DurocShark
Active Member
Disclosure: I started this because of the contest. A hunnert bucks is a hunnert bucks! 
In the fall of 2014, a coworker asked me if I wanted a fishtank. In the early 90's I ran an aquarium maintenance biz ("Don's Wet Dream") that I ultimately sold off. This coworker knew that, and thought I might be interested in this tank. So, as is often the case, an expensive as heck hobby is started by one little free thing. I decided to dive right in and set up a reef.
This tank was a 70t. 36x30x15. Odd shape for a tank, especially a reef. Challenge accepted! I threw the tank in the back seat of my convertible ("threw" being used very loosely, this beast is heavy!) and promptly broke the glass brace by closing the top. So the tank, which had obviously been setting in someone's back yard for a decade resumed its lazy behavior in my garage.
But I had another tank given to me. A bow front nano. I had thought it was a 20 gallon tank, and decided to set THAT up instead. So I began ordering bits for this tank.
Did a week long water test:
Added some equipment:
Then I started building the stand. 2x4 frame, skinned with some beautiful African Mahogany:
(Yes, I still need to do the doors...)
Everything was lining up. I will fill it with Gulf live rock and sand and things will rock!
Then disaster struck. I'm renting a condo... 4 townhomes in one building. A pipe in a shared wall burst, and flooded my neighbor, and wrecked the laminate floor in my unit. So I can't set up the tank until the floor is repaired. This was MONTHS ago. And there's no end in sight as everybody's waiting for the owner to sign some papers. GAH!
After waiting and waiting, I couldn't stand it any longer. The little 9 gallon tank was going to be my QT tank. But I needed my fix now. I was fully hooked. So I started setting it up.
I installed the lighting:
Filled it and tested the equipment:
Then started stocking:
That live rock was supposed to be fully cured from the LFS. My first critters, a firefish and a hermit crab, died almost immediately. No ammonia, but a HUGE nitrate spike hit. I think either the rock wasn't as cured as they said (but with no ammonia detectible when I tested, I think maybe it was), or the too big powerhead was bashing the fish around too much. It died, then the hermit died shortly after. The only thing I ever detected was nitrate, so it could have been from the fish's death. The pipe organ and GSP corals I added did fine, though.
To top it off, that skimmer is HUGE. It screwed up the aquascaping, and didn't work very well. It doesn't mount well to a framed tank either. So ultimately I ripped it and the powerhead out and replaced them both with a small Finnex hang on back canister filled with carbon and Purigen. That seems to be keeping nutrients down nicely, but I'm building a truly nano skimmer to put in there if the Purigen can't keep up.
I waited a while, using water changes to get the nitrates back down to under 5ppm. Then began stocking again. Eventually I ended up with:
And
So this tank, aside from wanting to add a Candy Cane Pistol and maybe an SPS or two, is now a decently stocked DT. In my bedroom. With just the canister filter, it's super quiet too. Even my wife isn't complaining about the noise any more. Woot!
That 70 and its stand are still in my garage waiting for the owner to resolve the floor. So eventually I'll get to start setting that up as well.
So that's my crazy tank thread. :wacko:
In the fall of 2014, a coworker asked me if I wanted a fishtank. In the early 90's I ran an aquarium maintenance biz ("Don's Wet Dream") that I ultimately sold off. This coworker knew that, and thought I might be interested in this tank. So, as is often the case, an expensive as heck hobby is started by one little free thing. I decided to dive right in and set up a reef.
This tank was a 70t. 36x30x15. Odd shape for a tank, especially a reef. Challenge accepted! I threw the tank in the back seat of my convertible ("threw" being used very loosely, this beast is heavy!) and promptly broke the glass brace by closing the top. So the tank, which had obviously been setting in someone's back yard for a decade resumed its lazy behavior in my garage.
But I had another tank given to me. A bow front nano. I had thought it was a 20 gallon tank, and decided to set THAT up instead. So I began ordering bits for this tank.
- Hydor SlimSkim Nano
- Hydor powerhead
- Jebao powerhead (with wave controller)
- Ecoxotic Panorama Pro white/blue LED bar (expecting to add a second based on the size of this tank)
- SeaChem's Reef Salt
- Refractometer, test kits, etc.
- Heater
- And so on...
Did a week long water test:
Added some equipment:
- Marineland HOB canister
- Bigger powerhead skimmer (no-name)
- 36" Orbit Marine LED bar
- ATO
- Fluidized bed filter for GFO (if I need it)
Then I started building the stand. 2x4 frame, skinned with some beautiful African Mahogany:
(Yes, I still need to do the doors...)
Everything was lining up. I will fill it with Gulf live rock and sand and things will rock!
Then disaster struck. I'm renting a condo... 4 townhomes in one building. A pipe in a shared wall burst, and flooded my neighbor, and wrecked the laminate floor in my unit. So I can't set up the tank until the floor is repaired. This was MONTHS ago. And there's no end in sight as everybody's waiting for the owner to sign some papers. GAH!
After waiting and waiting, I couldn't stand it any longer. The little 9 gallon tank was going to be my QT tank. But I needed my fix now. I was fully hooked. So I started setting it up.
I installed the lighting:
Filled it and tested the equipment:
Then started stocking:
That live rock was supposed to be fully cured from the LFS. My first critters, a firefish and a hermit crab, died almost immediately. No ammonia, but a HUGE nitrate spike hit. I think either the rock wasn't as cured as they said (but with no ammonia detectible when I tested, I think maybe it was), or the too big powerhead was bashing the fish around too much. It died, then the hermit died shortly after. The only thing I ever detected was nitrate, so it could have been from the fish's death. The pipe organ and GSP corals I added did fine, though.
To top it off, that skimmer is HUGE. It screwed up the aquascaping, and didn't work very well. It doesn't mount well to a framed tank either. So ultimately I ripped it and the powerhead out and replaced them both with a small Finnex hang on back canister filled with carbon and Purigen. That seems to be keeping nutrients down nicely, but I'm building a truly nano skimmer to put in there if the Purigen can't keep up.
I waited a while, using water changes to get the nitrates back down to under 5ppm. Then began stocking again. Eventually I ended up with:
- Pipe organ coral
- 2 different GSPs
- Hammer coral
- Zoas
- Macros
- Candy Cane (how it was sold to me, not sure if that's accurate)
- 2 PJ Cards
- Watchman goby
- Feather duster
- Snails
- Sandy aragonite bed (2" deep)
And
So this tank, aside from wanting to add a Candy Cane Pistol and maybe an SPS or two, is now a decently stocked DT. In my bedroom. With just the canister filter, it's super quiet too. Even my wife isn't complaining about the noise any more. Woot!
That 70 and its stand are still in my garage waiting for the owner to resolve the floor. So eventually I'll get to start setting that up as well.
So that's my crazy tank thread. :wacko:
