120g Mixed Reef Build - Newbie with lots of pics

Discussion in 'Show Off Your Fish Tanks!' started by Tilian, Mar 7, 2013.

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  1. oldfishkeeper

    oldfishkeeper Giant Squid

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    Just looked over your list again. FWIW, I would try to get silver/bluish pulsing xenia when you get it. The brown is not as cool....anway, I've heard that flowerpots albeit gorgeous are hard to keep. If that is untrue, then others can chime in on this....my LFS always seems to steer me away from them. I've come to really like the look of zoas. There are some amazing colors there, you can maybe get more or add in a duncan - they are very nice...just making suggestions. ok, I'll stop now :)
     
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  3. Tilian

    Tilian Astrea Snail

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    All great advice and yes... I'll be looking for specific species of xenia depending on the online store I settle on. I like the blue Xenia myself... I even saw a blue branching pulsing xenia which looked pretty cool.

    As for the flowerpots, I'll have to do a bit more research on those. I just saw the pics and liked them but I don't know much about them. If they're challenging I'll probably replace them with a nice duncan as I believe those are pretty easy to keep. Keep in mind, for all this stuff I'll be doing more reading on them before I buy if it's something I'm not sure about. This was just an initial list. I don't want anyone thinking I'll throw it in my tank just based on looks without knowing what I'm in for! :book2:

    I love the Zoas! I'm just going to start with that zoa "package" rock to get some variety but I'll definately be adding more over time. There are some pretty good local coral growers nearby that have some beautiful ones so those will likely be a big part of my "impulse buy" budget.:biggrinbo

    Another species I just came across that I'm interested in are the Ultra Maxi Mini Carpet Anemones. Those look awesome. Just started reading a bit about them. Anyone have any experience with them? I've heard some folks suspect them as fish hunters but, as with everything in this hobby, there seems to be conflicting info.
     
  4. Tilian

    Tilian Astrea Snail

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    Revised Stock Plan

    After the feedback I got here as well as some other sites, i've adjusted my stock plan to thin it out a bit and slow it down. I know it's not a good idea to overstock a tank, especially a new tank, but as a newbie it can be hard to identify what exactly constitutes an overstocked tank. After several days of research in stock levels it's clear there is no easy answer to that question. In either case, I've decided to shrink my list down and spread it out over a longer period of time.


    Week 0 after cycle:
    120g clean up crew from Reefcleaners.org. As part of the CUC they'll also be including 1 brittle and serpent star, 2 peppermint shrimp, and a florida fighting conch.


    Week 2 after cycle:

    So this would be the first batch of fish. I'll plan on QTing these for 4-6 weeks before introducing them to the DT on week 2 after the cycle. At the moment, it looks like I'll be getting them from vividaquariums.com.
    • One Spot Foxface Rabbit
    • Dwarf Flame Angel
    • Red Spotted Blenny
    • 2x Percula Clownfish
    This is a few more fish than I'd like to do at one time however there are a few factors which have contributed to this decision. Since I'll actually be buying these 4-6 weeks BEFORE week 2 (to get them through QT) I'm limited to buying only fish since the DT won't be ready for corals or inverts yet. I needed to buy enough fish to justify the shipping costs and to meet vivid's $150 minimum for livestock. All of these will be very young fish. The Blenny is the only one over 2 inches and it might be JUST over. The rest are all listed as .75-1.5 inches which leads me to believe it should work out fine.





    Week 10 after cycle:
    • Royal Gramma
    • Hi Fin Red Banded Goby and Pistol Shrimp
    • 1 Scarlet Skunk cleaner shrimp
    Week 24 after cycle:
    • 5x blue green cromis
    • Purple long tentacle Anemone
    • maxima clam
    So hopefully that looks better. I've removed a lot of the shrimp, the wrasse, the mandarin, and I've replaced the barred dartfish and the purple firefish with the green cromis. The cromis aren't as big as the zebra dartfish and they satisfy a couple of my needs... schooling fish, top zone swimmers, blue/green color and a bonus... cheap and hardy. They're not as unique as the dartfish, but I think I'll probably have better luck with them.



    After 18mos or so I can re-evaluate. I'd certainly like to get the mandarin and maybe a wrasse as well but we'll give it a year or two to see how the tank is running. Hopefully this feels better to you guys.
     
  5. Tilian

    Tilian Astrea Snail

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    Tanks Arrive!

    Well yesterday was a big milestone day! Picked up the tank, stand and sump!

    Fortunately our friend had access to a huge flatbed to take my brother and I down to pick up the tanks. Was kind of funny... I called all around town to find the best prices on the tanks/stand and found a good place in South Englewood here in Colorado. About 40min drive so not too bad.

    When we drove down there, we found the shop which was in an old "historic" part of town. The kind with nice walkways, lots of trees and benches and ALL STREET PARKING! Parallel parking a two ton flatbed in one of those little parking spots wasn't gonna happen!

