75g Build Progression

[ZooMontana88]

Hey y'all! I have a few photos to share of my setup. Added 3 macros today. Currently have a Clown and a flower nem in quarantine tank. Will post those 2 after introduction to display.

Display has 1 Royal Gramma, 1 Citron Clown Goby, 1 Condylacti, 1 Bubbletip, 2 colonies of polyps, 1 colony of green star, 2 mushrooms, 1 leather mushroom, 1 hammerhead, 4 scarlet hermits, 5 blue hermits, 2 peppermints, and a variety of hitchhikers including a newly discovered crab ( yet to be captured for id).

 

[FactoryKTMmotocross46]

Looks good. How long has the tank been up and running?

 

[ZooMontana88]

Looks good. How long has the tank been up and running?

Tank w/ water, live sand, and live rock since end of January. 2 fish, a condy, hermit crabs added 2nd week of february. Added another live rock w/polyp colony last week of February. Just added 3 macros and 1 live rock yesterday. Have a flower nem and clown in qt atm.

 

[ZooMontana88]

Tank w/ water, live sand, and live rock since end of January. 2 fish, a condy, hermit crabs added 2nd week of february. Added another live rock w/polyp colony last week of February. Just added 3 macros and 1 live rock yesterday. Have a flower nem and clown in qt atm.

Also added 3 mushrooms and green star when I added the live rock w/colony...

 

[Fourstars]

Looks great! wish I could grow macros in my tank but the tangs would wipe them out.

 

[ZooMontana88]

Looks great! wish I could grow macros in my tank but the tangs would wipe them out.

I'll be adding one blue tang after these have grown, and once they're available again to my local reef buyer.

 

[ZooMontana88]

Already have new growth on the codium(dead man's fingers) and prolifera... Added a leaf plate montipora yesterday. Have a green montipora digitata, favia, and gorgonian in qt w/ a bonded pair of clowns. Waiting a minimum of 2 weeks before intro to display. Moved a few things around in display and added 2 new live rock/coral fossils. Updated photos added.

 

[ZooMontana88]

More photos

 

[ZooMontana88]

QT tank

 

[nano reef]

Hey y'all! I have a few photos to share of my setup. Added 3 macros today. Currently have a Clown and a flower nem in quarantine tank. Will post those 2 after introduction to display.

Display has 1 Royal Gramma, 1 Citron Clown Goby, 1 Condylacti, 1 Bubbletip, 2 colonies of polyps, 1 colony of green star, 2 mushrooms, 1 leather mushroom, 1 hammerhead, 4 scarlet hermits, 5 blue hermits, 2 peppermints, and a variety of hitchhikers including a newly discovered crab ( yet to be captured for id).

Very nice! I have 2 tanks and cant decide which one to set up! A 72 gallon that is nothing but tank and stand or a 36 gallon that I bought for 100 bucks thats plumbed and has everything. Including current lights, eshopps skimmer and sump, hater powerheads sand. I think we will do the small for a little whle. I picked it up to flip it really, beacuse It was so cheap and the skimmer was oversized so I thought I might keep it for the 72. My hubby isnt so anxious about drilling and plumbing, so maybe this small one will be a good test run for him. Just hope moving frags wont be difficult in maybe 6 months or so. I also want ardions and cant afford to buy them now so hate to waste money on cheapys and later get them. I wanted to ask how much live rock versus dry rock to you add to get an instant cycle? I think I have about 30 to 40 he said plus I have a lot of marine pure balls. I have tested the water with the live rock and all good, no ammonia or anything. What else should I test for? Hope you dont mind me asking on your post.

 

[Fourstars]

What is your lighting?

 

[NowGlazeIT]

Very lovely reef tank. That’s red macro is stunning in color!

 

[ZooMontana88]

Very nice! I have 2 tanks and cant decide which one to set up! A 72 gallon that is nothing but tank and stand or a 36 gallon that I bought for 100 bucks thats plumbed and has everything. Including current lights, eshopps skimmer and sump, hater powerheads sand. I think we will do the small for a little whle. I picked it up to flip it really, beacuse It was so cheap and the skimmer was oversized so I thought I might keep it for the 72. My hubby isnt so anxious about drilling and plumbing, so maybe this small one will be a good test run for him. Just hope moving frags wont be difficult in maybe 6 months or so. I also want ardions and cant afford to buy them now so hate to waste money on cheapys and later get them. I wanted to ask how much live rock versus dry rock to you add to get an instant cycle? I think I have about 30 to 40 he said plus I have a lot of marine pure balls. I have tested the water with the live rock and all good, no ammonia or anything. What else should I test for? Hope you dont mind me asking on your post.

You can always start the 30 and turn it into a qt when you get the larger tank started. I have only done live rock and sand in my display. I let it cycle w/o fish for about 3-4 wks and then after adding fish it cycled again but in a negative way. I didn't have a test kit at that point. Luckily most things survived the explosion... I would say that if you do frags that you want to move later, get small ones on frag stands. But if you decide to keep the cheaps in your qt tank place them on rock so they can attach.

As for testing, initially you'll want to know salinity, ph, kh, nitrates, nitrates. I opted for basic API test strips after my tank explosion. I've now upgraded to more sensitive water testing kits due to having a mixed reef tank. I do recommend investing in macroalgaes. They naturally balance the tank ecosystem and provide food to fine coral feeders like sps and nps.

I currently do not operate a skimmer on any of my tanks. I have a fluval canister with added bio filtration and dose bacteria according to product instructions. I also dose with trace elements for my reef according to product instructions.

Honestly, I believe creating an ecosystem that's as self sustaining as possible is optimal for a healthy tank. Buying species that exists naturally together ( fish, coral, sand, rock, etc). I have an Indo-Pacific tank.

 

[ZooMontana88]

What is your lighting?

Started w/ a basic led strip light with 2 options ( day and moon). Have now added a Current Ramp Timer Pro I bought used w/o remote. Ordered a replacement remote last night. Excited to get that next Friday so I can program and create storms and more natural settings.

 

[ZooMontana88]

More growth on prolifera overnight...

 

[ZooMontana88]

Very lovely reef tank. That’s red macro is stunning in color!

Thank you! I bought my macros from a seller on Etsy. SustainableOcean has a good variety of macros and was delivered in basic yet careful packaging. $54 for all three w/ free shipping.

 

[ZooMontana88]

Update Post:

Had to remove my 2 pep shrimp due to them attacking my RFA and Striped Button Polyps... They're now in the qt tank with a rock that I also had to remove due to algae and red slime growth...

Since those movements, all those that were in qt are now in the display tank.

Here's some updated photos...

I didn't include a photo of the RFA due to it still recovering from the pep attack.

 

[ZooMontana88]

I have also learned today that my monti digi is actually a hydnophora so I had to reposition those frags. To live and learn!

 

[ZooMontana88]

Added a few things today.

Canister filtration:
Activated Carbon (40gal eq)
PhosGuard (60gal eq)
Nitrate Filter Pad
Coral:
Toadstool
Carpet Nem
Torch Bam
Fish/ Crustacean:
Watchman Goby
Yellow Basslet
Blk/Wht Crab

 

[ZooMontana88]

Also picked up a bundle of Green and Red Grac macros.