Latest update: "Side-Grade" from 55Aqueon to RSR XL 200

clifg

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55 Gal with a 10 Gal Fuge. Always a work in progress. Any comments, advice, and criticisms are always welcome! Just thought I'd share my setup.

A lot of livestock isn't pictured but right now I have: 1 lazy apistasia eating filefish, 2 chalk bass, 2 maroon clowns, 1 coral beauty, 1 splendid dotty, 1 lawnmower, 1 orange spot gobby. 2 skunk cleaners, 2 pithio crabs, 1 porcelain anemone crab, 1 white spot anemone shrimp, 1 tiger pistol shrimp, 2 emerald crabs. 2 maxi-minis, 2 RBTA, 1 haitian, 1 waratah. assorted corals. I've had a ton of luck, haven't lost a single fish or invert except for the 1 cleaner shrimp that was eaten by a nem (more on that later).

The biggest mistake I've made: putting the rock right in the middle of the tank (lengthwise). I have a ton of livestock that now lives where I can barely see them.

Currently have a bad bad apistasia problem. Waiting on Berghias from reeftown.

Massive shroom, about 3-4" across. Eats whole krill.
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Waratah anemone. The picture doesn't do it justice, about 5" fully extended. Bright pink. Voracious eater. Ate one of my cleaners (I think after a failed molt.) Side question, when a feather duster has two heads is that two worms, or do they split at the mouth or what?

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Splendid Dottyback photobombing some corals. Meat corals, aleveopora, enchinata, shrooms, pocci and acans are all doing really well in my system. Chalices & cyphastrea not so much.

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One of two maxi-mini nems that went straight for the back of the tank and the white spot shrimp that joined him there.

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Also in the back, Haitian.

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Some corals, diying chalice :(


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Cleaner shrimps, Goni seems to be doing well but we all know how that goes.

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Bubble tip & maroon clown.

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Testing stuff. Milwakuee salinity is my best purchase ever. Brine shrimp disc from BRS works really well!
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Raspberry Pi is hooked up to display Apex stats at any time. Fluval LED has been relegated to collecting brine shrimp and lighting the testing area.

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Apex & Trident. Wyze cam.

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Poseidon phyto & pod culture kit. Another amazing purchase. This is my third week and I've gotten 3 full jugs of phyto and a ton of pods. I also dump some of the brine shrimp in with the pods to let them grow & feed a bit.

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The mess under my tank... & fuge. Fluval is for mechanical filtration & makes it really easy to pop in some purigen or chemi-pure as needed. BRS biopellet & carbon reactors. CO2 scrubber. Eshopps nano skimmer. I purposely under-skim. I used to run a tank with no skimmer way back when & it worked well. This is my biggest work in progress right now. Eventually the tubes will all be replaced with silicone tubing and connect to a T so their is only one tube running back into the fuge. Still working out whether I can switch from 3 pumps I have now to 2 and still be able to tumble the bio pellets. I'm very new to plumping and it's like a foreign language to me.

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Fuge. Kessil, mangroves, red macros, tons of bio media, crushed coral, & miracle mud. Also wayyyy too many pumps. Arrow crab (love them but never had the guys to put one in the display.)

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Thanks for looking!! IMG_20201214_170117.jpg
 

Mastiffsrule

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Hey,

Tank looks great. I personally like rock in the middle for fish. Gives more room to swim. I did the rock wall for 25 years. I liked it, but pushed everything forward and left the back impossible to clean.

I need to try that photo set up. You still like it. I am happy with Algeabarn, but that looks cool.
 
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clifg

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The phyto setup is great. I'm still using the same bottle I bought from Algaebarn a couple months ago. The other unit I've been growing out brine shrimp and pods.
 
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clifg

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Just a quick update with some of my favorite pieces and a decent FTS.


Waratah, from @AquaSD , @TeamAquaSD . still in beast mode.

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Gold Octo, Thicc

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Elegance also from @AquaSD, @TeamAquaSD. Snail Assasin.

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Left Side

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Right Side

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FTS

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Finally streamlined the Fuge. Still a mess.

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Now using one phyto tank for phyto and the other for growing out brine.

