75g build: Dipping back into the hobby

[Aquaticbirbs]

I believe this is the right place to keep updates on the tank. I'm returning to the hobby after a very long break due to school. Finally graduated, I'm ready to dip my toes back into the hobby! A little background about me: I went to a high school based around the ocean and marine biology. I learned a lot from my teacher at the time, who was a marine biologist (He literally stepped over crocodiles at night to study sea turtles!). In his lab, I was in charge of taking care of most of the tanks, and despite what you might think, most of our tanks were freshwater! It wasn't until my final year that we had a saltwater tank with inverts, and then boom, COVID! I really gained experience in keeping saltwater fish at home, but I would use his guidance whenever I ran into any problems. Ich. I thought I'd study marine biology in college, but the universe had other plans. But I can always play marine biologist at home. While I've kept saltwater fish and inverts, I have never kept any corals before. I think I was drawn to fish more for some reason, but I won't be opposed to adding some in the future if I study them more. I really love the GSP. But for now I'm really happy with keeping a FOWLR.

This is my 75g acrylic tank! I actually got this tank for a nice deal at an LFS. I got the tank along with the stand, canopy, and an ESHOPPS Eclipse L overflow. I designed a DIY 3-section sump for the bottom out of a 20-gallon tank that still needs some work done on it, but overall this tank is functioning amazingly! After being fishless for 5 years, I needed to add something in there immediately, so I decided to do a fish-in cycle with my two Ocellaris Clownfish, Knox and Robin.

Updates to come!

 

[Fish Fan]

That stand and canopy look really nice, great job!

 

[BoxH]

I believe this is the right place to keep updates on the tank. I'm returning to the hobby after a very long break due to school. Finally graduated, I'm ready to dip my toes back into the hobby! A little background about me: I went to a high school based around the ocean and marine biology. I learned a lot from my teacher at the time, who was a marine biologist (He literally stepped over crocodiles at night to study sea turtles!). In his lab, I was in charge of taking care of most of the tanks, and despite what you might think, most of our tanks were freshwater! It wasn't until my final year that we had a saltwater tank with inverts, and then boom, COVID! I really gained experience in keeping saltwater fish at home, but I would use his guidance whenever I ran into any problems. Ich. I thought I'd study marine biology in college, but the universe had other plans. But I can always play marine biologist at home. While I've kept saltwater fish and inverts, I have never kept any corals before. I think I was drawn to fish more for some reason, but I won't be opposed to adding some in the future if I study them more. I really love the GSP. But for now I'm really happy with keeping a FOWLR.

This is my 75g acrylic tank! I actually got this tank for a nice deal at an LFS. I got the tank along with the stand, canopy, and an ESHOPPS Eclipse L overflow. I designed a DIY 3-section sump for the bottom out of a 20-gallon tank that still needs some work done on it, but overall this tank is functioning amazingly! After being fishless for 5 years, I needed to add something in there immediately, so I decided to do a fish-in cycle with my two Ocellaris Clownfish, Knox and Robin.

Updates to come!

Nice following along

 

[Aquaticbirbs]

Hi all, it's been a long while since I did my tank update, but the systems have changed a lot since then.

I’m proud to announce that I now have 2 more fish joining the party: the beautiful Melanurus Wrasse and the young Coral Beauty!

I got the melanurus first after my tank finished its cycle. QT was kinda tricky, but I adopted the tank transfer method. I do feel bad because she did go through a sandless QT, but I read that people have kept them in bare-bottom tanks. This was just for 6 weeks; how bad could it be? Although she did miss the sand, she successfully made it into the display tank. I was sure I wasn’t gonna see her for a few weeks, but on day 3, she popped out and ate mysis shrimps with her clownfish friends. She was always a really bold fish, even following my hand while I was doing water changes in QT, so while I was nervous about seeing her out so early, I was happy that she was eating and scanning the aquascape. Kinda happy/sad that she found my hermit crabs as well.. Being the biggest, of course, she rules the tank. While she's never aggressive with my clownfish, she has a bad habit of hiding herself behind the aquascape and then popping around the corner to jump-scare my male before swimming away.

Next is my coral beauty, and I have to say I’m really happy with him. My coral beauty is captive-bred and was on sale, so I got him at the same price as a regular wild-caught one. He was also really, really small; a quarter was bigger than him. I felt that copper would be too harsh on him, so I opted for the tank transfer method again while actively deworming. I never saw him eat for himself in QT, which should raise red flags, but I would see the food gone the next day; he never really came out of his PVC pipe unless it was late at night. I figured it was probably something young fish do, so I didn’t pay too much attention to it. It wasn’t until he entered the display, thats when I started to see him way more. He found a little space between the rockwork above my wrasse's usual sand pile and started to swim around when my wrasse was present.

Jumping to the present, the tank dynamic kinda changed from there. My coral beauty stopped following my wrasse and would do laps around the clownfish's territory. I think he’s done this because my wrasse has a strict sleeping schedule, only being awake from 7:20 to 4:30. My clowns also changed, while they used to swim around and explore the tank when they were younger, they seem to stick around their territory very rarely leaving it. I’m really happy that everyone is getting along and is forming a cute little aqua neighborhood.

For the future of this tank… I have a little theme in my head of this being an Indo-Pacific-themed tank, since all of my current species are from there. My plan and the “centerpiece” fish is the Marine Betta. While I know they’re overlooked due to their nocturnal and shy nature, I find them incredibly beautiful and kinda poetic. A peaceful killer. I just want my clownfish and coral beauty to grow up a little more before I start searching, preferably for a captive-bred specimen. The second and last fish in my plan for this tank will be a species of Kole Tang, mostly leaning towards the Blue-eyed Kole Tang. I read that tangs are more active and aggressive, so I want everyone to make their territories now before adding the new ruler.

 

[Gumbies R Us]

Congrats on the new fish entering your tank!