Finding Nemo started our aquarium addiction.  Duncan loved Finding Nemo, so for his fifth birthday, we set him/us up a 42 gallon freshwater aquarium.  We liked it so much, that the next year we decided to take the plunge into saltwater.  We started with a 120 gallon tank, but ran into some ich problems pretty quickly.  With Will going to seminary part-time and working full-time, we were not able to work through those problems and maintain such a large tank.  So, we converted our 42 gallon from freshwater to saltwater and set Duncan up his own 75 gallon freshwater tank. 

Update 11/6/2008
Wow!  I didn't realize it had been so long since I updated this page.  Well, we've made several changes with our fish tanks.  We decided around May to move the freshwater fish from the 75 to the 42 hex tank.  Our anemone was out growing the 30 and our other corals were getting stung as a result.  So we decided to set the 75 up as a reef tank.  However, things didn't go so great.  I made a terrible mistake and left the new live rock out of water too long.  The result was a major amount of death to our corals and our anemone.  Needless to say, after that rocky start the desire to continue with the reef tank was not that great.  So, in October 2008, we moved everything from the 75 to the 240.  Everything is happy there and it was definitely for the best.

We also decided to officially leave the freshwater hobby.  We had maintained the 42 for Duncan, but it had become obvious he was no longer interested in the setup.  We were also at a point to where we no longer wanted to maintain it either.  So in November 2008, we disassembled that tank as well.  So at this point, we have only the 240 which we are very happy with.

Even though we don't have the setup anymore, I'm still going to leave the pictures at the top of the page until we get some nice ones of our 240.

As far as the 240, it's been up and running since June 2008.  Will spent a great deal of time with the plumbing and it turned out fabulous.  Hopefully he'll add the diagram and the how he did it soon.  We have about 300lb of live sand and about 250lb of live rock.  The Tunze 9015 skimmer and a duel overflow box from LifeReef are both working out well for us as is the 72" Coralife Aqua Pro.  We opted for the 150W option and it allows for some nice low light areas for the fish that prefer that environment.

We're slowly working on stocking it.  I'm wanting to avoid buying from a store as much as possible, so I'm actively looking for fish on the DFWMAS for sell forum.  We moved the gold striped maroon clown pair, blue green chromis, and a lawnmower blenny from our 75.  We recently added a great little porcupine puffer called puffie.  She has an awesome personality and loves to come visit as soon as I walk in the room.  Many thanks to the lady who gave her to me because she was out growing her home.

So, at this point we're in the stocking phase.  I don't know how long it will take to finish, but I'm trying to be very patient and make sure everything is healthy going in so I don't end up with a major catastrophy.

Update 11/18/2007
The sump is finished and in place!  We leak tested it today and all looks good.  It holds approximately 70 gallons.  We've also bought the skimmer recently, so we are making some good progress.  Some friends are coming tomorrow to help put the tank on the stand, but for right now, here's the update with the sump under the tank.

 

Update 9/19/2007
I need to post pictures, but we do have the tile installed.  Don did an excellent job as always.  Our house is not exactly level, so that caused a bit of problem laying the tile.  On the wall where we are putting the tank, there was a 1 inch difference in height between the west corner and the east corner.  Apparently that big of a difference complicates things a bit, so Don had to do a bit of shaving off the concrete in the southwest corner.   It's finished though and it is very level.

I started working last weekend on finishing the stand.  I debated for a good while about whether to clear coat it or actually stain it.  I decided to stain it.  I preconditioned the wood prior to staining, but pine just isn't an ideal wood for a fairly stain incompetent person.  Hopefully looks better than when I started.  I still have the doors left and plan to finish them this weekend.  The top pictures are before and the bottom two are after. 

I ordered my sump this week.  We're going to have it custom built.  We're getting the model G with some minor changes.  We added 6" to the length, but due to the stand height we had to take 2" off the height.  We added the fan bracket.  It should be here in about 4 weeks!

Before we could order the sump, we had to make a decision on the skimmer.  We found out we really didn't have a lot of options due to the height of the stand.  If we wanted the skimmer to sit under the stand, which is a must with our three year old (there's a good reason his nickname), it had to be under 28".  That narrowed our options greatly and really left us with only two viable options in our price range--Aquac's EV-240 and Tunze 9015.  The footprint of the EV-240 was 26" tall and even though it said it only required a 3/4" clearance for the cup, that was just a little too close for us.  So we went with the Tunze 9015.  It really seems to get good reviews.  I discovered during this research process that it would have been handy to have all the models with their foot prints on a single page to make comparison's more easy.  Guess what will be added to the fish resource page in the future. :-)

Since we had the opportunity to purchase a canopy for the tank at a very good price, we decided to start researching lighting.  We initially thought we'd get a light similar to what we have over our 30 gallon, just longer.  Well, after doing the calculations, we realized that was not going to be anywhere near enough light.  After several hours of research we decided we'd rather have an open top (egg crate covered to prevent jumpers of course).  This allows us a greater variety of lighting options.  Right now, we're planning on buying a 72" Coralife Aqua Pro with a hanging kit.  We're still deciding between the 150W or 250W option.  Either way, if we decide we want to try some softies or LPS in our fish only setup, we'll have the option available.

