75g (6 months of progression pics)

[see money]

This is my 75 gallon acrylic reef build (4x T5s 2blue 2white), 6 gallon hob fuge built in skimmer (230 led red orange blue white), 350 penguin canister filter, 40 lbs pink fiji sand 20 lbs fine white key sand, over 100 lbs of various live rock from lfs all over Florida.

9/25 set up as bought

9/29 added sand and cool rock i found at lfs

10/9 cycle and rocks 2 & 3

10/15 upgrades arrived

10/15 more upgrades

10/21 4th rock

10/24 red slime showing

11/1 red slime going nuts

11/4 ahhhhhhhhh
ta-type="61" src="https://forums.saltwaterfish.com/data/5/54/54c459e6_PB081469.jpeg
11/8

11/11

11/24 5th rock

12/10 rocks 6,7,8,9,10 arrived and led for fuge

12/23

1/24

1/31

1/31

I have about 4 million of these in my fuge now

my biggest fan

2/16/13

2/19/13

2/26/13

2/28/13

3/2/13

3/9/13

3/9/13 new led for fuge

3/16/13 CoralCon 2013

 

[snakeblitz33]

I see glass tops... not something recommended for saltwater tanks. It decreases gas exchange which causes low pH problems and pH swings.
I also see that you have it on some sort of kitchen cabinet or something like that - watch it to make sure that the cabinet doesn't start sagging. Cabinets like that are not built to withstand the static pressure of a tank. You may consider building your own stand and moving it.. If that's not an option, consider beefing up the stand it is already sitting on.
I really feel like CFL lights do a better job growing macroalgae than do LEDs - at least warm white / cool white LEDs... consider switching back - you may notice a big difference in growth.
I don't really like canister filters on saltwater tanks for the simple fact that most of the time (I) people don't want to do the bi-weekly and monthly maintenance on them that they require. It's much easier to change the filters out in a HOB filter and do maintenance on it than it is a canister. HOB filters also have open tops, which mean better gas exchange. Canister filters, if they ever clog or the power goes out and they sit up for awhile and haven't been cleaned in God knows how long - once turned back on they could leak "death" into your tank. (bacteria goes anaerobic and decreases the pH.)
To get a better overall look of the tank from that one side - and to hide the HOB equipment, consider painting the back black or blue. A solid background can hide cords, equipment etc and make fish and corals colors pop out better.
Overall nice progress. I'm glad that you have the fortitude to keep in the hobby. I like your lights that you are using. I like the fact that it seems like you are taking your time and researching as you go. I'm glad that you want to share with us your successes (and failures.) I haven't really seen you around - so welcome (back) to the boards and I hope you enjoy your stay!

 

[see money]

I have cats who are convinced they'll figure out how to get their prizes so I must keep my tops on. The tank is acrylic and I'm actually quite lucky someone altered it to accommodate glass tops before i bought it. There's also about 4 inches exposed on the back side where the cats cant get to that i think vents the gas. I have a cooling fan i run on hot days
Yup it's on my kitchen counter and it weighs just under 1000 lbs which is why i reinforced the counter. the water sits level.
I've been hearing some chatter about my fuge light. I had to buy this one because the CFL ones give like 2 inches of clearance above the top of my fuge and i'm not cool with that. I was thinking about ordering 2 strips of super super bright all white leds and wiring them into my current light. I've heard the white lights are better for cheato and mangroves.
I've actually gone back and forth with the canister filter, it might be kinda hard to tell in the pictures. I've altered the inside of the canister quite a bit to reduce "clogging" but i do regularly tweak stuff so i'm usually cleaning anyways. It seems to be the only way i can get my water "particle free." The hob fuge i have does a awesome job for cultivating pods but is quite horrible at cleaning debris from the water. I also have everything on my old computer battery backup and we're like 5 mins from the power company so i've never had a problem with power. Still though I would like to find another way to clean the water, this thing is loud!!!!
I just recently added a backer on my tank to block the sunlight from the windows. This fixed my algae bloom problem i had about a month ago.
I totally don't mind sharing my failures. That's actually why I'm here so I can fix stuff and make it better. Still curious about the carbon/charcoal pellets effecting water levels like hardness?

