75gallon mushroom tank

[ajax969]

This will be a lot of copy over from my intro thread but I will use this to update any major changes to the tank as I go.

My original plan was to have an aggressive tank so I set up a little 30 gallon with some fish but on the upgrade to the 75 I apparently didn't keep a close enough eye on things and lost pretty much all my fish so I decided I would just go with a peaceful, soft coral tank.

Started out with a 75 gallon tank that my wife bought off marketplace and used as our main tank for 9 months, LFS owner was upgrading to a 180 drilled so we got her 150 with overflow boxes and sump for too good of a deal. Once her tank was switched over and running good I decided to make a tank of my own in the basement. We had a stand custom made by a local guy who has done a few pieces of furniture for us.
Equipment:
18" CurrentUSA lights (x2)
Aquatop 500uv Canister Filter
Sicce powerheads (x2)
hob refugium with an old kessil 160 tuna blue for a light(set to full white)

I went with Caribsea Hawaiian Black sand to be different from the normal look. Between that and the black vinyl on the backwall it has made fish choices require a little more consideration. I also found out that these CurrentUSA lights are not great for growing coral, except apparently disco and rhodactis mushrooms, for some reason ricordeas don't fair too well. I haven't figured out what is up with that.

I read about this lights being good for only some soft corals when I was researching them. I went with them anyway due to budget at the time considering we just bought all new stuff for the wife's 150. I may eventually upgrade them but this tank is supposed to be a stress-free(ya right), low maintenance tank so I am not rushing out to spend a bunch of money on it all the time.(plus I have two other hobbies to support)

My current stocklist is:
Mocha Ocellaris Clown
Ocellaris Clown
Green Chromis
Royal Gramma
Bar Goby (x4)
Flametail Blenny
McCosker's Flasher Wrasse
Blood Shrimp
PJ Cardinals (x2) (added 12.10.24)
Blue Eye Kole Tang (added 2.11.24)


Still planning either a dwarf angel or tang but haven't settled on anything just yet.
Corals:
As I stated above mushrooms seem to be about the only thing that lives under these lights so I have a fair selection of discos and rhodactis mushrooms and a newly added rock covered in GSP from my wife's tank.

I attached some pictures of the tank as we were setting it up and after it was up and running. The last picture was from tonight. I have kind of let the glass get away from me so it's not spotless like it used to be but like I said, this is supposed to be a low maintenance, stress free style tank so I don't spend a whole lot of time scrubbing it down constantly.

 

[tsharpe291]

love the black sand, ive never never had the guts to go with it. ive heard the black sand may have magnetic pieces in it so careful with mag cleaners.

 

[ajax969]

love the black sand, ive never never had the guts to go with it. ive heard the black sand may have magnetic pieces in it so careful with mag cleaners.

I haven't really noticed the magnetic part of it but I have got a piece caught between the magfloat and immediately stopped as soon as I felt/heard it.

 

[Gumbies R Us]

Nice looking tank! Always love seeing black sand!

 

[ajax969]

10 gallon water change done today.
Parameters checked yesterday:
Ammonia 0
Nitrate between 2.5-5ppm
Temp 80.1
Salinity 1.025
Calcium 400ppm
dKH 10
Phosphate 1ppm
ph 7.9

Dosed a little marine buffer to try and bring the ph up a little. Chaeto in the refugium is healthy as ever, the change to the kessil for a refugium light has made a big difference.

I am thinking about adding a small pump on the back wall down low to get some better flow across the top of the sand bed, currently I am just relying on the canister filter outlet and two powerheads pointed at the surface.
With these current lights I am leaning towards getting the hub and running one of their powerheads so I can control it through the programmer for the lights.

Also nearing the point where I am going to have to get a grazer. LFS had a couple smaller tomini tangs yesterday when I was in there. Looked at them along with Mollies and didn't see any mollies that stuck out to me as far as appearance. Might go ahead and break down and get the tomini tang for this tank.

Other future fish are probably going to be 2 or 3 PJ Cardinals as well as a dwarf angel, think I have my eyes set on an Eibli when that time comes. I would go flame angel but the wife has one in the 150 and I want to be a little different.

 

[Rick's Reviews]

How did you get on with adding mushrooms

 

[tsharpe291]

10 gallon water change done today.
Parameters checked yesterday:
Ammonia 0
Nitrate between 2.5-5ppm
Temp 80.1
Salinity 1.025
Calcium 400ppm
dKH 10
Phosphate 1ppm
ph 7.9

Dosed a little marine buffer to try and bring the ph up a little. Chaeto in the refugium is healthy as ever, the change to the kessil for a refugium light has made a big difference.

I am thinking about adding a small pump on the back wall down low to get some better flow across the top of the sand bed, currently I am just relying on the canister filter outlet and two powerheads pointed at the surface.
With these current lights I am leaning towards getting the hub and running one of their powerheads so I can control it through the programmer for the lights.

Also nearing the point where I am going to have to get a grazer. LFS had a couple smaller tomini tangs yesterday when I was in there. Looked at them along with Mollies and didn't see any mollies that stuck out to me as far as appearance. Might go ahead and break down and get the tomini tang for this tank.

Other future fish are probably going to be 2 or 3 PJ Cardinals as well as a dwarf angel, think I have my eyes set on an Eibli when that time comes. I would go flame angel but the wife has one in the 150 and I want to be a little different.

love the tomini tangs, mine is always swimming around

 

[ajax969]

How did you get on with adding mushrooms

Everything that has gone in is happy, I still have a couple ricordeas that are hanging on from awhile back. I have tried moving them around and nothing seems to help, they just slowly shrink.

I have one disc of blue disco mushrooms that we got from the LFS when my wife setup her tank almost 2 years ago. She had a big mushroom relocate off the disc into her tank so I took the disc with a few little babies. They kind of ebb and flow, some days they look great, some days they don't. There is currently two babies and a couple decent sized shrooms on the disc.

I have a few types of mushrooms I would like to add, a leopard is at the top of my list as well as one of the watermelon striped mushrooms. I don't have eyes for the jawbreakers and such that cost a few hundred dollars. I sneak in for a $25-40 dollar frags and then just let them do their thing. Hopefully one day I will have rockwork covered in all kinds of them

 

[ajax969]

love the tomini tangs, mine is always swimming around

I like them but have been on the fence just because I don't want to get in a rut of the same fish and not experiencing a variety of fish to admire. Being a 75 gallon my hands are a little tied as far as options in the tang category though.

 

[Rick's Reviews]

Everything that has gone in is happy, I still have a couple ricordeas that are hanging on from awhile back. I have tried moving them around and nothing seems to help, they just slowly shrink.

I have one disc of blue disco mushrooms that we got from the LFS when my wife setup her tank almost 2 years ago. She had a big mushroom relocate off the disc into her tank so I took the disc with a few little babies. They kind of ebb and flow, some days they look great, some days they don't. There is currently two babies and a couple decent sized shrooms on the disc.

I have a few types of mushrooms I would like to add, a leopard is at the top of my list as well as one of the watermelon striped mushrooms. I don't have eyes for the jawbreakers and such that cost a few hundred dollars. I sneak in for a $25-40 dollar frags and then just let them do their thing. Hopefully one day I will have rockwork covered in all kinds of them

Great, not really a mushroom tank/aquarium I guess?

 

[Rick's Reviews]

This will be a lot of copy over from my intro thread but I will use this to update any major changes to the tank as I go.

My original plan was to have an aggressive tank so I set up a little 30 gallon with some fish but on the upgrade to the 75 I apparently didn't keep a close enough eye on things and lost pretty much all my fish so I decided I would just go with a peaceful, soft coral tank.

Started out with a 75 gallon tank that my wife bought off marketplace and used as our main tank for 9 months, LFS owner was upgrading to a 180 drilled so we got her 150 with overflow boxes and sump for too good of a deal. Once her tank was switched over and running good I decided to make a tank of my own in the basement. We had a stand custom made by a local guy who has done a few pieces of furniture for us.
Equipment:
18" CurrentUSA lights (x2)
Aquatop 500uv Canister Filter
Sicce powerheads (x2)
hob refugium with an old kessil 160 tuna blue for a light(set to full white)

I went with Caribsea Hawaiian Black sand to be different from the normal look. Between that and the black vinyl on the backwall it has made fish choices require a little more consideration. I also found out that these CurrentUSA lights are not great for growing coral, except apparently disco and rhodactis mushrooms, for some reason ricordeas don't fair too well. I haven't figured out what is up with that.

I read about this lights being good for only some soft corals when I was researching them. I went with them anyway due to budget at the time considering we just bought all new stuff for the wife's 150. I may eventually upgrade them but this tank is supposed to be a stress-free(ya right), low maintenance tank so I am not rushing out to spend a bunch of money on it all the time.(plus I have two other hobbies to support)

My current stocklist is:
Mocha Ocellaris Clown
Ocellaris Clown
Green Chromis
Royal Gramma
Bar Goby (x5)
Flametail Blenny
McCosker's Flasher Wrasse
Blood Shrimp

Still planning either a dwarf angel or tang but haven't settled on anything just yet.
Corals:
As I stated above mushrooms seem to be about the only thing that lives under these lights so I have a fair selection of discos and rhodactis mushrooms and a newly added rock covered in GSP from my wife's tank.

I attached some pictures of the tank as we were setting it up and after it was up and running. The last picture was from tonight. I have kind of let the glass get away from me so it's not spotless like it used to be but like I said, this is supposed to be a low maintenance, stress free style tank so I don't spend a whole lot of time scrubbing it down constantly.

After reading, the be all and end all question is your lights.
If you can't keep a mushroom alive..... Something serious is happening

 

[ajax969]

Great, not really a mushroom tank/aquarium I guess?

Guess I am not following what you're asking....I titled it mushroom tank because other than a random leather and a smallish GSP rock that's the only corals in the tank and the only thing really thriving.

 

[Rick's Reviews]

Guess I am not following what you're asking....I titled it mushroom tank because other than a random leather and a smallish GSP rock that's the only corals in the tank and the only thing really thriving.

No mushroom

 

[Rick's Reviews]

Not much... Mushroom... In your aquarium as the joke implies

 

[ajax969]

@Rick's Reviews here are some pictures of the mushrooms in my tank.

 

[ajax969]

Not much... Mushroom... In your aquarium as the joke implies

Hoping one day that is the case. Maybe the tank should be referred to as the "long game" because we're not exactly moving forward at a record setting pace

 

[ajax969]

After reading, the be all and end all question is your lights.
If you can't keep a mushroom alive..... Something serious is happening

The lights are definitely on the lower end of what is required to keep corals happy. They seem to be adequate for what is in the tank right now. One day I may upgrade to Kessil or AI

 

[Rick's Reviews]

@Rick's Reviews here are some pictures of the mushrooms in my tank.

They look great, so what issues are you having?

 

[ajax969]

They look great, so what issues are you having?

No major issues with the ones pictured. I have added ricordeas in the past and they started out as 2-2.5" single heads, one split into 3 and then they slowly shrank until I have just one left. Not sure what the cause of it was but figured possibly a light issue or nutrient.

I am working on feeding a little heavier/direct feeding the corals because everything I have read/heard says that mushrooms love "dirty" tanks.

 

[Rick's Reviews]

A weird worm