YHSublime

I love that! Congratulations on finally achieving your saltwater holy grail!

Sounds like everything you want to keep is relatively hearty. I would venture to say you actually don't need a sump, but they are nice to have. The purpose of a sump is two fold 1.) additional water volume 2.) a space to hide all the equipment you wouldn't want to put in the tank (like a HOB skimmer, or a heater!) It's not complicated in it's simplest form. If you do have a sump, then you need some way to drain the water from your tank into the sump (usually an overflow) and then some way to pump it back in (return pump.) If I'm reading correctly, it looks like you're shy of 3' of depth in your "fish room," I personally wouldn't suggest putting a sump in there. I think you can find a nice AIO (All In One) system that would fit your needs. This is a place I think the company Waterbox does well with, but there are many. Essentially the back of the tank has built in filtration and slots to put everything in, it's a built in sump, pictured below. I would suggest putting some water storage containers in your fish room area, one for fresh RO and another one for mixing saltwater. At the end of the day, I would look for a local company or person that could help consult on a water mixing station and water changing system, and maybe even some ideas about how to setup the space!

You looking to buy a custom tank, or just kind of plug and play? Do you know what you want to keep? Only fish? Only coral? SPS or LPS, or mixed? What is your idea of a perfect reef aquarium?

Skimmer was over run, it was bizarre!

Here's your annual reminder that nothing lasts forever, and you need to clean your equipment.

Great looking fish!

Looking good!

Same here, especially because I don't have the time like I used ta to dote over the tank obsessively. Mostly it was SPS that was reactive. I was able to save at least a tiny frag of everything I had by the time I figured out the issues, so the good news is it will catch back up again. My only issue with fish that are reef safe "with caution" is I've never had any luck, even with caution, lol.

It's been a minute since my last update. After I figured out my ATO tube falling into my sump, and consequently upping my salinity and losing a bunch of corals, things got better. And they continue to get better. Corals are growing, fish are healthy and fat. I do have this slimey algae that chooses where it wants to pop up, but I just threw in a giant CUC restock, and hope to get it nipped in the bud. Considering adding a copperband into the mix, despite having 2 clams *grimace*

No lie detected. All my friends in NYC have some really crazy photos. Nice. I'm sure you'll see a big uptick in growth, that alk was looking a little low!

Picked a heck of a week to run the skimmer tube outside, your skimmer must be taking big ol' smokey rips, make sure it hasn't fallen asleep! Are you dosing at all? Looks like it's time to start if not!

My life story, try to uncomplicate, but then go deeper down the rabbit hole!

It's most likely because it's in the office, which I'm in all day, with two english bulldogs, all day. While not impossible to run the skimmer tube outside, it would be a big lift. And a fuge light is very possible. I still am getting fast growth, tbh, hence why I'm not going out of my way. I think three things: 1. A 22 longs growth seems much faster because the space is that much smaller 2. I was running a fuge light on the 22, and I'm not currently on the 80. 3. I'm running/ran the same skimmer on both tanks Just thought it was interesting numbers, and interested to see what even better growth would look like.

I've had my Apex setup for a couple of months now to handle the very very very basics, and one interesting thing that I've been tracking is my PH. I've noticed in the mornings, it's low, like 7.62 average, and in the evenings before my lights go out (10pm) it's at it's highest, which is 8.1 This feels like a pretty natural progression of rising during the day, and then dropping at night. 7.6 feels like it's on the lower end. While I'm not about to start chasing these numbers which for most of my tanks existence, I've never known, but I feel like it begs the question: would I get better coral growth if I found a way to raise it?

you’ve cracked the code!

I think one more addition, an ERC Gem Tang!

In my current rimless, I've got a hard water line. It builds up really quickly, after a few weeks if I don't touch it, I need to use a razor blade. It's a little thing that I'm probably the only one who notices (or cares) but I get it.

Absolutely stunning! What size is the one in the video?

I can't even imagine. If I brought that home, I'd have to sleep in it!

Wow! How big is it (gallons?)

I've heard that if you use chemiclean correctly (which it sounds like you did) that it works well. I'm with Jack, though. It sucks going the natural route and then still have to tank your diversity.

Mandarins looking chonky, well done!

At first I didn't love the aquascaping, but then your second picture of it changed my mind. I really dig the "path" down the middle, and enjoy how you kept the rock low. That's planning ahead!

I've never had a "with caution" fish end up not loving coral. Sad to see it go, but you made the right choice if you want to keep all that coral going!

Well. My salinity continues to climb, but I've cracked the code. I'm dumb. Like, the answer couldn't be any more obvious. The nylon screw that was holding my return from the ATO pump I guess got bumped, or loose, and the freshwater ATO return was submerged by about 1/4". I was essentially back siphoning into a huge container from my sump every time it kicked on to top off. What an expensive lesson, and stupid mistake. Meanwhile, the tank I pay 0 attention to just goes great. Everything is thriving. Enjoy this video of my 80 from this evening.