Blennymower's 75g Reef

[blennymower]

Update

Update

New fish!

I thought this fish would spend most of it's time on rocks like most blennies, but it's actually swimming the entire time.

I got this large Gorgonian for $40, good deal?

This small frag

A nice lookin' derasa clam

Question: I try to take the shells out whenever I see them, are there any negative effects to leaving them?

 

[blennymower]

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Left bulb turned off at 0:13

 

[blennymower]

Update

Update

A lot has happened. I'm in my last year of college now so time and money is very tight. Sadly the 75 gallon wasn't allowing me to enjoy the hobby due to the afore mentioned constraints. So I decided that I was going to sell it and get something smaller, that way I can enjoy the hobby in the interim. Here's the nano I know have.

 

[iwishtofish]

Nice nano! Sad to see the 75 go, though. Please keep us updated on the progress of this new tank.

 

[mthomp]

can i ask why you didnt care for the tek? im considering going with that light for my 90.

 

[blennymower]

Nice nano! Sad to see the 75 go, though. Please keep us updated on the progress of this new tank.

Funny that I have it up and running again :spin1: This time around I did a lot of things differently and I'm very happy with how it's coming out. Different pumps, sump, skimmer, and lighting configuration. Pictures to come.

can i ask why you didnt care for the tek? im considering going with that light for my 90.

Why not. Short answer; I did care for it, I just had a personal preference for the shimmer/look of metal halides. The long answer is my 2 cents on what I would do in your situation. For what you end up paying on a TEK, I think it's better to go with another fixture given what's on the market today. The bad thing about the TEKs is that they don't come standard with neither a shield or hanging/standing brackets. both of which put together can reach an extra $100 on the base price besides the cost for bulbs. Not to mention it has no active cooling, and experiments by some find that the shield adds heat that lowers lamp life. I liked my TEK, specially with the fan mod I did to it. I was very happy with the color and growth I got from it. However today for the money it costs I would rather go with some other fixture; the Aquamedic ocean and the Icecap fixtures being two of my top options. But that's just me. Good Luck.

 

[wedwards]

Really sweet tanks man. I to am a college student trying to do well in the hobby with little money, so I know how it feels to let some things go. But one question, what kind of dog was that? He is awesome looking and I have been looking into getting a dog!!!

 

[blennymower]

Really sweet tanks man. I to am a college student trying to do well in the hobby with little money, so I know how it feels to let some things go. But one question, what kind of dog was that? He is awesome looking and I have been looking into getting a dog!!!

Yeah it sucks not having money and seeing all these clean and teched out tanks on RC.

That's my Boxer Jimi (after Jimi Hendrix). I highly recommend this breed. Best dog I've ever had; a very loyal and loving friend. I also had a Great Dane(my favorite breed), but had to giver her to another family because I just didn't have the time and money for her I'll put up some pictures later.

 

[Tat2demon]

I would recommend against filling your sump baffles with shells like you did last time. Theyre going to end up trapping all kinds of gunk.

 

[blennymower]

I would recommend against filling your sump baffles with shells like you did last time. Theyre going to end up trapping all kinds of gunk.

Yeah you're right about that. The day I took them out the water got murky with DOCs.

 

[blennymower]

Here are pictures of my Great Dane

And some pictures of equipment for my 75

BM NAC3+

 

[iwishtofish]

Beautiful dog, indeed! What size tank is that skimmer rated for, just out of curiosity?

I'll be using a 6-bulb TEK for a while on my new 75g. I have good bulbs ready to go. However, it is the older fixture with no active cooling. Not to mention its only 36", haha... maybe something will grow!

I look forward to the new tank pics!

 

[blennymower]

Beautiful dog, indeed! What size tank is that skimmer rated for, just out of curiosity?

I'll be using a 6-bulb TEK for a while on my new 75g. I have good bulbs ready to go. However, it is the older fixture with no active cooling. Not to mention its only 36", haha... maybe something will grow!

I look forward to the new tank pics!

