orcinusr40
New Member
Hi everyone :smile: I am hoping to get some input on where to go for my upgrade..
To begin with my current tank and then some questions…
I purchased an established 75 gal bow front with 20 gal refugium off craigs list about two years ago now. When I bought it, it was stable but fairly neglected, the owner had been deployed for over a year and the wife was not into water changes. The fish occupants were happy enough, the live rock (lots of it) was a flowing mat of beautiful green hair algae, as were the walls of the tank, the sand, the overflow box….. I bought it a bit impulsively and moved it into the vet clinic on the weekend. It is serving as a sort of wall between the front room and the semi open exam room. I didn’t plan well and put it too close to the outside wall so that over the last year of accumulating stuff like a large chiller, lights with power boxes, ect…. It is a bit cluttered (not ideal for a vet clinic with curious dogs and children cycling through).
My dream all along has been to have a thriving mixed reef (I love LPS but want some sps and softies as well) There has been much grief of trying to establish some new inverts and corals. I suspected issues with chemistry so have been working hard to get that stable. I thought everything looked good, went away for a week, there was a power out and the tech that knew how to fix things didn’t make it in until probably at least 12 hours had gone by and the temp in the tank was 65 degrees. My male mandarin was dead and two days later there was hair algae growing everywhere (set off another cycle??) That was a month ago and things have settled down again. I had been planning on removing the old sandbed (hadn’t decided if I was going to replace it or go barebottom yet)….Then yesterday happened J
Yesterday the 20 gallon refugium began leaking from the bottom seam, to the tune of 3 gallons over about 10 hours. The base of the stand is already not in the greatest of shape if you look real close from previous floods. Soooooo, I disassembled everything, and since my only currently living coral is xenia I have moved to a pretty simple tank only set up (the gfo is hanging from the top but I am afraid the skimmer is too heavy). I have a bit of chaeto in an intank refugium box with a small power head. I think this will be stable for the current inhabitants for a bit but now am in search of that upgrade… I want to do it right, albeit not spend excessively but would rather invest in the right tank and cabinet now than have to piecemeal stuff again over the upcoming years.
Current critters:
Blue tang (at least 6 years old)
Pair of clowns (at least 6 years old)
Single female mandarin (ORA) (about a year old)
Yellow Coris wrasse (about 3 months old)
Rainfords goby (about a year and a half old)
Numerous crabs and snails
A few bristleworms that hopefully the wrasse has done away with….
Xenia—that currently doesn’t look too happy
Lots of live rocks that every once in awhile sprout a tube fan or other interesting critter…
Equipment:
2 ecotech marine vortech power heads (MP40 and an MP10)
2 ecotech marine radion G2s
Remora Pro skimmer
2 little fishes reactor running gfo
1 grounding probe
probably need a new return pump for a new refugium…
So my laundry list of questions. I am sure I will come up with more over the next few days.
Size. The area I would like to occupy would be ~6 feet long (including any wall/cabinet structure) approximately 2-3 feet wide. –I am thinking a 180 gallon would be ideal??
Glass or Plexi? I am leaning towards glass because it seems plexi has a tendency to sratch more? Thickness??
Sand or Bare bottom. I love the look of sand, I love the critters that live in the sand, I HATE the current sandbed I have, was five years old when I got it, it had layers of anoxic, hydrogen sulfide stinking black crap when I moved the tank to the clinic. I should have replaced it at that time, instead I washed it (and not real well) and watched the system go through a big cycle. Two years later I am pretty sure it is fairly saturated with nutrients, and is ugly…. If I went with a new sand bed, use dry sand? And let my live rock seed it? What size grain is everyone’s favorite? My goal is a large reef so the sugar sand seems like a bad idea (sand storms…)
Bare bottom/starboard: I have no experience with this BUT for the clinic may be a lower maintenance way to go, if I vacuum the bottom weekly? If I were to go bare bottom is there more need to dose the system? AND If I go bare bottom I WILL need to put a small sandbox in for my yellow coris wrasse.
Covered or not? So far I have been lucky to not have any jumpers, (or children feed the fish dog biscuits) however I do have a yellow coris wrasse who so far has shown great restraint but I do worry about finding him carpet surfing… What type of cover can let the system breath well and not diffuse light too much…
Drilled or overflow? I worry about a drilled system and leaks. HOWEVER my current overflow system to the refugium was a constant pain, mostly because I bought it five years old and the plumbing was not well fitted, the plastic was dry and not flexible and finally broke in several places yesterday. Before that if there was a power outage I had several floods until I smartened up and figured out my levels and siphon height to avoid such events… I think a drilled system is the direction I will go BUT knowing I won’t always be there, what are the down sides to this type of tank?
Refugium or not. I can’t see myself not doing a refugium however am open to input and alternative thoughts… (I have mangroves and would like somewhere hidden for the gfo, chiller and skimmer). Designing a refugium that can have a mangrove section, an algae scrubber, a return pump, and a section for the protein skimmer and gfo if I choose or need to continue running it?
Cabinetry: Need something completely enclosed on the bottom (possibly with ventilation sufficient to have the chiller in it??
