Don's 150 gallon "my wife is going to kill me" glass box of joy

[dmarkham]

Well she is not going to kill me as of yet lol. I have a current Nano tank set up and was not looking to go to a bigger tank due to the cost of the equipment and everything else. Having two small boys it makes it hard to justify spending the amount of money needed to start from scratch. Here is my current IM Nuvo 24 setup.

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/at...1&d=1479332336


The tank has done great so far and is about 10 months old. A good friend on mine has a 150 gallon FOWLR set up that he is wanting to get rid of. He moved all of his fish over to the new tank and is needing to get this tank out of his way. The tank is less then 4 years old and has a custom made stand with it. It measures 72" long x 20" wide x 24" deep. The filtration will need some upgrades to be used as a reef tank and I still need to buy another maxispect light to match my current one or get another reef capable light of some type. Sand and about 150 pounds of live rock are coming with the tank. It has been water, rock, and sand only for about 6 months now. Here is the 150 as it sits before the move.

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/at...1&d=1479332365

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/at...1&d=1479332365

Here is the current filtration that will need to be upgraded.

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/at...1&d=1479332407

After we move the tank I was looking at a minimalist type aquascaping. Any ideas on that would be helpful. I will be looking at what all needs to be upgraded first after the tank is moved. Lighting is my first priority. Next is to dump the bio balls and see if the sump will work adding a sock and larger skimmer. If not that upgrade the sump and skimmer second. Livestock will transfer when ever possible to get the other tank sold and out of the way. Not looking to add much in the way of livestock until everything has been upgraded to what is needed to keep this tank healthy. Please follow along and comments are welcome. This hobby has been in my blood for over ten years now. A lot has changed since I started and I am always open minded on new things if they work.

[BigDave]

Hahaha.... welcome to the, "Hey honey, I got the tank for a steal" club.

I got my tank and all the equipment virtually free. 9 months later and I've still spent way too much on it.

[dmarkham]

I know, but she does not know that yet. Lol

[CODE3EMT]

Better to ask for forgiveness than permission.

[dmarkham]

Originally Posted by CODE3EMT

Better to ask for forgiveness than permission.

That is funny, because I am always saying that to her.

[dmarkham]

I have a Maxspect Razor 16K 160w light on the nano tank currently. I have been looking at the buy two of the smaller SB reef lights to add to both sides of the Razor. This should allow full coverage of the tank. If for some reason I do not like the look of the light mix the ability to add a third SB reef light is still there.

Anyone using the SB Lights? or mixing lighting?

[dmarkham]

So I purchased two of these tonight and should have them Saturday. They seem to have decent reviews and it gives me some cash to apply some where else. When we move the tank i planned on doing a 100 gallon water change while it is not stocked. Should be moving everything around in the living room getting ready for Saturday.

Here is the lights I purchased.

OceanRevive® Arctic-T247 Full Spectrum Dimmable 120W LED Aquarium Reef Light with Built in Timer, Bracket and remote control (48*3W, 90deg Optical Lens) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00YOYD3K2..._8NLlybFW699SJ

[bwhit1406]

I like the tank, little different than a standard 150. I am using a mix of lighting on my 150 with no issues.

[dmarkham]

Originally Posted by bwhit1406

I like the tank, little different than a standard 150. I am using a mix of lighting on my 150 with no issues.

Thanks for the input. I like the fact it is long and not too skinny or short.

[dmarkham]

Tomorrow is moving day and I am like a kid on Christmas eve. I have 100 gallons of saltwater premade and ready to go. Lights deliver tomorrow. Totes and bins are loaded in the truck. Livingroom is in disarray leaving a path to where the new tank goes. May have a new skimmer next week if everything goes right. Power cord management is already staged and ready to go also.

[MuShu]

Nice! I hope the move went well.

I have two young boys. Think of all the money you will save on aquarium memberships just taking them to fish stores.

[dmarkham]

Originally Posted by MuShu

Nice! I hope the move went well.

I have two young boys. Think of all the money you will save on aquarium memberships just taking them to fish stores.

They love going to them. The move took most of the day and the tank is up and running. Will try to get some photos up in the morning. Then start transfering everything over the next couple days.

[dmarkham]

Everything was successfully moved over. Added some more rock and clean up crew. Should be upgrading my sump and getting a skimmer, uv sterilizer, fuge light, and reactor. Up to date photos should be loaded Monday.

[bwhit1406]

Awesome!

Sent from my LG-D851 using Tapatalk

[dmarkham]

Here is a updated photo of the tank.


http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/at...1&d=1480351428



Now brings me to the next question. Has anyone converted a wet dry to a sump suitable for a reef tank? I do not plan on getting into the higher needs of SPS. I was looking at drilling holes in the baffle of the intake chamber to allow the water level to rise in the main chamber ( where the bio balls use to be ) to allow for 8" or so of water for a skimmer to be placed. Fill the water intake chamber with live rock and rubble and heater. Then the main chamber to house the skimmer and phosban reactor pump. With the last chamber to house the return pump and ATO. I planned on a UV sterilizer in one of the chambers or in the DT.

