65 Gallon Project

[newreefbishop]

Here are a couple pics of my setup. My first time....so comments are welcome.....

Ill start layout with tank...

65 gallon all glass flowing into refugium first chamber is bio balls with filter pad underneath. I will be removing bio balls and pad once i get more LR. second chamber is is free flowing water that gets pumped into Coralife Super Skimmer-Needle Wheel-65 Gallon which leads into refugium with LR, microalgae, LS, mineral Mud, and some Mangroves, last chamber is return to tank....in tank I have mix of 60 pounds of Carib Sea Live sand.....Im about a week in, and have begun ammonia spike.....which based on what i have read is about right in the next two days ill have a mix of 40 pound Ultra Premium LR Fiji and Marshall and 70 pounds dead base rock which, which in time will also become covered with coraline algae. Lastly is the lighting which I have not chosen yet, but know I will be using power compacts..without further adue here she is










Ill have some more when the rock come in....let me know what you think

[sir_dudeguy]

cool...i always love new setups lol..now you just gotta get something in there!

[newreefbishop]

also trying to get my hands on some fine tonga to creat arches etc......

[newbiemike]

Fuge looks good. Just get something in the tank and keep posting pics for us.

[newreefbishop]

Ok so i got 20 pound premium Fiji LR today, waiting on another shipment of about 40 pounds, i cleaned it and places so dead coral at base for base rocks...so far so good, but even though i have 30 pound sof rock in the tank the it makes the tank look even bigger. Anyway I also started to get some cleaning crew, with 10 zebra hermits, thats about the limit I want on crabs, i also have a hitch hiker, (some species of crab) but he isnt hairy so im not worried yet. Next up are some shrimp and some snails and a couple damsels.


Below are the pictures







I was also asked about my filtration system



there is is


So what should i work on next. I was thinking of adding another powerhead. any recommendations?

And how long before the base rock is covered with coraline algae under normal circumstances?

[newreefbishop]

Oh sorry about first set of pics...I know they where massive

[newbiemike]

pics look great. Keep them coming. Coraline will take some time. Add stronitium every week to get it going. Before long you'll be cursing because you'll have to scrape it off the glass. Bu then again, that is the fun of it.

[meco65]

looks great

[newreefbishop]

the next phase im ready to take on is lighting, I live in south florida, and even though my A/C is on 24 hours a day at a constant 77, tank fluctuates between 79 and 80 degrees...I was thinking some power compacts, a total of 4. Can anyone recommend a system, keep in minds I want to reef tank, soft corals, and fish and some sponges, maybe one anemone tank is 36 inches long

[newbiemike]

Lighting can be a big decision. What do you think you might want to host in the future? Clams maybe? If so, you might want to look into a metal halide. You can host anything with those lights. And for corals that don't like that amount of light, you can shield them via a rock overhang or by putting the on the other end of the tank, opposite of the bulb.

[argus]

get the halide you wont be disapointed.

[newreefbishop]

Well I thought about the Halide which I will end up doing in time, but for now I dont plan on clams. Im doing Fish, and softies, My wife likes things that wave in the currentand most of you know that marines can hit the pocket pretty hard so to keep her quiet I agreed. Anyway I was thinking something like this

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Produc...&N=2004+113345

the 36" model

for starters.....

On another note the live rock i got in yesterday is beautiful, lots or coraline, and lots of fans, etc...its packed with life....my hermits seem happy so far which is good....and the price was 2.99 per pound for Fiji and shipping wasnt expensive either....

Anyway....more pics in a couple days, I plan on going to the Keys this weekend, I know a friends that grows his own rock down there, Im gonna see if I can get like 50 pounds of it or so. How long do you propose i should let the tank sit before I add anything else, apart from rocks, snails, shrimp etc. I dont am taking it slow as I dont want any loss of life.

[emilese]

I would suggest T-5 for lighting. Consumes less energy than MH's , doesn't heat the tank like MH's, and the bulbs last longer. I think T-5's would work well for your setup.

