Originally Posted by SoloChromis (Post 23350798)

So I'm sure many, if not the vast majority of you can relate when I talk about how much fish tank related junk I have just lying around, taking up space. Whether it be from old, retired set ups, or stuff I bought, thinking I'd need, but never ended up using. So I decided to pull out my old, non drilled 75 gallon tank & stand, and set it up using the surplus equipment to run it. After quite a while of research and contemplating, I decided to opt for a macro algae dominated tank, as this would provide natural nutrient export, shelter for pods, as well as provided a sort of "back up" for my 40g refugium on my main tank (not to mention it looks nice :bum:). Equipment wise, I decided to steer clear of the HOB overflow, which I used to run on this tank, as it was constantly causing me headaches, as well as the fact that it's *extremely noisy*, so decided for now to try to keep it as simple as possible, especially given my macro algae cushion...



Filter: Hagen Aquaclear 125 HOB Filter w/Seeded Filter Pad



Lighting: Coralife Aqualight T5 Fixture (need recommendations on bulbs)



Flow: 1-2x Koralia Evolution Pumps



Biological Filtration: Established Live Rock From DT w/ shallow sand bed



... Livestock Wise, outside of the various macro algae species I'll be adding, I wanted to of course avoid the algae munching urchins and snails, and for fish I wanted to narrow it down to my favorites, specifically fish that wouldn't mingle well in my 120g...



Fish:



- Some kind of clown pair, either a pair of orange skunks, or possibly "domino" ocellaris clowns



- Unusual damsel species that I deem likely too aggressive for my main tank during the quarantine period



- Filefish, hopefully a mimic if I can get a hold of one.



- Goby/Shrimp Pair (can't keep these in my main tank due to the DSB)



Inverts:



- 3-5x Serpent Stars



- Nassarius Snails



- Peppermint Shrimp



- Emerald Crabs (I love these guys, but so does my zebra moray :headwally:)



... I may add some xenia or GSP just to see how it does, but for the most part I wanted to focus on algae and fish, while keeping things as hands free as possible. What do you guys think? Any comments or concerns would be most appreciated :beer:

Originally Posted by TAZ_67 (Post 23351575)

Bulb choices a user preference but I would run ATI bulbs. If that is the 4 bulb fixture you can run 2 blue plus and a coral plus. The forth bulb could be another blue plus, a purple plus or another coral plus depending on what look you are after. ATI has recommendations on their site under the FAQ section.

A word of caution with the GSP and Xenia. Keep them isolate like on an island or something as they can overrun your tank if they take off.