Matt's 37 Gallon Reef

[RocketSeason]

Ok, Another long overdue update.

I had a baby! A beautiful girl named Georgia. She is doing quite well but my tank is not. We had a difficult pregnancy and I ended up neglecting my tank.

My Potter Angel died. (although that happened before the tank went downhill) My male clown died as well as my GSP and I had a ton of hair algea and cyano show up. The cyano killed most of my zoos.

The biggest thing I need to do now is get the nitrates out of the system. I have been doing 5 gallon changes every other day. I will do that for another few days. I also need to re-do my sump/fuge so that my skimmer is positioned better to allow it to skim more. I also probably making my fuge much smaller than it currently is to accommodate the skimmer better.

If anyone has plans or links to sump/fuges that fit into a 20H tank, that would be a great help.

I have had this tank running for over 5 years now which is 4 years longer than my previous record. I have had many ups and downs, but hopefully with a little TLC I can bring my tank back and make it better than ever!

[PhotoJohn]

I recently had a dughter as well. The tanks got neglected for sure. this is my nano post birth
Neglected nano!

[RocketSeason]

Well, I was going to take pictures, but my wife stole the camera and took it with her on her weekend getaway.

I decided to clean my sump...I haven't cleaned it since it went in a year and a half ago. It was covered in a TON of salt creep. Eugh! I also discovered that a good amount of the fiberboard stand has bubbled up from water damage. I am not sure what to do about that or if anything is in trouble (such as the wood floor underneath.)

My hair algea is starting to go away, but I have had such a problem with it over the last 5 years that I think I need a starry bleeny to help keep it at bay. (yeah fishes!) The cyano is also starting to receed a bit.

It took me a couple of goes to get my overflow box re-started after cleaning out the tube. I am lucky in that I have never broken syphon in a year and a half of use, (knock on wood) and so I never needed to re-start it. Also I have not grown much algea in the tube and so it hasn't needed a cleaning.

I need to really build myself a new sump. I am not happy with where everything is located in it now, plus I want to add an auto top-off before the summer heat hits.

[CarmieJo]

Hi Matt,

Congratulations on your new little girl.

[RocketSeason]

Ok, I have been putting some thought into this, And I am thinking that instead of trying to fix my stand and build a new sump that is just going to be way to small (again), I might just go ahead and buy a 75 gallon reef-ready tank. This one has been up and running for 5 years now and I think its served me well. I can sell off the tank, the lighting, and everything else that will not work for the new system to help off-set the upgrade.

So my question is: What do you think? Who makes a great 75 gallon reef-ready these days? Does anyone make a system with a canopy that is tall enough to accommodate Metal Hallide lighting?

Thanks!
-Matt

[NaClFinatic]

I have MH in my AGA classic mission series hood. But the hood is very heavy and hard to move. For tank access I end up slipping a couple 1"x1" shims and slide it back or forward an inch or two. This rises the lights and pushes them out of the way slightly for just enough access. But removing it completely is a two man job. I haven't had it off since setup. Really I would prefer a pulley system to just raise it when I need in. For a new tank I would build custom stand and hood or build it into a wall to hide everything.

[RocketSeason]

I would love to build my own stand and hood certainly. I have built several Model Railroad tables in the past so I am familiar with wood and all its eccentricities. I just worry that the quality of my construction won't be so hot.

However, the satisfaction I would get from doing such a thing would be fantastic.