Greg's Reef Tank

[stazitto25]

I am excited to say that I have done a small upgrade from a 57 rimless to a 75 gallon Marineland reef ready tank. I feel like the extra foot of space and additional water volume was much needed for my corals and other livestock.

I have built my own stand as I wanted something stable and without a center brace. Additionally I have kept all of my equipment from my previous build with the exception of the new gyre.

Pictures to follow...

 

[stazitto25]

My old 57g rimless tank

 

[stazitto25]

Building the stand for my 75g upgrade with my dad in his woodshop

 

[stazitto25]

New 75 before it is filled. The doors were not finished yet.

 

[stazitto25]

Tank when it was just filled and waiting for the sand to settle.

Broke down and setup new tank all in one night. Started at 8pm and finished at 4:30am. One hell of a night and most importantly no livestock losses!

 

[rideit6578]

woot about time! now I just have to get over there to see it!

 

[stazitto25]

Yeah I meant to start his thread a few months ago, but been crazy at work. I gotta get you over here soon though!

 

[Bulldog5]

Tagging along!

 

[Long-Island-Mike]

Tank and stand look great!! I love the rock work

 

[SIReefer]

Excellent build. Nice woodwork and aquascaping. Lets see another picture when the stand is finished.

 

[SteveZ15]

Nice ,stang looks great. Did you lose much light on the sides from using 36in fixture?

 

[stazitto25]

Thanks guys!

Mike & SIReefer - My Chemist/Reefing Partner/Girlfriend designed the aquascape. She definitely helped make the whole process smoother.

 

[stazitto25]

Steve, I was going to buy a 48" light and decided to hold off to see how it would look. I am happy I did and like having the low light sections of the tank. The few LPS I have are doing much better off to the sides than they ever did directly under the light.

 

[duromega]

Tank looks great good job

 

[JARRETT SHARK]

nice

 

[tonitiger101976]

Wow great job.. Always wanted a timeless but instead traded up for bigger tanks I'm now at the point of having 2 150 gallon reefs and various other smaller tanks.... You did a great job.


Toni
Miss Salt Tease

 

[stazitto25]

Here is an updated list of corals. Some things are growing, some are just colored up, others are not doing much at all. I am still trying to find a good nutrient balance. I was keeping my tank too clean in the past and lost some nice pieces. Now that I have up'd my feedings and added nitrates to my tank I am getting better colors and some corals are developing growth tips. Pictures soon to follow.

Cali Tort
Hawkins Echinata
Oregon Tort
Bali Green Slimer
Verde
Green Birdsnest
Birds of Paradise
Blue, Green & Rose Millepora
Pink Lemonade
Strawberry Shortcake
Pink Birdsnest
Yellow Tipped Birdsnest
German Blue Digi
Forest Fire Digi
Shades of Fall
Pink Setosa
Frogskin
PC Superman
Purple Nana
Pink and Purple Stylo
PC Rainbow
Blue Stag
Red Planet
Red Dragon
Kelly Green Psammocora
Tri_Color Valida
Green Velvet
Borealis
Belina
Aqua Delight
Idaho Grape Cap
Green and Red Cap
Purple Bonsai
Purple Stag
Pink Table
Puple and Green Acro
Blue tipped Acro
Random Millepora that doesn?t grow

 

[stazitto25]

Although my intentions were to keep this thread updated, that clearly did not happen! Finally was able to put together the tank progress from October of 2014, a little less than a month after being set up to my latest June pics. Better late than never!

Since the tank was started in October, I switched out my mp40 for the gyre, started dosing with bionic, and added a reef brite led to my tank. When I first upgraded from my 57, I was concerned that my 3 foot light would not be enough for a 4 foot tank. Initially, I struggled with keeping corals growing that were not within the blueprint of my t5s. For christmas, I received a reefbrite led fixture, where I thought the additional lighting would just improve the look of my tank. Surprisingly enough, not only does the light add to the crispness of my tank, but my corals have responded well to it. They are now all vivid and colored up, which was something I was struggling with, and I can now keep corals anywhere in the tank.

 

[stazitto25]

Here are some of my coral progressions:

Hawkins (February 2014 - June 2015)

 

[stazitto25]

Bali Green Slimer (February 2015 - June 2015)