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FlammySnake

Time to start over!

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FlammySnake
, 01-19-2013 at 09:05 PM (9995 Views)
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So my tank has been going pretty well. Almost too well. My Montipora has been putting on a measured growth weekly, gorgonians open and growing, even my goniopora has grown and attached to nearby rocks.

But I've always been unhappy with the tank.

Last week listening to Gary & Christine's Reef Threads podcast (which is a nice replacement to the Reef Addicts podcast since it is updated like.....NEVER! I'm looking at you Melev!) they made mention that eventually, all reef tanks look pretty much the same. I thought about it a little and realized, my tank (which I always thought would be a special little snowflake) was well on it's way to being the same thing everyone else had. Which is not to say everyone doesn't have a special little piece of the ocean, just that I wanted a different piece than them.

So I've been working on selling all of my livestock, with the exception of my Bangaii Cardinals, part of my ongoing project to produce at least 150 cardinals a year! (A little more info on this in a blog in the near future!)

SO!

In it's place I'm trying something I can't ever recalling seeing any do. The plan in my head is to have a 65 gallon tank. Halfway down the back, I'm going to drill the drain and return holes. So the tank will be filled half full of water (or half empty if you're a pessimist). This way, when you view it, you get a top down view as well as the front, and I can CRANK my MP10's into a wave that would otherwise spill over the sides. The other thing I want to do is create a surge device and have my drain hole be smaller than it should be. Hopefully (the idea as working in my head) the surge would quickly dump about 10-17 gallons of water in the tank and then slowly drain out with my too little drain.

I think I want to replace my T-5's with a single AI Sol module so the lighting is a little more dynamic. So far my livestock plan is simply a pair of clownfish I raised, anemone, and random little things I like but never seem to do as well as I would like with (pom pom crabs, little gobies). No sand, just rubble rock on the bottom.

So, I'm already starting the getting rid of livestock, with most of the animals being given to friends, some being sold. My biggest problem is getting rid of my breeding pair of Yellow-tail Blue Damsels. They get a bad rap, and no one wants them, but I truly love these two fish and want them to go to a home where they can be well looked after for many years to come. I'm looking at you, Melev.

Any thoughts or suggestions on my next adventure would be appreciated!

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Updated 01-19-2013 at 10:27 PM by melev

Categories
‎ Tank Entry , ‎ DIY projects , ‎ Questions - Need some input

Comments

  1. melev's Avatar
    What's all this looking at me stuff? You can set up a nano tank for those damsels, instead of willing them upon me.

    Jessy and I were just talking about the podcast yesterday, as she was in town for a week. Recording in the same room is so much easier than over the net. However, I'd really like my 400g reef running as it is a huge motivator, and I've had a few pans in the fire that really need to be completed as well, so that I have the time to do them regularly once renewed. Jessy sold off her tank, so I may need someone else to fill the void, at least in part.

    Regarding your surge / wave / fill tank, I'd avoid a small drain installation. A ball-valve or gate valve would be better, but if something gets into that drain and acts like a plug, you may have bigger problems on your hands.

    Do all reef tanks look the same, eventually? No, I don't think so. Looking at yours above, what it lacks is color. You have some colors, but a couple dominate the aquarium. Adding new colors, and avoiding putting the same colors near each other can help keep it diverse. Your reef has a lot of softies in it, and these are fast growers. What you don't see very often are Acan-dominated tanks, or zoa-dominated tanks. When I stumble on those, it's hard for me to pull myself away. Species tanks are interesting too. What makes one reef different from another comes down to the imagination and husbandry of the owner. Aquascaping is a big deal, something we each have to analyze and then make adjustments if necessary. Weed out the overgrowth of any coral that is taking up too much space, and put in new pieces that make you smile. Capturing the interactions of your fish and corals is what drives us to continue, but if you get bored then the tank tends to become... well, boring.
  2. Alaska_Phil's Avatar
    I'll second Marc's post. And add that Petco is having it's bi-annual $1/gal tank sale right now. Go get yourself a cheap 55 gal for those damsels.

    I've had similar thoughts about a surge tank. Finally gave up on it because my house is a studio set up, so I sleep in the same room as my tank and don't want to listen to the surge system while trying to sleep. But, what I envisioned was a restrictied drain down low like you're thinking. But with an oversized drain near the top as an emergency overflow. My thought was a little different, I was thinking of using a 33 Long, or even a 55, and making a tidepool tank. So at the low level a lot of the rocks would be above the water. So many cool micro environments in a reef, I'd love to have a basement full of tanks to try out all the different biotypes.
  3. melev's Avatar
    You know, another option might be to make the surge collection tank some type of creepy crawly display at 48" high, something that fills up and allows a top down view. This vessel drains a portion of the water into a tank that is at 30" off the floor, and the water drains to the sump under the 48" tall display. The water moves from top to middle to bottom, stair-stepped.

    Such a multi-zoned system would be enjoyable to observe, and make the uppermost section something interesting, a biotope with constantly changing water depth. It might be a good one to plant mangroves in?