Fish for a fishing guide. 75 gallon mixed reef

[bigbugoutfitters]

4-13-23 update

My 75 started leaking easter morning, major bummer! To make things worse the dollar per gallon sale ended so i was unable to score a cheap replacement. On the bright side, i was able to make some changes I had been wanting to make.
I ended up not caring for the width of the 75 as a peninsula tank and had already been thinking about getting a new tank. In a perfect world i would have gotten a tank with the dimensions 36x30x18 as a replacement peninsula. Unfortunately we live in a far from perfect world so i purchased an aqueon 60 breeder that i was able to place on the old stand. I am much happier woth how my office is arranged now, although it has taken me all week to get to where i am now.

Original post:

So first off, it is a rare moment that i am not around water. I spend about 200 days a year in my drift boat or duck hunting boat, about 120 of those being up here in northwest montana on the kootenai river for work(i like to tell people that i have a fake job). Another 40-80 days a year i am wade fishing small streams or in swamps/marshes/lakes duck hunting. So overall i am either fishing or just wallowing around in water around 280 days every given year.
I spend the other 85ish days a year helping my wife with her gunsmithing work or tying flies for myself for my work season. Some years ill tie up to 4000. Former house was a point of sale 2 bedroom rental that was slowly sinking causing the house to have a respectable tilt, spare bedroom was storage/babies room for our 4 month old. This didnt leave much room for our flytying and gunsmithing. In may we moved into a 3 bedroom with a garage, and needless to say baby has her own room, storage moved out of the house and to the garage, and the spare bedroom has been turned into our office!
I noticed as we were moving in that they had an area built into to the wall for a small drilled fish tank… my wife noticed as well, and she said she thought that it would be fun to have a tank again. She may as well have brought a six pack to an AA meeting and thrown me a bottle opener.
A little more backstory… i promise im getting to the good stuff. Ive had fish tanks on and off since i was 5 or 6. First bass and bluegill i would catch at the local lakes, then cichlids, then a fowler, then a little reef, then a… you onow how it goes. When i first really started dating my wife i had a 90 gallon mixed reef and a 29 gallon frogfish(pacman may you rest in peace, why did you have to eat that whole frag plug, why!). Shortly after life happened and i just haven’t had the right opportunity to start back into the hobby. This was around 2017 or so.
ANYWAYS, ive got 85 days that im not out fishing or hearing the sound of moving water each year. That obviously wasnt going to do so i am nearing completion of a 75 gallon peninsula for our office that divides our work desks.
Equipment is as follows:
75 gallon aqueon tank 48.5x18.5x 21.25
Custom stand: 60x20.5x32
Lifereef overflow
Jebao dcq 5000 return pump
Reef octopus classic 110 s
Custom 29 gallon sump with space for an 8 gallon refugium.
2 ai prime 16hd
1 quanta reefcrest
1 jebao gyre 80
1 1250 gph aqueon circulation pump
200 watt finnex heater
45 pounds of dry rock and 15 pounds of live rock from an established tank .
40 lbs ocean direct sand
A significant amount of superglue
Hanna checkers for alk, ca, and phosphate, api nitrate, getting hanna nitrate checker next week.
Tunze ato.

Livestock
1 dusky wrasse
1 yellowhead wrasse
1 snowflake eel
1 longnose hawkfish
1 yellowtail damsel

inverts
1 pencil urchin
1 conch
1 tuxedo urchin

corals
rusty gorg
purple ribbon gorg
green cabbage leather
pavona
Gsp isolated island
F. Ricordea mushrooms
Yuma mushrooms
Superman rodh. Mushrooms
1 discosoma mushroom
Neon green acropora
Green stylo
Two different red monti caps
2 types of monti digi
Dragonfruit monti
Neon monti spongodes
Seasons greetings monti
Current tank photo 10-4-22

 

[bigbugoutfitters]

Stocking list for the tank is as follows:
Fish- dwarf lionfish, longnose hawkfish, dusky wrasse, yellow corris wrasse, a third wrasse perhaps, Canthigaster leoparda puffer, and if the tanks bioload is doing alright once all that is in a snowflake eel.
Inverts- peppermint shrimp to act as a greeter to the lionfish or puffer, whichever comes first, and lots of snails that I anticipate having to replace often enough.
Corals- I love montis, mushrooms, and all types of gorgonians, expect to see lots of those three, and if i stumble across a coral that entices me i may step outside of my comfort zone…
Some macro algea in the display tank, and macros in the refugium, perhaps a mangrove as well down below.

 

[bigbugoutfitters]

Stand is pretty basic, two by sixes in a rectangle! Even a few two by fours to keep things exciting!


rectangle of plywood and some linoleum overtop of that to protect the wood a little. And some more plywood to clean up the front of the stand.
Added a little trim to clean it up a little bit…

Ive really enjoyed the floating reef tanks and seeing as some of my fish such as the lion might enjoy some cover and caves i added a sort of floting reef. Seeing as the tank is glass i was not able to do it the normal way, and after seeing how much the scape leaned once about 10 pounds of rock and half a pound of superglue was applied i knew i had to change things up a little.

while it isnt a true floating reef i think its pretty neat and if i do end up getting an eel it offers a pretty solid cave for it to hide in without too obviously being a pvc pipe cave.


And in the time that i have done all of this my wife has put a tank in the cubby that first made me think of having a reef again and it is doing amazing. And our daughter seems to be enjoying it as well!

 

[bigbugoutfitters]

Last thing for now, my aquascape is definitely looking a bit bare to me, do you think another 10 pounds will cut it or should i plan on a bit more? As for the mystery of the overflow box, it just hasnt arrived yet. Ill post a picture of the sump once everything is rollin.

