Yes It’s been way too long lots has happened in a short amount of time. That small little Red Sea project took off running. It ran out of room actually. It hit a sweet spot of a perfect balance. Water perameters were so good everything just bloomed. I had a suggestion from a very wise friend. Instead of cutting everything down smaller... why not go bigger? Hmmmm... move the discus out and the reef into the bigger tank. Why not? It was a salt water set up anyway. Built in corner flow... Eshopps sump.. all I needed was another Aqua HD light and a bigger skimmer. However... what to do with the discus? Sell them? I considered it. I was really tired of the water barrels in the living room and constant water changes. It all worked out... That’s another thread waiting to be put up in the discus section...
I had thought the move would be an easy one until I considered the effects of a move on my newly acquired acropora corals. They are pretty sensitive to changes... even small ones. So I wandered in to the local reef shop for advice. These guys know their stuff and have been really helpful. They had been featured on the show “Tanked” when they came to town to make a baby grand piano aquarium for a local mall. They were chosen to stock the tank for the show. They told me how to go about moving mine and then pointed out that they would come and do everything for around $100. Well that was a no brainer. The day of the move they pulled up with buckets, hoses and coolers in tow. In just two hours they had moved everything, set up the new equipment and got it running like a finely tuned engine.
I was a bit worried when they looked at my tank and said it wouldn’t be an easy move. They pointed out I had a beautiful, mature tank with many high end delicate corals. A huge compliment considering the source. They pointed out they see a lot of tanks and they were not like this one. That was sweet... but they said there would be some losses. It was inevitable. In the end, they did such a fantastic job my losses were minimal. A tiny sps frag, one small emerald crab and unfortunately one of my favorite rock anemones lost the battle. However, I would say the move was a huge success. The 75 gallon with the 20 gallon sump is built in between two rooms and is a beautiful addition to our home. It allowed me to add a few bigger fish that add color and interest to the tank. Another lesson I learned was to get fish that work for you. I get that... you want an ecosystem.. but many of the hardest workers are not all that attractive. I compared them to the sensible brown flats of the shoe world when what really looked better were the pretty high heeled ones. I found a nice balance. A medium grade worker with a more serious one to pull the load. more pics to follow... I keep freezing up and having to start over.
I had thought the move would be an easy one until I considered the effects of a move on my newly acquired acropora corals. They are pretty sensitive to changes... even small ones. So I wandered in to the local reef shop for advice. These guys know their stuff and have been really helpful. They had been featured on the show “Tanked” when they came to town to make a baby grand piano aquarium for a local mall. They were chosen to stock the tank for the show. They told me how to go about moving mine and then pointed out that they would come and do everything for around $100. Well that was a no brainer. The day of the move they pulled up with buckets, hoses and coolers in tow. In just two hours they had moved everything, set up the new equipment and got it running like a finely tuned engine.
I was a bit worried when they looked at my tank and said it wouldn’t be an easy move. They pointed out I had a beautiful, mature tank with many high end delicate corals. A huge compliment considering the source. They pointed out they see a lot of tanks and they were not like this one. That was sweet... but they said there would be some losses. It was inevitable. In the end, they did such a fantastic job my losses were minimal. A tiny sps frag, one small emerald crab and unfortunately one of my favorite rock anemones lost the battle. However, I would say the move was a huge success. The 75 gallon with the 20 gallon sump is built in between two rooms and is a beautiful addition to our home. It allowed me to add a few bigger fish that add color and interest to the tank. Another lesson I learned was to get fish that work for you. I get that... you want an ecosystem.. but many of the hardest workers are not all that attractive. I compared them to the sensible brown flats of the shoe world when what really looked better were the pretty high heeled ones. I found a nice balance. A medium grade worker with a more serious one to pull the load. more pics to follow... I keep freezing up and having to start over.

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