I have been playing with the idea of setting up a display refugium for the life of this tank, but hadn't had the space or conviction to do it. I set up my first reef tank when living in Colorado, and I remember seeing the CSB nems at Ki's and Elite, but at the time I was on a $10 per frag budget so getting my own CSB was out of the question. Well, the other week I was buying some frags and got my eyes on a CSB and the price was perfect, so I instantly became hellbent on finally getting a Colorado Sunburst. So I moved the couch, ignored the looks and comments from my wife, and plumbed up a second tank. I had originally planned to use an old biocube I had in the garage, I drilled out the holes perfectly for the overflow, and then when washing it out I was sloshing water around in it not thinking about it and I was holding the tank by the back that I just drilled, hear the crack and knew exactly what I did. I cussed a little, then laughed at myself for being an idiot, and found a 10 gallon tank in the garage. Figured I had nothing to loose and crossed my fingers it wasn't tempered. In the end I got the 10 gallon drilled and plumbed. Somehow I managed to drill the holes crooked though, so yeah, the overflow box is crooked, lol. I also spent a solid day rearranging my sump to accommodate a pump for the refugium tank, and plumbed the return into the other side of my reefmat. Took the opportunity to clean up some of the rats nest of wires and tucked the apex and all the goodies into the old biocube stand. I feel a lot better about the apex and powerbars being tucked away inside a cabinet rather than just off to the side on the wall, but the cabinet is kind of warm and heat is the other killer of electronics, so at some point I'll install a little vent, maybe even with a small fan. Can't have a refugium without a light, so I moved one of the 3 kessils off my display to put over the refugium, and replaced it with an XR30 pro. A reefer near me and myself have been trading corals lately, and he came over to grab a few pieces and I told him the main reason I set up the refugium was to go buy this CSB, and he casually tells me he will give me one! This past weekend one of my longest running coral dreams has become a reality and I'm happy as can be. Thank you again trade buddy! Since the nem is in such a small tank, I won't be moving my clowns over, they can stay in the hammer garden. Instead I've ordered a few sexy shrimp and I'm going to see how they do with it, they should be here this week along with some small snails for the refugium and some more emeralds and snails for my main display. I've never kept sexy shrimp before, but I figure a 10 gallon with lower flow, no fish, and a bunch of macros, would probably be about the best home for them.
View attachment 81884
View attachment 81885View attachment 81886
View attachment 81888
The top down panorama I tried to take with my phone didn't turn out so hot, but it was funny enough I figured I would include it.
View attachment 81883