    So we pulled around back in the alley and found a place to park. Went inside to see if they had a back entrance, which they did, but it was up a flight of stairs!

    So we waited around a bit, browsing the tanks while the manager was dealing with other customers. When we were ready to take the tanks and go, we got lucky and three cars had pulled out from the street parking and our buddy was able to pull the truck right up to the front door! Whew!

    Here we are arriving back home... this tank is a massive! Glad I had some young guys around to do the heavy lifting!

    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]

    Here's the tank in all it's glory!
    [​IMG]

    So I wasn't thrilled with the stand, but I bought it sight unseen. It's got a huge center brace between the doors so it's a bit cramped. Even worse, it has a center brace both on the top and in the back as well. There was no way to get the 40 breeder sump in the stand without taking out one of the braces.

    So I pulled the top brace off and we dropped the sump in just to get an idea what it looks like. We'll put the center brace back on, of couse, before actually setting up the tank.

    In addition to all the center braces, the stand is also a couple inches shorter than I expected. It's only 27" tall rather than the typical 30" stands I've seen. My Diablo XS225 skimmer is 24" tall. It's a tight fit, but I was able to remove the cup and even pull the skimmer body through the front doors with about a 1/2" to spare! Close!

    The stand is also a touch more narrow than I was hoping. In the interior of the stand I only have about 5" between the front glass of the sump and the interior frame of the stand (by the doors). I'll be using 1 1/2" plumbing on the intake for my return pump so the 1 1/2" bulkhead and elbow which will stick out the front of the central return section of the sump will take up all of that 5 inches of space! I'll need to be sure that I drill the sump high enough, and far enough to the left of the center brace of the stand to actually be able to insert the elbow into the bulkhead when we're ready to glue it together.

    So here's the layout. Everything will be a tight fit but right now it all looks like it will work. I'm not certain yet if I'm going to use the big 1 1/2 true union valve mounted in front of the sump or if I go with a standard 1 1/2 ball valve, I might be able to squeeze it right in front of the pump intake on the side of the sump. The pump has it's own union collers on both intake and output so a true union valve may not be necessary. Will have to play with this a bit once I get the proper bushings to downsize from the 1 1/2" pipe to the 1" intake on the pump.
    [​IMG]

    So that's where we're at... I've taken exact measurements now of the tank and the sump so I can order my glass and acrylic to start building baffles and the overflow boxes this week!

    Moving along, slowly but surely.
     
  6. Nuebie

    Nuebie Peppermint Shrimp

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    Trying to get that skimmer out once the baffles are in is gonna be fun! I probably should have safety glasses on while i take mine out its so tight.
    I'm looking forward to some more build pics!
     
  7. Tilian

    Tilian Astrea Snail

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    I know right!? :loco: Talk about a tight squeeze! I actually just adjusted my sump plan a bit to take 1" off my refugium and add it over to the skimmer area. That will give me a touch more wiggle room.
     
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  9. Todd_Sails

    Todd_Sails Giant Squid

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    Drilling the tank?

    Coast to coast overflow?

    If mine was empty like that, yep
     
  10. Tilian

    Tilian Astrea Snail

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    Shifted stock gears again

    ok guys, based on the input I've received here and a couple days more reading... LOL... here's where my stock list stands today. I removed the green cromis and royal gramma and added 4 bartlett's anthias (1 male, 3 female) and after 8 months or so, if the tank is doing well I might add a wrasse.


    I like the Anthia's color better than the zebra dartfish and they seem to be very good schoolers. I realize they have special feeding requirements (3-4 small feedings a day) but I think both me and my filtration should be able to keep up with that. From what I've read about the Anthias, it's best to add them to the tank before other fish. As a result I'm switching up the order I'll be adding everyone to the tank.


    Let me know what you think... especially any experience you've had with the Anthias and the Clown Fairy Wrasse (aka solar fairy wrasse).


    Week 0 - Clean-up Crew


    Week 2
    • 1 male Bartlett Anthia
    • 3 female Bartlett Anthias
    Week 10
    • 1 one-spot foxface rabbitfish
    • 1 Red Spotted Blenny
    • 1 highfin banded gobby and pistol shrimp
    Week 24
    • 2 Percula Clownfish
    • 1 Flame Angel
    • 1 Maxima Clam
    Week 36
    • Clown Fairy Wrasse (depending on how tank is doing)
    Week 52
    • 1 Purple Long Tentacled Anemone
     
  11. oldfishkeeper

    oldfishkeeper Giant Squid

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    Congratulations on getting your tank and sump!! I'm very excited for you that your journey has begun! Please keep us updated on your progress. I think your plan sounds awesome!
     
  12. Tilian

    Tilian Astrea Snail

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    Thanks Fishkeeper! Appreciate the encouragement. Getting exciting now! Planning on starting to build the overflows this weekend and may even get to drilling some glass... YIKES :bigcry: