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- Oct 23, 2019
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Just what the title says. I'm ordering an IM 100g Peninsula in the next couple of weeks and want to start putting my plan together.
I currently plan to light it with two AI Prime HDs that I have since they both have a 24"x24"x24" spread and I'll upgrade if needed but like the idea of not having a giant fixture. I already have a suitable filtration plan, including a sump, skimmer, and a couple of different reactors that I can swap in as needed - as well as a uv system from when my bigger system ended up with dinos.
For rock, I'm not certain. Currently my tanks range from 1 gallon pico dwarf seahorse habitat at work, a 5 gallon dwarf seahorse refugium that's attached to my 20 gallon flat mixed reef with a 40 gallon sump, a 20 gallon AIO drop off lps dominant reef (euphyllia primarily.) I started the bigger system with live rock, and added previously live rock that bought from someone else, nuked, and recycled for the ponies, and dry "life" rock for the drop off so I've had experience with both.
For cost reasons I'm leaning more towards dry rock since the scope of the tank is much larger, and Tampa bay saltwater is quoting me over 1k for live rock and sand before shipping. I think what I might do is order live sand from them, to seed the tank and cycle some dry rock with it, even if that's not necessarily the pretty option.
I am also considering growing some mangroves into bonsai (my other extremely expensive and patience requiring hobby) controlling size and growth with root trims and selective pruning/wiring to get the desired shape. I'm just not fully sure if carefully curated mangroves look okay with a reef right by them, or if they'd seem out of place. I would like to plant them in plastic trays that are shallow enough to go under the sand bed to help control root growth which in turn controls how big the tree gets, and makes it a lot easier to manage the root system without disrupting the entire tank. What is the general consensus on Mangroves in a reef display?
My thought is having the trees on the return and drain side so that the branches don't eventually interfere with coral growth, and I can put a plant specific light over the mangroves to be sure they are getting all the light they need to be healthy and strong. I then plan to have an island of rock, possibly two space allowing for coral. I don't plan on any acros at this time but I would like to make a mixed reef with some montis and "easier" sps along with lps, and maybe some softies, if it wouldn't be too jarring with the trees. If the trees are a weird look, I am also considering doing a display refugium similar to the one I have on my first reef, but make it all sea grasses and a mangrove - maybe some macro in there to add some color. I'm not sure if I'd do dwarf ponies in that, but I do have experience with ponies and a reef being in the same system, and I'm currently struggling to keep up with how fast my ponies are breeding, so it's likely they'd end up in a display refugium of seagrasses and such. I do plan to heavily seed the system with pods too with the hope of eventually having a pair of
Sump, the plan is a skimmer and macro of some sort, probably chaeto, reactors as needed, but with how large the tank is, I'm more worried about lack of nutrients during the early stages and while I learn to manage a giant tank (compared to my experience with small tanks)
I'm very excited to start on this journey, and excited for how lovely the tank will be in a few years when it's had some coral growth, and now I have options for fish that weren't previously options, which is exciting too. If you read this far, thank you for reading my ramblings and thoughts, and I look forward to reading everyone's opinion on my loose plan I have right now.
I currently plan to light it with two AI Prime HDs that I have since they both have a 24"x24"x24" spread and I'll upgrade if needed but like the idea of not having a giant fixture. I already have a suitable filtration plan, including a sump, skimmer, and a couple of different reactors that I can swap in as needed - as well as a uv system from when my bigger system ended up with dinos.
For rock, I'm not certain. Currently my tanks range from 1 gallon pico dwarf seahorse habitat at work, a 5 gallon dwarf seahorse refugium that's attached to my 20 gallon flat mixed reef with a 40 gallon sump, a 20 gallon AIO drop off lps dominant reef (euphyllia primarily.) I started the bigger system with live rock, and added previously live rock that bought from someone else, nuked, and recycled for the ponies, and dry "life" rock for the drop off so I've had experience with both.
For cost reasons I'm leaning more towards dry rock since the scope of the tank is much larger, and Tampa bay saltwater is quoting me over 1k for live rock and sand before shipping. I think what I might do is order live sand from them, to seed the tank and cycle some dry rock with it, even if that's not necessarily the pretty option.
I am also considering growing some mangroves into bonsai (my other extremely expensive and patience requiring hobby) controlling size and growth with root trims and selective pruning/wiring to get the desired shape. I'm just not fully sure if carefully curated mangroves look okay with a reef right by them, or if they'd seem out of place. I would like to plant them in plastic trays that are shallow enough to go under the sand bed to help control root growth which in turn controls how big the tree gets, and makes it a lot easier to manage the root system without disrupting the entire tank. What is the general consensus on Mangroves in a reef display?
My thought is having the trees on the return and drain side so that the branches don't eventually interfere with coral growth, and I can put a plant specific light over the mangroves to be sure they are getting all the light they need to be healthy and strong. I then plan to have an island of rock, possibly two space allowing for coral. I don't plan on any acros at this time but I would like to make a mixed reef with some montis and "easier" sps along with lps, and maybe some softies, if it wouldn't be too jarring with the trees. If the trees are a weird look, I am also considering doing a display refugium similar to the one I have on my first reef, but make it all sea grasses and a mangrove - maybe some macro in there to add some color. I'm not sure if I'd do dwarf ponies in that, but I do have experience with ponies and a reef being in the same system, and I'm currently struggling to keep up with how fast my ponies are breeding, so it's likely they'd end up in a display refugium of seagrasses and such. I do plan to heavily seed the system with pods too with the hope of eventually having a pair of
Sump, the plan is a skimmer and macro of some sort, probably chaeto, reactors as needed, but with how large the tank is, I'm more worried about lack of nutrients during the early stages and while I learn to manage a giant tank (compared to my experience with small tanks)
I'm very excited to start on this journey, and excited for how lovely the tank will be in a few years when it's had some coral growth, and now I have options for fish that weren't previously options, which is exciting too. If you read this far, thank you for reading my ramblings and thoughts, and I look forward to reading everyone's opinion on my loose plan I have right now.