Starting a 75 Gallon Reef

[IndoorOcean]

returnofsid, I haven't decided about lighting yet. I know that my light choice depends on what I want to keep, and I'm planning a mixed reef. I have PCs now on the 20 and like them, but I don't think I would try SPS under them so I am either going with T-5, VHO, or MH. I'm leaning toward T-5s. Everyone who has them says great things. I was looking at a model earlier today that was much cheaper than the Tek, but it was only 4 bulbs. Not sure if 216 watts would be enough for SPS. If it is, then that's what I'll go with because I'm all about saving some money.

[IndoorOcean]

Update. I finally bought some lights for the tank. Got a Sunpod 2x 150-watt 14k MH. Does anyone have any experience with these? Just wondering if I got a good fixture. I only paid $250 for it, and I think it's like $500 new.

[IndoorOcean]

More updates. Got an RO/DI system today. Haven't hooked it up yet... not much room under any of our sinks so I may be using this in the utility room.

Also painted the back of the tank. I used Rustoleum flat enamel - black. Sprayed on 3 coats. Looks pretty good right now, hopefully it stays that way.

Oh, I decided NOT to drill the tank. Several people seemed to think that all the glass has been tempered (I thought it would only be the bottom piece), so since we're not sure it's better safe than sorry. I almost bought an external overflow, but it made me a little nervous. I ended up purchasing an AC 110 power filter and I'm looking to buy an Aqua C Remora hang on skimmer.

Question about the Aqua C... should I get the regular or the pro? Also, how well does the surface skimmer work that you can buy for those?

Anyone got any other suggestions or comments?

Oh.... I will try to get some pics up soon. I know this thread is practically worthless without them.

[IndoorOcean]

Updates...

The lights came in on Friday. I got them up an running and everything seems great except that one of the fans is a little loud... not too bad though.

I purchased an Aqua C Remora Pro skimmer... it hasn't arrived yet though. It was shipped priority on Tuesday, so it should be here any day now.

I decided that instead of ordering a bunch of new live rock and having to deal with a lot of hitchhikers and a 2 or 3 week cycle, that I should just get some nice dry rock to add to the 25 pounds of live rock I already have. Read this thread.

I'm so excited!

[IndoorOcean]

I was able to begin filling the tank with water Friday night.

[IMG][/IMG]

[IndoorOcean]

Saturday afternoon I added more water and then about 60 lbs of sand. Got a big sandstorm...

[IMG][/IMG]

This morning the sand had still not settled very much.



I hooked up a couple of HOB power filters to help speed up the process of clearing the water. You can also see (sort of) from the last image that I did place about 15 lbs of dry rock that I found in some storage boxes.

[reefing102]

Looking good, i reccomend that you move the probe to the back to make it less visible

[IndoorOcean]

Thanks, reefing102! Yes, I will be moving the probe to the back. It's just on the front temporarily.

[IndoorOcean]

This afternoon I decided the 40 lbs of dry rock and 25 lbs of live rock wouldn't be enough. I went to my LFS and purchased 10 lbs of live rock. He only had one piece left that was fully cured, so I got that another another one that was partially cured. Shouldn't cause too much of an ammonia spike in my setup. Of course I will monitor to make sure before adding any livestock.

[Jon Evans]

Are you going sumpless then? You could probably do a mod on the AC110 and turn it into a small fuge if you wanted to. Did you buy your lighting used?

[IndoorOcean]

Yes, I am going sumpless. I do plan to do a mod on the AC110. I remember a thread on here once about doing that. I bought the lights used... but they actually looked brand new. The previous owner said he only used them for about 45 days and had to upgrade since it wasn't enough light for his set up.

[IndoorOcean]

The two power filters helped out a lot with the sand storm. Here's a FTS from just a moment ago.

[IndoorOcean]

Here's a pic of my dog wondering why I'm paying so much attention the glass box filled with water.

[Mariner]

Sounds like its coming together nicely.
I also have a sumpless 75g with a Remora skimmer -- it's really been a fantastic set up for my mixed reef. I've had it going about 4 and 1/2 years and enjoyed every minute of it.
Here's a pic from back in February of this year.

Mariner

[IndoorOcean]

Mariner, your tank looks awesome! What all livestock do you have in there?

[IndoorOcean]

In case you're interested here's a FTS of the 20 gallon.



The hammer coral


Xenia and shrooms

[IndoorOcean]

I've been thinking about the clean-up crew. Ideally I shouldn't add the whole crew at one time, but it would be much cheaper I think to purchase them all at once from an online retailer than just a few at a time from the LFS.

