65gal launched

[drewsbrews]

Hello all, I've been poking around the forum for a few months, but wanted to make a more official entry.
I'm very new to the hobby; My previous roommate started up a tank just a few months before I moved. My allergies can't handle most pets so I tend to have hobbies instead.. One of the latest has been homebrewing beers and wines (hense the name). Sipping on some of my mead as I type this as a matter fo fact

. Anyway, I knew I would be a bit lonely since it was the first time living totally by myself, and I was so enthralled by his tank, I decided to put together my own. Seeing the strife he dealt with I knew I would haveto do alot of research. It also gave me some time to search on the used market for my DT+stand and sump.
Here is the drilldown of my setup:
- 65gallon tank w/ stand...picked up used. Already had a black sticky vinyl background so I left it on
- "tall" 20Gallon tank: sump/fuge...picked up used (added acrylic baffels)
- Glassholes "700GPH" overflow (Drilled the tank myself) 1.5" return plumbing
- Current USA dual 96watt 36" PC light w/ 10k bulb and a 460/420nm bulb...picked up used w/ 3mo on the bulbs
- MAG 7 pump in the sump flowing through a SCWD (drilled out the barbs for flow) into "flow accelerator" nozels. 3/4" plumbing
- 200watt temp controlled heater on a secondary thermocontroller.
- Reef octopus 110 skimmer (latest design)
- 100lb LR (cured myself)
- 165lb fine "live" sand, roughly 4" depth in the DT
- In the fuge section: 12lb "fiji mud", handfull of chaeto, and 1lb of rubble from lfs
- Fuge light: dual 18watt spiral pc internally reflected flood lamps.
- Coralife 3x turbo twist uv sterilizer (yet to be hooked up)
Pigmented plumbing all around for (hopefully) reduced growth/restriction. I cured the rock with walmart RO water and continue to use the stuff. I should probably pick up ab RO/DI setup as I'm sure I've already spent atleast half the cost in jug water. I was skeptical of the skimmer "break in" so I was fretting it not producing any foam at first, but after the first couple days it's now churning out stinky tea like a champ! My red sea test kit indicates things have remained about the same the first few weeks. Performing roughly 10% water changes every week. The rock still has some stuff hanging off it.. I suspect the nitrates have gone to growing the chaeto since it's about doubled in size already.
That's about it. I've got some pics on my phone, but can't seem to find my card reader... that's the problem with microSD, the readers are tiny too eheh. Oah well I've got a camera on order so I should have some half way respectable pics soon.
Any suggestions?

 

[meowzer]

Welcome to the hobby.....sounds good...Definitely recommend getting an ro/di.
what type of fish are you gonna get?

 

[chewwy]

Suggestions? Sounds like you know what your doing already haha. I think a lot of people don't quite like the UV sterilizers, especially in reef tanks. I'll let someone else who knows more talk about that though since I've never used one.
Seems like you've done your research and are pretty good to go. Only thing I don't see is powerheads? Might have just forgotten them but if not need some water movement besides the return line from sump.

 

[drewsbrews]

Quote:
Originally Posted by meowzer http:///forum/thread/382145/65gal-launched#post_3333013
what type of fish are you gonna get?
Well tangs are cool. But I hear those get big.. I heard there is one that doesn't get so big, but I forget what species that was. I was hoping I could figure out how to keep enough pods going for a mandarin dragonet. I also love how animated the lawnmower blennies are when feeding then blend into the rock while resting. I like clowns too. I don't plan on upgrading (I know famous last words right) so the fish can't get too big for the tank or else back to the lfs they will haveto go. I'd like to get into anemonies and some lps in the future so I'll need to stay reef safe and not overcrowd before then.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Chewwy http:///forum/thread/382145/65gal-launched#post_3333014
Suggestions? Sounds like you know what your doing already haha. I think a lot of people don't quite like the UV sterilizers, especially in reef tanks. I'll let someone else who knows more talk about that though since I've never used one.
Seems like you've done your research and are pretty good to go. Only thing I don't see is powerheads? Might have just forgotten them but if not need some water movement besides the return line from sump.
Ehehe well thanks I've tried my best. I'm debating hooking up the UV. I know the roommate had alot of algae, and the UV kept it at a managable level for him.. but I also know he vodka dosed for a while. I'm gona try to stay away from dosing anything as long as I can. I Imagine the UV would kill off plankton that tries to establish itself, and thus be counterproductive for reefers. By this point if I use it, It would be in reaction to an algae outbreak.
I was hoping the Mag 7 with the scwd would do it for by turbulent/surge flow from the returns at either side of the tank. But after head and the scwd I may be reaching to say it's pushing 500gph. And judging by how the grunge is settling in spots on the sand I do think I need some powerheads in there. Only issue is it's settling in opposite corners of the tank. If I pick up a couple how do I mantain a good turbulent flow while getting both those spots?

