overdue on its completion and delivery Felix at Reef Savvy hooked me up! He upgraded the tank from front starphire to 3 sides starphire, free hybrid overflow upgrade with custom cover, and free black vinyl on back and bottom.
Flounder is also helping me out big time by building a custom acrylic sump for me, can't wait to pick both pieces up soon! Big Thanks to Carl for coming through in the clutch.
That's it for me, my brain can't handle any more sentences.. I need rest and water to nurse this hangover.
Thanks for stopping by!
OP
OP
.Marshall
Well-Known Member
The tank is on its way..
from Florida to Minnesota!
The frag tank is finally on its way and it should be delivered this Friday if all goes to plan. I am so ready to get this frag tank full of water, it should be an exciting weekend! (and probably a lot of unexpected trips to Home depot and fleet farm)
I also had a custom sump built for this build as well, I will let the fabricator name himself if he would like because I know if I mentioned him in my post he would be flooded with PM's about acrylic projects
He did a great job and I really appreciate him helping me out with this!
I went with the same design as the bigger sump that is under my 75g display, I really like this design and it works flawlessly!
And last but not least, this beautiful work of art;
"The Blue Glow: Classis Series" Frag rack. I love it!! ( I was sent another tier because during the first shipment one of the legs broke in transit. Andy at the Blue Glow was awesome and shipped me out another tier and extra legs to fix the broken one! Great Customer service all around)
Hopefully my next update will have water in it!!!
Thanks for stopping by
from Florida to Minnesota!
The frag tank is finally on its way and it should be delivered this Friday if all goes to plan. I am so ready to get this frag tank full of water, it should be an exciting weekend! (and probably a lot of unexpected trips to Home depot and fleet farm)
I also had a custom sump built for this build as well, I will let the fabricator name himself if he would like because I know if I mentioned him in my post he would be flooded with PM's about acrylic projects
I went with the same design as the bigger sump that is under my 75g display, I really like this design and it works flawlessly!
And last but not least, this beautiful work of art;
"The Blue Glow: Classis Series" Frag rack. I love it!! ( I was sent another tier because during the first shipment one of the legs broke in transit. Andy at the Blue Glow was awesome and shipped me out another tier and extra legs to fix the broken one! Great Customer service all around)
Hopefully my next update will have water in it!!!
Thanks for stopping by
OP
OP
.Marshall
Well-Known Member
Frag Tank progress!
no water yet..
My Reef Savvy frag tank was delivered on Friday and i've been slowly working on it all weekend. I can't say enough about the quality of reef savvy's product and I highly recommend giving Felix at Reef Savvy a call when looking for a custom glass tank.
Anyway, a little about the specs of the tank;
Volume: 37 gallons
L: 36"
W: 20"
H: 12"
- Low-Iron Starphire glass on 3 sides
- Right corner smoked acrylic overflow
Yesterday, I had a set back because I broke a bulkhead flange somehow.. So I am waiting on a new one (and a back up) from BRS. I am hoping I will have water in it Tuesday night! I will be doing a 20g WC on the main tank and use that water plus new saltwater to fill up the frag tank, I will also be using live rock from the sump to help cycle the new tank as fast as possible.
One question before I begin with the pictures!
This is the first overflow I have had with standpipes so I am wondering if it is the general consensus to use PVC cement to glue the standpipe and the bulkhead together? (yes the bulkheads are slip x slip) TIA!
On with the show,
Unboxing
The mess
Plumbing set-up
Thanks for stopping by!
no water yet..
My Reef Savvy frag tank was delivered on Friday and i've been slowly working on it all weekend. I can't say enough about the quality of reef savvy's product and I highly recommend giving Felix at Reef Savvy a call when looking for a custom glass tank.
Anyway, a little about the specs of the tank;
Volume: 37 gallons
L: 36"
W: 20"
H: 12"
- Low-Iron Starphire glass on 3 sides
- Right corner smoked acrylic overflow
Yesterday, I had a set back because I broke a bulkhead flange somehow.. So I am waiting on a new one (and a back up) from BRS. I am hoping I will have water in it Tuesday night! I will be doing a 20g WC on the main tank and use that water plus new saltwater to fill up the frag tank, I will also be using live rock from the sump to help cycle the new tank as fast as possible.
One question before I begin with the pictures!
This is the first overflow I have had with standpipes so I am wondering if it is the general consensus to use PVC cement to glue the standpipe and the bulkhead together? (yes the bulkheads are slip x slip) TIA!
On with the show,
Unboxing
The mess
Plumbing set-up
Thanks for stopping by!
OP
OP
.Marshall
Well-Known Member
Corals Corals Corals
Meteor Shower Cyphastrea
Jason Fox Yellow Pavona
Vivid's Rainbow Delight
ORA Pearlberry The polyps look awesome in person, body was much more colorful on Friday.. looks like it didn't like the trip.
Hell Boy Acro
PC Rainbow Acro
Oregon Tort Has some green on the base, I thought true Oregon tort didn't have green in it? Also, healing up from intense flow.. nevermind that!
Jason Fox Halloween Chalice
Frag tank sump, week 1!
Meteor Shower Cyphastrea
Jason Fox Yellow Pavona
Vivid's Rainbow Delight
ORA Pearlberry The polyps look awesome in person, body was much more colorful on Friday.. looks like it didn't like the trip.
Hell Boy Acro
PC Rainbow Acro
Oregon Tort Has some green on the base, I thought true Oregon tort didn't have green in it? Also, healing up from intense flow.. nevermind that!
Jason Fox Halloween Chalice
Frag tank sump, week 1!
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.Marshall
Well-Known Member
Frag Tank update!
I Had a custom made dosing reservoir made by elite aquatics for the slim space between my sump and the door on the left side. He was very quick and was able to get it to me in under a week and half! He also does very nice work
I Had a custom made dosing reservoir made by elite aquatics for the slim space between my sump and the door on the left side. He was very quick and was able to get it to me in under a week and half! He also does very nice work
