Lurking danger 75g Dragon Lair

[vlangel]

Your tank is gorgeous Dawn! I just upgraded from my 32 g , set up for over 4 years, in February and just moved things over and keep adding of course.

Wow, I did not realize that your current tank is even newer than mine, LOL. Having mature coral colonies sure helps a new tank look established and immediately beautiful. I was fortunate enough to also have some mature colonies.

 

[kevgib67]

Wow, I did not realize that your current tank is even newer than mine, LOL. Having mature coral colonies sure helps a new tank look established and immediately beautiful. I was fortunate enough to also have some mature colonies.

When was yours set up, it looks mature!

 

[vlangel]

When was yours set up, it looks mature!

Last September.

 

[kevgib67]

Last September.

I thought it was much older, joined R2R in 2014, I’m guessing your 8th grade year in school.

 

[vlangel]

I thought it was much older, joined R2R in 2014, I’m guessing your 8th grade year in school.

LOL, the beauty of the internet! If you saw me in person you'd probably think I was in 8th grade with your grandmother! I was 37 years old when I got hired at the lfs that I worked at in 1997. I started my 1st reef in a year or so later but was slower to join forums. My cabbage leather is probably 25+ years old. Several of my colonies are over 10 yrs old. I wasn't great with coral for a long time but I managed to keep some of the sturdiest alive. I was more of a fish gal but slowly I am learning more about meeting the needs of coral too, (at least some coral).

 

[kevgib67]

LOL, the beauty of the internet! If you saw me in person you'd probably think I was in 8th grade with your grandmother! I was 37 years old when I got hired at the lfs that I worked at in 1997. I started my 1st reef in a year or so later but was slower to join forums. My cabbage leather is probably 25+ years old. Several of my colonies are over 10 yrs old. I wasn't great with coral for a long time but I managed to keep some of the sturdiest alive. I was more of a fish gal but slowly I am learning more about meeting the needs of coral too, (at least some coral).

Na, I’m older Gen X, I had my first tank set up in the mid nineties. It was up and running for 16 years, primitive times. It was a softie and lps tank. A lot of trial and error. Little did my wife know back then I would be where I am here and now. She has absolutely no interest in my tank . Comes in handy when I have a large order of corals come in this Tuesday. If she doesn’t see them before I put them in she doesn’t know the difference. You should pop over to the #Smorg#Smorgasbordntroduce yourself. A lot of entertaining guys and gals and plenty of seasoned reefers to offer advice and answer any questions. I promise you’ll get a warm welcome!

 

[tbrown]

Na, I’m older Gen X, I had my first tank set up in the mid nineties. It was up and running for 16 years, primitive times. It was a softie and lps tank. A lot of trial and error. Little did my wife know back then I would be where I am here and now. She has absolutely no interest in my tank . Comes in handy when I have a large order of corals come in this Tuesday. If she doesn’t see them before I put them in she doesn’t know the difference. You should pop over to the #Smorg#Smorgasbordntroduce yourself. A lot of entertaining guys and gals and plenty of seasoned reefers to offer advice and answer any questions. I promise you’ll get a warm welcome!

And then there's you and I...

 

[vlangel]

Na, I’m older Gen X, I had my first tank set up in the mid nineties. It was up and running for 16 years, primitive times. It was a softie and lps tank. A lot of trial and error. Little did my wife know back then I would be where I am here and now. She has absolutely no interest in my tank . Comes in handy when I have a large order of corals come in this Tuesday. If she doesn’t see them before I put them in she doesn’t know the difference. You should pop over to the #Smorg#Smorgasbordntroduce yourself. A lot of entertaining guys and gals and plenty of seasoned reefers to offer advice and answer any questions. I promise you’ll get a warm welcome!

Well, you got me, I thought you were a millennial! And you've been in the hobby longer than me. LOL
However, you are young enough to understand #Smorgasbord: I don't know what that is?

 

[tbrown]

Well, you got me, I thought you were a millennial! And you've been in the hobby longer than me. LOL
However, you are young enough to understand #Smorgasbord: I don't know what that is?