 

[meowzer]

As far as the mandarin, with a refugium, you should be able to keep a lot of pods. to start them you can buy some, but they usually come to the tank naturally. I'd wait at least 6 months though before thinking about getting a mandarin, and make sure you can see lots of pods too
About the anemone....your lighting will not work with one. They need intense lighting...at least T5HO, and a good set at that...they also should never go into a new tank, the tank should be a minimum of 6 months old for that too.
and of course the famous Lawnmower blennie...lol....who we have all come to love....they don;t need to wait quite as long, BUT you do want to be sure it has some algae to pick on.
YOU MIGHT be able to keep a yellow tang in a 65...personally I would not keep any tang in anything smaller than a 90 or 100g
The thing with powerheads is all in the positioning....Personally I like to have a few of them, and point them so the flow is circulating....you also need good top flow.

 

[drewsbrews]

I'm going to do do my best to stay away from fish this winter and just work on building up my cuc. Being in Ohio, Its starting to get cold now
As for powerheads, would a couple 750GPH Hydors do it for me?

 

[meowzer]

They would be a good start. Once you get them in there, and play around with their positioning, you will see where there are "dead" spots. Then you add or move as needed

 

[drewsbrews]

The first anemone I had considered was a rock flower. I have read those tend to cling to shaded rock walls naturally, and adapt well to different lighting. That would still be out of the question? Since they are ok being out of the substrate it could be on top of a rock closer to the light.

 

[drewsbrews]

 

[scott t]

Looking very nice..

 

[gemmy]

 

[drewsbrews]

Yesterday I inadvertantly purchased my first coral. It came in another lb of rubble I picked up for the fuge. I was picking out the big chunks and one retracted a bit, so I put it in the display tank. Guess it will be a trial by fire for this little guy. The polyps are extended more today than when I took the pic yesterday.
I just looked in there a few minutes ago and was surprised by a white spec that moved on my glass, then I adjusted my focus to the rest of the glass and it's covered with them... with pods! Since there is so much bleached coraline they are hard to see on the rocks, but I manage to spot one every once in a while darting back and forth. Coolness, hopefully in a few months I'll be able to churn out enough for a mandarin

 

[drewsbrews]

Researched the coral and it appears to be a type of cup coral; similar to sun coral. A common hitchhiker on rock from certain areas. Doesn't tend to last long in captivity since it's a non photosynthetic filter feeder. I placed it in a more shady area, which it seems to like better.
On a lighter note I'm noticing bright green speckles on some of the rocks that bleached out. Guess that means the choraline is starting to come back. The Chaetomorpha still seems to be growing well too.
The powerheads came in. I tried a few configurations. The best sofar seems to be placing them on either side of the tank towards the top front and pointing towards the direct center of the tank (pointing at each other/ a little towards the back) This seems to cause alot of movement on the water surface and flushes the detritus out from behind and under the rocks without moving the sand around too much. It gathers the detritus to the front of the tank, which may not look the best, but easy to siphon out.

 

[drewsbrews]

Dealing with alot of salt creep in my sump. 90% seems to be the bubbling coming from the overflow drain. The latest idea to contain this is to just put a larger piece of pvc around the tube. IT will catch the bubbles as they float but let the water flow out underneath. The problem I see with that is that will essentially create a skimmer without a cup, and very likely stink up the place. I'll just haveto try it and see.
Things are looking good in the DT. Now that I know to look for them, I can definately see lots of pods scurrying around the rocks.

