My first reef tank is a Crystal Dynamics 250 gallon build.

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Don Lidtke

Don Lidtke

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Wait a minute, are you using 3 versa pumps to do one task? That's insane! Hehe... what do you need so much flow for? Or was that just to test it out?

I am using this system to replace about two gallons of water everyday on my ATO. However, the main reason was for curiosity reasons. I am running DOS on the AWC system and I might be looking at switching over because the Versa is SO much quieter.
 

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I am using this system to replace about two gallons of water everyday on my ATO. However, the main reason was for curiosity reasons. I am running DOS on the AWC system and I might be looking at switching over because the Versa is SO much quieter.
That's what I'm using mine for. AWC. Dead silent. Once I switched over to the Versa's all I hear in the fish room is sloshing water. I love it!!!
 
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Don Lidtke

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How's the show tank? What fish are in there now?

I haven’t added any since December but the quarantine tanks are full with Blue Reef Chromis and Black Axil Chromis.

The tank itself is doing well now that I have the nitrate and phosphorus under control.

I really need to setup a time to drop by and checkout your system. It certainly has changed a lot!
 

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I haven’t added any since December but the quarantine tanks are full with Blue Reef Chromis and Black Axil Chromis.

The tank itself is doing well now that I have the nitrate and phosphorus under control.

I really need to setup a time to drop by and checkout your system. It certainly has changed a lot!
Come over anytime!! Finally have some cool stuff rocking!!
 

RobB'z Reef

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The work bench, and shelving unit for the quarantine tanks are in place. Time to start looking into setting up the QT's.
Fish Room Build21.jpg


The quarantine tanks got to be very involved, far more than just 25 gallon glass box. I wanted to experiment with a smaller body of water before forging ahead to my main tank. This has worked out exactly as planned. I made a bunch of mistakes while setting up the QT’s and I have not regretted the complexity I built into them.
Coral QT Tank Equipment .jpg


Being a retired sysadmin I must have my controller and toys, err, modules. I went with the Classic to just get my feet wet with this stuff. It worked out well for me.
QT Apex Build.jpg


Finally the QT's are up and running!
QT Running1.jpg


I started researching a reef tank by reading books, a bunch of books, and discovered that nearly every author had the best way to setup a reef tank. I would need to be careful about what system/information I would chose to follow.

I came across the Red Sea systems and was impressed with them. At the time the largest tank was the Max S-650. I did a YouTube search on the tank and came across such a variety of other videos. I was overwhelmed. In that collection of videos I ran across this channel called BRS, Bulk Reef Supply. They had just started a series called “52 Weeks of Reefing” and it was extremely informative. A side note, it’s been a pleasure watching Ryan change from the stiff, non-animated presenter, to the live stream host he is today.

Sometime later I came across Tidal Gardens. Than’s presentations were a joy to watch with a great deal of helpful information. More books were read, more videos were watched and more research on tanks.

Along the way Red Sea came out with XXL 750 and that was my new tank of desire. I put together an extensive equipment list and cost analysis based mostly from the BRS site. I really like the idea that they were reefers and sold stuff they would use on their personnel tanks. Ok, I was a little biased because they are located in my home state and rather enjoyed hearing the MN accent. Another aside if I may, riddle me this; why is MN my home state when I haven’t lived there for more than 40 years? Both my wife I have still have the majority of our families there so we always smile when we call MN our home. Back to the story…

Enter MACNA 2018. This would be my first MACNA and since Las Vegas is only a 6 hour drive from our current home My Love and I thought it would be a great road trip. An excellent chance to see more of this amazing state of Utah. Yet another side note, there are areas here in Utah where the only sign of humanity is the Interstate road we were on. There were no fences, no power lines, no billboards, not a single indication of humanity for as far as the eye could see. That was a first for me! Even in northern MN there would be powerlines running along the road when there was nothing else but trees.

I was blown away by what I saw there; amazing stuff, everywhere! Here is where I came across the tank and sump of my dreams. While more expensive than the XXL 750 a custom tank from Crystal Dynamic (72x30x27) and a sump from Geosreef (46RD-PRO-AFR) were the setup I had been looking for. The order was placed several months later and I took delivery of this system the 11 January 2019.

The gorgeous sump!
Geosreef1.jpg
Geosreef2.jpg
Geosreef3.jpg
Geosreef4.jpg


The tank is HERE!
Tank HERE!1.jpg
Tank HERE!2.jpg
Tank HERE!3.jpg


With the help of family and great friends the tank is being moved downstairs!
Tank Move1.jpg
Tank Move2.jpg


Here the beauty sits. I really can't believe that this is my tank!
Tank w Doors On.jpg
Haha way to jump back in with both feet first! Great build and tank.
 
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Don Lidtke

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I have been reminded that I haven't updated the status on my tank for a while so...

I am still in the process of stocking the tank, with both quarantine tanks full. One tank should be going into the DT tomorrow but the other tank is turning into a grow out tank. I ordered several fish from ORA but they are so small they will get lost in the DT so I will hold them in QT until they are a bit larger.

I have a pretty healthy crop of GHA but two of the fish I will be adding are Yellow Tangs so that should help. Since there's enough growth to support a clean up crew, that's what's next on the order list. I will add some pictures after the new fish are added to the DT.

Once I get the GHA under control it will be time to add my first corals! I think I will use the grow out for coral quarantine that way I will have one quarantine for the remainder of my fish list. I will need to increase the population since the DT can support more than I had originally planned. This is a larger tank than I had planned on. No complaints it's just that I have more room for fish, which isn't a bad deal.

It's hard to believe it's been sixteen months since I started this build!

Here is a video of the tank:

 
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Blue Spot Octopus

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I do not see any sand, are you going SPS? I have what appears to be the same size tanks from CD, I have a72" X 30" x 24" euro braced tank. Yeah it is still dry I am waiting on Covd 19 to be over so I can get everyone in to lift it.
 
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Don Lidtke

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I do not see any sand, are you going SPS? I have what appears to be the same size tanks from CD, I have a72" X 30" x 24" euro braced tank. Yeah it is still dry I am waiting on Covd 19 to be over so I can get everyone in to lift it.

I ran a FOLR many, many years ago with sand and it was a real mess as the tank aged so this time around I decided not to run sand. Also, I do plan on having SPS corals so it's an added benefit.

Starting a tank without sand is a bit more of a hassle but I expected the startup problems so I have been taking things very slowly dealing with stuff as it shows up.
 
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Don Lidtke

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Don, how are the chromis doing, any problems? Your glass on the bottom is spotless!

They are pretty good tank mates. Occasionally one guy goes after an other one and that's mostly during feeding. Otherwise they hang out with each other. The other fish are left alone but feeding is where one guy truly owns the roost.
 

Caring for your picky eaters: What do you feed your finicky fish?

  • Live foods

    Votes: 14 26.9%
  • Frozen meaty foods

    Votes: 43 82.7%
  • Soft pellets

    Votes: 7 13.5%
  • Masstick (or comparable)

    Votes: 3 5.8%
  • Other

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