MyTonyTiger
Community Member
So, I've been keeping fish (fresh and saltwater) since the ealry 90's. During that time, I mostly had African cichlids. Then, in 2001 I decided to go saltwater. My first Saltwater tank was a 55 gallon reef tank. It lasted a few years and was beautiful. Then, in 2002, I added to my collection a 40g tall tank where I did a live rock wall, similar to what I had seen at my LFS. My wife and I also had a 10 gallon tank where we raised a couple of clutches of clown fish on live rotifers. Obviously I love this stuff.
Unfortunately, in 2006 we moved up to KY (from Dallas, TX) in the winter for a job change. The first 2 weeks we were going to be in a hotel and we didn't know where we would be after that. So, we had to break everything down and sell or give everything away. :( Since we were less than stable in our living situation at that time (short-term renting), I didn't risk setting up another tank. I had kept the 40 gallon tank and stand though. Finally in around 2008, after buying a house, I set up a fresh water amazon biome tank, with soft, black-water. I have a video on youtube showing what that looked like.
Then, we moved again, this time to Tennessee. We rented another year and then bought another home. Finally, I felt I was in a good position to restart my saltwater tank. So, I set up the 40g tall tank. This would have been back in early 2018. Unfortunately, I have almost no photos of it. The tank did great the first year and a half. But then we had to take a trip for a couple of weeks. We had a friend helping to take care of it while we were gone. Unfortunately, the tiny bit of hair algae we had previously seen was exploding. It took a couple of months to get it under control, but then Dino's hit. It was a never-ending battle. Finally, in the fall of 2021 I decided to start over.
After some research, I pulled the trigger on January 19th, 2022 to purchase an Innovative Marine Int 100g Tank with APS Aquarium Stand. Here it is after assembly:
And with the sump:
It was easy to put together. My biggest complaint was all the aluminum filings still on the frame and the tape covering the slots. I needed help putting the tank on the stand. It's heavy and the size makes it a bit awkward.
Here is a short video showing the initial leak test and plumbing underneath.
Fortunately, no leaks. In hindsight, I wish I had installed valves on all 3 overflow pipes. This way when I want to remove the interior plumbing in the overflow for cleaning, I can close off the valves, pull out the pipes and not have my sump overflow, or the level in the overflow go down. Currently it's kind of a refugium for copepods. Tons of little critters back there.
After cycling for nearly a month and setting up lights, we added our two clownfish, and our royal Gramma from the old tank. We also added a new yellow tang, and a couple of mandarins from Biota. Additionally we got our first bit of coral in. We had a Seneye for monitoring and there was no question the tank was cycled at this point. Here's are some images:
By July, 2022 this is what the tank looked like.
By September 7th, 2023 (Video):
December, 2022:
January 22nd, 2023:
February 5th, 2023:
And here it is today:
Here are some shots under the tank:
Equipment is as follows:
- Innovative Marine INT 100 tank with APS Stand
- Ice Cap - Reef Sump 30 with 5-gallon ATO reservoir.
- Sicce- Syncra ADV 7.0 Water Pump (1900 GPH) return pump
- 2 x ReefWave 45 pump with contollers
- 2 x Radion XR15 G5 Pro LED Light fixtures
- 2 x Radion XR15 G5 Diffuser Upgrade
- 1 x 48" Coral Cover Hybrid LED Light Fixture
- Aquatic Life - Floating Suspension Hybrid Light Fixture Hanging System - Black
- Red Sea – ReefDose 4 dosing pump
- 2 x 300W Titanium Heater Element - Bulk Reef Supply
- Helio Universal Aquarium Heater Controller
- Exo Auto Top Off - ReefBreeders
Anyway, that's my build so far. Wish I had documented more, but I didn't.
As for the Mandarins, they are doing fantastic and have grown so much! I am raising my own apocyclops and am able to dose every week. I also see them munching on the occasional frozen mysis shrimp (pieces) that I feed my other fish once a week. Don't think they touch the pellets the fish get at other times.
