Deaf clown

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So I’m finally going to do my first tank thread ever. Nothing too crazy but just like everyone else on here I do love corals!

I’ve been active in the hobby since January 2015, but I’ve been obsessed with reef tanks since I could remember. I’ve always wanted one. About a year before I started the hobby I literally tried to gobble up all the info I could. I knew it would be expensive so I bought things here and there. I watch YouTube videos like no other my fiancé would get annoyed with how obsessed I was.

I’ve had fresh water tanks growing up but I couldnt really afford a reef setup until I got a “big boy” job and I got my own place.

FINALLY! I was first going to start with a undrilled 45 tall (12DX36WX24T) I was so excited to start. I built my own stand and I had an extra tank laying around for a sump. I went to drill my tank-mind you this was the first time I ever drilled a tank. Well needless to say I broke it. No, it wasn’t tempered and it didn’t shatter. The drill I used was a electric drill and it spun too fast that when I went through the glass I lost control and it cracked. I was so bummed.

So with a little set back I used the 20 gallon high I was going to use for the sump with a HOB skimmer, kessil 360w, pink Fiji sand, and LR. I had it cycle for a month then I got some clowns and shortly after that I got my first coral-some Hulk zoas. Which I still have btw.

Not too long after that and more fish and corals later as the saying goes you’ll go bigger. I did and went to a 40 long. Same dimensions as a 55 just shorter. I liked that tank but hated where the previous owner drilled the drain. A 1” hole on the back glass towards the bottom. Had it been a been animal I’d probably still have it. Luckily I was able to sell it for what I bought it for.

Now I have a 75 gal. I wish I’d started with this size. Not too big and not small. I first set it up in February of 2016. I had a decent amount of coral. Nothing super high end but I was proud of it. Then shortly after that my fiancé and I found out we were going to have a baby. So instantly we started at looking for houses. We bought one in August of 2016 and I reset up the 75 gal.

Up until this point I never had a crash. I lost a few lps here and there but never sps. My corals did decent but I didn’t fully understood what parameters worked for me. I tried the zeovite system with helped my sps but was expensive and my lps didn’t do well. So I stopped doing that. And while I stopped that I started to use AF probiotic salt with phosphate remover and man that took a toll on my tank. My corals hated that. Then somewhere along the lines of that I had a slow leak and didn’t realize it for awhile and my salinity dropped. By the time I realize my salinity was too low (1.019) I had lost the majority of my sps. I almost got out of the hobby at this point but my fiancé had this look on me as if I told her I was going to just quit my life.

I stuck with it and I now have corals coming back. I’m more confident in what my parameters need to be and what to dose.

I’ll post some photos in a bit.

-Michael
 
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Deaf clown

Deaf clown

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This my most frequent FTS. I use my iPhone for all my photos and I use the aquarium camera app which I love to edit the photos the way we see our tanks. I’m still toying with it so please be patient with me! ;Shamefullyembarrased

My current tank setup:
75 All Glass Aquarium
DIY sump (29 gallon)
Skimmer: Vertex omega 130
Return: Ecotech m1
Filter media: Gfo or carbon-as needed
Powerheads: 2 Ecotech MP40qd’s
Lights: 48” Hamilton mh T5 combo with 2 sbars actinic lights for that “pop”
Dosing: currently manually dosing ESV’s 2 part and brs’ mag.

C06BD231-75FE-4318-8144-9ACFD5BA7974.jpeg
 
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Deaf clown

Deaf clown

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My Leng Sy montipora chunk I got this weekend for a good price. Got it on the overflow box. I’ve never done this but always thought it looked cool when others did.

4A23F5EA-27D2-4E28-8028-341B4EC240D0.jpeg
 
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Deaf clown

Deaf clown

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Here is a lepto I practically saved from another reefer. First pic is from December 14th, 2017 second is from today August 8, 2018. It’s definitely comfortable and I couldn’t be happier with it.

BBFA3D46-5922-4B5B-88CD-C1A6980C27AA.png


D56E90C9-1A17-4FF3-8E6B-A814E2D58043.jpeg
 

Crabs McJones

I'm so shi-nay
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Beautiful tank Michael and stunning corals! As someone who is about to start their own 75 gallon, I'm happy to hear you like yours :)
 

Mastering the art of locking and unlocking water pathways: What type of valves do you have on your aquarium plumbing?

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