Alright so this is going to be the official thread for my first reef tank!!!
I'll tell the story in oder obviously. When i got my job as a bank manager i wanted something out of the ordinary to put in my office. Having kept saltwater tanks for a couple years and having seen the success of nano reef lately i decided to start my own micro ocean. I found a personal webpage online that documented the modification of an Eclipse System 6 to work as a nano. I took the plunge and bought the tank.
With the eclipse in my hands I gutted the stock filtration system since I would be using live rock and sand anyway. The stock lights came out too in trade for 2x20watt Coralife 50/50 bulbs. I got a Rapids Mini Canister filter w/ Phosfate Sponge and Nitrate Sponge to keep the water in check...and 2 MiniJet 404 pumps to move it all around. Unfortunately once it was all set up I kind of lost track of the whole thing while I worked and it sat in my basement for almost a year.
One day I stumbled across the tank in my basement and seeing as I had just quit my job to go back to school, I thought it would be the perfect thing to occupy my time. I contacted Richard at Tampabaysalwater to set me up with his famous "package" and i was back on the road to reefing.
Richard sent me part one that same day and here it was in all its 6lb glory!! ;D
Once the ammonia levels had settled I contacted him for part two and thats where the trouble begins. Not only did Rich send me TONS of more rock, but he sent anemones, shrimp, cucumbers, starfish, gorgonians, sea plants, hermits, snails, hitchhiker crabs
, sponges, and tons more stuff that literally filled my tank. I think there must have been about 2 gallons of actual water in there... here it is....(or was)
So seeing as even the sponges were crying for help... that very same day i made the decision to upgrade (prob a world record of some kind) and the next day I had a shiny new 20 tall tank sitting in my living room filled with saltwater and ready for the swap. Richard had already been contacted and sent me more rock and sand for the new tank. Unfortunately the Condy anemone died in the process... made it to the new tank but shriveled up and died within a day or two.
Here are the specs on the tank:
-AGA 20g Tall
-AGA glass top
-JBJ 70w 14k Metal Halide
-24" Coralife 65w 50/50 PC fixture
-4 LED Blue moonlight
-AquaC Remora Nano Skimmer
-Rapids mini canister filter - removed carbon and subsituted Phosphate and Nitrate absorbers in media bags
-Hydor Koralia 2
-150w Stealth heater
The final product...
My pride and joy, the most expensive piece of equipment... the Remora Nano
Coralife 24" 65w 50/50 (not pictured with the new JBJ Metal Halide)
So once the new tank was set up I kept a very close eye on it for a few weeks and one day i saw a 2 little yellow eyes poking out of a rock.... we all know what that means :
So suddenly I had found a use for my old Eclipse Tank! I quickly filled it with saltwater and voila! instant Mantis tank. I threw some aragonite on bottom and plucked the entire piece of rock out of my display tank complete with Mr. Shrimp inside. His name is now Fluffy and he lives in his tank with a rock flower anemone and all the crabs that i find destroying my main tank. He gets fed said crabs along with silversides, salad shrimp, pieces of squid, and the occasional snail (which he doesnt eat).
I present... Fluffy...he's still a little camera shy
Casa de Fluffy
So since i had just plucked out a huge piece of rock from the main tank I reorganized it to something a little more appealing i think... here is the new and FINAL setup sans Rock Anemome (relocated), Condy (RIP), Orange Tree Sponge (caught air during shipment from TBS), Fluffy (Moved out)
Finally the inhabitants which i will periodically update
There's prob 15 of these guys at least... Blue-legged hermits
I know, I know..."here comes the newb with his reef and Nemo-fish".... My girlfriend demanded I put them in, and i like them too a pair of false perculas (tank-bred)
My crazy decorator arrow crab from TBS playing on the silver brush gorgonian which wasnt very brushy at the moment
Peppermint Shrimp from TBS
Six-Lined Wrasse
T. Crocea (I know the tank is too small...by the time this thing outgrows it I'll have a 100+ to move it to)
Open Brain
Some green zoa that are starting to pop out
Orange Sponge from TBS and a Curley Cue Anemome
Brand new Candy Cane Coral which i dont think was fully open yet
Ricordia
Some Unidentified coral that came on the TBS rock
Goniopora that i picked up from Aquatic Obsessions today (not fully extended yet)
Evergreen Starbust frag
Some hermits, zoas, and spotted mushroom
I'll tell the story in oder obviously. When i got my job as a bank manager i wanted something out of the ordinary to put in my office. Having kept saltwater tanks for a couple years and having seen the success of nano reef lately i decided to start my own micro ocean. I found a personal webpage online that documented the modification of an Eclipse System 6 to work as a nano. I took the plunge and bought the tank.