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Thanks for looking!
 
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clifg

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Also a couple bonus shots for you night owls!

Some sort of tunicate

IMG_20210204_003653.jpg


Cross barred venus clam from @reefcleaners

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Tiger serpent out for a jaunt

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Some sort of mollusk hitchhiker, maybe someone can ID this?

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My favorite tank mates, a berghia about to munch some aip-shutchyomouth. Got them from @Reeftown

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Second bonus, cycled Fluval 13.5. Just can't decide on stocking. I'm thinking a harlequin tank. Any thoughts?

IMG_20210203_153942.jpg
 
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clifg

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Now that most of the ugliest are gone I'm on a quest to improve stability. My swings are roughly the same everyday so I'm wondering A. What you all think of them and B. If you have any pointers to get them even less swing. Thanks
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reef-maniac

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Just a quick update with some of my favorite pieces and a decent FTS.


Waratah, from @AquaSD , @TeamAquaSD . still in beast mode.

IMG_20210203_151757.jpg


Gold Octo, Thicc

IMG_20210203_151822.jpg


Elegance also from @AquaSD, @TeamAquaSD. Snail Assasin.

IMG_20210203_151832.jpg


Left Side

IMG_20210203_151924.jpg


Right Side

IMG_20210203_151928.jpg


FTS

IMG_20210203_151942.jpg


Finally streamlined the Fuge. Still a mess.

IMG_20210203_152011.jpg


Now using one phyto tank for phyto and the other for growing out brine.

IMG_20210203_152016.jpg




Thanks for looking!
Awesome.
 

Jedi1199

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Can you post a full view of the 55G display? I am interested in mainly the aquascape and stock list?

Thanks,
Steve
 
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clifg

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Can you post a full view of the 55G display? I am interested in mainly the aquascape and stock list?

Thanks,
Steve

There is a full tank shot above, unless you mean something else?

Stock:

2 skunk shrimp
1 white spot anemone shrimp
1 porcelain crab
1 porcelain anemone crab
1 longfin fairy wrasse
1 evansi anthias
2 maroon clowns
2 chalk bass
1 splendid dottyback
1 tiger serpant
1 pithio crab
1 tiger pistol shrimp
1 orange spot gobby
1 algae blenny
huge clean up crew.

I have a very high nutrient import & export
 
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clifg

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My skunks spawned! So lucky I caught it at just the right time to watch. Did my best with the camera but was just a bit to late to get some great shots. Scooped a couple up to put in the empty 13.5 but I'm sure nothing will survive. At least my corals got a nice little late night snack!
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IMG_20210208_234042~2.jpg


 
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clifg

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I recently moved and had to go smaller due to the structure of the house. I decided that if I'm going smaller I'm going nicer so I "side-graded" to a Red Sea Reefer XL 200. It took a lot to get the tank dialed in but I'm finally here and loving it. :D

I'm a big fan of commensal so we'll start with a Porcelain in a BTA and a White Spot in a Maxi-Mini. Of course a Tiger Pistol & Orange Spot Goby


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The right side of the tank with mangroves. I had the mangroves in a fuge before but without that space, I put them in frag racks and I'm hoping the roots grow down to the rock rubble. We'll see.

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Little equipment shot. 3dReefing shroud over a 32HD. Under the shroud are also the LEDs for the Neptune LSM. Kraken reef lid with a cutout for the mangroves.


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Left side of the tank

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Adaptive Reef Controller Board

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Front of the reef:


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Sump! :


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Questions, comments, concerns?? Thanks for looking! IMG_20210323_132849.jpg
 
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clifg

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Love the effect the wave engine and dual gyres has on my flow:




 
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clifg

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A worm with high fashion and practical utility: Have you ever kept feather dusters in your reef aquarium?

  • I currently have feather dusters in my tank.

    Votes: 64 36.8%
  • Not currently, but I have had feather dusters in my tank in the past.

    Votes: 59 33.9%
  • I have not had feather dusters, but I hope to in the future.

    Votes: 25 14.4%
  • I have no plans to have feather dusters in my tank.

    Votes: 26 14.9%
  • Other.

    Votes: 0 0.0%

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