 

[nobleben]

Your doing it all wrong you jackass!
<--ex roommate (guinea pig)
Yah the tank looks great. I signed up for the boards too. I think I might post about my elegance problem.
I clicked to stalk you
TTYL

 

[drewsbrews]

Eheh wow, that's an entrance.
I might as well let the cat out of the bag now. I got a bonus this week so I put in an order for a Nova Extreme pro 36"; A 6 bulb t5 light. It comes with bulbs, but I hear they are crap so I'll be in the market for those soon. Best of all it should only use about 40watts more than my current light.
Hopefully I'll see some better choraline growth with it. I'll need to find a way to slowly step up the intensity so what choraline I have doesn't get bleached out again. I picked up some calcium supplement from the lfs to help things along too. I shouldn't need to dose iodine as long as I do frequent enough water changes since I'm told it's already in the salt.
Watch out Ben. Marine tank forums can be a little harsh. Alot of my researching has been forum lurking and learning from others being scolded lol. I know I'm already doing some things that would get my hand slapped here, but that's why it's a hobby and not a job. I can do things my own way, so long as I still respect the animals.

 

[meowzer]

Quote:
Originally Posted by DrewsBrews http:///forum/thread/382145/65gal-launched#post_3337862
Eheh wow, that's an entrance.
I might as well let the cat out of the bag now. I got a bonus this week so I put in an order for a Nova Extreme pro 36"; A 6 bulb t5 light. It comes with bulbs, but I hear they are crap so I'll be in the market for those soon. Best of all it should only use about 40watts more than my current light.
Hopefully I'll see some better choraline growth with it. I'll need to find a way to slowly step up the intensity so what choraline I have doesn't get bleached out again. I picked up some calcium supplement from the lfs to help things along too. I shouldn't need to dose iodine as long as I do frequent enough water changes since I'm told it's already in the salt.
Watch out Ben. Marine tank forums can be a little harsh. Alot of my researching has been forum lurking and learning from others being scolded lol. I know I'm already doing some things that would get my hand slapped here, but that's why it's a hobby and not a job. I can do things my own way, so long as I still respect the animals.
WOOOHOOOOO CONGRATS DREWS
can't wait to see it

 

[nobleben]

Yeah these guys would tear me a new one if I told them how much fish I have in the tank!
I took the elegance back to the LFS along with my reef badge, it was pronounced dead at 12:15 today although it did have 25% of it still coming out with great color. My intention was to give it back to them to keep it and nurse it back to health -- I didn't want to see it die
The scarlet crabs were eating its dead parts last night. It started out 'alright' but never fully extended its tenticles - it was more on the bloated side I think witch from what I read indicates too much light. But it was half way down in a 55 gal tank with only HO lighting. I moved it to the sand bed on its side (i hear its better on its side or at an angle as well) and the sand sifting goby dropped sand all over it so I moved it 1 rock high from the sandbed.
A week later I purchased a flame angel -- was not a good choice probably. The elegance continued to retract and likely get nipped at by the flame angel.
I'm really wanting a second tank so I can separate things; but I am trying to just live with what I have right now. I just have to STOP BUYING.

 

[drewsbrews]

55s and 75s are pretty set fo max usage of lighting from what I'm hearing. The 4ft length allows for a larger sweetspot in the middle, and the lower height means less water the light must pass through. I'll have a tougher time with the taller tank and only 3ft light width. Atleast my sandbed is pretty tall so I only have 18" of water depth.
The guy at the lfs explained the limitations of tank width to me as far as tangs go. Since they like to swim so much a 3ft tank would likely make a "normal" sized tang stress out. He said I could start out with a tiny one but still likely haveto trade it in eventually.
I saw a 4" derasa clam there. Clams were one of my main reasons for getting a tank together, hense the lighting change. It's a little discouraging to know it will likely be gone long before I'm ready for it. Big clams (over 3") are pretty few and far between locally and I think this is the first derasa I've seen in person.

 

[gemmy]

You can order the clams online. I got mine for 30 in the WYSIWYG section and it is thriving in my tank.