Nails12 Tank

Last august my girlfriend went to hawaii, while she was there she watched a T.V. show; "Tanked." When she got home she immideatly showed me this cool new tv show. I became instantly hooked on the fish and the tanks... It was only a week after i soon realized i wanted to start this hobby. I did my research bought fish book after fish book. "Saltwater aquariums for dummies." and others... I then decided with going to school and work i couldnt afford a big aquarium.. :( I thought i would try a 10 gallon! Now i look back and think i was crazy... I used crush coral and plastic plants and lace rock...  obviously i didnt read enough. I was so excited i put water in and set up everything, including a HOB filter. And let it cycle for a week, i couldnt wait anymore. I had to get some fish!!! So i did; 3 yellow tail damsels!!! Joe, bob and bill. I then went and bought a t5 fixture so i could put coral in there... My first coral was a mushroom that was striped. I then got a Lawnmower blenny his name is John! After John Deere Lawnmowers...(My girlfriend has an imagination.)

I kept this tank going and didnt lose any fish to my surprise for two months. I then knew i needed a bigger tank to supply my hobby. I looked all over the internet and finally on KSL i had found a 75 gallon freshwater tank with PC lighting and sump for 300... I was there, battling my way to get onto Hill Air Force Base.. The tank was full of cichlids and luckily i knew someone who wanted some.

I took it home with 100 pounds of black sand and 100 pounds of lace rock.. This lace rock was killer... I then found out that lace rock can leak some trace elements. I sold the rock and the sand i soon found that i would go with aragonite crushed coral and LR. But first i had to clean this tank. Luckily i had my experience cleaning dirty things... I had worked at a carwash for several years...

This is what i got my hands on!

 

 

Old Style Overflow..

I actually bagged this idea and went with an overflow box... I couldnt find one :( so then i decided to make my own.... I bought 1/2" acrylic and cut slits in the top and then bent it home with a blow torch. I then glued it in place and siliconed the edges and filled it with bioballs to be my wet dry filter...

 

 

Thats what a good sanding and scrubbin will do!!!

I then painted it and it came out beautiful... I triple coated the inside where the sump would lay.

Live rock added!

 

I then Added some corals as well as my first fish after my tank cycled...

 

 

Stocking Time!!

1 Lawnmower Blenny

2 Bangaii Cardinals (JUVI)

1 Orange Occelerus

1 Black Occelerus Clown

1 Sailfin Tang

1 Melenarus Wrasse

1 Coral Beauty...

   The coral beauty was tricky. From the get go, i wanted a reef tank with out a doubt, I also wanted an angel either a flame or a coral beauty. I finally decided i would try a coral beauty but i would first try it in my hospital/quarentine tank. I placed it in their with numerous corals that wouldnt upset me if they did get eaten. After a few weeks in their, all the corals were all still happy and none of them were nipped on. So i decided i would throw him in the big tank. As of 6 months no nipping... Yet. :)

 

    I am debating on whether or not i want another cleaner shrimp. So possibly two in the near future.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Thanks for looking