300 gallon "Outside Corner" Reef

[Gregcoyote]

Start by putting your money up front. If it was wild collected, think twice about buying it. Let your LFS know you are interested in mainly cultivated and tank raised species. For the past three years, all my corals have come from friends tanks.


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[Gregcoyote]

This little tank has grown this maxima from 1" to 2" in a few months. I never had this luck with clams in my big reef. Amazing.


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[paul87]

View attachment 258888View attachment 258889

This little tank has grown this maxima from 1" to 2" in a few months. I never had this luck with clams in my big reef. Amazing.


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That's awesome man! A cool clam is definitely on my list when ever I upgrade to a bigger tank. I love that tank BTW.

 

[Gregcoyote]

I would normally post this on the FW forum, but I wanted the opinions of the guys that follow me.

It has been 30 years since I set up a FW tank. My mom is now in her late 80's and has a old 20 long I use to have. She wants it set up for FW again. It had a UG filter at one time, then a HOB. What would you guys recommend as the lowest maintenance way to set this up using modern equipment? Just want some tetras and a few live bearers. Plants would be nice as it's going in a sun room, but as we all know that can get out of hand fast. Let me know your opinions as I want to do this for Christmas for her.


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[BigRedsReefs10]

A hob filter and some low light plants like Java fern or various anubias make for a nice easy tank. An ac70 and a couple cfl's would probably get it done IMO.


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[paul87]

That sounds like an excellent gift Greg. Wish I could help but its been a long time since I had freshwater. I would say BigRed seems to have a good general idea. +1 on the anubias as far as plants.

 

[Mebbid]

A hob filter and some low light plants like Java fern or various anubias make for a nice easy tank. An ac70 and a couple cfl's would probably get it done IMO.


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+1

Anubias, Java fern, Java moss, bolbitis, and crypts are great for a low light tank.

Personally if I were going to set this up I would get a sizable piece of drift wood and tie some java moss onto it.

Using a black sand substrate will help bring out the colors in the plants and fish. Petsmart sells gel packs of plants and they carry a red crypt which I believe is called a Cryptocoryne Undulata "Red" but I might be mistaken on the naming. Combining the red crypt with green plants will give a nice variance in color to contrast with the black substrate.

The only upkeep on the tank would be water changes and replacing the root tabs for the crypts every 1 to 3 months depending on which ones you use.

 

[Gregcoyote]

Root tabs?


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[Macscale]

Root tabs?


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I believe they're little fertilizing tabs that you put under the roots of plants for nutrients..

 

[Mebbid]

Root tabs?


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Little packets of fertilizer you stick in the substrate. Some plants feed from the water column such as mosses, stem plants, and java fern while others such as crypts and swords feed almost exclusively from the substrate. There's not enough nutrient build up in the substrate to keep the plants well fed so people add root tabs to supplement.

There are two different ones that I would consider using currently. Either the DIY osmocote+ tabs or the RU tabs that are sold on Peabodies Paradise.

I have been using the DIY ones for a little over a year now. Here's a thread I made on them which has a picture progression of the different the tabs make.

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f24/mebbids-diy-root-tabs-308735.html

 

[Gregcoyote]

Thanks!


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[Darylb]

Can you get a canister filter at all?

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[Gregcoyote]

I have a local friend that is going to let me use his canister. Will try that first and charge it with a poly filter and maybe carbon.


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[Gregcoyote]

Put this cowry in 4 years ago. This is its first sighting at night.


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[paul87]

Put this cowry in 4 years ago. This is its first sighting at night.View attachment 259002


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The creepers come out at night! Very cool snails.

 

[Gregcoyote]

300 gallon "Outside Corner" Reef

1992

Metal halide and actinic fluorescent.



Same spot 2014

Full spectrum LED

Same tang as well.




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[Darylb]

Wow that's amazing Greg. Crazy to see how much reefing has changed in the past 20+ years

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[Sniperhank]

1992

Metal halide and actinic fluorescent.

View attachment 259245

Same spot 2014

Full spectrum LED

Same tang as well.

View attachment 259246


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Really putting things into perspective there Greg. Not only have the colors been brought out in things but the change in corals that can be more easily kept. Makes me think of the stories I read when I was getting started in the hobby of flower pots being thought of a coral that was hardy because it would last longer in an aquarium than others...when it really just took forever to fade away. Do you still have all those soft coral, just somewhere else in the tank?

 

[Gregcoyote]

Some of them, but over the past five years I have concentrated on stoney corals mostly.


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[mr_X]

I see you got rid of the colt...lol. I think everyone gets kenya trees and colt corals at some point, and then slowly phases them out when they realize they are as ugly as aptasia...lol

...An early 125 of mine....halides and a CF Current fixture....