Rad's 75 gallon mixed reef......

[RadReefer]

I moved into a new home in August and decided that it was the perfect opportunity to upgrade from my 46 gallon bow. I decided to go with a 75 gallon with a 29 gallon sump. I planned the upgrade for a month or two and decided to incorporate some ideas and techniques that I have learned through reading on this forum that I was not experienced with. The major change from my 46 gallon was the addition of an overflow and sump. I also eliminated a lot of softies and decided to move more heavily toward SPS. I planned my aquascape prior to the upgrade and prefabricated a rock wall that is tall and thin using JB waterweld on the left had side, and decided to create a separate cave for the fish to hide in on the right. This scape is great for flow and there are really no dead zones since the rock wall is about 3" from the back glass. I pre-drilled multiple 1/2" holes throughout the rock wall using a masonry bit for easy frag placement. This thread will basically show the tank's progression.

 

[RadReefer]

This is the tank and stand before I transfered....

 

[RadReefer]

Equipment: I installed a Glass-holes 1500gph overflow in the upper left corner, you can't see it in the above pic due to the glare. There is a 29 gallon sump with 20 pounds of live rock. Fluval E 300 heater, Bubble King 160 skimmer, and an MP40w. For lighting I am using a 48" TEK elite fixture.

 

[RadReefer]

These are a couple current pictures of my tank.

Left:

Right:

 

[pallobi]

Thats pretty awesome Dan... i love it

 

[RadReefer]

Thanks dude...I couldn't have done it without the knowledge base of the crew on BRS...

 

[Turbosnail]

Very nice!

 

[FOXYB]

sweet those mustve been some huge colonies in the 46! looks great

 

[RadReefer]

side:

You can kinda see the cleaner gobie cleaning the mystery wrasse on the right hand side.

 

[RadReefer]

The 46 was way cramped. I got rid of some stuff as well after the move, a huge toadstool the size of a dinner plate, it was just too big... there is a small piece that regenerated, you can see it in the side shot I posted above. It was my first coral and kinda hard to part with so it's cool that there is a new one growing in. The pink birdsnest I got from BigDrewsky about a year and a half ago, it was a few branches that exploded, it is about the size of a football right now. The green birdnest and bird of paradise are a little over a year old and started as small frags, softball sized now. The red digi was bigger with lots of long branches but it took a beating when I moved and now most of the broken branches are being used by the pistol shrimp. The 46 was also being overrun with pink waving hand anthelia so a lot of rock had to go.

 

[RadReefer]

Updated shots...

 

[RadReefer]

I added my last fish, Yellow Tang. The anemone crab loves his rock flower anemone...I really want to find an orange rock flower.

 

[inverted]

Great looking tank Dan! Those big colonies look awesome.

 

[PSU4ME]

Beautiful!

 

[NHemmasreef]

Very nice, and very clean. I really love tanks with minimal rock work. Not just a big pile of rocks. Bravo!!

 

[KristyM]

what kind of lights do you have on your tank?

 

[Andy V]

The tank looks amazing. Resist the urge to add more rock for more coral at all costs!

 

[Ruge13]

The tank looks amazing. Resist the urge to add more rock for more coral at all costs!

Couldn't agree with this more. Less is more!! I love tanks that do not look like a frag tank! The few simple large colonies you have MAKE that tank! Well done.

 

[Flame Angel]

Nice, clean, colorful, crisp. Not over crowded or too busy. Love it. Everything stands out in its own beauty.

 

[Renato]

Very nice!