It's (@00W ) Joel's Tank Showcase thread where a bunch of us hang out.

 

[tbrown]

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/00ws-aio-smorgasbord.992149/

 

[kevgib67]

Well, you got me, I thought you were a millennial! And you've been in the hobby longer than me. LOL
However, you are young enough to understand #Smorgasbord: I don't know what that is?

Ha, I’ve never had a computer course, Im technically challenged! Here, @Smorgasbord
. I’m heading to bed, good night Dawn..

 

[kevgib67]

What Tim said!

 

[vlangel]

It's (@00W ) Joel's Tank Showcase thread where a bunch of us hang out.

Thanks tbrown, I didn't have a clue what Kevin was talking about! Am I being invited to the cool kids table?

 

[tbrown]

Thanks tbrown, I didn't have a clue what Kevin was talking about! Am I being invited to the cool kids table?

Always!

And for the record, I'm not positive Kevin had a clue what he was talking about either.

 

[kevgib67]

Good morning Dawn, quick question, how long did it take you maxima to attach itself to the shell it’s on? Mine has been knocked off three times by turbos and picked up once by my urchin?

 

[vlangel]

Good morning Dawn, quick question, how long did it take you maxima to attach itself to the shell it’s on? Mine has been knocked off three times by turbos and picked up once by my urchin?

It did take this maxima longer than my crocea. I am not quite sure when it actually did attach but I bet it was at least a week and a half or more.

 

[vlangel]

I am thinking ahead to when my hubby and I take a 10 day motorcycle roadtrip to Nova Scotia. With the glass tops this aquarium does not lose a lot of water to evaporation but I could use Rice Krispie's (may he RIP) 2 and a half gallon tank as a reservoir for an ATO. I already have a float switch ATO but all my snails have me nervous. I need to build a cage around the floats so snails cant park their carcasses there. Maybe I am just better off to have my son or sister pour a little water in the tank and call it good.

 

[HTFish]

Sumpless 75g Mixed Reef​

11-17-25

AQUARIUM PROFILE & EQUIPMENT
1. What type of saltwater aquarium is this?: mixed reef
2. Total water volume: 75 gallons
3. When did you start this tank?: September 2025, but all the rock, sand and inhabitants were transferred from a 9 year old 56g aquarium
4. What is your aquarium made of?: glass Aqueon
5. Aquarium Stand: Aqueon 48" x 18"
6. Aquarium filtration: only a canister prefilter sponge from an Oase BioMaster 800 and natural biological from rock, sand, macroalgae. The canister filter is acting as a cryptic sump where pods, worms and other life can live and reproduce unmolested by fish. Hopefully this will provide a continuous supply of pods and worms for a natural food source for fish and coral.
7. Controller: Inkbird temperature
8. Protein skimmer: no
9. Reactor: no
10. Sump: no
11. Equipment for flow & circulation:
A. Oase BioMaster 800 canister filter,
with spraybar output
B. Tunze nanostream 6045
C. Ecotech mp 40
12. Aquarium Lighting: ReefBreeder
Photon V-24
13. ATO: no
14. Aquarium Heating: heater that is
made to be integrated in the
BioMaster 800 canister filter. The beauty of this is the heater is in the canister and not in the tank cluttering the display. Also none of the inhabitants can be injured by it.
PH: 8.0
Specific Gravity: 1.024
NO3: 10ppm
PO4: .5ppm
Calcium, Alkalinity, and Magnesium are not monitored as these are naturally regulated with water changes and AFR dosing
Salt Brand: Instant Ocean
Trace Element dosing: Flourish (1 capful weekly), AFR ( 5-10 ML weekly), and 1 capful Seachem Stability weekly
Water Chemistry Details: 10% water change weekly
Aquarium Aquascape:
Substrate: shallow and deep sand
Live rock: 80lbs of Carribean
Nutrient export: Macroalgae and coral