Update 8/25/2007
Our upgrade has begun!  We are now in the process of upgrading to a 240 gallon.  I guess it's not so much an upgrade as an addition.  We sorta took down our 42 hex, but not completely.  We were going to need to move the 42 so could have that area tiled for the new tank.  However, we really didn't want to move it back and we figured that tank would be well over shadowed by a 240 sitting right beside it.  The dimensions of the hex does not allow for a sump under the tank.  The only place we really had to move the tank was to the living room, but we didn't want to have the fuge sitting beside it taking up most of a wall.  Since, we had Duncan's empty 30 from when we upgraded him, we decided to set it up with the sump under it.  We did not move the sand bed from the 42.  Instead we paid extra to buy live sand for this 'new' setup.  We're hoping this 'new' 30 gallon setup will not cycle and if it does it will be a very minimal cycle.  We plan to keep the 42 running and cycled so we can use it for quarantining our new fish, when we get to that point.  For right now, though, we can keep the water level lower and move it easier and without stressing our live stock than we can when it's fully setup.

Where to begin?  We're starting by having tile installed where our tank is going to sit.  When we converted our garage last year, we did not install a permanent floor.  My daddy had some carpet left over, so we just put that down as a temporary fix.  We knew we were going to be adding a large tank, but didn't know what size.  Well, now we have the size so we can have the tile installed.  Don Martin of Martin Tile Works has done the tile for both our bathrooms, utility room, and backsplash in our kitchen.  Needless to say, he's hired again to do this job.  He does excellent work and is also has aquariums, so, he knows what needs to be done to make sure the tank sits right.  The tile should be installed next week!

Next is finishing the stand.  I haven't decided for sure if I want to stain the stand, but I'm thinking about it.  Last night I wasn't going to, but today I think I am.  I've went back and forth on this question for several days now.  By tomorrow, I'm probably going to decide not to, but for today I am.  At the very least I'll most likely add a clear coat just to protect the wood and keep it looking nice. 

We've started researching skimmers but at this time have not made a definitive decision.   I asked for opinions on DFWMAS and someone posted this awesome link.  Great skimmer information.  My main requirement is a skimmer that doesn't require a great deal of tinkering.  I want it to work without having to modify, adjust, or fiddle with it on a regular basis.  I want it to work, that's all.  Front runners right now are the Tunze 9010 or 9015 (have to go back and find the good info link I had on this one), DAS EX-3, and Euro-Reef RC135 or RS100.  From looking at the specs, the DAS might be too tall.  I haven't figure out yet if the 28" height includes the collection cup.  If it does, it would fit, but depending on how to remove the collection cup, it might be a little too tall to easily empty the cup without spilling it on the floor.  The Euro-Reef and Tunze seem to be shorter and might work a little better.  Once we know which skimmer we want, we can buy the sump.  We're considering having the sump built for us.  Regardless, before we can put anything in the tank, we have to have the sump in place or we'll never get it in there and we can't get the sump until we know which skimmer.

Right now we're thinking about two 48" Coralife Lunar Deluxe lights.  These are the 48" equivalent of our 36" we have on our 30 gallon.  We've been very happy with our 36" fixture and don't really see a reason to change.  We're not planning to keep corals, so there's really no reason to have super powerful lights.  Just something that will give the fish nice lighting and us a good view.

I'm very excited about this upgrade.  I've already got my fishy wish list!  Having suffered several live stock losses when we setup our first tank, we have learned our lesson well.  Every fish will be quarantined for 6-8 weeks before being introduced into our display tank.  This will require some patience on our part, but it's MUCH easier to treat one sick fish than ten sick fish.  So, here's my list.  These are not listed in order of our planned introduction into the tank.

Emperor Angel--The Emperor angel is my absolute favorite fish.  My first one, unfortunately, did not survive ich treatment.  Emperors have incredible personalities.  Mine would eat directly from my hand.  They do need a large tank.  Our 120 was on the small side.  These fish do not survive well in captivity.  I'll try to find one that is between 3-5 inches in size and is eating at the store or buy one that someone has had for awhile.  These are wonderful fish and a joy to have, but so far I have only seen one in a store that was not visibly ill.

