My 75 gallon macro tank

[mcdonous]

Just pruned about 3 pounds of macro from my tanks and did a bit of rearranging. It occurred to me I don't think I ever posted pics of my 75 so here are some of my latest pics.

Full gallery can be found on my Flikr account.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/59224374@N08/sets/72157632685677772/

It is viewable from three sides. It is of course focused on Macros, but I love me some LPS as well and have several lobos, acans, favias and the like. My favorite is Blastos though and I have 12 or 13 varities that are slowly growing ito colonies.

"Front"
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/59224374@N08/8442699555/" title="75 Gal Salt - Feb022013 0081 by nevets_mcd1, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8085/8442699555_a8bac681ed.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="75 Gal Salt - Feb022013 0081"></a>

"Back"
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/59224374@N08/8443739242/" title="75 Gal Salt - Feb022013 0147 by nevets_mcd1, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8494/8443739242_4e6021751f.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="75 Gal Salt - Feb022013 0147"></a>

LPS
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/59224374@N08/8442647191/" title="75 Gal Salt - Feb022013 0149 by nevets_mcd1, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8237/8442647191_f683389ea3.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="75 Gal Salt - Feb022013 0149"></a>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/59224374@N08/8442647667/" title="75 Gal Salt - Feb022013 0148 by nevets_mcd1, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8080/8442647667_38b614af5e.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="75 Gal Salt - Feb022013 0148"></a>

Macro

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/59224374@N08/8443786662/" title="75 Gal Salt - Feb022013 0088 by nevets_mcd1, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8228/8443786662_94e7055758.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="75 Gal Salt - Feb022013 0088"></a>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/59224374@N08/8442696017/" title="75 Gal Salt - Feb022013 0087 by nevets_mcd1, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8047/8442696017_58017b370c.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="75 Gal Salt - Feb022013 0087"></a>

 

[mcdonous]

I have many varieties of macro and I've just ordered some more less common ones from LA Reefs. More pics

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/59224374@N08/8442696791/" title="75 Gal Salt - Feb022013 0086 by nevets_mcd1, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8352/8442696791_18748c89d0.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="75 Gal Salt - Feb022013 0086"></a>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/59224374@N08/8443788778/" title="75 Gal Salt - Feb022013 0085 by nevets_mcd1, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8053/8443788778_c80a63190b.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="75 Gal Salt - Feb022013 0085"></a>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/59224374@N08/8442697939/" title="75 Gal Salt - Feb022013 0084 by nevets_mcd1, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8367/8442697939_051cf5fed4.jpg" width="441" height="500" alt="75 Gal Salt - Feb022013 0084"></a>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/59224374@N08/8442698613/" title="75 Gal Salt - Feb022013 0083 by nevets_mcd1, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8238/8442698613_46481730c0.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="75 Gal Salt - Feb022013 0083"></a>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/59224374@N08/8443790422/" title="75 Gal Salt - Feb022013 0082 by nevets_mcd1, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8510/8443790422_98a7dc7a9d.jpg" width="486" height="500" alt="75 Gal Salt - Feb022013 0082"></a>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/59224374@N08/8443781052/" title="75 Gal Salt - Feb022013 0106 by nevets_mcd1, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8335/8443781052_189c341db0.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="75 Gal Salt - Feb022013 0106"></a>

 

[mcdonous]

My fish is a golden sailfin molly, a dalmatian molly, two blue gudgeon gobies, a royal gramma, and a psychedelic mandarin.

I have 3 blue hermits, a tiger pistol shrimp, a candy stripe pistol (although I haven't seen him since his goby jumped), some Zombie snails, some mini ceriths, some nerites, and more and more stometella. I also found a mini cucumber hitchhiker.

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/59224374@N08/8442652165/" title="75 Gal Salt - Feb022013 0123 by nevets_mcd1, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8360/8442652165_3a0e7401ed.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="75 Gal Salt - Feb022013 0123"></a>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/59224374@N08/8443741170/" title="75 Gal Salt - Feb022013 0139 by nevets_mcd1, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8093/8443741170_bc57d69e26.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="75 Gal Salt - Feb022013 0139"></a>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/59224374@N08/8443741678/" title="75 Gal Salt - Feb022013 0138 by nevets_mcd1, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8327/8443741678_0b46ed8b20.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="75 Gal Salt - Feb022013 0138"></a>

Check out my other pictures in my flikr gallery

-Steve

 

[burnah]

very nice! love the diversity thats going on, great job.

greetings, martin

 

[Zman42]

I'm in Cincy, send me some...lol Do have any turbos snails? I ordered a dragons breath from LAReefs, and the sob's ate it


Kris

 

[mcdonous]

I'm in Cincy, send me some...lol Do have any turbos snails? I ordered a dragons breath from LAReefs, and the sob's ate it


Kris

I don't keep turbos, astreas, or turbans, because I've heard they eat macros, though I don't have any first hand knowledge of that. I don't keep many hermits either. My first tank had a metallic blue macro hitchhiker and one day something in the tank just devoured it. I got it to grow back 3 times and then bam! eaten again. I always blamed the hermits but didn't trust the astreas. Never seen another macro like that blue.

What macros are you looking for? I just cleared out a bunch. Its sat in a container without much water since Sunday. I wouldn't trust it anymore. Every time I prune I think about offering my "garbage" to people. I've never shipped any livestock before but would likely ship almost anything but my rarer stuff for shipping/packing cost. I think the mods frown on any sort of "selling" here so I guess if people want my "garbage" or something specific PM me. I almost always could get a sample pack made up, especially if someone wanted caluerpas

-Steve

 

[SantaMonica]

Getting all non-macro-eating animals would be a task.

