Deaf clown
Active Member
So I’m finally going to do my first tank thread ever. Nothing too crazy but just like everyone else on here I do love corals!
I’ve been active in the hobby since January 2015, but I’ve been obsessed with reef tanks since I could remember. I’ve always wanted one. About a year before I started the hobby I literally tried to gobble up all the info I could. I knew it would be expensive so I bought things here and there. I watch YouTube videos like no other my fiancé would get annoyed with how obsessed I was.
I’ve had fresh water tanks growing up but I couldnt really afford a reef setup until I got a “big boy” job and I got my own place.
FINALLY! I was first going to start with a undrilled 45 tall (12DX36WX24T) I was so excited to start. I built my own stand and I had an extra tank laying around for a sump. I went to drill my tank-mind you this was the first time I ever drilled a tank. Well needless to say I broke it. No, it wasn’t tempered and it didn’t shatter. The drill I used was a electric drill and it spun too fast that when I went through the glass I lost control and it cracked. I was so bummed.
So with a little set back I used the 20 gallon high I was going to use for the sump with a HOB skimmer, kessil 360w, pink Fiji sand, and LR. I had it cycle for a month then I got some clowns and shortly after that I got my first coral-some Hulk zoas. Which I still have btw.
Not too long after that and more fish and corals later as the saying goes you’ll go bigger. I did and went to a 40 long. Same dimensions as a 55 just shorter. I liked that tank but hated where the previous owner drilled the drain. A 1” hole on the back glass towards the bottom. Had it been a been animal I’d probably still have it. Luckily I was able to sell it for what I bought it for.
Now I have a 75 gal. I wish I’d started with this size. Not too big and not small. I first set it up in February of 2016. I had a decent amount of coral. Nothing super high end but I was proud of it. Then shortly after that my fiancé and I found out we were going to have a baby. So instantly we started at looking for houses. We bought one in August of 2016 and I reset up the 75 gal.
Up until this point I never had a crash. I lost a few lps here and there but never sps. My corals did decent but I didn’t fully understood what parameters worked for me. I tried the zeovite system with helped my sps but was expensive and my lps didn’t do well. So I stopped doing that. And while I stopped that I started to use AF probiotic salt with phosphate remover and man that took a toll on my tank. My corals hated that. Then somewhere along the lines of that I had a slow leak and didn’t realize it for awhile and my salinity dropped. By the time I realize my salinity was too low (1.019) I had lost the majority of my sps. I almost got out of the hobby at this point but my fiancé had this look on me as if I told her I was going to just quit my life.
I stuck with it and I now have corals coming back. I’m more confident in what my parameters need to be and what to dose.
I’ll post some photos in a bit.
-Michael
I’ve been active in the hobby since January 2015, but I’ve been obsessed with reef tanks since I could remember. I’ve always wanted one. About a year before I started the hobby I literally tried to gobble up all the info I could. I knew it would be expensive so I bought things here and there. I watch YouTube videos like no other my fiancé would get annoyed with how obsessed I was.
I’ve had fresh water tanks growing up but I couldnt really afford a reef setup until I got a “big boy” job and I got my own place.
FINALLY! I was first going to start with a undrilled 45 tall (12DX36WX24T) I was so excited to start. I built my own stand and I had an extra tank laying around for a sump. I went to drill my tank-mind you this was the first time I ever drilled a tank. Well needless to say I broke it. No, it wasn’t tempered and it didn’t shatter. The drill I used was a electric drill and it spun too fast that when I went through the glass I lost control and it cracked. I was so bummed.
So with a little set back I used the 20 gallon high I was going to use for the sump with a HOB skimmer, kessil 360w, pink Fiji sand, and LR. I had it cycle for a month then I got some clowns and shortly after that I got my first coral-some Hulk zoas. Which I still have btw.
Not too long after that and more fish and corals later as the saying goes you’ll go bigger. I did and went to a 40 long. Same dimensions as a 55 just shorter. I liked that tank but hated where the previous owner drilled the drain. A 1” hole on the back glass towards the bottom. Had it been a been animal I’d probably still have it. Luckily I was able to sell it for what I bought it for.
Now I have a 75 gal. I wish I’d started with this size. Not too big and not small. I first set it up in February of 2016. I had a decent amount of coral. Nothing super high end but I was proud of it. Then shortly after that my fiancé and I found out we were going to have a baby. So instantly we started at looking for houses. We bought one in August of 2016 and I reset up the 75 gal.
Up until this point I never had a crash. I lost a few lps here and there but never sps. My corals did decent but I didn’t fully understood what parameters worked for me. I tried the zeovite system with helped my sps but was expensive and my lps didn’t do well. So I stopped doing that. And while I stopped that I started to use AF probiotic salt with phosphate remover and man that took a toll on my tank. My corals hated that. Then somewhere along the lines of that I had a slow leak and didn’t realize it for awhile and my salinity dropped. By the time I realize my salinity was too low (1.019) I had lost the majority of my sps. I almost got out of the hobby at this point but my fiancé had this look on me as if I told her I was going to just quit my life.
I stuck with it and I now have corals coming back. I’m more confident in what my parameters need to be and what to dose.
I’ll post some photos in a bit.
-Michael
