pics of my "atlantis" 3 month old 75 gal

addicted2 · #1 03/27/2007, 11:56 PM

Hi! It took me about 6 months to gather my equipment after months of research and lots of hard earned money!!! Made my own sump/refugium and put it all together and here we are..3 months later...but here are some pics of my 75 gal tank first set up 12/31/06 as I went along till now.. Only trouble I have had so far was learning I didn't need to feed my fish twice a day! I had a bad diatom outbreak about 3 weeks ago but perserverence and doing things a little different has helped. Diatoms are subsiding and things are looking good again! what do ya'all think so far? comments welcome!

brand new...

set up...

Sebastion's view..

Meet a few of my inhabitants:
Shrimp Scampi

Pari scopas:

Tiger my serpent star:

addicted2 · #2 03/27/2007, 11:58 PM

a few more pics!

Angel baby:

Shypoke the blennie:

Willie the watchman:

Consuela my cleaner shrimp:

Gumball my clown goby:

My diatom break out which is better now:

I love my tank! This is probably the best thing I have ever done for myself!

smacdone · #3 03/28/2007, 12:01 AM

Great pics, you did well for your first tank. Now to fill in your rock with some great coral or something

oli5 · #4 03/28/2007, 12:04 AM

Lookin good. I like the names

.

addicted2 · #5 03/28/2007, 12:06 AM

oh yes! I definitely plan on adding some corals..I have added a few but this is an expensive hobby and I am being cautious.

dc_909 · #6 03/28/2007, 12:12 AM

Love the serpent.

chadman · #7 03/28/2007, 12:22 AM

great looking tank! be careful of that cat....the cat at my g friends house has ruined her stand...we are getting its claws removed next week! but its tooo late

addicted2 · #8 03/28/2007, 12:25 AM

Sebastion is already "clawless"..

LarryW · #9 03/28/2007, 12:39 AM

nice serpent, and sweet tank!

drummereef · #10 03/28/2007, 02:48 AM

Looks like a solid setup, addicted2! Digging the aquascape.

rhino509 · #11 03/28/2007, 03:27 AM

i like the diy sump with the eggcrate,nice looking tank,i like the choice of animals you chose.and i think the picture with the(i think) yellow goby on the (lettuce looking) coral is an amazing picture.nice work

mg426 · #12 03/28/2007, 05:06 AM

I like what I am seeing.

JOSEPHLB · #13 03/28/2007, 07:09 AM

Willie the Watchman looks like a cool lil dude.

rafa316 · #14 03/28/2007, 07:12 AM

It looks great! Is the star hard to care for?

Zestay · #15 03/28/2007, 09:37 AM

sweet looking cat btw

no serpant stars IME have just been target feeding every week or so. they scvange the rest.. someone correct me if i should feed mine daily.. hes just so freaking hard to get to all the time..

Lion_Babe · #16 03/28/2007, 09:43 AM

Love the tank, but be careful with corals and your Angel. The nip by nature....maybe not at first but in the end they usually all do.
Good luck and great jog with your first tank!

shinosuke · #17 03/28/2007, 09:48 AM

Nice aquascaping! I like the feel of it.

addicted2 · #18 03/28/2007, 10:52 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by rafa316
It looks great! Is the star hard to care for?

actually no...he is quite easy. I've had him for close to 2 years give or take, and pretty much all I do is let him do his thing..he's a scavenger..he was in my 30 gal for most of that time and it was easy to find him there if I felt like giving him a treat..but now that he is in the 75 I rarely see him...once in awhile he'll stick an arm out from under the rock..waving in the current..when i see that..I hurry and give him a piece of shrimp or something..he loves the frozen mysid shrimp! He used to come out when I fed the other fish..I hope after he gets comfortable in the 75 he'll do the same.

addicted2 · #19 03/28/2007, 11:03 AM

thankyou all for the compliments..My first tank was a 29-30 gal..I had it over 15 years...it was definitely old school..HOB filter, crushed coral, undergravel filter...white coral skeletons for decoration...lava rock...etc..AND oh yes! a domino damsel and 3 stripe damsel that were mean as the devil! but hey...I loved that tank too..it started a slow leak around the bottom and I decided to go bigger..always wanted to...but never felt justified in spending the money. well, that's sure over! I have sunk a small fortune in this 75 but I absolutely love it! I did it the right way I think and the only changes I plan on making are the PH...I have 2 rio 800 and a MJ 1200..and it's not enough..so I am just waiting to find a place I can purchase the tunze or hydor koralias...I want less motor in my tank if you know what I mean. The halides keep it warm enough!

my temp is always 80. That's warm enough in my opinion.

addicted2 · #20 03/28/2007, 11:12 AM

about my aquascaping...I bought about 100 lbs of LR and alot of them were very large pieces...I put the base in first..then sand ..then rest of rock..so my watchman and serpent are diggin the chambers under the sand for sure..that watchman has his own catacombs thing goin..I think

the rock is very solid and I made sure that there is at least 2-3 inches between glass side and rock all the way around...It gives the PH alot of free way for water movement...there are way many caves and lots of hiding places. I'll probably still add some LR when I come along the right pieces. I chose alot of solomon island rock..a few tonga branches and some misc..I really like how it turned out.

Rubduck77 · #21 03/28/2007, 11:15 AM

How do you like your clown gobi? I really want to get one for my tank eventually.

jepuskar · #22 03/28/2007, 11:16 AM

I'm new to this and researching now...and i hope to have a setup like yours within 6 months.

Willie the Watchman is very cool. nice name too

addicted2 · #23 03/28/2007, 11:21 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Rubduck77
How do you like your clown gobi? I really want to get one for my tank eventually.

I love him! he is very calm and peaceful...only about 3/4 - 1 inch long...but darling..I have a green one too..but he is more shy and spends alot of time trying to hide in the lettuce coral with the yellow..but the yellow is just easier to see...the yellow clown goby swims around alot..from perch to perch...they both eat very well...the green one I was worried about for awhile because I never saw him..but he is out and about alot more now. they are nice additions for sure.

Randall_James · #24 03/28/2007, 11:26 AM

Wow looks nice....

BUT:... at 90 days you are stocked pretty heavy. Do take your time and let this system stabilize before you have a tank crash. IMO fish before 5-6 months is sort of pushing the limits as the tank has not settled down yet.

Sure like the look all the same

addicted2 · #25 03/28/2007, 11:29 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by jepuskar
I'm new to this and researching now...and i hope to have a setup like yours within 6 months.

Willie the Watchman is very cool. nice name too

thankyou..you are doing things the right way for sure...This isn't a cheap hobby and it's best to take your time and aquire the things you really want. It took me forever..I bought the tank and stand in April of 06 and the rest as I went along until the end of December when I finally bit the bullet. I was so afraid of the sump/fuge thing..but I just read post after post..article after article and settled for a really simple design....It was really quite simple to make and it's working great! the only thing is that I would love to have had a bigger one, but the 20 long was the biggest I could get under the stand with the way the braces and the doors were.,..soooo..that's what I have. My LR wwas living in rubbermaid tubs for months. but hey...it definitely was cured before I put it in the tank! I'll look forward to seeing the post of YOUR new tank!