On another note. Only one of the overflows is a overflow. The other one is a false overflow with holes drilled into it for water drainage. Not sure why they would even put this in other than to keep it looking even on the overflows. My thoughts on these was to use this as a pod refuge. Has anyone ever seen this done? I might be able to hide the UV sterilizer in there also.

[dmarkham]

Close ups of the rock work.

Left side

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/at...1&d=1480352643

Center

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/at...1&d=1480352643

Right side

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/at...1&d=1480352643

[dmarkham]

Upgraded the sump tonight. Got a deal on a 40 gallon acrylic sump, sock holder, some brand new socks, and Reef Octopus 160int spare saver skimmer. For 250 bucks. Got it installed and running, it was producing skim mate in tge first hour. Pretty happy with this upgrade so far. Photos in the morning.

[dmarkham]

Updated photos of the new skimmer and sump set up. I also cleaned and organized everything under the stand as well. Will be looking at ordering a fuge light and a UV sterilizer sometime today. Then start looking at the stocking list for the tank.

[dmarkham]

I though that it might be good to list what was moved over and where the tank is today as far as livestock goes. Also the direction and livestock to be added later.

The vision for the tank is to have a healthy easy to maintain tank with mostly easy to care for corals and fish. I want it to be thriving, but not a real burden as far as taking care of it. Plus I have always found the movement of LPS and soft corals more relaxing then the bright colors of a heavy SPS tank. This is why I went with a mixed reef design. It also always me to have my two sons be involved and not worry about what a small mistake might do to the tank. So for this one it is going to be simple and easy as much as possible.

Currently in the tank.

200#s of sand
270# of Live rock

2 Misbar Clown Fish Paired
Six Line Wrasse
Blue Sapphire Damsel
3 Blue Chromis ( adopted from a friends Tank )
1 Peppermint Shrimp
30ish Hermit Crabs mixed
40ish snails mixed

Kenya tree
Colt coral
Green Stripe Mushroom
Purple Mushroom
Green Metallic Mushroom
Green Goblin Mushroom
Neon Read Mushroom
GSP
Metallic GSP
Dragon Eyes Zoa
Eagle Eye Zoa
Pink Zoa
Orange Zoa
Pom Pom Xenia
Fog spawn
Green Pavona
Red and Green Flavia
Green Brain coral
Red and White Acans
Green Palys
Pink Palys

Livestock that I am looking at in the future are:
Flame Angel
Yellow Tang
Either a Kole Tang or a Sailfin Tang
Royal Gama
2 Cleaner shrimp
Cleaner wrasse
2 to 3 Emerald Crabs
sand shifting cucumber
few more mixed snails.

Might look at other small fish like gobbies and blennies if my bioload is not that bad.

Other corals I am looking to do are
toad stool
red, orange, and fuzzy mushrooms
other acans
torch
hammer
other zoas
other payls

[Bobbitworm13]

No cleaner wrasse. Very bad idea. It will starve, not enough food (parasites and what not). Read this thread http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh....php?t=2154289.

[dmarkham]

Originally Posted by Bobbitworm13

No cleaner wrasse. Very bad idea. It will starve, not enough food (parasites and what not). Read this thread http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh....php?t=2154289.

Thanks for the information. I was doing research and it was brought up that if you have Tangs then you should keep one of the cleaner wrasses also. So I will scratch that one from the list.

[dmarkham]

Quick update here. I picked up a cleaner shrimp and he is in the tank and doing great. I also got a deal on a Yellow Tang about 4 to 5 inches and a small Naso Tang about 3 inches. They are in quarantine at the moment and should be added later this week end or beginning of next week. Both are eating good and very active. If for some reason the Naso gets to large for my 6 foot tank then I have a friend's tank that he can be moved to.

[ericarenee]

Just take her shopping at the mall and pack her bags around all day until your Credit cards are maxed out you will be fine....

I am so glad Bonnie and i Both enjoy our Reef Aquariums... We have had Aquariums as long as we have been together .. April will be 30 years for us Those who Reef Together Stay together...

[dmarkham]

Originally Posted by ericarenee

Just take her shopping at the mall and pack her bags around all day until your Credit cards are maxed out you will be fine....

I am so glad Bonnie and i Both enjoy our Reef Aquariums... We have had Aquariums as long as we have been together .. April will be 30 years for us Those who Reef Together Stay together...

Congrats on the 30 years. Mine is not that bad she is just budgeting minded lol. I do catch flake from time to time, but it is very that bad really. I do catch her looking at the tank when she thinks I am occupied doing something else.

[dmarkham]

Well the Yellow Tang is in the DT and doing great. The Naso Tang did not survive the QT tank. It developed a few spots of what looked to be stress spots and would not eat. Tried everything I knew to do with no luck. It passed on the second day in QT. Here is a pick of the Yellow shortly after moving to the DT this weekend. It is eating like a pig and seems to be doing great.