Corey's 75 Gallon Build (1 Viewer)

[Riddler05]

History:
I started keeping saltwater aquariums about 2 years ago and quickly became addicted. I started with a 29 gallon Biocube, but after a year I decided it was time to upgrade. I bought a used 90 gallon tank which I had for almost exactly a year. Unfortunately I moved last month and ended up downsizing to a 75 gallon tank, which is where I am currently at. I have made many mistakes along the way, the worst of which is constantly tinkering with my tank. I never gave my corals a chance to settle in and really grow; with my new build I am hoping to change this. My energy is going to be spent on keep Alk as stable as possible and I am planning on not moving or adding any more corals to the tank for a while.

Equipment:
Tank: 75 gallon
Lighting: two AI Hydra 26 and one 14K BML
Protein Skimmer: Bubble Magus Curve 5
Dosing: BRS 1.1ml/min for NoPoX and Neptune Dos for Alk and Calc
Mechanical Filtration: 100um filter sock, changed ever 3-4 days
Chemical Filtration: Chemi-pure blue
Flow: Ehiem return pump, MP10 and MP40

Inverts:
5-6 BTAs
3-4 rock flower anemones
1 carpet anemone
2 fire shrimp
1 pistol shrimp
1 emerald carb

Fish:
Mimic lemon peel tang
Bellus Angel
2 Ocellaris clownfish
Yellow Watchman Goby
Banggai Cardinalfish
Naoka Wrasse
Orange Back Wrasse

Coral (I don't keep track of specific names; I usually just pick what I think looks good):
LPS (hammer, torch, frogspawn, octospawn, lobophyllia, cynarina, acans, and blastomussa)
SPS (monti cap, birds nest, bonsai, and a few others)
Soft (small neon toadstool)
Zoanthids

Clams:
2 Derasa
1 Squamosa

Here are a few pictures of the tank about a month after the move:

 

[RR-MAN]

Super clean....love the clams.

Later on add an island/tower on the right. The left side looks great.

 

[Riddler05]

Thanks! The structure on the left is one of the first aquascapes that I have done that I truly like. I agree a tower on the right would look better the problem is that currently that's my anenome island which makes stacking the rocks really difficult without crush a BTA or two :-/. I'm still trying to decide what to do with that side, but for now I just want to let things adjust and grow without making changes to the system.

 

[Riddler05]

I just wanted to post a few photos of some of my corals. Its not much to look at right now since they are (mostly) all frags but hopefully everything will stay healthy and grow out fast.









And my watchman goby & pistol shrimp:

 

[G-reef]

Very nice!!

 

[Riddler05]

So I had good intentions of not adding anything new to the tank but we all know how that goes. Anyways I was talking to Adam from battle corals about a frag pack he put together a while ago xxx anyways he had already sold that frag pack but he put another one together for me. It was really great working with him and so far the frags look good. Here are the names:

Dales Purple Unknown
C-quarium Unknown
Red Robin
Yellow Unknown
Goonies
Tubs Stellata

I also switched to T5 lighting and upgraded to a bigger protein skimmer, but Im now done adding things to the tank... for at least a couple of days

 

[TizocProductions]

Adam truly is a great guy!!!

 

[Riddler05]

I totally agree, he was amazing. I'm new and he was very helpful and encouraging. I highly recommend battle corals.

 

[Riddler05]

I get back to Houston tomorrow after a week long trip and I'm nervous to see how the tank looks. I got something done on my hand and I'm not allowed to get my hand wet, which is probably a good thing, but if there is anything wrong I probably won't get to work on it for another week. Anyways it has been a while since I gave the tank some TLC so hopefully it's doing ok!

 

[Riddler05]

I decided to change up the rock work a little bit and added a few new corals. Just thought I would post some new pictures.

 

[RR-MAN]

Super clean....love the clams.

Later on add an island/tower on the right. The left side looks great.

Wow looks awesome with the new rock structure.

 

[Bigfishy]

Tanks is looking really nice!! Keep up the great work

 

[Riddler05]

Just wanted to give a brief update on my progress. Everything seems to be doing pretty well and it seems like i am getting decent growth. I lost one of my clams but other then that everything is thriving. A few of my corals have really colored up nicely like my pink birds-nest but other corals are starting to lighten. Im worried that there is just not enough nutrients in the tank so I have started to use acropower. We will see how this works. If anybody has suggestions how how much and how often to dose that would be greatly appreciated. I have included a couple photos of the tank as well as three progress comparisons to see growth over the last month.

 

[Riddler05]

So I have not posted an update in a while but that is because nothing much has changed. I have not added (or lost) any corals or fish for several months. I seem to be getting decent growth on some corals while others have not grown at all. Here are a few pictures:

 

[G-reef]

Looks great!!

Sent from my LG-D851 using Tapatalk

 

[Riddler05]

Its been a few months so I guess its time for an update. Life has gotten crazy and I haven't kept up with the tank maintenance as much as I should. I have lost about 2-3 pieces of SPS but everything else seems to be doing fine. My mimic lemon peel tang is finally starting to turn a beautiful chocolate brown on the fins and tail. The picture doesn't do it justice.

In other news, I think I will be moving in a couple of months and wont be able to take the tank with me. Its kind of sad knowing I am going to have to break it down and give up the fish, some of whom I have had since I started in this hobby 3 yrs ago.

Cheers!

 

[Lord Spice]

I'm sorry to hear about not being able to take your tank with you ! It looks great and that lemon peel tang is amazing !!


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[Clownfish Chris]

It looks like you have done a great job with this system. I enjoyed all of the photographs.

 

[Riddler05]

Only a month and a half until I am done with school, so I should be spending all my time on finishing my thesis but instead I decided to work on the tank. Im procrastinating, but at least my tank appreciates it. Here are a few pics. The growth is slow but steady (for those hardy corals that have made it through my poor tank husbandry). Anyways here they are:

 

[Riddler05]

I took a job in the UK so I had to break down the tank and sell everything. It was sad seeing everything go, but hopefully I will be able to set up a new tank here in the UK. Maybe in a few months, once I am settled in, I will start a new build thread.

In the mean time here are a few pictures of the tank being broken down.