I think with that fixture you'll definitely grow something, you'll just have to be careful about what you place on the sides. The skimmer is rated for a max of 80 gallons which should be close to what my system is. Most people will tell you that you should always go up and beyond the size of your system, but this skimmer has to be drained and cleaned every two days from what it pulls out. The reason I love it is because 1. it's performance 2. smallest footprint I could find on an affordable quality skimmer.

 

[blennymower]

Alright so here it is. The 75 up and running again. This time I'm more happy than the previous time I had it running. One reason why is that I no longer have to carry a 5g bucket of RO water to the reservoir behind the tank. I drilled a hole behind the tank that goes to the back of my house. Through the hole goes the electrical power for the RO pump (Tunze water level controller) and the water top-off hose. All I have to do is open a faucet and the RO/DI fills a 5g bucket where the top-off pump is.

Also, the set-up is a lot quiter and the tank runs a lot cooler.

Drained the plastic container I was using as a sump. Went to get the chaeto and it disintegrated. This is the second time I used chaeto and it like the time before it just withered and died. Going back to caulerpa, that thing grows like hell.

Here's the sump. A 20 Long I bought from someone and added the baffles myself.

Going to put this over the sump, and perhaps set it up so that it turns on whenever tank temperature goes over a certain limit.

 

[blennymower]

Under the tank.

Nice and tidy

The tank

So shortly after I found out that my Koralia was leaking voltage I bought a Tunze Nano Stream and was very happy with it. I then decided to sell the Vortech MP20 and get another Nano Tunze. I'm very happy with the decision. The Tunze Nano is small, stylish, and powerful. Oh, and cheaper. I got another one for the 75 for a total of 3. Thinking about getting a fourth.

 

[iwishtofish]

Wow - everything looks great! Very well thought out.

I wonder why your chaeto has been dying off...what kind of light did you have over it? Do you mind the possibility of any caulerpa either finding its way to the DT, or going sexual and clouding things up?

I'm still in the process of finding the right in-wall fan to ventilate my 75g tank stand. Do you move air through your stand, or just have fans to cool the sump?

 

[blennymower]

Thanks! I have a 25 watt Fluorescent bulb over it. I've always used Caulerpa and never had any start growing in my DT. Mind you, a bunch would always get in the DT but never took root. I think it was either because of strong flow or the fish that would eat it. Never did it go sexual on me either.

I closed off my stand in order to reduce sound, this has the potential to create humidity but so far I've noticed that hasn't been an issue. So the main reason why I don't want to use the fans on the sump is the fear that it will create a lot of humidity and damage equipment. Besides, temperature never drops below 75 and never goes higher than 80.

 

[iwishtofish]

Thanks! I have a 25 watt Fluorescent bulb over it. I've always used Caulerpa and never had any start growing in my DT. Mind you, a bunch would always get in the DT but never took root. I think it was either because of strong flow or the fish that would eat it. Never did it go sexual on me either.

I closed off my stand in order to reduce sound, this has the potential to create humidity but so far I've noticed that hasn't been an issue. So the main reason why I don't want to use the fans on the sump is the fear that it will create a lot of humidity and damage equipment. Besides, temperature never drops below 75 and never goes higher than 80.

That fan looks a lot like the one I just bought to run air through my stand.

What kind of return pump are you using, and what kind of fittings do you have on either side of the short section of vinyl hose? A good setup, I think, that I'd like to emulate for my tank...

 

[Pallobi]

Here are pictures of my Great Dane

And some pictures of equipment for my 75

BM NAC3+

OMG! gorgeous puppy! love it!

 

[blennymower]

That fan looks a lot like the one I just bought to run air through my stand.

What kind of return pump are you using, and what kind of fittings do you have on either side of the short section of vinyl hose? A good setup, I think, that I'd like to emulate for my tank...

I decided not to use the fans on the sump for cooling. It does way too much of a good job at evaporating and creates too much humidity in the sump area.

I'm using a Mag 5 as the return. It doesn't do much for flow in the tank (I didn't expect it to), but I feel it creates the perfect flow in the 20 L sump. The short section would be the return which is 1/2'' vinyl with 1/2'' hose bards threaded into PVC thats threaded to the pump. I don't really know the technical name for the pvc parts.

OMG! gorgeous puppy! love it!

Thanks, it was a very large puppy!