The not so much of a "build" 40 Breeder

[greech]

Just wanted to share my tank and experiences and hopefully provide a means of getting some advice on how to best maintain my tank and care for my livestock as the tank develops. I was hesitant to post here due to the simplicity of my setup. Guess I can't really call it a build since its just a glass box with sand, rocks, fish, CUC and a few frags. There are so many stunning systems here so hopefully some of the expertise and knowledge floating around will eventually rub off on me.

Quick run down of the tank:

-40 Breeder up and running since June 2009
-36" Sundial T5 (2x ATI Blue+, 1 x ATI Aquablue Special, 1 x UV Superactinic)
-AquaClear 70 HOB running filter floss (replaced once per week) and Chemipure Elite
-2 x Korailia 2's
-1 Korailia Evo 1050
-Rena 150W Heater
~30ish lbs LR and 15 to 20 lbs sand
-Sumpless & Skimmerless

Stock:
-B/W O. Clown (had since Feb 2009 in original 12 gallon)
-Potters Angel (had since Jan 2010)
-Flametail Blenny (just acquired)
-Cleaner shrimp
-CUC (Tigertail cucumber, turbos, nassarius, conch and 1 lone hermit)
-Few Frags (see pics)

Here is the tank in its infancy:

This tank actually cracked right down the front in August 2009 and it was back up and running (new 40 breeder) the same (very long) day. Ugh! Unfortunately, I lost the male B/W

Here is a pic just before the crack:

And here it is today:

Few close ups of inhabitants:

Potters getting her daily cleaning!

Clown on patrol (she's the warden of the tank)

Flametail (very funny little guy)

***Coral pics in next post due to image limits***

Maintenance: Weekly 10-20% WC using Brightwell's NeoMarine salt.

Problems: Have had a continuous diatom dusting on the sand bed that is gone every morning and back again by late afternoon (if lights are on). This has been happening for about the last 4 months. Made the usual noob mistakes early on of course but other than that things have been going pretty well.

Future Plans:
-Replace Koralias with MP-10 (possibly 20) with battery backup
-Add controller
-Upgrade light fixture
-Considering Tunze DOC skimmer (9006) or a HOB type skimmer.

Thanks for looking and would greatly appreciate any advice I can get!

 

[greech]

Few coral pics to add...

Pipe Organ and Superman Monti in the background:

Acans

Dragon Soul Favia

Meteor Shower, Just a really red chalice, Nuclear Green Palys

Duncan closing up for the night

And a few more acans with my beastly frogspawn in the background

 

[Marchingbandjs]

Looks nice, i really like what you have done with it...

 

[greech]

Thanks very much!

 

[cindre2000]

Its funny, I have, had, or want (potters) everything you have in that tank; with the exception of the meteor shower.

 

[greech]

Its funny, I have, had, or want (potters) everything you have in that tank; with the exception of the meteor shower.

You know what they say about great minds :lol2:

 

[greech]

Well I lost my Potters. I have no idea what happened to her. She never showed a single sign if stress or disease. She ate like a pig (always did) the night before she passed and I saw here swimming around under the moonlights when I topped off the tank in the morning. I found here when I came home from work :sad2: My blenny and clown are fine but the clown was noticeably sad. The two would always swim together all the time much like a pair of clowns would.

I made it to the LFS today and picked a few things to boost my spirits and one made mt female clown VERY happy :rollface:

Orange and green echinata. This thing is bleeding color:

Little B/W Ocellaris

For comparison purposes:

She swam right up to him which scared the living you know what out of him but after about 2 minutes they were attached at the hip. I thought there would at least be some aggression but was pleasantly surprised when there wasn't.

 

[The Escaped Ape]

I like the way your tank is developing. Good selection of coral and fish! Sorry to hear about your Potteri though.

I love the way the resident clown took charge. Maybe they should rename them Cougar fish? :lmao:

 

[greech]

Ya, I was very bummed about losing her. I really felt like I would have here for a long time. It only took her a few days to get familiar with the tank and she always ate more than anyone else in the tank. Just can't figure out what happened between 8:00am to 6:00pm.

