Abby's 75g pony haven

[reef_grrrl]

So, as always it seems, it's time for another tank. We are finishing our 2nd floor bonus room- and what's a game room without a fish tank?? So I went on the hunt. Instead of buying a tank, I pulled an old 75 gallon acrylic hex out of my company's shed (we're a maintenance and install company) and lugged it back home to my garage. I guess that's one of the bonuses in this line of work.

This is how it stands now-

Dirty, a few scratches here and there, and don't get me started on the cabinet. We're sanding it down and we will be painting it white. I'm probably not going to tackle the scratches because... Let's face it- we have five kids and this is going in a game room so...

-The Plan-

What can actually go in this awkward sized, impossible to clean hunk of plastic? PONIES!

Stocking-
-2 or 3 pairs of h. erectus from seahorsesource.com
-possibly some barnacle blennies? From my research they're listed as safe, and as long as I do a long QT on them they shouldn't introduce anything nasty. Their feeding habits are adorable and don't seem like they'd interfere with the ponies
-thinking about adding a bunch (7 or 8) of peppermint shrimp, any thoughts?
-10 lbs of dry tonga rock (being delivered tomorrow in time to cure) and however much "other" rock I need for aquascaping- we have hundreds of pounds of rock I can pick through
- snail only CUC from reefcleaners
-Calupera racemosa
-Calupera mexicana
-Calupera prolifera
-mermaid fans
-shaving brush
-halimeda sp
-some red macro, whatever I can find
-mushrooms
-kenya tree
-toadstools
-finger leather


Filtration-
The only tank that fits in the stand is a 10 gallon.. Oh joy. In this 10 gallon sump I'll have...
-chaeto on reverse light cycle from the DT
-marine pure bio block
-heater
-Reef Octopus bh-1000 hob skimmer to save space in the sump
-carbon
-Hydor ATO, aqua lifter pump, and small couple gallon container for top off
-overflow- the tank has two holes drilled in the bottom already, a 1in and a 3/4in. I'm planning on doing a Herbie system, and then plumbing a return up the back of the system.
-not sure on return pump.. Any suggestions?

Lighting-
-quad t5 with two ge 6500k to keep the macro happy and two ATI blue plus. Any thoughts? Is that gonna look wacky? Help!

The room has about 2-3 weeks until it's done and ready for the tank, in the mean time I'll be curing the rock and making the sump, sanding and painting the cabinet and canopy.. Exciting!

 

[revhtree]

Cool! Following!

 

[reef_grrrl]

Alright, we've done two coats of primer on the stand and canopy, looks about ready for its final coats of paint! I have the tonga rock soaking - it's super gross! Buuuut BRS was very kind and picked out perfect pieces for hitching posts.

Changes to the plan-

Doing a Stockman drain for the 1" pipe and leaving the 1/2" as a dry emergency drain. The BH-1000 doesn't fit on the 10 gallon, so I'm trying to sell it locally and buy an in sump that will fit. Oops. And the return pump I've just about settled on a Quiet One 2200 which should be just enough flow at the 5.5' head height for the 1" stockman.

 

[reef_grrrl]

Alright, got my bulkheads in from BRS, and installed, today I'll be dry fitting all the plumbing and working on the sump layout.

I couldn't resist, and made up a few mock aquascapes.. Any feedback on these?

 

[slosoak]

Have a large pony tank for a client and found the less rock the better, less places for uneaten food to go. Not sure about the peppermint shrimp, I got captive breed ponies and they were eating the blue leg hermits I had placed in the tank. I have hair algae issues from all the food so it is good to go with all the macros.

 

[reef_grrrl]

Have a large pony tank for a client and found the less rock the better, less places for uneaten food to go. Not sure about the peppermint shrimp, I got captive breed ponies and they were eating the blue leg hermits I had placed in the tank. I have hair algae issues from all the food so it is good to go with all the macros.

That sounds like good advice. I don't mind if they snack on the peppermint shrimp, not ideal but at least they'd help with cleanup until they became a snack. With aquascaping, the tank is 30" tall so I'm trying to get something up high... urgh.

 

[slosoak]

Alyssa at Pacific East Aquaculture has been very helpful. I am sure she can be a valuable resource if you have questions. And yes I feel your pain with a taller tank, but I liked the way your stack looked.