Beginner 75 gallon setup

[Tcox]

A BREIF backstory: began with 30 gallon, overflow, marineland heater, and basic PC lighting. Liked the hobby so made a better investment.

I found a 75 gallon w/ sump setup. Came with a stand, Jäger heater, two kessil a360w, octopus 110 skimmer, esshoppes 30 gallon sump, and some hydor korllia's all for $750

I did a lot of research on these forums and bought some Marco rock and Caribsea live sand.



I placed two raw shrimp in and let it brew. Once ammonia hit about 2ppm, I added biospira. Total time for the cycle to complete was about 4 weeks. By this time I was able to keep my parameters very stable therefore I added a few very basic coral:









The lady and I had a weekend getaway and found an amazing LFS that was top notch. Picked up a few corals and currently this is where I'm at

 

[Tcox]

Update. The Zoa's got taken back. An evil hitchhiker came with it (long white stringy sponge) and began spreading in the tank. I am doing a 72 hr blackout, water change, and severely limiting nutrient source. Hopefully this will not become an issue at a later time.

 

[ijnoj09]

nice aquascape... did you cure the rock before putting it in the tank or did you cycle/cure it at the same time?

 

[Tcox]

Thank you. I did an acid bath, did my scaping dry, then placed it in the tank and cycled it. I'm going on 5 months (ish?) and have zero phosphate. Infact I have almost a hard time growing much algae period. Coralline and SMALL amounts of film algae is all I have

 

[ifarmer]

very nice.
no fishes yet?

 

[Tcox]

Well I do have one. She is a maroon clown that had some markings that I couldn't resist. I've never seen a clownfish with such vibrant colors. She say in a QT for around 2 months and was introduced a few weeks ago. Unfortunately she is hosted by a power head in the top right corner of the tank. But when she does come out the deep orange that fades to an electric orange jumps out so brightly you have to duck so it doesnt hit you in the face.

 

[Tcox]

Just an update. Fragged my GSP for the first time. Duncan's as splitting at nearly a head per month. Frogs pawns are splitting and starting new branches. My tank is really starting to metastasize. Also purple coralline is beginning to grow over the green coraline.

 

[Forced 2 Farm]

nice LPS coral they are my favorite! keep up the awesome work