My maintenance routine is just to change the water every week or two. I usually change about 20 gallons at a time.
My primary dosing is Component 1+2+3, which has been great. I dose about 85ml per day of each component.
Corals are doing well, I think. Here are a few shots:
And a shot of my Royal Gramma:
Unfortunately, in 2006 we moved up to KY (from Dallas, TX) in the winter for a job change. The first 2 weeks we were going to be in a hotel and we didn't know where we would be after that. So, we had to break everything down and sell or give everything away. :( Since we were less than stable in our living situation at that time (short-term renting), I didn't risk setting up another tank. I had kept the 40 gallon tank and stand though. Finally in around 2008, after buying a house, I set up a fresh water amazon biome tank, with soft, black-water. I have a video on youtube showing what that looked like.
Then, we moved again, this time to Tennessee. We rented another year and then bought another home. Finally, I felt I was in a good position to restart my saltwater tank. So, I set up the 40g tall tank. This would have been back in early 2018. Unfortunately, I have almost no photos of it. The tank did great the first year and a half. But then we had to take a trip for a couple of weeks. We had a friend helping to take care of it while we were gone. Unfortunately, the tiny bit of hair algae we had previously seen was exploding. It took a couple of months to get it under control, but then Dino's hit. It was a never-ending battle. Finally, in the fall of 2021 I decided to start over.
After some research, I pulled the trigger on January 19th, 2022 to purchase an Innovative Marine Int 100g Tank with APS Aquarium Stand. Here it is after assembly:
And with the sump:
It was easy to put together. My biggest complaint was all the aluminum filings still on the frame and the tape covering the slots. I needed help putting the tank on the stand. It's heavy and the size makes it a bit awkward.
Here is a short video showing the initial leak test and plumbing underneath.
Fortunately, no leaks. In hindsight, I wish I had installed valves on all 3 overflow pipes. This way when I want to remove the interior plumbing in the overflow for cleaning, I can close off the valves, pull out the pipes and not have my sump overflow, or the level in the overflow go down. Currently it's kind of a refugium for copepods. Tons of little critters back there.
After cycling for nearly a month and setting up lights, we added our two clownfish, and our royal Gramma from the old tank. We also added a new yellow tang, and a couple of mandarins from Biota. Additionally we got our first bit of coral in. We had a Seneye for monitoring and there was no question the tank was cycled at this point. Here's are some images:
By July, 2022 this is what the tank looked like.
By September 7th, 2023 (Video):
December, 2022:
January 22nd, 2023:
February 5th, 2023:
And here it is today:
Here are some shots under the tank:
Equipment is as follows:
- Innovative Marine INT 100 tank with APS Stand
- Ice Cap - Reef Sump 30 with 5-gallon ATO reservoir.
- Sicce- Syncra ADV 7.0 Water Pump (1900 GPH) return pump
- 2 x ReefWave 45 pump with contollers
- 2 x Radion XR15 G5 Pro LED Light fixtures
- 2 x Radion XR15 G5 Diffuser Upgrade
- 1 x 48" Coral Cover Hybrid LED Light Fixture
- Aquatic Life - Floating Suspension Hybrid Light Fixture Hanging System - Black
- Red Sea – ReefDose 4 dosing pump
- 2 x 300W Titanium Heater Element - Bulk Reef Supply
- Helio Universal Aquarium Heater Controller
- Exo Auto Top Off - ReefBreeders
Anyway, that's my build so far. Wish I had documented more, but I didn't.
As for the Mandarins, they are doing fantastic and have grown so much! I am raising my own apocyclops and am able to dose every week. I also see them munching on the occasional frozen mysis shrimp (pieces) that I feed my other fish once a week. Don't think they touch the pellets the fish get at other times.
My maintenance routine is just to change the water every week or two. I usually change about 20 gallons at a time.
My primary dosing is Component 1+2+3, which has been great. I dose about 85ml per day of each component.
Corals are doing well, I think. Here are a few shots:
And a shot of my Royal Gramma:
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