Either way, here's what I was thinking for the crew:

20 x Cerith Snail
20 x Astraea Snail
6 x Super Tongan Nassarius Snail

What do you guys think of that? Is it too much, not enough?

[IndoorOcean]

Tank parameters tonight:

ph = 8.1
alk = 6 meq/l
temp = 77 F
ammonia = .1
nitrite = .2
nitrate = 0

So I've already got some ammonia and nitrite from that ten pounds of live rock I added yesterday. Since only 4 lbs of it wasn't fully cured, I thought I might not see a spike yet. I probably need to do a small water change tomorrow.

Also, the skimmer should be up and running tomorrow so that will help.

[Mariner]

I'd start with fewer astrea -- 10 or less at first. You might consider going with the mexican turbo instead; they get a little bigger, but at least they're able to turn themselves over if they get upside down.
As far as my livestock goes, I'm sure you don't want the entire list. Suffice it to say I have 30+ species of corals (LPS, SPS & softies), an assortment of snails and hermit crabs, a regal tang, flame angel, brazilian gramma and an ocellaris clown.
If it were me, I'd let the cycle continue on its own without a water change unless ammonia gets higher than 1.0. Do a good sized water change after ammonia and nitrite have gone done to help clear out the nitrates.
FWIW,
Mariner

[IndoorOcean]

Thanks for the input, Mariner! I was just doing a little research and find that your suggestion of waiting for a higher ammonia reading before a w/c is a good idea. Seems most recommend waiting until it reaches at least 1.0

Sounds like you have a nice assortment of livestock in your tank. I can't make up my mind what I want in mine... but I do have a lot of time to think about that.

[sixspeed]

Hey indoor, i just resurrected my 75 gallon as well. But i was lucky it was drilled when i bought it a few years ago and i had a bunch of the equipment still left over. I got it up and running at the beginning of this summer, around mid may. Cured my live rock and cycled the tank. But early july i left to study for two months in china, and i am missing my tank a lot. Two more weeks till i go home and see the progress. While i am gone my father has been looking after the tank, it is kind of a joint father-son project, so he knows how to do all of the important stuff like water changes and checking the parameters.

When i get back to the states we need to upgrade our lighting because right now we only have 130watts of PC over the tank, and that barely grows coraline haha. So i've been trying to figure out the best options on lighting, and i am considering the exact fixture you just bought. Have you been facing any heat issues due to the MH? and how loud is the fan exactly? Is it a little hum or a dull roar? Good luck with the tank bro, when i get back home i will post a picture of what i got going on. Thanks.

[IndoorOcean]

sixspeed, I haven't really had any issues with the lights so far. The highest temp the tank has seen is 78. But keep in mind that the water level is temporarily about 4-5 inches below the rim of the tank (I did this because I'm adding the rest of the rock this week and it will displace a lot of the water). Also, I've only been running the lights for about 4 hours a day. I'll know for sure on the heat issues once I start running the lights 7-8 hours a day.

The cooling fan isn't really that loud, it's more of a low hum. And actually you get used to it very quickly and then don't notice it any more.

I was really considering T-5s, but I found such a great deal on the Sunpod that I couldn't pass it up. I am happy with it so far.

I would like to see some pics of your set up when you get back to the States.

[IndoorOcean]

Tank params tonight:

temp = 77 F
sg = 1.024
ammonia = .3
nitrite = .2
nitrate = 10

[sixspeed]

That sounds good about the sunpod, i am currently trying to find a cheap deal on a local forum for one used or possibily ebay. Let me know if you stumble across a good deal.

[MarineFishGuy]

Looks good so far. My last tank had the return hole drilled in the bottom middle of the tank. I had issues with it leaking, although slowly, back into the sump. If I turned the return pump off it would rise an inch over several hours.
I eventually tore the tank down and fixed the leak, but it was a PITA.
One of the local coral grow farms frills their holes in the back near the top, I think that is a much better idea.
I ended up buying mine with the overflow kit for about $300. It is the same 75 g someone else posted on page one of your thread.
My current clean up crew is:
2 sand sifting starfish
12 nasirius snails
3 Mexican turbos
10 red legged hermits
1 emerald crab
1 sally light foot crab
1 Scarlet cleaner shrimp
2 peppermint shrimp

With only 5 fish, the CUC easily keeps the sand spotless. I have a little algae growth on the Live Rock, but I plan to add a Yellow Tang around the end of the month to help with that.

I also plan to add some more lighting, either VHO or T5 to supplement the 260w of PC.
Ken