Long time reefer, new to here --- my 3 tanks.

Trex · Apr 11, 2012

I was asked to start tank build in my new to here thread, so here it goes. First a little background; started my first saltwater tank back in college - around 1991. It was a standard 55 with a cinder block stand. Had dead coral skeletons that needed to be removed and bleached every month. Around '96 the center brace cracked and I replaced the 55 with a 75.
A couple of years later the 75 was taken down (( used the NO fluorescent lights to keep my house plants alive -- lived in a small dark garden level apartment in Chicago )) but had a 10 gallon running.
After that I move into a larger apartment (( with my soon to be ex wife

)) which allowed me to reset up the 75 and pick up a 58. At one point in that place (( was a 2 floor apartment in the city )) I had the 75, 58, 29, and 10 up a running.
Around 2003 the divorce was final and I moved to the 'burbs with the 75, 58 and 29. After a while I took down the 29 and replaced it with a 33 cube, which after a couple of years was replaced with a 40 breeder.

That brings us to today, in a new place with a 75 (( replaced the old one with a new one when I moved )), a 65 (( replaced the 58 during the same move )) and the 40 breeder.

During the last 3 years I have managed to have 6 back surgeries, which have made me cut back on the scope of the tanks (( need to be able to skip maintenance once in a while. So before I get to the current tanks, here are 3 of the old tanks at their best -- IMO.

The 33, back in 2009

The 58, back in July 2009

The 75, back in July 2010

Okay, now onto the current tanks, in the next post

Reef Breeders · Apr 11, 2012

Nice tanks, love the nems, mine was too hungry to keep, but i miss mine.

Trex · Apr 11, 2012

Almost feel like the current tanks are going to stand up to the old ones, but hopefully in the future I will be healthy enough to devote that much time to getting them back like that.

Will start with the 40 breeder -- which I do need to take some updated pictures of.
It is a standard 40 breeder, with a 20 long sump that I made myself (( all 3 tanks have the same sump design )) using an Octopus "extreme XS 160 protein skimmer". For lights I have a standard TEK 6 bulb 36" T5 fixture.

The current inhabitants are a pair of bangii cardinals (( though I have a feeling I will have to remove the smallest one )), a pair of clowns (( B&W ocellaris and a SI perc )), shrimp goby/pistol shrimp pair and lastly an Venustus dwarf angel.

Some pictures of them,

An older FTS --- really need to update this -- back in September

An acro crab,

Trex · Apr 11, 2012

anemonekeeper said:
Nice tanks, love the nems, mine was too hungry to keep, but i miss mine.

Thanks. At one point I did have 5 S. haddonis, the longest one was in my care for 12 years. Was "lucky" to only lose 5-6 fish to them over the years.

Wy Renegade · Apr 11, 2012

Very nice - looking forward to the new and improved.

Trex · Apr 11, 2012

Okay, some pictures of the 65 -- has the same sump/skimmer as the 40 (( will get a picture of that later one )).
Right now it is mainly a softy tank (( Xenia, let the girlfriend pick it out, pretty much taking over the tank, but that is fine for now )), but it does also have a green S. haddoni and its porcelain crab.
I have an old (( picked it up around 1999 )) Hamilton full fixture over it -- 2*250 MH (( Radiums )) + 2*96 PCs (( dual actinic and 50/50 )).

Side shot,

Head on shot, (( the overflow it pretty much covered now ))

A shot of it in the loft,

And now for the fish.

Flame angel (( Centropyge loricula )) -- was part of a pair, but lost the female when I moved.

Coral beauty (( Centropyge bispinosa ))

Multicolored

Golden algae blenny (( Atrosalarias fuscus ))

There is always a flasher wrasse in there that I need to get a picture of, hopefully tonight.

Wy Renegade · Apr 11, 2012

Nice - you snuck the first post in just as I was posting LOL. True enough that these aren't quite up to the old ones, but you can see the potential for them to get there, and that is a big part of the fun isn't it?

revsgirl · Apr 11, 2012

Gorgeous!! Thanks for sharing!!

Reef Pets · Apr 11, 2012

Welcome! Beautiful reefs!

Trex · Apr 11, 2012

Wy Renegade said:
Nice - you snuck the first post in just as I was posting LOL. True enough that these aren't quite up to the old ones, but you can see the potential for them to get there, and that is a big part of the fun isn't it?

I am sneaky like that.

Thanks, and yes that is the big part of it -- I've done it in the past and know that I can do it again. Right now, getting my back straightened out (( pun intended )) is taking priority.

revsgirl said:
Gorgeous!! Thanks for sharing!!

Thanks for looking

Reef Pets said:
Welcome! Beautiful reefs!

Thanks you very much.

Didn't get any new pictures tonight -- had an injection into my spine yesterday, and it is a bit more sore than I expected. I do have some recent pictures, but not new.

From my 75, my mated pair of orange skunks, with the sun light hitting them.

Can see the male in the back ground.

Them spawning,

REEFKEEPER10 · Apr 11, 2012

Welcome. So do your angel fish play nice with each other. Nice pics too.

jstuver · Apr 12, 2012

Beautiful tanks! I love the carpet anemones in the past ones, very cool.

Trex · Apr 13, 2012

REEFKEEPER10 said:
Welcome. So do your angel fish play nice with each other. Nice pics too.

Thanks a lot. Yeah, they do. The multicolored and coral beauty have been together for almost 2 years now -- the coral beauty was the leader. When I moved I pulled Venustus dwarf out of the group -- wanted it in its own tank, so the multicolored and coral beauty were in the 65. After a while I decided to move the flame to that tank -- put it in an acclimation box for a week, so they could all get used to each other, and released it. For the first day or 2 there was some chasing b/t it and that coral beauty. That has calmed down and the flame is the leader.