Any other thoughts welcome J
To begin with my current tank and then some questions…
I purchased an established 75 gal bow front with 20 gal refugium off craigs list about two years ago now. When I bought it, it was stable but fairly neglected, the owner had been deployed for over a year and the wife was not into water changes. The fish occupants were happy enough, the live rock (lots of it) was a flowing mat of beautiful green hair algae, as were the walls of the tank, the sand, the overflow box….. I bought it a bit impulsively and moved it into the vet clinic on the weekend. It is serving as a sort of wall between the front room and the semi open exam room. I didn’t plan well and put it too close to the outside wall so that over the last year of accumulating stuff like a large chiller, lights with power boxes, ect…. It is a bit cluttered (not ideal for a vet clinic with curious dogs and children cycling through).
My dream all along has been to have a thriving mixed reef (I love LPS but want some sps and softies as well) There has been much grief of trying to establish some new inverts and corals. I suspected issues with chemistry so have been working hard to get that stable. I thought everything looked good, went away for a week, there was a power out and the tech that knew how to fix things didn’t make it in until probably at least 12 hours had gone by and the temp in the tank was 65 degrees. My male mandarin was dead and two days later there was hair algae growing everywhere (set off another cycle??) That was a month ago and things have settled down again. I had been planning on removing the old sandbed (hadn’t decided if I was going to replace it or go barebottom yet)….Then yesterday happened J
Yesterday the 20 gallon refugium began leaking from the bottom seam, to the tune of 3 gallons over about 10 hours. The base of the stand is already not in the greatest of shape if you look real close from previous floods. Soooooo, I disassembled everything, and since my only currently living coral is xenia I have moved to a pretty simple tank only set up (the gfo is hanging from the top but I am afraid the skimmer is too heavy). I have a bit of chaeto in an intank refugium box with a small power head. I think this will be stable for the current inhabitants for a bit but now am in search of that upgrade… I want to do it right, albeit not spend excessively but would rather invest in the right tank and cabinet now than have to piecemeal stuff again over the upcoming years.
Current critters:
Blue tang (at least 6 years old)
Pair of clowns (at least 6 years old)
Single female mandarin (ORA) (about a year old)
Yellow Coris wrasse (about 3 months old)
Rainfords goby (about a year and a half old)
Numerous crabs and snails
A few bristleworms that hopefully the wrasse has done away with….
Xenia—that currently doesn’t look too happy
Lots of live rocks that every once in awhile sprout a tube fan or other interesting critter…
Equipment:
2 ecotech marine vortech power heads (MP40 and an MP10)
2 ecotech marine radion G2s
Remora Pro skimmer
2 little fishes reactor running gfo
1 grounding probe
probably need a new return pump for a new refugium…
So my laundry list of questions. I am sure I will come up with more over the next few days.
Size. The area I would like to occupy would be ~6 feet long (including any wall/cabinet structure) approximately 2-3 feet wide. –I am thinking a 180 gallon would be ideal??
Glass or Plexi? I am leaning towards glass because it seems plexi has a tendency to sratch more? Thickness??
Sand or Bare bottom. I love the look of sand, I love the critters that live in the sand, I HATE the current sandbed I have, was five years old when I got it, it had layers of anoxic, hydrogen sulfide stinking black crap when I moved the tank to the clinic. I should have replaced it at that time, instead I washed it (and not real well) and watched the system go through a big cycle. Two years later I am pretty sure it is fairly saturated with nutrients, and is ugly…. If I went with a new sand bed, use dry sand? And let my live rock seed it? What size grain is everyone’s favorite? My goal is a large reef so the sugar sand seems like a bad idea (sand storms…)
Bare bottom/starboard: I have no experience with this BUT for the clinic may be a lower maintenance way to go, if I vacuum the bottom weekly? If I were to go bare bottom is there more need to dose the system? AND If I go bare bottom I WILL need to put a small sandbox in for my yellow coris wrasse.
Covered or not? So far I have been lucky to not have any jumpers, (or children feed the fish dog biscuits) however I do have a yellow coris wrasse who so far has shown great restraint but I do worry about finding him carpet surfing… What type of cover can let the system breath well and not diffuse light too much…
Drilled or overflow? I worry about a drilled system and leaks. HOWEVER my current overflow system to the refugium was a constant pain, mostly because I bought it five years old and the plumbing was not well fitted, the plastic was dry and not flexible and finally broke in several places yesterday. Before that if there was a power outage I had several floods until I smartened up and figured out my levels and siphon height to avoid such events… I think a drilled system is the direction I will go BUT knowing I won’t always be there, what are the down sides to this type of tank?
Refugium or not. I can’t see myself not doing a refugium however am open to input and alternative thoughts… (I have mangroves and would like somewhere hidden for the gfo, chiller and skimmer). Designing a refugium that can have a mangrove section, an algae scrubber, a return pump, and a section for the protein skimmer and gfo if I choose or need to continue running it?
Cabinetry: Need something completely enclosed on the bottom (possibly with ventilation sufficient to have the chiller in it??
Any other thoughts welcome J
