And We're Live! Buddys 75g Setup

[buddy08]

aggreed dana.. but this was when i first set the tank up and was told by the LFS owner it was safe. didnt see any ill effects until way later when i moved the mag float, i noticed black things floating in the water and it turned out to be pieces of the mousepad so i removed it and installed the ziploc sand bags. there is not telling how small the pieces were that deteriorated were but im sure theyre still in the water column and causing problems. its truly the only variable i can see that would lead to poor sps health since everything else is in check. but like i said, im not going to worry with it any longer. this ring was stressful enough. now when i build the 180, I will make sure everything is handled with care and all equipment will be top of the line. just a waiting process now. Thanks all on the comments over the ring, I asked her father for his permission today = hard thing to do!

 

[buddy08]

She said yes! will post pictures later, not to begin saving for the upgrade! Need to sell some stuff to make the move easier as well.

 

[kevdogg]

:bounce::bounce::bounce: Congratulations!!!:bounce::bounce::bounce:

 

[Samhain]

Whoop Whoop! So happy for you (for multiple reasons)!

 

[Smitty]

Congratulations bro... :)

 

[Dana42078]

Heck yes! Congrats!!!!!! :)

 

[ErinCahir]

Congrats, Buddy!!

 

[little_fish]

yay! congrats!!!!!!!

 

[buddy08]

Just realized I never posted pictures. Hahaha, Hey folks... Long time since I've been on here. A lot of things have happened since, for one we have moved back to my home town in Birmingham Al. We are currently staying at a relatives while we wait to close on our house which will be the 28th of this month. As for my tank, didnt have one casualty during the moving process. A few corals stressed and one sps bleached but still has a nice encrusted base that has survived. I only have roughly 50% of my liverock in the tank and the other half in a tote with powerheads to circulate. All of the sand was removed when we moved to prevent an unwanted crash. The tank will remain in a "Temporary" setup stage even after we move into our house as the 180 upgrade will begin :) I have her permission and all!!!

I will post pictures as promised back in april and an updated photo of everything as it sits now when I return from work. Side note... wow at d2 minis upgrade. Jelly much? True inspiration... I like the bookcase display idea and will keep that in mind when I build my cabinetry for my tank.

 

[buddy08]

Here is me, on one knee... in the moment.

I took her to the Welborne muscle car museum in Alexander City Alabama to do the deed. She is a huge Mopar fan and was raised around Plymouth racing. Sounds kind of "redneck" but it was important to her and I knew the cars would keep her mind occupied and throw her off. I timed it so that we were the only ones there that morning and luckily she asked the museum keeper if he would take a picture of us; of course I knew that was the perfect moment.

But any who, that's plenty on the ring and proposal. Now to continue onto the tank itself and its future plans. Here's how it currently sits at my mothers

as you can see, missing majority of my rock and of course the sand

and in the next month or so I will be starting the 180g thread as mentioned plenty of times previously in this thread. Pretty stoked about that; not sure as a general direction in equipment or such but I do know it will be lit by 144x LED's, and contain all the bells n whistles as I don't plan on upgrading again. This will be my inspiration; except a saltwater reef, not planted. My cabinetry will be very similar and implement an entertainment center/bookcase style look.

Till then, I'll have to wait to close on our house. I don't have any photos of the inside but it has a lovely 16 foot in desperate need of a reef! Here is the outside

 

[beeguiles]

Congrats! That is a great picture! Also that cabinet plan looks like an awesome idea!

 

[buddy08]

I thought so to, we find ourselves watching the tank more than the tv... so we want it to be in something that compliments it and looks like a piece of furniture more than just a tank. It will also give me plenty of room below to house equipment and sumps. Unfortunately there isnt a closet or storage place behind the wall that i can use to house a tank room so it will be crucial to have as much space in the bottom as possible to acquire a big water volume and workable space. once I get in the house, it will be easier to plan out and see

 

[little_fish]

Congrats! your build is going to be fantastic!

 

[buddy08]

Hey folks, its been a while since I've updated my tank so I figured I would take the time to do so now. We have been in our new house a little over a month now and have had the tank set up about 3 weeks. It is temporarily in the dining area of our kitchen as I am in the process of upgrading to a larger 180 that will be housed in the living room. No sense in setting up the 75 there only to move it in a few short months. Not really rushing into the new build yet as I have other priorities but I have snagged a few new things here and there including a geo 612 calcium reactor from a local buddy for what I believe was a steal of a deal. It came with the reactor, feed pumps, regulator, and a full 20lb co2 tank that will last me for ever! The regulator that came with it was pretty rusted from salt so I ordered a new reef fanatic regulator and a milwaukee sms122 ph controller to use with the reactor. I have also spent a pretty penny on some top notch coral frags that I hope soon to become mini colonies. In addition to the new sps frags; I had to also purchase this hella cool rainbow maxi nem so be sure to check that photo out; it was hiding under a rock but will get a better photo when it eventually comes out. As for the move, everything went smoothly with no fatalities as well. All fish and corals seem happy and have not been phased what so ever. I have returned all of the live rock that was stored in totes back to the tank and replaced the live sand I disposed of before the move with a thin layer of aragonite sand for aesthetic purposes. The engineer goby doesnt mind either; gives him something to do. Here is a few photos to give you a visual update. I will make a video tomorrow and post as well. Excuse the quality, these were taken with an iPhone but believe it or not, the phone captured the tank colors better than the digital camera which was overpowered by the blue actinics.

Heres the tank as it stands now:

calcium reactor setup

Rainbow Maxi Carpet anemone

new sps frags

and of course some of the other corals too!

Chalices

acans

rare yellow mouth with red and blue outer ring... My prized acan!

Zoanthids

 

[buddy08]

sps frags and mini colonies

tyree sunset monti

ricordeas

hammer-wall

war coral

candy cane- compare it now to when i first got it last year... wow!

pompom xenia aka weeds

And most importantly, the crew hanging in there

 

[Kelz88]

Very nice! Love the maxi mini and the last pic of the three looking at you :)

 

[little_fish]

Looks great! Especially Big Bird! He was so skinny!

 

[LoveJC03]

Nice looking tank... love your rockwork! Your lights are SO blue o.O

 

[buddy08]

Yeah he was pretty thin when I first bought him. hes happy as can be now and healthy too. Just got back from the LFS and brought home a harlequin shrimp to rid my tank of asterina stars. Also purchased a cool orange setosa frag.

Lovejc03, Some of those photos are just actinics which are super blue with leds, some are with both blue and white too but non the less it has a blue hue to it. when I upgrade, I will have even more blue hues to the tank. The camera increases the blue look in the photos, its not as blue as they seem.

 

[buddy08]

Rumor has it that fancy fish tanks make panties drop; therefore I went ahead and purchased 2x mp40s, battery backup, and the full apex controller today. Go ahead ladies, do your thing :^: