Bleu 3D
New Member
This Reef has gone through 2 transplants over the last 6 years.
First it was in an 80 gallon glass rimmed tank, with the basics like live rock, clownfish, a royal gramma, a yellow tang, and a cleanup crew.
It started with an LED strip light, a small reef octopus skimmer, and a crystal sump with chaeto.
In 2021, a full house renovation due to flooding meant the tank was exposed to a lot of nasty debris, even though it was moved to a room to minimize exposure, it wound up causing a partial crash where most of the fish were lost.
By 2022 the tank was transplanted into a 125 gallon oceanic, which originally was not drilled for an overflow weir.
I ordered the parts I needed to drill holes in the bottom glass for plumbing to a sump, rather than use a hang-on filter or a custom DIY PVC self-priming overflow like the 80 gallon had. Drilled the holes for the drain line and return line, ordered a custom overflow weir box from Melev's Reef, and got everything installed. I also reinforced the stand of the tank with 2x4's and 1x4's and stained it to help support the weight, just in case.
I used the same sump but upgraded the skimmer to the Reef Octo 150s, as well as a 3-part dosing system for Calc/Alk/Mag, and investing in better lights while still on a budget. Three ViparSpectra LED panels for lights, a Sicce pump, and Tunze ATO were some of the major changes.
I went through several species of fish that I introduced to the tank, but ultimately had to return for one reason or another. Famously I got a Copperband Butterfly that decided it did not want to eat any of the foods I introduced and instead snacked on and ate about $1000 worth of zoa's before I tore the rockwork apart and sent him back to the LFS.
The 125g ran for 3 years until 2025 when I came across a deal for a 200 gallon from Facebook Marketplace.
The tank was outside when I got to it so the custom stand was starting to rot from moisture and rain. So I took it home and chopped it up for firewood.
I designed and built my own stand out of 2x6's and a plywood cover, i designed cabinet doors and even a hood for the top of the tank with a light rack for the viparspectras, stained it all to match, and transferred the rock, coral, and fish to the 200 gallon in June 2025. I also replaced my UV sterilizer with a larger model because I dealt with Dinoflagellates in my 125g and did not want to ever deal with that again. In the transfer process I thankfully only lost 1 Pajama Cardinal who didn't reacclimate very well.
Now this 200g has the following fish:
1 Yellow Tang
1 Sailfin Tang
1 Dejardini Sailfin Tang
1 Tomini Tang
2 Black Ice Clownfish (who are now laying eggs)
1 Royal Gramma
3 Green Chromis
1 Pajama Cardinal
2 Banggai Cardinals
1 Engineer Goby
1 Red headed Solon Fairy Wrasse
2 Ignitus Anthias
2 Skunk Shrimp
1 tuxedo urchin
1 variegated urchin
In the span of 9 months, the tank has really colored up well with Coraline algae and my corals are thriving. Its a mixed reef with LPS and softies.
First it was in an 80 gallon glass rimmed tank, with the basics like live rock, clownfish, a royal gramma, a yellow tang, and a cleanup crew.
It started with an LED strip light, a small reef octopus skimmer, and a crystal sump with chaeto.
In 2021, a full house renovation due to flooding meant the tank was exposed to a lot of nasty debris, even though it was moved to a room to minimize exposure, it wound up causing a partial crash where most of the fish were lost.
By 2022 the tank was transplanted into a 125 gallon oceanic, which originally was not drilled for an overflow weir.
I ordered the parts I needed to drill holes in the bottom glass for plumbing to a sump, rather than use a hang-on filter or a custom DIY PVC self-priming overflow like the 80 gallon had. Drilled the holes for the drain line and return line, ordered a custom overflow weir box from Melev's Reef, and got everything installed. I also reinforced the stand of the tank with 2x4's and 1x4's and stained it to help support the weight, just in case.
I used the same sump but upgraded the skimmer to the Reef Octo 150s, as well as a 3-part dosing system for Calc/Alk/Mag, and investing in better lights while still on a budget. Three ViparSpectra LED panels for lights, a Sicce pump, and Tunze ATO were some of the major changes.
I went through several species of fish that I introduced to the tank, but ultimately had to return for one reason or another. Famously I got a Copperband Butterfly that decided it did not want to eat any of the foods I introduced and instead snacked on and ate about $1000 worth of zoa's before I tore the rockwork apart and sent him back to the LFS.
The 125g ran for 3 years until 2025 when I came across a deal for a 200 gallon from Facebook Marketplace.
The tank was outside when I got to it so the custom stand was starting to rot from moisture and rain. So I took it home and chopped it up for firewood.
I designed and built my own stand out of 2x6's and a plywood cover, i designed cabinet doors and even a hood for the top of the tank with a light rack for the viparspectras, stained it all to match, and transferred the rock, coral, and fish to the 200 gallon in June 2025. I also replaced my UV sterilizer with a larger model because I dealt with Dinoflagellates in my 125g and did not want to ever deal with that again. In the transfer process I thankfully only lost 1 Pajama Cardinal who didn't reacclimate very well.
Now this 200g has the following fish:
1 Yellow Tang
1 Sailfin Tang
1 Dejardini Sailfin Tang
1 Tomini Tang
2 Black Ice Clownfish (who are now laying eggs)
1 Royal Gramma
3 Green Chromis
1 Pajama Cardinal
2 Banggai Cardinals
1 Engineer Goby
1 Red headed Solon Fairy Wrasse
2 Ignitus Anthias
2 Skunk Shrimp
1 tuxedo urchin
1 variegated urchin
In the span of 9 months, the tank has really colored up well with Coraline algae and my corals are thriving. Its a mixed reef with LPS and softies.