My tank is definitely cougar town tonight though . They're cuddling in the corner under the moonlights:love2:

 

[greech]

I also had a question I forgot to post. My sand tends to get a dusting of diatoms (confident this is what is is). I have a 1-2" bed. Flow is 2 Koralia Evo 1050's which cause the sand to tumble a bit across the bottom and drift in some areas. The diatoms seem to take hold on ridges of those drifts. The tank is almost a year old now and I would have thought these would be gone by now. I use RO/DI and mix my own water.

Should I try more flow? I have 2 K2's I can add but don't want to cluter the back wall. Or is this a result of running skimmerless? Nitrates are (and have historically been) non detect or hovering around 5ppm. Phospahtes are non dtect. Don't have a TDS meter. Thanks!

 

[Johnny C]

Awesome 40BR... I really like how you aquascaped the rocks. It's gonna look really awesome when it fills in with coral!

PS- Diatoms and other algae on the sand can be a PITA and it's not always because of a lack of flow. I face the same issue and the best solution I've found is to pick up a couple small Conchs. They constantly stir the sand and keep it looking pretty good.

 

[SaltieG]

Lookin very good so far. I just setup a sumpless/skimmerless 40b myself, going to mainly be a macro tank.

 

[veocool]

looks great! how did your old tank crack btw?

 

[greech]

Awesome 40BR... I really like how you aquascaped the rocks. It's gonna look really awesome when it fills in with coral!

Thanks, I can't wait til it starts to fill in too!

PS- Diatoms and other algae on the sand can be a PITA and it's not always because of a lack of flow. I face the same issue and the best solution I've found is to pick up a couple small Conchs. They constantly stir the sand and keep it looking pretty good.

I actually have 2 conchs already along with a Tigertail cuke. I thought about adding another conch but 3 seems like too many for a 40B?

Lookin very good so far. I just setup a sumpless/skimmerless 40b myself, going to mainly be a macro tank.

My LFS has a 30B macro tank on display and it is sweet! Look forward to seeing it up and running. Thanks.

looks great! how did your old tank crack btw?

Sadly, the first stand I built was not quite level :hammer:. It wasn't off by much but obviously it was enough. I ended up shimming the first stand for a couple months so I could get the new tank going but I have since built a new stand and moved the tank to a new spot in the house.

 

[greech]

Finally figured out how to adjust the brightness on my camera after 8 years. Every pic I have ever taken was apparently using the factory settings. I always wondered there was a nuclear glow to every pic . These are so much closer to what my tank/corals look like. Yeah!

 

[Johnny C]

That Acan Echinata is truly amazing... :inlove: If you ever frag it, please send me a PM!

 

[nlandgraf]

Ya, I was very bummed about losing her. I really felt like I would have here for a long time. It only took her a few days to get familiar with the tank and she always ate more than anyone else in the tank. Just can't figure out what happened between 8:00am to 6:00pm.

My tank is definitely cougar town tonight though . They're cuddling in the corner under the moonlights:love2:

LOL. Have you had "the talk" yet or will babies be in the future eventually?

 

[greech]

That Acan Echinata is truly amazing... :inlove: If you ever frag it, please send me a PM!

Thanks and I certainly will. I would love to start trading some frags. Just seems like a win/win.

LOL. Have you had "the talk" yet or will babies be in the future eventually?

:lmao: I didn't have time to have "the talk". They hooked up too fast!!!

 

[veocool]

so the stand being unlevel caused the 1st tank to crack? This was also a 40 gal breeder aga?

 

[greech]

so the stand being unlevel caused the 1st tank to crack? This was also a 40 gal breeder aga?

I can't definitive say it was due to the stand but I know it was unlevel on one end. It was an AGA that I special ordered and the new one is from Petsmart. I can't recall the make of the new tank but I think it is a Perfecto. Petsmart was the only place in town with 40B's in stock. The glass on the new tank is also slightly thicker than the old one.