Introducing myself and my tank.

[BoYd'O]

Hi i'm new to this forum, I have been posting on sask reef for quite a while and was informed to check out this site. I was amazed to see the activity on this site, and am always interested in some feed back. My tank is a 75 gallon corner bow, originaly the stock light was ok but as my reef grew so did the lighting demand. The original lighting was 2x36" t-5s as well as 2x 9" t-5s in the rear corner. The pump and filter is a fluval 405 canister ....yes old school lol.. There is roughtly 50lb LS as well as roughly 100lb LR not including the 30Lb in the canister filter to add to filtration. Due to the common problem with an old school method of the canister becoming a nitrate trap the canister is cleaned bi-weekly and carbon is run two weeks a month. I have a coral life 220 hang on back protein skimmer, as well as three power heads to airrate the surface water and create substantial flow. I will post pics!!! The lighting has been upgraded too in the rear corner is a 175 20k Mh, an additional row of 2x 36" t-5s with figi and 22k blue, as well as the front set of t-5s have been changed to 14k 36" t-5s all t-5s are High output. I will post pics of then and now as well as all the corals and fish.
Hope no one noded off during the story :biggrin:, more to come.
BoYd'O

[sphelps]

Welcome :biggrin:

[BlueAbyss]

Welcome to Canreef! Can't wait for pics :biggrin:

[muck]

Hi Boyd... Welcome!!

[Myka]

Welcome! Need pics!!! :D

[Lance]

:welcome:

[Skimmerking]

Welcome Boyd and have fun here on Canreef

[Doug]

Welcome
to
Canreef

:mrgreen:

[BoYd'O]

Ok so i hade to sort throught all the shots lol but here are the photos i took when the tank started up 1 year and 7 months ago,


http://i463.photobucket.com/albums/qq352/nialltboyd/liverockforweb-1.jpg



http://i463.photobucket.com/albums/qq352/nialltboyd/sideforweb-1.jpg

http://i463.photobucket.com/albums/qq352/nialltboyd/tankforweb-1.jpg

http://i463.photobucket.com/albums/qq352/nialltboyd/clear2.jpg

[Leah]

:popcorn:Wow nice tank do you have any updated photo's?

[BoYd'O]

I continued to add aditinal LR as well as base rock to beging my first ever aquascape to my 75 galon corner bow.
http://i463.photobucket.com/albums/qq352/nialltboyd/DSC_0038.jpg

http://i463.photobucket.com/albums/qq352/nialltboyd/DSC_0039.jpg

I allowed the tank to idle for close to three months, then i slowly started my decent into this beutifle adiction. I started to stock the tank I added 2x chalk basselets, 1 royal grandma and ...... a male blue deval damsel. All such radiant fish to watch but adding more stock to the tank resulted in a problem with the damsle. I never wanted nore thought a fish was so teritorial, but lesson learnt. Me and my brother inlaw spent the night catching him, so that he could be relocated.
http://i463.photobucket.com/albums/qq352/nialltboyd/DSC_0040.jpg
http://i463.photobucket.com/albums/qq352/nialltboyd/DSC_0103.jpg
http://i463.photobucket.com/albums/qq352/nialltboyd/DSC_0107.jpg

The fish i was adding to the tank was a Tiger sand sifting goby as well as a lawnmoer blenni,

http://i463.photobucket.com/albums/qq352/nialltboyd/DSC_0161.jpg
http://i463.photobucket.com/albums/qq352/nialltboyd/DSC_00032.jpg

[BoYd'O]

I started off with a mushroom rock as my first coral, all water lvls and peramiters were good. One week after that rock went in I Went through a massive algea bloom again, one I nor my brother inlaw had ever seen....There are no pics of this as I was quite frustrated and trying everything to clear it up. Finaly after multiple water changes, different media and eventually, a uv sterilizer is what cleared it all up. "HAHA i could see my fish again and my beautiful mushroom rock!!!! .........That had no mushrooms on it anymore."
http://i463.photobucket.com/albums/qq352/nialltboyd/DSC_0015.jpg

ok there are many storys in between there and now and i could spen all day typeing them out. Instead i'll go for the quick sum up and if there is a request for more i'll post them lol. So here is a pic on the tank at the 1 year marker point.

http://i463.photobucket.com/albums/qq352/nialltboyd/PA231940-3.jpg

[BoYd'O]

