Steve Tobias
Active Member
Hi all:
I fell in love with the thought of a saltwater aquarium in late August last year. It all started when I was given a 55USG tank. I started looking into it and said this seems pretty cool. I started my research on line and at a local LFS and it sounded great! Working to create this environment from scratch seemed satisfying. Bear in mind, when I started reading and researching I had no idea there was even such a thing as a live rock? So after a couple of months I did my calculations and said, "YUP! I am going to try this!" So I started in October with my plan. Finally had the tank ready to get started and then I read in the bottom corner of the tank "Reptile Only Not for Water" Did I let that discourage me? "Nope" I had come this far so I purchased a 75USG 4' tank. BTW: They always say go as big as you can. They're right! I wished I went bigger. I added my first fish on January 10th, 2016. Corals started May 1. So here I am loving every minute of it.
My tanks specs are as follows:
75USG with Eschopps 1200 overflow
Eschopps R-300 Refugium Sump
Red Octopus DC 1596GPH Return Pump
Red Octopus Protein Skimmer
Maspect Gyre XF 150
2x Kessil A160WE Tuna Blue LED's w Controller
Tunze Osmollator 3155 Auto Top Off
So that's about where I am now... I have had my troubles... I did a DIY 55USG Sump and it cracked, That was a disaster, but I have a lot of fail over with back up stuff so I did not lose any of the family.
Oh yes the family:
FISH AND INVERTABRITES
2 Captive Bred Ocellaris Clownfish ( 1 orange/white, 1 black/white)
1 Purple Firefish
2 Captive Bread Cardinalfish
1 Yellow Tang and 1 Blue Hippo Tang (introduced together)
1 Foxface Lo
1 Royal Gramma
1 Blue Chromis (lost a couple)
1 Orange Spotted Goby
1 Red Scooter Dragonet
1 Blue Streak Cleaner Wrasse
2 Skunk Cleaner Shrimp
1 Blood Red Fire Shrimp
1 Pom Pom Crab
6 Emerald Crabs
1 Serpent Brittle Starfish
Nassarius Snails, Astraea Turbo Snail, Scarlet Reef and Dwarf Yellow Tip Hermit Crabs
CORALS
Toadstool Mushroom Leather
Pulsating Xenia (does anyone want some?)
Green Palys
Green Star Polyps
Zoanthids
Green Pagoda Cup Coral
Montipora Capricornis
Green Frogspawn
Giant Green Duncan Coral (not really giant)
Goniopora
Condy Anemone
Mermaid Fans, Shaving Brushes and Bright Orange Sponge
I feed Red Bush Gracilaria, Tigger Pods and a combination of Oyster Feast, Pyhto Feast, Beta Brine, Frozen Brine and Cube Frozen Clam.
So there you have it. Now I am working on a calcium reactor and GFO Carbon reactor in the next week or so. AND LOOKING FOR A MUCH BIGGER TANK! Hope that wasn't TMI! \
Thanks for having me.
I fell in love with the thought of a saltwater aquarium in late August last year. It all started when I was given a 55USG tank. I started looking into it and said this seems pretty cool. I started my research on line and at a local LFS and it sounded great! Working to create this environment from scratch seemed satisfying. Bear in mind, when I started reading and researching I had no idea there was even such a thing as a live rock? So after a couple of months I did my calculations and said, "YUP! I am going to try this!" So I started in October with my plan. Finally had the tank ready to get started and then I read in the bottom corner of the tank "Reptile Only Not for Water" Did I let that discourage me? "Nope" I had come this far so I purchased a 75USG 4' tank. BTW: They always say go as big as you can. They're right! I wished I went bigger. I added my first fish on January 10th, 2016. Corals started May 1. So here I am loving every minute of it.
My tanks specs are as follows:
75USG with Eschopps 1200 overflow
Eschopps R-300 Refugium Sump
Red Octopus DC 1596GPH Return Pump
Red Octopus Protein Skimmer
Maspect Gyre XF 150
2x Kessil A160WE Tuna Blue LED's w Controller
Tunze Osmollator 3155 Auto Top Off
So that's about where I am now... I have had my troubles... I did a DIY 55USG Sump and it cracked, That was a disaster, but I have a lot of fail over with back up stuff so I did not lose any of the family.
Oh yes the family:
FISH AND INVERTABRITES
2 Captive Bred Ocellaris Clownfish ( 1 orange/white, 1 black/white)
1 Purple Firefish
2 Captive Bread Cardinalfish
1 Yellow Tang and 1 Blue Hippo Tang (introduced together)
1 Foxface Lo
1 Royal Gramma
1 Blue Chromis (lost a couple)
1 Orange Spotted Goby
1 Red Scooter Dragonet
1 Blue Streak Cleaner Wrasse
2 Skunk Cleaner Shrimp
1 Blood Red Fire Shrimp
1 Pom Pom Crab
6 Emerald Crabs
1 Serpent Brittle Starfish
Nassarius Snails, Astraea Turbo Snail, Scarlet Reef and Dwarf Yellow Tip Hermit Crabs
CORALS
Toadstool Mushroom Leather
Pulsating Xenia (does anyone want some?)
Green Palys
Green Star Polyps
Zoanthids
Green Pagoda Cup Coral
Montipora Capricornis
Green Frogspawn
Giant Green Duncan Coral (not really giant)
Goniopora
Condy Anemone
Mermaid Fans, Shaving Brushes and Bright Orange Sponge
I feed Red Bush Gracilaria, Tigger Pods and a combination of Oyster Feast, Pyhto Feast, Beta Brine, Frozen Brine and Cube Frozen Clam.
So there you have it. Now I am working on a calcium reactor and GFO Carbon reactor in the next week or so. AND LOOKING FOR A MUCH BIGGER TANK! Hope that wasn't TMI! \
Thanks for having me.
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