Allow me to share my journey! I grew up with fish bowls, small freshwater tanks, and pretty much every reptile imaginable. On my 12th birthday, a cousin whom I admired introduced me to the joyous, stressful, exciting, expensive, fun, discouraging, beautiful world of marine aquaria. My first tank was a beat up 55g given to me by a family friend. A hang on the back marine land filter and an air stone skimmer, some 50/50 fluorescent lights some chunky gravel and a light load of live rock completed the setup. It was pretty much a FOWLR tank with a few anemones that lasted until I graduate high school and was time for college (2003). I moved to Tampa (from Pittsburgh) for school where I made a lifelong friend, who also was a fish nerd. We helped one another with our nano tanks. Mine was a 6g nano cube (photo below). Fast forward, graduated, moved back to Pittsburgh to start my career. In 2008 I picked up a 65g drilled tank on craigslist, I told myself I was going to take the next step...but, I wanted a predator reef (Also photo below). Mixing soft corals with a lion fish and a small Polleni grouper was fun, but bioload was hefty. That tank lasted until about 2011....where I decided that I needed a break!
End of break. It’s December of 2019, my 35th birthday. I would often visit my LFS (Aquaworld, Pittsburgh)...”can I help you” they‘d ask....”nah, just looking.” My wife and I had just purchased our new home. It was time! The basement was perfect for an in-wall setup with a fish room behind it. Drew up a design, and got the price for custom tank, steel stand, carpentry, etc...researched maintaining an in-wall tank...discussed the new build with my cousin (same one from when I was 12) who has a 600g in-wall setup. Needless to say, change of plans. My LFS coached me up and we decided to try out the NEW RS 900 3XL. It was their first order and arrived early February, by the end of the month, we were cycling! Oh...while I was waiting for the tank to arrive, I had my construction team (I’m a general contractor) build out my fish room. We decided to raise the tank on a platform for optimal viewing, also wanted to have all plumbing behind the tank, a QT zone, slop sink, and mixing station, etc. (you’ll see).
Here we are today! Never though I’d be the one in quarantine! None the less, the tank is up and running. A pair of clowns made it through QT and are enjoying the 200g display to themselves while others (Midas Benny, Flame Hawk, Flame Angel) marinate in the fish room. Waiting on my ClearView lid to arrive. A few dozen snails, a few hermits, an urchin who is MIA, and perhaps a bit of an admittedly aggressive jump start with corals are where we stand today. A nice hammer colony, a torch, an Acan, some birdsnest SPS, of course a little GSP, a few nice chunks of monti and a small chalice have been added over the past few months, all starting to grow!
Time for the part you’re here for...the photos! Enjoy. Comment. Criticize. Suggest.
The college nano...
The predator 65...
Now....for the latest build
End of break. It’s December of 2019, my 35th birthday. I would often visit my LFS (Aquaworld, Pittsburgh)...”can I help you” they‘d ask....”nah, just looking.” My wife and I had just purchased our new home. It was time! The basement was perfect for an in-wall setup with a fish room behind it. Drew up a design, and got the price for custom tank, steel stand, carpentry, etc...researched maintaining an in-wall tank...discussed the new build with my cousin (same one from when I was 12) who has a 600g in-wall setup. Needless to say, change of plans. My LFS coached me up and we decided to try out the NEW RS 900 3XL. It was their first order and arrived early February, by the end of the month, we were cycling! Oh...while I was waiting for the tank to arrive, I had my construction team (I’m a general contractor) build out my fish room. We decided to raise the tank on a platform for optimal viewing, also wanted to have all plumbing behind the tank, a QT zone, slop sink, and mixing station, etc. (you’ll see).
Here we are today! Never though I’d be the one in quarantine! None the less, the tank is up and running. A pair of clowns made it through QT and are enjoying the 200g display to themselves while others (Midas Benny, Flame Hawk, Flame Angel) marinate in the fish room. Waiting on my ClearView lid to arrive. A few dozen snails, a few hermits, an urchin who is MIA, and perhaps a bit of an admittedly aggressive jump start with corals are where we stand today. A nice hammer colony, a torch, an Acan, some birdsnest SPS, of course a little GSP, a few nice chunks of monti and a small chalice have been added over the past few months, all starting to grow!
Time for the part you’re here for...the photos! Enjoy. Comment. Criticize. Suggest.
The college nano...
The predator 65...
Now....for the latest build