AQUARIUM INHABITANTS
Fish: True Percula Clownfish, Yellow Watchman Goby, Firefish Goby, Blue Eyed Kole Tang, One Spot Foxface, Masked Goby and Pajama Cardinalfish, Solon fairy wrasse, Longnose hawkfish, Bridled goby, and Neon cleaner goby


Coral: SPS- Scroll coral, War coral, green monticap, lepto
LPS- Green Hammers, Aqua Trumpets, Neon Green Trumpets
SOFTIES- various Palys, various Zoas, Sinularia finger leather, Cabbage leather, Green Toadstool leather, Green Star Polyp
SPONGES- Yellow Ball Sponge,

Inverts: Rock Flower Anemones, 6 Feather Dusters, Emerald crabs, 6 Peppermint Shrimp, Nassarius snails and an Atlantic cucumber, astrea snails, and fight conch


Macroalgae: (Green) Codium, Opuntia, Shaving Brush, Ulva, Moss Ball, (Red) Pom Pom, Gracilaria Hayi, Mermaid's fan

2 Mangroves

Aquarium Nutrition:
Auto Feeder 2Xs daily veggie flakes
1 Frozen Cube daily of various foods
5 ML of live Phyto
______________________________________

Hi R2R friends! I bought a 75g standard Aqueon rimmed aquarium to transfer my 56g natural nutrient tank into. My primary reasons are I wanted a little bigger footprint and a longer tank plus I wanted an aquarium that was not as tall for viewing and wiping the glass. My 56g aquarium is almost 9 years old and in a sweet spot so this is a nervous move.

However I am very excited about setting this tank up and have it tell a story. The ocean is a place of soothing, swaying coral in the current. It can give one a sense of peace. And yet, it is also a place where smaller fish are hunted and preyed upon by bigger, even menacing fish. So there is a tension between the serene and the anxious vigilance to stay alive. In our home aquariums we strive for the serene but we often battle the menacing; be it incompatibility, water parameters, disease or out of control algae. So that tension is a reality even in our little piece of the ocean. That dichotomy is what i hope to convey in this build, which is also why I changed the name of this thread.

For filtration I rely mostly based on biology. The 56g has a 30g sump refugium but the new 75g will be an AIO using an Aqua Clear 110 filter. I plan to keep rubble rock in it for a pod refuge, although I may use carbon and filter floss when I want to polish the water. I keep enough ornamental macroalgae, sponges along with a partial DSB and live rock that my display acts a lot like a fuge. And of course I will do water changes as needed, ( probably weekly for the first year or so).

For flow, I have 3 Carefree Fish wavemakers and an MP10. I am not sure yet just what combination I will use. I know that I want the display to have as minimal disruption of the natural beauty from equipment as possible. All these powerheads are fairly low profile so that should be pretty easy. I will use 2 smaller heaters so that they also are low profile. For lighting I will continue to use my ReefBreeder Photon V24. I know that on the ends of the tank the par will be much lower but I like palys and zoas so that will be a good place for them. If I find that I don't have enough light I can always add more.

I bought glass tops to stop carpet surfers and to cut down on evaporation. I will make sure there is good surface agitation for oxygen exchange.

Finally I plan to paint a mural of a leafy seadragon in a kelp forest on the back glass. I am very excited about this unique aspect of my tank. I love seadragons, pipefish and seahorses. (I kept and raised seahorses in the 56g) so its an acknowledgment to that season in my aquaria experience. This will be a fun tank to set up and I am excited to start! The first pic is my current 56g natural nutrient tank.

I like the macroalgae and feather dusters in there. I think you should throw an Undulate Trigger in there and watch what happens to the balance between the serenity and menacing. (Haha, just kidding!)

 

[kevgib67]

It did take this maxima longer than my crocea. I am not quite sure when it actually did attach but I bet it was at least a week and a half or more.

Thanks I was beginning to worry Dawn, you set my mind at ease!

 

[vlangel]

I like the macroalgae and feather dusters in there. I think you should throw an Undulate Trigger in there and watch what happens to the balance between the serenity and menacing. (Haha, just kidding!)

Yes, I am pretty sure that menacing would obliterate serenity! So much for the delicate balance.