Flame, Potters, and Coral Beauty Dwarf Angels--I'm not sure how well these three will work together.  It's generally not recommended to keep more than one in a tank, but I have read several accounts of it working out in large tanks.  I know for sure we're going to keep our flame angel, so if only one gets to stay, it will be him.  We'll introduce all three at once and keep a real close eye on them.  If one is not behaving well, he will find a new home.

Clown Trigger--I think these guys are really cool looking.  I don't know a lot about them, but I've always liked them and so I figure now that I have the space, I'll buy one.

Porcupine Puffer--We saw one of these little guys in a store about two years ago and just plain loved him.  He was cute with a real curious personality.  We decided when we upgraded, we'd make room for one.

Regal Tang--Yip, you guessed it.  The finding nemo fish for our tank.  A friend has a regal tang and my daughter just loves her Dory.  So, this one's for Bekah.

Desjardini Sailfin Tang--We've tried twice to keep this type and have had zero success.  The first one we purchased from a store.  He looked good in the store, but he never would eat.  The second one we bought from a board member, and when we got him home realized he had a huge black spot on his side.  I think he got injured during the capture process.  Needless to say, he died as well.  So, hopefully we'll be able to get this fish to work out.  They aren't suppose to be that difficult to keep.

Moorish Idol--I've gotta do some serious research on this guy.  I know one thing for sure, it isn't easy to get a viable one.  So, he's one I'll spend some time shopping for and will hopefully find a healthy one someone is selling.

Copperband Butterfly--Another one I'm going to need to shop carefully for, since it's not always easy to find a healthy eating one.

Previous Setups
30 Gallon with 30 Gallon Sump/fuge
Equipment:
Aqua C Remora Skimmer--We had a CPR Backpack until about two months ago.  We did not particularly care for that skimmer.  I pretty much had to clean the pump once a week to keep it skimming.  I've been much happier with the Remora.  I have not needed to modify it and it's noticeably quieter than the Backpack

36" Coralife 2x65 wts PC fixture with 2 moonlights--When we moved the tank from the living room to the 'AV' room (Duncan's name for the fish room), the MH we had on the tank shorted and started smoking.  We liked the fixture, but it didn't work well with GFI outlets.  So after several months of having just a plain strip light, we finally decided to buy the Coralife fixture.  We've been very happy with it.  Since all 4 legs move independently, it was one of the few we could mount on the hex tank.  We like that the day time, actinic, and moonlights are on separate plugs so we can set separate timers for each one.

Maxijet 900 equivalent for extra flow

CAP 1800 return pump

40LB Live Sand & 60LB Live Rock

Live Stock:
Gold Strip Maroon Clown Pair--Not sure if these guys are mated, but I hope they will be one day.  They hang out with each other but they're still young and too early for them to start reproducing.  The female is getting noticeably gold.  We like these two, but they do make a mess of the sand bed.  They've already claimed the lives of two green star frags due to burying them in the sand.

Blue Green Chromis--We've had this guy for about 2 years now.  We didn't intend to get him, he hitchhiked in on some rock we bought.  Someone was tearing down their tank and I bought the rock.  While I was there, the person came to pick up the three chromis this gentleman had.  Well, they only found two of the three.  I didn't know until I got home and had unloaded all the rock that he had made the trip with me.  Anyway, needless to say, the person who wanted him decided we could keep him.

Mandarin--Oh I love this guy.  He's really cool and fun to watch.  However, keep in mind these fish are not for new tanks.  We had our tank running for a year and a half before adding him.  They need an abundance of pods to thrive.  Since we just moved him to a new tank we'll be buying pods to supplement our fuge until we know for sure we have a good enough population for him again.  Our mandarin is unique in that he eats pellet food.  We were fortunate that ours does.

Corals--Frogspawn, Hammer, Trumpet, Helmeda (sp?), Kenya Tree, and a few mushrooms

Duncan's Freshwater Tank
In May of 2007, we upgraded Duncan's setup from a 30 to 75 gallon tank.  We replaced the sand substrate with on suitable for growing and maintaining live plants.  However, up to this point, the live plant setup has not worked out so well.  We're not sure exactly where we went wrong, but the plant's roots dissolved instead of growing into our substrate.  I'm thinking it's because we forgot to be diligent with our supplements.  We're going to try again though.  Right now, Duncan has an angel, a pleco, a beta, a catfish, and three different types of tetras. 

**Note about using sand as the substrate in a freshwater setup:  Before we upgraded Duncan's tank from 30 to 75, we had sand as the substrate.  At the time we were thinking about getting him a freshwater lobster, and they like sandy bottoms.  However, we never have bought the lobster, and after trying sand, we would not recommend it to others.  Unlike our saltwater aquariums, the sand never settled.  So every time the pleco moves, sand gets in the water column and the tank looks cloudy.

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