# My Marine Tank So Far...



## Andy (Jul 27, 2005)

Well I decided to get a tank with the plan of setting up as a reef tank. Not done too much so far except spend alot of money! Lighting alone has cost me over £500.

Few pics anyway to chart my progress.









































































Got the RO water to go in now just need powerhead and live rock to get things going!


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## MJ75 (Feb 5, 2009)

Andy said:


> Well I decided to get a tank with the plan of setting up as a reef tank. Not done too much so far except spend alot of money! Lighting alone has cost me over £500.
> 
> Few pics anyway to chart my progress.


Hahahaha Wait 'till you stock it. Then the bills will really mount up! :2thumb: 
Looking forward to seeing it mature over time. Good luck! : victory:


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## exotic reptile housing (Jul 12, 2007)

lol dont mean to be a dampener, ive tryed those aquarays and converted back to t5s all lps reacted very poorly to them.... big waste of my marine fund really, nice shimmer though the blues are excellant for night time viewing..


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## Andy (Jul 27, 2005)

My mate has a tank with Aquarays on and he has LPS and SPS growing well.:2thumb:


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## Praying_Mantis24 (Sep 6, 2009)

where did u get that tank mate?....if ya dont mind me askin


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## Andy (Jul 27, 2005)

Its a Betta Lifespace 13000. Ordered through my LFS for £600. Comes with stand and sump and pump and plumbing etc.


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## ReefKeeper (Jan 16, 2009)

Interesting thread not seen somebody using these alone, Looking forward to seeing this progress.

If you feel like it why not sign up to the forum i run, Im sure this will be a an interesting one to follow


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## Patmufc (Dec 10, 2008)

its a great hobby and you should have it running in no time : victory:


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## jamie.s (Feb 19, 2007)

any more progress on this?


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## Andy (Jul 27, 2005)

Hi Jamie yes I have made some progress. I have bought a Polario 22000 and got it filled up with water and salt and a bit of rock. Just getting another 30kg of rock tomorrow so will likely take pics then! Can't wait to get some fish and coral in!


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## jamie.s (Feb 19, 2007)

sounds awesome andy,i bet your itchin to get stocking it


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## IndigoFire (Apr 11, 2009)

Any more photos? :2thumb:


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## Andy (Jul 27, 2005)

Got a couple more pics but not got that much more done. Got more rock in and done some aquascaping but need more rock to finish. Got a few zoas and some pulsing xenia on the live rock which is a bonus though!


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## alpharoyals (Nov 21, 2007)

I assume thats cured live rock from someone elses tank then? otherwise there might not be much hope for the zoas or xenia when the ammonia spikes.

You will have to keep us updated on the aquarays as I have heard mixed reactions to them.

I do like the life space tanks though tbh, I looked at them and nearly bought one before my custom tank, did you see the huge one, about 6' i think :mf_dribble:


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## Andy (Jul 27, 2005)

The live rock has been sat in someones tank for about 2 years. There was a Lifespace 1500 I think but that was about £200 more than this one for an extra 200mm I didn't think it was worth it! : victory:


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## jamie.s (Feb 19, 2007)

looking good,i hope your zoa's and xenia survive the spikes


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## Andy (Jul 27, 2005)

Little update...




































Clowns in QT tank...


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## Andy (Jul 27, 2005)

jamie.s said:


> looking good,i hope your zoa's and xenia survive the spikes


The zoas had some nudibranches eating them but are recovering now I have got rid of them and the xenia has at least doubled if not tripled in size!: victory:


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## xvickyx (Jul 21, 2009)

Nice tank :2thumb:

What are your plans on stocking.

I have a sumped 300 Litre tank and I love it :flrt: best hobby in the world


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## Andy (Jul 27, 2005)




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## jamesh (Jul 3, 2009)

i see you are starting to have a little thing for acans! bit of an expensive habit they are.
if only i had the dosh


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## Trillian (Jul 14, 2008)

You have some lovely corals there, Andy. : victory:: victory:


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## Dragon84 (Sep 20, 2009)

Andy said:


> image
> image
> image
> image
> ...