 

[see money]

Has anyone had a problem with carbon pellets and water hardness?

 

[acrylic51]

Nice progression.......

I love the fuge.....I differ from Seth on that I think the LEDs are a smarter choice for the fuge....Replacement costs being the biggest issue between CF and LEDs....LEDs have been proven to grow/sustain macros, maybe a better color option choice down the road would be to swap out the blue/white for red & blue combo.....Also see mangroves.....Excellent nutrient exporter, but very slow though.....Very nice to say the least......
What type of carbon are you using.....

 

[see money]

some lfs brand fresh/salt active carbon pellets...it's my GH that is really high i stopped at 20 drops which was the highest rating 400ppm. i guess my KH is in normal range 130ppm? I do admit to using a 3 stage filtered water. i know it's not the best but it's all i got right now.

 

[see money]

He's right about my leds being too weak but I think if I beef them up they'll be able to at least maintain the algae (if the fuge was full of cheato.) Which I hope to accomplish somehow whether I have to buy it or grow it.
I bought this led thing because of the stand. It's very tall and very adjustable mostly for the mangroves. I can rewire it to support a much better led strip. I am curious about the colors I was going to go with all warm white.

 

[see money]

Oh I totally forgot. I have a bunch of mini bristle stars and micro clams in my fuge. I tried putting ghost shrimp in too but they escaped into the main tank only to be eaten. I have a lot of copepods or amphipods I'm still confused about this. Whatever's in the picture is what I have and they like my mangrove roots quite a bit. I used beach sand against a lot of peoples advisement in my fuge. After a couple months now it's starting to turn black as any marsh mud would be where mangroves grow. It was just a lot easier going to go to the beach for a bucket of sand rather than someone's back yard. Everything I've read about fuge mud is simply that it's very very fine. If anyone has ever been to the beach they know the beach sand that's submerged is so fine it resembles quick sand. Thus I think beach sand works just fine for a smaller fuge if granted enough time to accumulate that black silt.

 

[al&burke]

Nice progression, good job. Cocoa Beach, is that close to Pompno Beach and if so the power plant is it Wheelabrator North Broward.

 

[see money]

Pompano is down by Ft Lauderdale couple hours south of me. I'm right near Kennedy Space Center.
And thanks everyone for the replies!!!!

 

[see money]

3/16/13 CoralCon 2013 update

pair of harlequin shrimp (ghostly one is male)

pink hornet zoo frag

rasta zoo frag

purple/peach acropora encrusted frag

wild green zoo frag (I say wild because it looks like the larger wild species of zoos i've seen)

white/green and orange/green zoo frag

 

[sweatervest13]

I love the progression shots!!! Very cool. I wish everyone did it that way (or at least I wish that I did that. LOL)
The skimmer/ fuge combo unit looks slick!! How much volume does it add to the system.
Sounds like you are good at the maintenance on the canister filter. Keep up on it and it will help a lot.
Keep up the good work man.

 

[see money]

My estimate is about 6 gallons fully loaded which it's clearly not. I know I should have about a 10g fuge for a 75g tank but this seems to be working pretty well. The skimmer cup is about 4"x4" which is small compared to some units I've seen but it works pretty well as far as I can tell.
I clean the canister about once a week which is getting excessive now. I think most of the debris came from the sand which my 2 gobies, 2 horseshoe crabs, and pistol shrimp have been vigorously stirring up the past few months. I intend on getting rid of it completely. It's just that every time I take it off the water clouds up pretty bad with debris that my inhabitants are stirring up.
If I had it my way I would drill through the kitchen counter and build a really sweet fuge in the cabinet below but things are not my way so I've been making due the best I can for my little fishies.