Jake@River City

I made an attempt to cover the returns with rock. This Turbinaria made the move from my 20 gal PC tank. Bottom right. Bottom left. Back left. Sump return on top, close-loop return in middle. Back right. Edge of bulkhead in center. Euro-Reef RS-80 seems to be working well.

All that heat fun aside, I was ready to add the sand and rock. I used Oceans Direct sand, wanted something fine for wrasses. I cut the bag from the bottom in the tank to limit the cloudiness. I put a cup over the drain to protect the pump. I went with 100 lbs. of Tonga Branch and a 30 lb. piece of Tonga Kaelini. I wanted open spaces for fish to swim, which is why I chose the branch. Honestly, it wasn't the easiest to aquascape. I filled the entire tank with rock to cover the drain and returns. When I do my next tank, I would like to do a more open aquascape. I framed out the tank while the rock was curing. I had to put a ledge on the wall framing because of the unexpected "tank recession" from the wall. It worked out well because I was able to put my drinks on the ledge while lounging in front of the tank. I had played out the Bombay Mahogany in my house by now, so I went with Expresso stain.

So I went with a Blue Wave dual 250w ballast and two HQI Reef Optix lamps with Geisman 12.5K bulbs. I decided on the Reef Optix because they offered the smallest fixtures. I was in a pinch for lighting placement because of the slant above the tank from the stairs didn't allow much height above the tank on the right side. I placed the right lamp as high as I could go and as far to the right as allowed. I also added two 54w Hagen T5 actinics and let it rip. Of course, the tank temp rose, and rose, and rose. The water temp hit 91 degrees . I was in denial about needing a chiller. Tinkered with the lights, put a fan over the tank, open the laundry door and ran the ceiling exhaust fan. It was inevitable, I was screwed, I could literally feel the heat radiating from the tank while in the living room. So, hit Carlos up again, got a 1/3 HP Current chiller and connected it to my Eheim 1262 return. Ran out of room in the laundry room, so I had to move into the garage. Wires have since been "cleaned up".

So I decided I wanted a reef tank. Got a sweet deal from Carlos on a 75 reef-ready brick in summer of 2007. I decided to make it a point to keep the equipment inside the tank down to a minimum. The tank was small already, I didn't want to see powerheads and wave boxes taking valuable real estate. So I decided to go with an Oceans Motions Super Squirt and a Sequence Dart for a closed loop circulation system. I borrowed some drill bits from the shop and drilled a 2" drain and four 1" returns. I made a big mistake that was realized when I removed the old tank and slid the new tank in. The placement of the bottom 1" returns sat over the studs in the wall . So, I had to recess the new tank several inches back from the living room wall and make adjustments to the stand. Now keep in mind this was my first attempt at plumbing. I cut some corners with the plumbing on the Super Squirt. I thought I hit the Holy Grail when I found this 2" union valve (white valve) for half the price of "normal" true unions. It's crap, don't use them. I did some maintenance on the Dart and the valve dribbled non-stop. I later heard a horror story about how the valve failed on a similiar union during some regular maintenance and drained the tank. I skimped on the unions and I also failed to put a valve between the Dart and Super Squirt to dial down the Dart. The Super Squirt started to make a thump when it rotated the drum. I inspected the Super Squirt and am convinced my flow rate is too high (SS is only rated for 2500 gph). Plumbing changes still on my to-do list.

Finished cutting the hole so I could get back to my Oprah. Threw a frame in. Made a stand. And oh yes ya'll, ammonia stained water with a ballin Seaclone skimmer. Don't hate, don't hate...you too can have a sweet set-up like so. Threw some Bombay Mahogany stain on some trim and framed it out. So this is how the tank sat for three years housing a Volitan Lion, Porcupine Puffer, Dogface Puffer, and Green Wolfe Eel.

So I told [asked] my wife about cutting a hole in the wall of our recently acquired house. The spot is under the stairs in the laundry room. It was a tight fit that only allowed a 4 foot tank. Made initial cut at bottom to look for electrical wires. Unfortunately, I found them. Continued cut... ...and had to address the *%$#&* wires. A little Filipino engineering and shabam!

Fairly new to the reef game. I've had an opportunity to meet most of ya'll already... great folks with valuable info. I'd like to document my progression with keeping marine tanks and more importantly my failures. Purchased a home in summer of 2004. Set-up my third attempt at a marine tank shortly after moving in. The tank was awkward in the living room and there was an empty wall with an empty space on the opposite side of the wall just begging for a tank. She was a beaut, huh? Oceanic 75 with custom Black Walnut stand, crushed coral and premium Texas limestone (embarassing, I know).