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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