With the eclipse in my hands I gutted the stock filtration system since I would be using live rock and sand anyway. The stock lights came out too in trade for 2x20watt Coralife 50/50 bulbs. I got a Rapids Mini Canister filter w/ Phosfate Sponge and Nitrate Sponge to keep the water in check...and 2 MiniJet 404 pumps to move it all around. Unfortunately once it was all set up I kind of lost track of the whole thing while I worked and it sat in my basement for almost a year.
One day I stumbled across the tank in my basement and seeing as I had just quit my job to go back to school, I thought it would be the perfect thing to occupy my time. I contacted Richard at Tampabaysalwater to set me up with his famous "package" and i was back on the road to reefing.
Richard sent me part one that same day and here it was in all its 6lb glory!! ;D
Once the ammonia levels had settled I contacted him for part two and thats where the trouble begins. Not only did Rich send me TONS of more rock, but he sent anemones, shrimp, cucumbers, starfish, gorgonians, sea plants, hermits, snails, hitchhiker crabs
, sponges, and tons more stuff that literally filled my tank. I think there must have been about 2 gallons of actual water in there... here it is....(or was)So seeing as even the sponges were crying for help... that very same day i made the decision to upgrade (prob a world record of some kind) and the next day I had a shiny new 20 tall tank sitting in my living room filled with saltwater and ready for the swap. Richard had already been contacted and sent me more rock and sand for the new tank. Unfortunately the Condy anemone died in the process... made it to the new tank but shriveled up and died within a day or two.
Here are the specs on the tank:
-AGA 20g Tall
-AGA glass top
-JBJ 70w 14k Metal Halide
-24" Coralife 65w 50/50 PC fixture
-4 LED Blue moonlight
-AquaC Remora Nano Skimmer
-Rapids mini canister filter - removed carbon and subsituted Phosphate and Nitrate absorbers in media bags
-Hydor Koralia 2
-150w Stealth heater
The final product...
My pride and joy, the most expensive piece of equipment... the Remora Nano
Coralife 24" 65w 50/50 (not pictured with the new JBJ Metal Halide)
So once the new tank was set up I kept a very close eye on it for a few weeks and one day i saw a 2 little yellow eyes poking out of a rock.... we all know what that means :
So suddenly I had found a use for my old Eclipse Tank! I quickly filled it with saltwater and voila! instant Mantis tank. I threw some aragonite on bottom and plucked the entire piece of rock out of my display tank complete with Mr. Shrimp inside. His name is now Fluffy and he lives in his tank with a rock flower anemone and all the crabs that i find destroying my main tank. He gets fed said crabs along with silversides, salad shrimp, pieces of squid, and the occasional snail (which he doesnt eat).
I present... Fluffy...he's still a little camera shy
Casa de Fluffy
So since i had just plucked out a huge piece of rock from the main tank I reorganized it to something a little more appealing i think... here is the new and FINAL setup sans Rock Anemome (relocated), Condy (RIP), Orange Tree Sponge (caught air during shipment from TBS), Fluffy (Moved out)
Finally the inhabitants which i will periodically update
There's prob 15 of these guys at least... Blue-legged hermits
I know, I know..."here comes the newb with his reef and Nemo-fish".... My girlfriend demanded I put them in, and i like them too
a pair of false perculas (tank-bred)My crazy decorator arrow crab from TBS playing on the silver brush gorgonian which wasnt very brushy at the moment
Peppermint Shrimp from TBS
Six-Lined Wrasse
T. Crocea (I know the tank is too small...by the time this thing outgrows it I'll have a 100+ to move it to)
Open Brain
Some green zoa that are starting to pop out
Orange Sponge from TBS and a Curley Cue Anemome
Brand new Candy Cane Coral which i dont think was fully open yet
Ricordia
Some Unidentified coral that came on the TBS rock
Goniopora that i picked up from Aquatic Obsessions today (not fully extended yet)
Evergreen Starbust frag
Some hermits, zoas, and spotted mushroom
