New 75g build

[Puzzles386]

Hello all,
Here's my new tank! Adding the first 2 clownfish today. Waiting on 2 Kessil lights in the mail, but I know the fish won't mind not having them for a few days.
Filter: Penn Plax Cascade 1200
Pumps: Hydor Korralia 1150gph x2
Eheim 200W heater
Tunze Osmolator ATO

Planning to order a custom cut acrylic and mesh lid since the glass lid retains too much heat here in FL. Heater probably won't even come on until November.

 

[Propane]

Looks pretty cool!

 

[Puzzles386]

Thanks

 

[CWalters]

Hope you’re naming the black one emo Nemo…

 

[Gumbies R Us]

Nice looking tank! Any future plans you have with it?

 

[Puzzles386]

Hope you’re naming the black one emo Nemo…

I was thinking Chris Rock since he's small, black, and funny

 

[Puzzles386]

Nice looking tank! Any future plans you have with it?

I'm planning to also add a royal gramma, small wrasse, lawnmower blenny, and watchman goby/pistol shrimp pair. I'd like to add some soft corals and LPS.

 

[Puzzles386]

Update: 2 nassarius snails added for my birthday, Aug 3rd. I wanted to buy the royal gramma as well, but the quarantine tank was not quite ready.
Ordered a Weeping Willow toadstool mushroom and Mountain Dew toadstool from Biota, which should arrive Aug 18th.

 

[kevgib67]

Looking great, following.

 

[Puzzles386]

I got the Apogee PAR meter and took some measurements today. This tank will be home for mostly LPS and softies since it's my first. I have 2 Kessil A160WE Tuna Blue lights mounted at the 7 inch mark. Here's what I got. (There's nothing special about the area with darker boxes. I just decided it wasn't necessary after doing the first one.)

 

[Puzzles386]

Forgot to add that the clowns are settling in quite well.

 

[Gumbies R Us]

Forgot to add that the clowns are settling in quite well.

Glad to see the clowns are doing well!

 

[Puzzles386]

My first corals arrived yesterday, Biota Group's version of the Weeping Willow toadstool and Mountain Dew toadstool.
I wasn't able to achieve the exact placement that I wanted after multiple attempts. It just wasn't sticking. Here's what I ended up with. My question is should I keep trying to get a more horizontal position or just let it be? Polyps are already extending and they seem to be adjusting well. Pics show initial placement and 4 hours later.

 

[Puzzles386]

I've got a few updates and some new additions!
My 2 clownfish and 2 leather corals are doing great.

I started a zoa garden, going for a rainbow effect. Magicians, Utter Chaos, Bowsers, Pikachu Green Dragon Eye, AOI, Mystique, Purple Monster

6/8 of them are doing well.
Magicians frag developed approx 2-3mm fuzzy white spots on the stalks, so they were immediately dipped again and placed in QT, started improving within 24-48 hours, no spots left, and all polyps opening. Green Dragon Eye is not opening fully but has no other issues that I can tell. I'm debating dipping this one again also and placing in QT. I got them to open a little more by simply turning down the lights, so debating the stress of re-dipping and moving them.

Added a cleaner shrimp, conch, and emerald crab to the existing cleanup crew, which is now 2 nassarius snails, 5 trochus snails, 1 skunk cleaner shrimp, 1 sand tiger Conch, and 1 emerald crab.

Can't see the trochus and nassarius snails? Don't worry, neither can we most of the time. They're working hard though!

Added a royal gramma yesterday, and everyone is getting along so far.

Coming soon: watchman goby and pistol shrimp pair, purple firefish once QT period is complete and when my acrylic lid from Clearview Lids arrives

 

[Puzzles386]

It's time for a 6 month update (3 days late, but it's been a busy week). Royal gramma Flo turned out to be a bully, attacked the clowns, and got banished to the QT tank but then unfortunately passed a few days later. Current fish/ inverts include: Fanta and Kevin the clowns, Electra the purple firefish, Sun and Star the McKosker's wrasses, Rick and Morty the watchman goby and pistol shrimp pair, Pedro the lawnmower blenny, Jacques the cleaner shrimp, Pepper the peppermint shrimp, Popeye and Jade the emerald crabs, Pinky and Kronk the conchs, Snuffy and Dumbo the nassarius snails, Patrick the sand siding star, unnamed blue-legged hermits, Mexican turbo snails, trochus snails, and bumblebee snails. Coming soon will be Cleo the tomini tang from Dr. Reef's Quarantined Fish.
Current corals include 2 toadstool mushrooms, 3 ricordea mushrooms, zoa garden, 5 acans/micromussa, 2 Duncans, 2 goniopora, 2 alveopora, 3 hammers, 1 frogspawn, 2 favia, 1 "mint leather" (sinularia?) mushroom, 2 clove polyps, and 2 newly added blasto wellsi.

All inhabitants seem well, and I'm trying to lower phosphates a little- tested 0.1 yesterday. This is leading to a little algae bloom which I'm hoping the tang will help with. I had recently increased feeding so will back off some.

The biggest challenge for me personally came when we left for vacation to Maldives for 2 weeks (Scuba videos available on YouTube under Puzzles386 if anyone's interested!). I had a trusted friend/coworker who has reef experience do tank maintenance. As preparation, I left very detailed instructions and labeled everything. We also did a run through of all procedures. When we came back, the tank was still stable but 2 candy canes were lost within the week. 1 had already been in QT, and the other was fully retracted. This probably would have happened no matter what though, and everyone else looked healthy. Related question for whoever has read this far- how much would you expect to compensate someone for weekly maintenance on a 75 gallon tank and a 10 gallon QT? For the type of people who ask nothing in return, I had to improvise and create a gift basket/ gift card.