 

[llc]

pm sent

 

[ziareefer]

Thats the biggest variety ive ever seen in a tank. Mins the LPS, thats a seahorses paradise.

 

[mcdonous]

Thats the biggest variety ive ever seen in a tank. Mins the LPS, thats a seahorses paradise.

I don't think having seahorses with my anemones would be a good idea. I like seahorses but I doubt I have the patience for their proper care. Some pipe fishes would be very tempting though.

As for variety I currently have the following as far as I can tell. More then a little guessing based on pics is in play.

Caulerpa racemosa
Caulerpa racemosa peltata
Caulerpa prolifera
Caulerpa sertulariodes or similar
Caulerpa ashmedii
Caulerpa bracypus
Caulerpa serrulata
Codium
Chaetomorpha
Halimeda Opuntia
Shaving Brush
Pine Cone
Udotea flabellum
Ulva fasciata
Valonia aegagropila -Just guessing on these. I have round one that form large dark spheres, long sausage shaped, long sausage clumping that forms solid masses.
Valonia macrophysa


Sargassum sp.
A dark brown/purple at least it was sold as Dictoya
A much more invasive lt brown Dictoya
Padina

Gracilaria parvispora
Gracilaria tikvahiae
Gracilaria mammillaris or hayi
Botryocladia sp.
Bryothamnion sp.
Ancanthophora spicifera
Halymenia -Dragon's breath
Halymenia dilatata - just guessing
Some sort of metallic mystery (see my other threads)

I'm sure I'm forgetting something.

On order I have coming, Blue scroll, red palm, string of pearls, lucky metallic color shifting, and a flaming tips dragon breath, and another red LA Reefs has.

Basically I have bought what GCE, LA Reefs, and Reef Cleaners has offered in the past year plus scraps I've found at LFS and convinced to give me or sell me.

Wanted still is some other Halymenias, Haven't had any luck getting this shipped this last summer.

-Steve

 

[Zman42]

What has been your most invasive macro in your opinion?

 

[Sharkey18]

What lights are you using?

LOVE your tank btw.

 

[mcdonous]

What has been your most invasive macro in your opinion?

The most invasive hands down would go to Caulerpa brachypus. While it might not grow quite as quickly in my tank as some others it is almost impossible to remove. It has miniature runners that break super easily. I debated on adding it seeing it take over some small tanks at a LFS but I thought what the heck I'll try it. I think if it didn't have so much competition my whole tank would have it. I don't recommend for display area.

My quickest grower is Caulerpa racemosa. it always makes up the bulk of my removal. Mexicana grows fairly fast but has a lot less bulk.

The slowest of the caulerpas for me is ashmeadii. Which kinda sucks as I just lost most of mine. I'm pretty sure the cutting of the mexicana released chemicals that caused mine to fall apart as they were great the day before the pruning.

-Steve

 

[mcdonous]

What lights are you using?

LOVE your tank btw.

Thanks,

I run 4 T5s
1 standard actinics that came with the fixture
1 full spectrum that came with the fixture
1 purple plus
1 blue +

I run the blue and blue + together. I don't use a standard photoperiod as I haven't got them on timers yet. Because I often run them from 7:00 am to anywhere from 9:00 pm and later, I often don't turn on the full spectrum and purple plus but every couple of days. Everything seems to brighten up with the blues. It may not be the spectrum though but the intensity of the 4 bulbs that fades the colors. The algae and corals seem to adjust just fine to whatever I run.

-Steve

 

[rick12]

Impressive tank.
Do you run a skimmer with that tank?
What is the maintenance like, water change and do you have to dose something to keep those plants?
Cheers

 

[SantaMonica]

With that in-tank scrubber, I'd be surprised if he ever had any measurable nutrients.

 

[rick12]

I was thinking more in the line of what nutrients need to be added to support growth

 

[mcdonous]

I was thinking more in the line of what nutrients need to be added to support growth

I don't do a water change very often. Like twice a year. I run a skimmer but I haven't been able to dial it in very well it either foams so much that it overflows or it doesn't foam at all. I need to better sump and plumbing I think.

I add 5 gallons of water twice a week to combat evaporation. It is well water that goes through a softener though so who knows what is in it.

Every month or so I'll add a teaspoon of Kent tech 1 iodine. Don't know if it makes a difference.

I think most of my nutrients comes from feeding allot of food.Everyday I feed spectrum flake food or pellets or chips that I got free from a frag swap.
On the weekend I tend to feed my corals and anemone with a frozen cube of each mysis, brine shrimp, cyclops, plankton, chopped squid, and cut up raw shrimp. I also often put in oyster eggs, and marine snow, and Kent chromaplex. I target feed the corals but there is always float away items.

There is always food going over into the sump. I always notice a growth spurt a few days later so I assume the algae is sucking up the nitrates and phosphorus from the extra food.

I don't test almost anything. If I had to guess though my alkalinity tends to run low. The corals will start to suffer if this get too low so I add some homemade 3 part solutions every week or so.

Not the course I'd recommend to others.

_Steve

 

[Occane5]

My next tank will be a macro dominant build!

 

[El Mayo]

Great looking tank man and great idea making it as low maintenance as possible. I'm trying to go that route but its hard to find nice Macros Locally.