A continuation of from then to now, month 1.
http://i463.photobucket.com/albums/qq352/nialltboyd/clear2-1.jpg
1 year
http://i463.photobucket.com/albums/qq352/nialltboyd/PA231940-3.jpg
and current
http://i463.photobucket.com/albums/qq352/nialltboyd/9c393def.jpg

almost all the corals in my tank started a little over and under the size of my thumb nail.
http://i463.photobucket.com/albums/qq352/nialltboyd/c7ccbe74.jpg
http://i463.photobucket.com/albums/qq352/nialltboyd/eafb020a.jpg
http://i463.photobucket.com/albums/qq352/nialltboyd/07aaf55e.jpg
http://i463.photobucket.com/albums/qq352/nialltboyd/0367fc73.jpg
http://i463.photobucket.com/albums/qq352/nialltboyd/DSC_0012.jpg
http://i463.photobucket.com/albums/qq352/nialltboyd/cdf95db7.jpg

[Snaz]

Is that a Dendro I see in the cave at the Year One picture? Still have that coral?

[Leah]

Very nice, my damsel is the tank terror - as it turns out I finally got him out and he is headed back to the fish store soon it will be a happy day....even though I have had him
for 3 or so years.

[BoYd'O]

Is that a Dendro I see in the cave at the Year One picture? Still have that coral?

yes it is a dendro, and yes i still have it, it grew four new heads roughly 4 months ago and bing in the lower light of the tank it developed lage amounts of coraline, here is a pic of when it was in its glory,
http://i463.photobucket.com/albums/qq352/nialltboyd/IMG_0047-1.jpg
since then it is now on a reverse cycle opening only in the dark, some resent reserch on the net says that they can be ajusted over a period to a 400 watt MH. so recently i have slowly rased it higher in my tank to see it i can get it back onto the right path.

[BoYd'O]

Here is another photo of my neon gree candy cane
http://i463.photobucket.com/albums/qq352/nialltboyd/P7134259.jpg
as well as my neon blue one
http://i463.photobucket.com/albums/qq352/nialltboyd/DSC_0022-1.jpg

[rstar]

Boy has that tank come a long way from day 1 Niall! Keep up the good work and it will only get better! Happy reefing!:wink:

[Snappy]

Welcome to the friendliest forum in Canada.

[Snaz]

yes it is a dendro,
since then it is now on a reverse cycle opening only in the dark, some resent reserch on the net says that they can be ajusted over a period to a 400 watt MH. so recently i have slowly rased it higher in my tank to see it i can get it back onto the right path.

Feed it mysis and other meat and it will love you.

[Myka]

Lookin good! I love your rock 'scape!! That's great how you've kinda made a lagoon out since you have the corner to work with. That neon green Candy Cane rocks. I need to find me one. You should plan to either upgrade to a large tank or rehome the Hippo Tang though in the next year or two, it will get very big. This is your first saltwater tank? You're doing a great job! How old is the tank now?

[BoYd'O]

Lookin good! I love your rock 'scape!! That's great how you've kinda made a lagoon out since you have the corner to work with. That neon green Candy Cane rocks. I need to find me one. You should plan to either upgrade to a large tank or rehome the Hippo Tang though in the next year or two, it will get very big. This is your first saltwater tank? You're doing a great job! How old is the tank now?

Thanks for the feed back the tank is 19 month running time almost a year and a half. as for the hippo tang and aswell the scopas tang there is already a plan for a larger tank, once the new one is obtained i'll also be changing it over to a sump setup aswell. This is my first salt water reef, and has had pleanty of ups and downs. Possibly not the best hobby for someone who must place each rock exactly where it looks good or everything gets ajusted, but it helps keep me busy when i'm not chaseing my kids. lol

[BoYd'O]

Welcome to the friendliest forum in Canada.

Thanks again for the great rodactice, orange mushrooms aswell as the peace of tode stool. Here is a few updated shots if you remember back in january when myself and rstar stoped in.

http://i463.photobucket.com/albums/qq352/nialltboyd/DSC_0001-1.jpg
http://i463.photobucket.com/albums/qq352/nialltboyd/4ae44d50.jpg
http://i463.photobucket.com/albums/qq352/nialltboyd/DSC_0014-2.jpg

[bignose]

I really like your aquascape. Good job!

[BlueAbyss]

Very nice! Are you the only reefer in Rosetown?

[rstar]

Very nice! Are you the only reefer in Rosetown?

I think other than Boydo' I am the only other reefer in rosetown. And we are brother in laws!

[BoYd'O]

bump