[newreefbishop]

Oh the website for the rock was

http://www.theaquariumonline.com/detail.aspx?ID=536

Once again 2.99 per pound and its hand picked and cured pretty well....didnt have to do much cleaning.....

[yeldarbj]

I just went through the same process in choosing a light. I have the exact same 36" Coralife Lunar Aqualife that you posted a link to on a new AGA 65g setup. I think it looks great. The tank is plenty bright, top to bottom for my taste. It doesn't get too hot and has cooling fans (not too loud, just a slight hum). There is a switch for the actinics, one for the 10k, and one for the LEDs. The fan only runs with the 10k.

I'm not planning on keeping anything too exotic and didn't want to spend too much either. A lot of people mention that it is not enough light for 24" depth tank, but the stuff that likes the most light does not have to be on the bottom. You can always place your things on top of your rock.

I bought from Drs Foster & Smith. You can't beat their price and service. If you order it, be sure and check the acrylic lens cover for any cracks. My first light was cracked and the silicon bands were broken. Drs Foster & Smith didn't hesitate to send me a new light immediately and a pkg of bands. They also sent a prepaid return label for the broken one. They have as good a customer service as I've ever seen.

If you have any other question or concerns about this light, just ask.

[ChunksInClemson]

I would agree with the coralife aqualight. Its working great with my 90. Get the lunar lights also, they look awesome!

[newreefbishop]

Thanks for the input....i feel alot better right now


do you get the shimmer effect from it?



Also how much rock would you recommend for a tank this size

[yeldarbj]

Can't say much for the shimmer effect...I don't have any comparisons.

I've got about 100 lbs of rock (45 live, 55 base), and it looks pretty good/full. I tried to stack vertically as much as possible, maintaining the stability.

[newreefbishop]

ok nightly tank inspection and found another hitch hiker.....

*** IS THIS AND SHOULD I KILL IT?

If I have to kill it how should i do it?

Here is the pic

[newreefbishop]

Any thoughts on what this is?

[Sk8r]

That's an aiptasia. Sigh. There are always aiptasia.

Do get rid of the bioballs and filter pads. You don't need them: they'll only cause you grief [and nitrates]---and you can use that space for a 'fuge.

[newreefbishop]

cool......i will get some peppermint shrimp to take care of it.....or them....

On a brighter note I got some more LR tonight about 50 pounds worth....lots of fans, and pods, also a coral couple coral frags....not sure on how those will do....typically how long does it take for those to regen, and what do i need to feed them....they are softies....

below are pics of new rock








Also there are some worms.....at least I think they are largest one is about 3 inches long....this batch of LR came out of an established tank so not sure if I should remove em.....the worms have what looks like tiny spikes....I will get pic if and when i can....any ideas?

[newreefbishop]

I think they are some species of bristle worm.....i guess Im definately gonna need some shrimp.....a couple of coral banded and a couple of peppermint shrimp.....can they co exist with some small zebra hermits, and my fans? or is there another way to get rid of my unwanted hitch hikers?

[Sk8r]

The worms are good. They're bristleworms, a detrivore that will keep that rock clean and free of pockets of nastiness. They'll sting human skin, but they are harmless to corals and fish [well, I have a fool of a firefish that gets a beard occasionally from feuding with one of my larger worms, but it goes away quickly.]

That's really good rock you've gotten. The purple is coralline algae, and the more of that the better---where it is, ordinary algae doesn't grow well, and that is a great advantage. With that, any cycle should be quite mild, all your hitchhiker inverts should live through it and multiply. Don't worry about the worms: they'll probably top out at about 10 inches, sooner or later, but they're good.
You'll be wanting to feed your tank a tiny pinch of Formula One flake food a day: the worms will get it, in this case; but generally it's to rot and prompt your bacteria to grow on both sand and rock. Get some test strips for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, and expect to see them react positive [that's important, proving you have the process that should cause the bacteria to take off], then calm down and go to 0 over the next couple of weeks, at which point you can start adding inverts.

[yeldarbj]

FYI Here is what my 65g looks like with about 100 lbs of rock and the Coralife Lunar Aqualight.