75g (very) Low-Tech Reef!

[SoloChromis]

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 ). 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 )

... 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

[terrypercula]

I have a 20 long that is basically an algae and fish tank
It's surprisingly interesting ha

[Comedy Fish]

Originally Posted by SoloChromis

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 ). 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 )



... 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

Sounds awesome!

[TAZ_67]

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.

[Mark9]

Originally Posted by TAZ_67

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.

+1

Or, 2 blue+, 1 purple+ and 1 aquablue special.

[Reef Frog]

Could be wrong, but I was thinking you night not need the expensive German T5 tubes unless you want the look of the more bluish light. Aren't bulbs below 10K used for plants? 6500K seem to be the norm for planted tanks and they're inexpensive by comparison.

Also you can probably have snails. Most seem to feed on micro algae, dinos & detrius, not macro algaes, right?

You should have lots of loss. Maybe an ideal environment for a Mandarin Dragonette? Sounds like a neat project, good luck.

[lifeoffaith]

Hopefully not too late on this subject. From what I understand, Emerald Crabs will eat your macro algae. I'm not sure you would want to put him in an all you can eat buffet.