Since I am very late to the tale of the tank game, I'm going to do this as a series of flashbacks. I'll start with this Cliff Notes history. Like many, I have been keeping fish since childhood, starting with fresh water fish. After I was married in 1979, my wife and I set up housekeeping in an apartment. It was shortly thereafter that I set up my first saltwater tank. It was a 55 gallon tank with dead rock, dead corals, an undergravel filter (close your ears, Paul B.), and fish. That tank survived two moves, ending up in our present house in 1986.
Somewhere in the mid-90's, I set up my first reef tank. I don't have much in the way of pictures of that tank, as I was still in the pre-digital age. I am missing a few years of digital photos, too. That tank was a 90 gallon hex tank. I had it drilled and created my own center overflow with black pipe. It was lit by VHO bulbs on an IceCap ballast. Filtration was a small sump/refugium with Miracle Mud in the stand. That tank lasted until around 2003, when I got the itch to do something better.
In 2003, I sold of my collection of HO scale trolleys and my modular trolley layout (with working overhead trolley wire) to finance a new tank. That tank was a 210 gallon AGA reef-ready tank. It rested on an AGA stand (important detail as you'll see soon). I built a hood to match the stand, as the AGA hoods were too small for proper hanging of lights. I built an equipment room on the other side of the garage wall to house filters, electronics, and pumps. I built a sump from a kit sold on ebay, which survived leak-free until recently. The tank was lit with IceCap MH pendants powered by IceCap electronic ballasts. Return pumps were PCX-40 external pumps, one of which ran until a few weeks ago, when I replaced it with a new DC pump. Circulation was provided by 2 Tunze Stream 6000 pumps, both of which are still running today. I started with an ASM skimmer (can't remember the model) and a two stage calcium reactor from MRC. It, too is still in use, though I regularly curse the screw-off lids, which require strap wrenches and busted knuckles to loosen. Control was provided by an AquaController II and a mess o'X-10 modules.
The 210 lasted until October 15, 2005, when disaster struck. I came down the stairs from the second floor after installing a new faucet and heard the sound of running water. The tank had cracked diagonally across the front and water was gushing out into the room. I shoved a rubbermaid bin under the stream of water and began trying to limit the damage to the house and the livestock. The whole family got into the act, running the shop-vac, pulling rugs outside, shuttling livestock to the LFS. I managed to rescue all but one fish, a dottyback who must have dived into a rock, never to be seen again. The corals and fish were sold off by the LFS, since I had no idea when (or if) I would start over.
After a few weeks, during which the sump sat stagnant and cold, I decided to try again. When I looked in the sump, there was a piece of my "Mad Drama" frogspawn still alive in the 55 degree water. I fired up the refugium light, added a circulation pump, and turned on the heater. That frogspawn is still with me today hosting my percula clowns.
That brings us to my current tank. AGA kindly replaced the 210, even though it was out of warranty. After learning that my arms were not long enough to reach the bottom of a 210, I opted to replace it with a 180. Initially, that tank was set up with the same equipment as the 210. There has been a lot of evolution since then, but that I'll leave for later posts.
Now, onto a few pictures of the tank today.
Here's that frogspawn and my clowns.
My formerly male Watenabei angel.
That's all for tonight. I'll post some flashbacks and more details later.
Somewhere in the mid-90's, I set up my first reef tank. I don't have much in the way of pictures of that tank, as I was still in the pre-digital age. I am missing a few years of digital photos, too. That tank was a 90 gallon hex tank. I had it drilled and created my own center overflow with black pipe. It was lit by VHO bulbs on an IceCap ballast. Filtration was a small sump/refugium with Miracle Mud in the stand. That tank lasted until around 2003, when I got the itch to do something better.
In 2003, I sold of my collection of HO scale trolleys and my modular trolley layout (with working overhead trolley wire) to finance a new tank. That tank was a 210 gallon AGA reef-ready tank. It rested on an AGA stand (important detail as you'll see soon). I built a hood to match the stand, as the AGA hoods were too small for proper hanging of lights. I built an equipment room on the other side of the garage wall to house filters, electronics, and pumps. I built a sump from a kit sold on ebay, which survived leak-free until recently. The tank was lit with IceCap MH pendants powered by IceCap electronic ballasts. Return pumps were PCX-40 external pumps, one of which ran until a few weeks ago, when I replaced it with a new DC pump. Circulation was provided by 2 Tunze Stream 6000 pumps, both of which are still running today. I started with an ASM skimmer (can't remember the model) and a two stage calcium reactor from MRC. It, too is still in use, though I regularly curse the screw-off lids, which require strap wrenches and busted knuckles to loosen. Control was provided by an AquaController II and a mess o'X-10 modules.
The 210 lasted until October 15, 2005, when disaster struck. I came down the stairs from the second floor after installing a new faucet and heard the sound of running water. The tank had cracked diagonally across the front and water was gushing out into the room. I shoved a rubbermaid bin under the stream of water and began trying to limit the damage to the house and the livestock. The whole family got into the act, running the shop-vac, pulling rugs outside, shuttling livestock to the LFS. I managed to rescue all but one fish, a dottyback who must have dived into a rock, never to be seen again. The corals and fish were sold off by the LFS, since I had no idea when (or if) I would start over.
After a few weeks, during which the sump sat stagnant and cold, I decided to try again. When I looked in the sump, there was a piece of my "Mad Drama" frogspawn still alive in the 55 degree water. I fired up the refugium light, added a circulation pump, and turned on the heater. That frogspawn is still with me today hosting my percula clowns.
That brings us to my current tank. AGA kindly replaced the 210, even though it was out of warranty. After learning that my arms were not long enough to reach the bottom of a 210, I opted to replace it with a 180. Initially, that tank was set up with the same equipment as the 210. There has been a lot of evolution since then, but that I'll leave for later posts.
Now, onto a few pictures of the tank today.
Here's that frogspawn and my clowns.
My formerly male Watenabei angel.
That's all for tonight. I'll post some flashbacks and more details later.
