72 gallon bowfront build

lank

Member
So if all goes well Monday ill be getting water in it and getting the cycle starting. Is there anything i should change before putting water in?
 

lank

Member
That i did just got water in it today and its running great will have to make some minor changes to the plumbing but hey its my 1st tank build so i figured this would be the case.
I have a PSK100 Eshopps skimmer. My problem with it is that it is shooting mirco bubbles out into my display tank out of the "T" where the adjustment tube is. So my question is how do i stop this or will it work its self out?
Used 90 gallons of used water so hopefully it will help it cycle the tank a bit faster.
 

snakeblitz33

Well-Known Member
Usually it takes about a week for a skimmer to "break in" if it doesn't stop putting microbubbles in the tank after a week or two, you could use some filter floss at the end of the nozzle where the water comes out to help catch the bubbles. Just don't force it inside the pipe or else you will block the output and have water on the floor.
I hope all goes well. Keep us posted and lets see some more pics of your tank setup. :D
 

lank

Member
Ill upload some pictures later tonight.
On a good note the micro bubbles have stopped entering the display tank so that is very nice.
Some more questions of the forum. With 90 gallons of used water, 3.5 lbs of LR, 70lbs of dry rock, and a 20lb of live sand. How long should i wait to start testing the water?
 

snakeblitz33

Well-Known Member
It will take a while. lol I can't tell yah how long it will take or whatever, but I can tell yah that it will take a while.
Start ghost feeding your tank... feed as much as you would your first fish. After a week, start testing. Test every other day or every other other day until ammonia and nitrite read 0 and nitrate is being shown. If your ammonia goes above 1ppm, do a water change immediately.
 

lank

Member

2 split return hoses and 2 560 power heads on either side wanting to change them to around 1000gph


Put a thin piece of foam between the pump and the glass to stop the vibration

A silencer that i made for my skimmer goes over the air intake tube. This has completely silenced the skimmer so there is no noise.
What do you guys think so fare?
As fare as a stocking list goes this is my tentative list. Toss your 2 cents in where you see fit.
White Tail Bristle tooth tang
Possibly a Dwarf Angle
Pair of clowns
Pair of Lyrtail Anthias
Diamon watchman goby
Longnose hawkfish
Pair of Zebra Barred Dartfish
 

lank

Member
So have been ghost feeding for 3 days now. Should i continue through out the cycle or just for the first couple days in the cycle?
 

snakeblitz33

Well-Known Member
Keep ghost feeding like you have a fish. After a week or two, check ammonia. If ammonia and nitrite are zero, add uour first fish.
Id also recommend to go ahead and add a little macroalgae to your system to help balance the tank quicker.
Nice setup good luck dude.
 

lank

Member
Sorry for the long update. Tank is fully cycled and 3 Zebra dartfish have been added.
Corals
Purple Gargonia
Hammers
Trumpet
Number of chalices
GSP
Green leather
Pictures will be uploaded later today when lights flip on and i can get some good pictures. My question to all of you is what would be a good group of fish that could go with the zebra darts i am thinking about adding 3 more blue gudgeon dartfish what do you all think of this? What else would be a good if this isent the best decision?
 

novahobbies

Well-Known Member
Tease. Tellin' us pics are coming.....LATER....is like telling a kid that Christmas is coming in 3 MONTHS. Just not right.
Zebra darts are very peaceful, so they'll get along with many other smaller peaceful animals. Blue Gudgeons look too similar IMO, but hey, this is your tank so if you want 'em, go for it. Any number of reef-safe fairy or flasher wrasses would be great, as would many members of the blenny family.
Now, seriously. Get some darn pics up for us. :)
 

lank

Member
First off sorry for being a picture tease will never happen again but here they are













Hope you all like my new additions because i do ha. let me know what you all think.
 

lank

Member
Yup that it is. Picked up a hand full of snails last night and man did they pull a graveyard shift on my rocks. Put all of the snails on one rock that rock is nice and white again so i think they will be on top of it within a couple days. My turbo snail seems to have a need to clean under all my frags so looks like i will be either super gluing them down or just placing them back when he is done with that section.
Im really happy with how the frags look. will be buying better reflectors soon and building a new canopy so my lighting will be more intense for the coral.
 

lank

Member
Today i picked up 3 Lyrtail Anthias one mature male and two females. Also a purple wall hammer. My tank is very LPS dominated could this be why my little green leather isn't doing very well? What could i do to help it out because its still very small and pulled in?
Picked up a full clean up crew and that is doing wonders on the diatom bloom in the tank. I was wondering about a Arrow crab very cool looking but from what i have gathered there are very mixed results on they guys. So would like some help/info/stories on why or why not to do a arrow crab.
Nitrate-0
Nitrite-0
Alk-300
Cal-480
Salinity-1.026
Temp-80.2
Phosphate.10
Have a polypad and a Phosphate reactor on the tank and it is pulling it out the .10 was a week ago when i ran that test so not sure what it is now. How does everything look? Anything that i should work on with the tank?
 

lank

Member
Bump
So looking to buy some better 48 t5 reflectors to get more out of my lighting what are some of the better ones out there?
 

lank

Member
Bump well no one has tried to help so here goes one last shot on this forum. I have 3 Zebra darts and 3 lyrtails looking for more "reef" fish as in small group fish that will zoom through out the rocks like the rest of the fish do. I would like it too look very much like a reef with more smaller fish than larger show fish. I have heard mixed results with chalk basslet so was wondering what other would recommend for a 72 gallon reef.
 

snakeblitz33

Well-Known Member
Icecap reflectors are good for t5s.
Flame hawks, fairy wrasses, gold and black chromis, six line wrasse. They are all good choices and serve a purpose.
 
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