June tank of the month

[essop3]

I have a 125 gallon reef that is just over 2 years old. I keep alot of softies and LPS. You crazy kids with all your SPS are too hardcore for me. I run a pretty basic setup. The more there is to screw up, the more I will screw up.

The tank started as a fish w/ live rock setup. 50# of live Figi was added to 140# of reef bones. 2 false percs and a royal gramma were the first in.

The sandbed is 3" of caribbean aragonite. It was all dead bagged sand seeded with a starter kit towards the end of the cycle. I don't want to debate DSB, but I never have measured more than a slight trace to nitrates.

 

[essop3]

Alot of new rock has been added, lights upgraded and flow patterns changed but here is the equipment I use.

2 sieo 820 pumps
3 mj 900 powerheads
Mag 9 sump return

A mag 7 runs a ETSS reef devil skimmer. It pulls out quite a load of muck.

2 150w heaters that keep the temp a steady 79

2 icecap ballasts running 4 6' VHO. Actinic is on 12-12 dalight 1p until 11pm. Icecap ballasts run so cool you can hold the bulbs after they have been on all day. They are in a home made canopy that matches the stand pretty close.

I keep carbon 24/7 replaced weekly

This is the design of the sump. Flow is kept at about 150gph through the fuge. Cheato and Feather algea along with rock rubble in there. It is lit by a normal output light. It grows enough to feed the tang and foxface.

 

[Nathan4Wvu]

looks great

More pics!!!!

:bounce2:

 

[phljess]

Lets see some more pics, what do you have in livestock?

 

[essop3]

Since corals would be alot to list I'll just hit the highlights

Pulsing sinularia that measures 8" across and about 10" high
Neon green leather about 6" high, grown from a 1/2" frag
Green polyp finger leather
Softball sized frogspawn grown from a single head
40+ head green trumpet
Purple zoos with orange skirt
Purple with green mouth palys
Pink zoos

.

There are alot of assorted mushrooms, zoos, torch, hammer, 5" bubble, huge pink leather etc, etc

3 bubble tip anenomes that have split from one. They are green with pink tips under my VHOs but were a brownish under Phil's halides.

I have only 1 clam. Its a nice 4" squamosa. The pic makes it look alot more gold than it really is. The pattern is a maroon with blue spots.

I will detail fish in the morning. I love the internet at work!

 

[essop3]

There are a couple more inverts. I have a orange linkia starfish. It's been in my tank for almost 2 years now

One cleaner shrimp and one sexy shrimp (finally settled in the frogspawn) round out the intresting inverts.

The cleaning crew consists of about 40 cerith snails, 20 astrea, 3 mexican turbos, 15 nassarius snails, a 2" fighting conch, 1 brittle star that my wife doesn't know about, a few emerald crabs, and about 15 red and scarlet hermits.

 

[essop3]

Fish are pretty common, but I like'em

A mated pair of false perc clowns
bangaii cardinal
5" purple tang
6" foxface
purple firefish
a female spotted madarin

I have tried 2 clown gobies recently but they commit overflow suicide

I think I am still one fish away from being really happy with the selection but I don't know what to add.

 

[essop3]

For maintainance I change 10g of water weekly. I replace filter pads and carbon then too. For top off water I use a 5g Kent Aquadose. I fill it every 2-3 days with R/O water. I don't dose anything in it.

Feeding is usually 1 cube of mysis shrimp a day. Chopped krill, squidd, scallops and brine are added once in awhile. Cyclo-peeze is added every other day. I throw in a bit of the refugium algae in every day too. If it is running low I put 1/2 sheet of nori a day.

 

[phljess]

Chris I have a few questions:
1. Is that a spray bar in the top right corner of the tank?
2. How do you like the Seio's?
3. Are your Clownfish a mated pair or bonded pair? Mated means they spawn on a regular basis. Bonded means they don't try to kill each other.
4. The tank is looking really good, did you build the canopy yourself?

 

[firefish2020]

Bonded means they don't try to kill each other.

!LOL!

 

[Nathan4Wvu]

sweet tank man we need a pic of that purple firefish

 

[essop3]

The spray bar is the return from the sump. I should have made it a little smaller, but it provides some random flow.

I like the seios but I think they overstate the gph. They put out more than a maxi-jet though

I guess the clowns are bonded. They really love one another but have not spawned.

Yup, built the canopy myself. I'm not much of a carpenter, but it turned out ok. The finish doesn't really look as profesional as yours.

Thanks for the comments guys

 

[MattG]

Tank looks really nice. Thats funny that you said your wife doesnt know about the brittle star. Im guessing she wouldnt like it?

 

[essop3]

She says the look like spiders. It's been in there a long time and she has never noticed it. I only see a legs poking out after dark.

 

[MattG]

That's funny my girlfriend said the same thing about mine. I accidently chopped my last one up in the closed loop...yikes...I am not sure if I am allowed to get another.

 

[Reef4Fun]

I guess alot of us are alike because I think they look like spiders too, lol. I got two of them when we did a group buy and mine were torn apart by my green crab. It was so awful, legs were everywhere, ewww. I don't want any more of those, makes me sick to think of it, ahhh.

 

[coralreefer]

The more there is to screw up, the more I will screw up.

ain't that the truth.
The tank looks great. That linka is too cool.
Matt ask forgiveness not permission but don't tell her I said that
I forget I even have a brittle star until I see a leg poking out somewhere. It a shame cause I think he's cute

 

[MegaPods]

Great tank