My 75 gallon was poisoning my corals due to rusting magnets (or at least that's what I think was going on). I lost almost all SPS and most LPS. I briefly contemplated getting out altogether, but I just couldn't.
Of course most reef owners would think, "Upgrade time! How big of a tank will my spouse allow?". I took a different route. I went smaller so I could have it on the main floor rather than the basement. And so begins my next reef chapter with a smaller more straightforward reef.
The tank itself is a Marineland 25 gallon rimless cube aquarium. It is a true cube with 18x18x18 dimensions. My first move with the tank was to remove the excessive and sloppy silicone. With that done I leak tested it and temporarily set it up bare-bottom on the workbench to save the corals I still had.
Here is the leak test...
And initial set up...
The tank ran this way for about a month but I really didn't like the bare/starboard bottom. So , this weekend I moved it , and added 30 pounds of sand. It is now on the 75 gallon stand and looking pretty good...
The corals are just dropped in, so there is still significant rearranging necessary.
That's the maxima I had in the 75. I've had it since the last Lansing swap in February. It can be seen in the second photo in the original post... it's the blue blob under the cardinalfish. Tridacna clams are one of the focal species I'm planning for the tank. In time I hope to add several more maximas and croceas.
Ok now I'm really confused-lol. Thought Clams needed an established tank? Won't a Maxima get to big for your tank?
I think a lot of the reasoning behind the established tank requirement is so newbies don't throw a clam in a one month old tank. But I will admit that I probably pushed the envelope a bit. However, I did all that I could to ensure the cube was as established as possible.
The cube ran for about a week with a dish of established substrate and rock from the 75 before I added any corals. Then over the course of about two weeks I slowly moved corals over. The clam and fish were the last to get moved.
As for it getting to big... yes when it reaches full maturity at 10" it will be too big. However, they grow much slower than the Squamosa and derasa species I've kept in the past so I'm hopeful that I will have a good 10 years with this one... if all goes well.
Thanks Larry! I am looking forward to getting the corals placed and having some open sand-bed. But right now I need to watch last nights episode of The Walking Dead!
I think a lot of the reasoning behind the established tank requirement is so newbies don't throw a clam in a one month old tank. But I will admit that I probably pushed the envelope a bit. However, I did all that I could to ensure the cube was as established as possible.
The cube ran for about a week with a dish of established substrate and rock from the 75 before I added any corals. Then over the course of about two weeks I slowly moved corals over. The clam and fish were the last to get moved.
As for it getting to big... yes when it reaches full maturity at 10" it will be too big. However, they grow much slower than the Squamosa and derasa species I've kept in the past so I'm hopeful that I will have a good 10 years with this one... if all goes well.
Tom
Thanks for answering my questions Tom. Hope I didn't offend
Tom@HaslettMI's 25 gallon niche reef
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Originally Posted by MizTanks
Hi my name is Larry and I'm a coral addict! 
