2+ Year 75 Gallon Journey

Monte26 · Feb 14, 2020

It’s been a while since the last update. Just enjoying the reef tonight :)

Monte26 · Mar 28, 2020

Still not a lot to update. At this point, the tank might as well be on autopilot. Cleaned up the cords a bit with two Adaptive Reef control boards. I’ve yet to need to set up a fuge, so that section of the sump has turned into a make shift frag tank until the Covid 19 stuff dies down and I can take the frags to the LFS for credit.

Monte26 · May 10, 2020

Well, I was supposed to be installing new wood floors in our house tonight, but they got delayed. No worries though, I still had a project to work on. Moved the RO to a better spot in the laundry room and built some shelves to organize reef stuff.

Monte26 · Oct 5, 2020

Haven't posted a FTS since February...whoops! My oh my have the corals grown! No new fish additions or deaths, so I'm VERY happy about that! :D

Monte26 · Oct 23, 2020

Monte26 · Mar 14, 2021

The tank is close to hitting the 2.5 year mark and 2021 will be the last year for it. With a child due next month, this tank will be coming down....so that I can upgrade! It'll likely be a few months before the new tank gets purchased/delivered, so I'm not in any rush. This has been by far the most successful tank of my reefing career, so I'll just be enjoying it in the mean time :D

Monte26 · Apr 16, 2021

Water change day! A MUCH needed water change. I’ve been doing a poor job keeping on track with my weekly changes and it shows.

I’m really hoping that I can avoid fragging until the new tank arrives in a month and a half or so. I love how big the colonies have gotten and I’d hate to cut them now.

Monte26 · May 1, 2021

Added about 15 lbs of sand last week to help avoid the ugly bare spots. Plans for tonight? Just enjoying the reef :cool:

Bulk Reef Supply · May 25, 2021

TheDuude · May 25, 2021

Love the large colonies. Looks so much more natural.

Do u do any carbon dosing or nutrient export other than skimming and water changes?

Monte26 · May 25, 2021

TheDuude said:
Love the large colonies. Looks so much more natural.

Do u do any carbon dosing or nutrient export other than skimming and water changes?

Thank you very much!

No carbon dosing at all. I have an empty chamber in the sump that was intended for a refugium, but with a low bio load and weekly water changes, it was never needed.

Mario Demel · May 26, 2021

What is your way of controlling po4??
I'm just struggling with po4 issue
BTW, this is a beautiful tank.. No fancy corals but big large colonies grew from tiny frags.. epic

Monte26 · May 26, 2021

Mario Demel said:
What is your way of controlling po4??
I'm just struggling with po4 issue
BTW, this is a beautiful tank.. No fancy corals but big large colonies grew from tiny frags.. epic

20 gallon weekly water change mainly. Of course, the skimmer helps to a certain extent to remove waste before it breaks down into phosphates.

One thing that is often overlooked is coral uptake of phosphate. With a pretty large coral load, the corals themselves are a filter of sorts too.

Monte26 · Aug 27, 2021

Had a bit of a “crash” and lost my big birdsnest. My fault really as I’ve been ultra busy and didn’t notice that my two part ran out. Also fragged the hammer and re-arranged some things. Finally feeling proud of the tank again.