Are those Enginier Gobies. Lovely fish, although mine's started burrying my corals in the sand lol:whistling2:


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## Andy (Jul 27, 2005)

Dragon84 said:


> Are those Enginier Gobies. Lovely fish, although mine's started burrying my corals in the sand lol:whistling2:


They're Convict Blennies. They have all made their homes under the rocks but haven't really done much digging!


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## Dragon84 (Sep 20, 2009)

Just had a look at the scientific name, same fish, different name lol
Atleast you secured your rock before deciding to get one:whistling2:

It's a great looking setup you have:2thumb:. What do you think's next on the stocking list?


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## mikef (Sep 3, 2009)

got to agree with Dragon, there engineer gobbies, also called convict blennies too.
There fab fish, but my god can they burrow, watch ya corals


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## Andy (Jul 27, 2005)

I have 4 in there! They haven't really caused any upset...yet! There is only one who lives in a burrow the others live in the rock and one sleeps on top of the sand. They are just starting to change now to their adult colours.

Next to go in is some green chromis and a purple firefish which are due to come out of QT on Saturday. Then I have a Big Longnosed Yellow Butterfly and a Zebra Goby to go into QT for six weeks.


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## Arachnoking (May 21, 2005)

Very nice looking tank Andy. That tooth coral is looking nice: victory:


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## xvickyx (Jul 21, 2009)

WOW looking great, corals look really healthy


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## jamesh (Jul 3, 2009)

are you the same vicky as the one on UR that had the canthigaster puffer?


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## Triangulum (Apr 30, 2006)

Nice tanks, Never dealt with them lights but I've heard mixed opinions. I hope they work for you at that price.

I'm suprised the Cats/Elegance are okay in such a new set-up. I'd usually reccomend 6 months before adding any hard coral.

Kind Regards,
Scott


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## jamesh (Jul 3, 2009)

Triangulum said:


> Nice tanks, Never dealt with them lights but I've heard mixed opinions. I hope they work for you at that price.
> 
> I'm suprised the Cats/Elegance are okay in such a new set-up. I'd usually reccomend 6 months before adding any hard coral.
> 
> ...


really!! many people now add hard corals as soon as the tank is cycled now even sps, it seems to be the norm now. 

the whole 6 months or 1 year thing was said mainly for new comers as after 6 months or so they would have a better understanding about the care of marine species so would not make the school boy errors that someone who has just started does.


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## Andy (Jul 27, 2005)

One of the first corals in was a piece of pink hysterix! It was a damaged piece from my LFS that he wanted to shift so sold me it for a tenner so I took the punt. Its now doubled in size. I am more than happy with the lights too, all the corals look healthy and are growing so they must be ok. Maybe not as good as MH but a cheaper to buy and cheaper to run. I have changed my lights to the Aquabeam HD1000 tiles and got 3 for £450.


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## Andy (Jul 27, 2005)

Little update of my tank so far...


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## xvickyx (Jul 21, 2009)

Looks great, loving the convict blenny


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## Andy (Jul 27, 2005)




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## AshMashMash (Oct 28, 2007)

Aww, it's awesome Andy! LOVING that firefish!


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## Dragon84 (Sep 20, 2009)

Someone needs to give themselves a huge pat on the back:notworthy: How are the engineers doing, have they burried any corals yet:devil::whip:


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## woolly (May 19, 2010)

If its any help we run aquarays and our corals are all doing mint, suppose it depends really on tank depth and careful placement height wise of your corals.

For instance we moved one frag doen by one inch, it suddenly blossomed, so I suppose the answer is tweak the set up until its working for you.

You certainly have enough aquarays to ensure decent spread - sure you will be fine there dude


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