I'm relatively new to this forum but have been on various forums and websites reading and learning since I started with saltwater aquariums around 2010. I've had a few tanks along the way, ranging from 5-gallon gateway picos to more moderately sized display systems. I've never had a system larger than 100 gallons but hope to one day.
My most recent tanks started close to two years ago when a friend was resetting their larger tank and chatting about it. I decided that dipping my toe back in was maybe a good thing (my wife and I were settled in a house, and our kids were recently out of diapers). Having had tanks in the past, I knew the full cost of larger systems would be hard to stomach at first, and I was just interested in trying things out again.
So, to really do the minimum, I got a 15-gallon Innovative Marine all-in-one. This little tank was a bargain at $99. I got a second-hand light from the friend who was resetting, an AI Prime with just a little use, a cheap Amazon optical eye ATO, a 100-watt Cobalt Neotherm, and a BRS 5-stage RODI, and I was ready to go. This little tank was up and running. I had a few misadventures getting coral into this tank, and temp/salinity swings eventually convinced me to swap to a larger Fiji Cube 32-gallon tank. This larger nano was much more stable and is still up and running. After about a year and a couple of other ups and downs, I sensed that some of the fish I had added needed more space, so I purchased a used 90-gallon reef-ready tank.
This larger tank needed a little love, and I had a good time doing some little things like painting the stand and replumbing. My goal was to build a tank that didn’t break the bank but took advantage of the stability of a larger volume. I also wanted to keep an open layout with lots of room for fish to swim and corals to grow.
I got this new larger setup full of water and running last spring (2024) and have had some good times. I wanted to take it slow getting the tank running and added a community of fish (maroon clown, tomini tang, melanurus wrasse, sleeper goby, and a powder blue tang). From there, I added a set of tester corals (a couple of softies and some montipora). After battling a dino outbreak in late summer (I think dosing silica was the key to eventually beating it), I’ve been seeing some consistent growth.
I’m hoping to keep both tanks in good shape going forward, with the larger tank being more SPS dominant and the smaller tank more softies/LPS. There are too many details to get folks totally up to speed, but I wanted to put a little content up because I’ve enjoyed reading other folks' threads. Hope to add more info soon.
IM 15 gallon 2/2023
IM 15 gallon 6/2023
Fiji 32 gallon tank 7/2023
Fiji 32 gallon equipment
90 Gallon reef ready 5/1/2024
90 Gallon reef ready equipment
90 Gallon Reef Ready 1/2/2025
My most recent tanks started close to two years ago when a friend was resetting their larger tank and chatting about it. I decided that dipping my toe back in was maybe a good thing (my wife and I were settled in a house, and our kids were recently out of diapers). Having had tanks in the past, I knew the full cost of larger systems would be hard to stomach at first, and I was just interested in trying things out again.
So, to really do the minimum, I got a 15-gallon Innovative Marine all-in-one. This little tank was a bargain at $99. I got a second-hand light from the friend who was resetting, an AI Prime with just a little use, a cheap Amazon optical eye ATO, a 100-watt Cobalt Neotherm, and a BRS 5-stage RODI, and I was ready to go. This little tank was up and running. I had a few misadventures getting coral into this tank, and temp/salinity swings eventually convinced me to swap to a larger Fiji Cube 32-gallon tank. This larger nano was much more stable and is still up and running. After about a year and a couple of other ups and downs, I sensed that some of the fish I had added needed more space, so I purchased a used 90-gallon reef-ready tank.
This larger tank needed a little love, and I had a good time doing some little things like painting the stand and replumbing. My goal was to build a tank that didn’t break the bank but took advantage of the stability of a larger volume. I also wanted to keep an open layout with lots of room for fish to swim and corals to grow.
I got this new larger setup full of water and running last spring (2024) and have had some good times. I wanted to take it slow getting the tank running and added a community of fish (maroon clown, tomini tang, melanurus wrasse, sleeper goby, and a powder blue tang). From there, I added a set of tester corals (a couple of softies and some montipora). After battling a dino outbreak in late summer (I think dosing silica was the key to eventually beating it), I’ve been seeing some consistent growth.
I’m hoping to keep both tanks in good shape going forward, with the larger tank being more SPS dominant and the smaller tank more softies/LPS. There are too many details to get folks totally up to speed, but I wanted to put a little content up because I’ve enjoyed reading other folks' threads. Hope to add more info soon.
IM 15 gallon 2/2023
IM 15 gallon 6/2023
Fiji 32 gallon tank 7/2023
Fiji 32 gallon equipment
90 Gallon reef ready 5/1/2024
90 Gallon reef ready equipment
90 Gallon Reef Ready 1/2/2025
