Roger's Reef Renovation! (180 project)

[dodger745]

My name is Roger. I live in western ky where there is no Lfs, and no one else any where near me with a reef tank!

About a year ago I acquired a complete 180 setup from a local Doctor who had neglected the system.

Here is a snapshot of the before/after and some of my progress.

 

[WhoKnew]

Welcome to R2R. Sorry to say, I don't see any pictures.

 

[dodger745]

This was the tank right before I bought it. April of 2013. All that was living were the fish, and one last rock of red mushrooms.
So many nice sps skeletons. I couldn't believe anyone would let such a tank get in this shape....

 

[dodger745]

Here are some details:
Oceanic 180 with dual overflows and glass lids
Dolphin return pump
Iwaki 40 skimmer pump
Aqua c ev240 skimmer
50 gallon custom acrylic sump
Korallin calcium reactor
Carbon/phosguard reactor
Aqua medic aquaspace light 3x 250 watt halides with power compact actinic.
All sorts of fun extras!

Next I will show some pictures of the move...

 

[dodger745]

(Me, lol)

Some friends helping me load the tank

Same friends helping set the tank

 

[MAKcorals]

Nice!! Looks like you got some good equipment in the deal. Can't wait to see you bring it back to life.

 

[dodger745]

Turned the house into a disaster area!

 

[dodger745]

Final resting spot! And my old 29g that is now gone

 

[dodger745]

And here she was exactly one year ago after we spent an entire week moving, cleaning, and setting up the system!

 

[WhoKnew]

Looks like a great start. Also looked like a lot of work.

 

[dodger745]

The fish that came with the system were:
Large Red Sea sailfin tang
Large hippo tang
Large black clownfish
Large orange percula
Pair of skunk clowns
And a coral beauty.
I have added a yellow head sleeper goby.
Also added a large cleanup crew of assorted snails, emerald crab, coral banded shrimp, a few hermits, and a handful of coral frags. Mostly softies.

System has been running for a year and I have total coralline coverage on the rocks, and everything seems very stable. I'm ready to add some sps and see how things go.

Here is a good growth shot of the red mushrooms from one year ago until now:

 

[dodger745]

Looks like a great start. Also looked like a lot of work.

It was a crazy amount of work! But it's paying off and we have a great tank!

 

[WhoKnew]

Wow. Nice work. What do you want to stock it with for corals. Your shrooms look awesome.

 

[dodger745]

Wow. Nice work. What do you want to stock it with for corals. Your shrooms look awesome.

Ive added a torch, (which my black clown calls home) also Somce candycanes, some red acans, yellow polyps, a kenya tree, orange plate coral, some small zoas....
Im wanting to get pink birdsnest, green birdsnest, some monti cap....maybe a few other sps types. also some other zoas and frogspawn.

 

[MAKcorals]

Looking great! Now for the fun part.. Stocking it

 

[dodger745]

Looking great! Now for the fun part.. Stocking it

Heck yeah! We have been very patient over the last year just letting the system come together, sticking to a strict water change regimen, and getting all the parameters where I'd like them to be.
My wife and daughter is going nuts wanting more fish and corals!

 

[WhoKnew]

You have chosen a good variety of corals. Looking forward for updates.

 

[dodger745]

My dry goods closet! Lol!

 

[WhoKnew]

HaHahahah..lol. I hide mine under the FT. But not as extensive as yours. You are doing something right
:yo:

 

[dodger745]

My stash. Lol. I told my wife I had to have a "fish closet"