 

[bigbugoutfitters]

Tank is all cycled up. Between a bit of LR, dosing bacteria, and the ocean direct it took no time at all. Only checked it today but it was probably done quite a bit earlier.
So I did something that i never do and that is an impulse fish buy of sorts. Local reefer had purchased a Chrysiptera parasema, yellowtail damsel and shocker, it was a terror in their little nano. So i decided to put it in my tank as a greeter for when i put my lionfish in the tank.
My wife has named it sacri-fish, the damsel in distress.

 

[ryanrick]

Tank is all cycled up. Between a bit of LR, dosing bacteria, and the ocean direct it took no time at all. Only checked it today but it was probably done quite a bit earlier.
So I did something that i never do and that is an impulse fish buy of sorts. Local reefer had purchased a Chrysiptera parasema, yellowtail damsel and shocker, it was a terror in their little nano. So i decided to put it in my tank as a greeter for when i put my lionfish in the tank.
My wife has named it sacri-fish, the damsel in distress.

It sounds like you live an exciting life! I like your PVC coated island.

 

[bigbugoutfitters]

Additionally ill try to keep consistent postings of the non reef fish i am encountering on a daily basis. Here is a beautiful brown trout a client caught 2 days ago. Measured at 21 inches and safely released.

 

[bigbugoutfitters]

Little update: the tank is fully running! kinda…
Recieved my lifereef overflow and just finished tuning it up, i couldnt be happier! Very quiet and it doesnt stand out too much! Now that ive got the sump up and running i am able to get the heater out of the tank so that it is not too distracting.
Biggest thing i am happy with is my light rail for my primes. Only cost me 35 dollars to build and once i figure out a better way than the clamps to lock my lights down itll be perfect!
added one piece of arching liferock from local reefers established tank and i think that the scape is just right.
Current stocking is as follows:

Fish- “sacrifish” the tiny yellowtail damsel in distress
1 3” long longnose hawkfish

Current inverts are just that which came in with a reefcleaners cleanup crew

Coral- 1 green monti cap
1 pink monti cap
1 pavona frag from my larger colony in our nano
1 florida ricordia
1 purple ribbon gorgonian
1 toadstool

And one macro alg

 

[bigbugoutfitters]

Forgot to mention that the reason only one light is over the tank is that the power cord for the other went out so im in the process of finding a replacement. Atleast my wifes tank is really coming together now. Excited to move a few mushrooms and a gorgonian from her tank to mine. Just wanting to make sure that my tank gets rolling along nicely before i make the move. Hoping to get some better photos soon. My father is a wildlife photographer and is going to be letting me use his canon mark 3 with his macro lenses when he comes up to visit later this summer. Should be fun!

 

[bigbugoutfitters]

Well, im happy. Lighting is up, sump is fully operational, tank is cycled. I am guiding the next 19 days 14 hours a day. Hopefully ill have enough time to look at the tank for more than 5 minutes a night this summer!

 

[MnFish1]

Best wishes with the tank. To me this is a concern:

So first off, it is a rare moment that i am not around water. I spend about 200 days a year in my drift boat or duck hunting boat, about 120 of those being up here in northwest montana on the kootenai river for work(i like to tell people that i have a fake job). Another 40-80 days a year i am wade fishing small streams or in swamps/marshes/lakes duck hunting. So overall i am either fishing or just wallowing around in water around 280 days every given year.

I mean - I am nervous leaving for 2 weeks. But - hopefully your wife will be a good steward of the tank - good luck!!!!!

 

[bigbugoutfitters]

Thankfully i get to come home nearly every night. The big test will be November when i am going to be duck hunting for 20 some days and sleeping in the back of my rig. Parents are my neighbors and theyve also kept salt tanks. They will keep an eye on it. Neighbor girl is an aspiring marine biologist so she loves checking out the tank.

 

[MnFish1]

Thankfully i get to come home nearly every night. The big test will be November when i am going to be duck hunting for 20 some days and sleeping in the back of my rig. Parents are my neighbors and theyve also kept salt tanks. They will keep an eye on it. Neighbor girl is an aspiring marine biologist so she loves checking out the tank.

Awesome

 

[bigbugoutfitters]

Got a few mushrooms from a another reef2reefer, a few zoas, a couple montis and a pavona colony.
A little hawkfish as well.
my next day off is the 28th of july so ill maybe get another update around then, hopefully ill be able to show some growth.

 

[ReefSlice]

Coming along nicely, good luck to you from a fellow fishing guide with no time trying to maintain a reef!

 

[bigbugoutfitters]

Coming along nicely, good luck to you from a fellow fishing guide with no time trying to maintain a reef!

Where do you guide? Good season so far?

 

[ReefSlice]

Where do you guide? Good season so far?

Sanibel, FL so technically I'm in "off season" but that doesn't really exist in this neck of the woods anymore! Just means 2 or 3 days off a week instead of 1. Great snook and redfish bite this summer thus far! Now I just need minn kota to fix my trolling motor under warranty and I'll be ready for the next piece of gear to break on me... I'd love to get up to your neck of the woods one day, been on my list for years!

 

[bigbugoutfitters]

Its starting to get hot up here. Fishing wise that is, temps are only in the 80s, no humidity, water temps are in the high 50s. Boated 70 some trout yesterday, doubled up 10 times. Tis the season, 2 days off til late august currently.

 

[bigbugoutfitters]

Good times

 

[ReefSlice]

Its starting to get hot up here. Fishing wise that is, temps are only in the 80s, no humidity, water temps are in the high 50s. Boated 70 some trout yesterday, doubled up 10 times. Tis the season, 2 days off til late august currently.

That sounds like a good time to me! When I make it up there some day soon I'll be sure to reach out. 90 every day here, water temp starts at 86 at sunrise and 89-90 by the end of the day! I can't complain though... The fish are biting!