Innovative Marine SR80 Macro and Mixed Reef

[Venturing Squirrel]

Hey everyone! I wanted to start a thread mainly so that I could document this tanks big move and ongoing build for myself, and anyone who wants to follow along with this adventure.

I've wanted to run a macro algae/mixed reef tank for a long time. I personally feel this mix tends to capture more of the natural reef essence and, well, I just like it. A few months ago I was able to tie in a 60g tank to my already running 120g reef system. The 60g got set up, stocked, and everything was going swimmingly, then came the news that we will have to relocate half way across the country for work. I don't mind moving since it's nothing but s new adventure. My conundrum became what to do with the tanks I had running. It was pretty easy for me to decide that some of the livestock was making this trip with us.

So after selling a lot of corals, giving more away to friends, and creatively shoving everything remaining into a Nuvo 40 I had sitting empty, I was able to break down the other systems. Unfortunately it only took my a few days to realize that some of the corals I'm keeping were not going to play nicely this close to each other for the next two months.

Now enters the happenstance find that a lfs was having a sale on an Innovative Marine SR80 and stand. This is the exact model of tank I had been wanting for a while so I figured I might as well bring it home with me. I decided this was the right tank for me for a few reasons: 1) it's big enough to allow everything the room it needs without being unweildy, 2) having the AIO makes my life easier, especially during this move, and 3) I've always had great experiences with IM products.

That's enough rambling for now. Picture time.

 

[easycoral]

Simple, mediocre, cheap and no difficulty corals are very suitable for beginners to practice. I wish you have fun.

 

[Venturing Squirrel]

Here's a quick rundown of the tank hardware and stocking.

Hardware:
IM SR80
2x Ecotech Radion XR30 Pro G6
2x AI Nero7
Apex Pro

Fish:
Melanarus wrasse
Tail spot Blenny

Inverts:
Cleaner Shrimp
Emerald crabs
Hermit Crabs
Snails

Corals:
Birdsnest
Purple & Teal Chalice
Big R Weirdo Chalice
Raja Rampage Chalice
Hellfire Torch
Dragon Soul Torch
Blue Hammer
Splatter Hammer
Yellow Tip Octospawn
Purple Ring Blasto
Duncan
Fascination Galaxia
Bounce Mushrooms
Godzilla Mushrooms
Interstellar Mushrooms
Lava Lamp Mushrooms
Purple Pimple Discosoma Mushrooms
Varius Other Mushrooms
Ultra Green Crown Leathers
Neon Green Cabbage Leather
Black Widow Bubble Tip Anemones
Sunburst Bubble Tip Anemones
Misc Zoanthids
Misc Palys
Purple Gorgonians
Neon Green Star Polyps
Christmas Tree Rock

Macro Algae:
Purple Fauchea - Fauchea sp.
Succulent Thicket - Galaxaura sp.
Spiny Seaweed -Euchema spinnosum
True String-of-Pearls - Coelarthrum sp.
Purple Whip Algae - Gracilaria sp.
Serrated Caulerpa - C. subserrulata
Portieria sp.
Dragon's Breath - Halymenia sp.
Burning Bush - Gracilaria sp.
Reg Grape Caulerpa - Botryocladia occidentalis
Suction Cup Caulerpa - Caulerpa racemosa var. peltata
Mexican Fern Caulerpa - Caulerpa mexicana
Branching Hex - Scinaia sp.
Dead Man's Fingers - Codium

Other:
Red Sponges

 

[Venturing Squirrel]

I would love some input from all you wonderful experienced people. I'm getting kinda stuck trying to figure out the best way to move all the corals. Fish, inverts, and macros are easy.

One option is to separate the corals by type between a few larger watertight storage containers, likely 5g buckets. My main concern with this option would be trying to minimize chemical warfare or making sure something doesn't go kamikaze and kill everything in the container.

The other option is to bag everything individually. I'm not crazy about this option because I honestly suck at bagging stuff outside of ziplocks, which tend to leak IME.

I have about 16-20 hours of driving time total (depending on how often we have to stop) which will be split over two days.

What say the masses?

 

[Venturing Squirrel]

Anyone care to help weigh in on this?

 

[Anna K]

First off what a beautiful reef and I'm sorry you're about to tear it down. Bagging each piece would be the safest option I would think and then ship them overnight to yourself if you had someone drop them off for you at fedex.

You could do the container method but then you're carrying loads more weight and chemical warfare could happen. You could bag the ones that might be the most destructive, and still do the containers.

 

[Gumbies R Us]

I'm going to link you this thread!

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/how-to-move-tanks-long-distance.562606/

 

[Venturing Squirrel]

I'm going to link you this thread!

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/how-to-move-tanks-long-distance.562606/

Thanks! I appreciate it. Sounds like what's recommended is pretty much what I was expecting.

 

[Venturing Squirrel]

First off what a beautiful reef and I'm sorry you're about to tear it down. Bagging each piece would be the safest option I would think and then ship them overnight to yourself if you had someone drop them off for you at fedex.

You could do the container method but then you're carrying loads more weight and chemical warfare could happen. You could bag the ones that might be the most destructive, and still do the containers.

Thank you so much! I think one of the best things about our little boxes of ocean is their ability to change. Whatever new scape comes out of this will be equally as enjoyable in its own way.

I am one of those keepers who enjoys changing the scape every few months. With a new scape comes new things to notice, explore, and find, for both me as well as the inhabitants. I love when I end up saying things like "when did that sponge start growing?" or "when did I get those ball nems?". It keeps the sense of awe and wonder from ever settling or getting stale.

 

[TheNative192]

Following along! Any updates!