Hi All, I'm back LOL

dacooley

dacooley

Member
Well, after a year or so of being idle, and having to sell the 125Gallon all glass tank because I couldn't afford to build a reef tank, The wife finally got the bug. I picked up a 75 gallon all glass with stand for $50.00
The stand was brand new, the door handle was still in the plastic on the inside of the door LOL. The tank was only 6 months old and COVERED in Coraline Algae (Nice and Hard!!)
A little Muriatic acid and about 30 minutes and the tank is like new!
We were going to do freshwater, but the wife wasn't happy... freshwater fish weren't "Pretty enough" LOL.
so I have ordered a glass-holes 1500GPH overflow kit, and for $25.00 received a used, but good working Via-Aqua professional 750 filter, a Rainbow Lifegard FB600 fluidized bed filter, and a HUGE protein skimmer (The guy is bringing the pump for it today, so I will know what brand it is this evening. It's about 30" tall, all clear acrylic).
I have access to a 10G aquarium (glass) for 10 bucks, so I will probably use it for a Sump... If I need it (Though I know in a few years this WILL turn into a reef tank LOL)
So, a few questions...
Should I use the FB filter? I have read both pros and cons, but wanted some expert opinions... If I don't, will the sump with a bed of aragonite sand and live rock serve the same purpose without the drawbacks (pump stops, within an hour the FB is full of toxins)?

2nd, will the Via-Aqua have enough flow for this tank? it's 315 GPH SUPPOSEDLY on a 180 CM (5.9ft) head...

If this is FO, or maybe FOWLR, with the cannister, should I still run a skimmer?

Finally, since I will be drilling my tank, should I drill bulkheads for the returns?

Thanks!:poke:
 
ramjet33

ramjet33

Member
welcome back, i too was in hiatus for a couple of years. New kids, new job and finally some time to spend on the boards with my fellow reef geeks! Good to see ya bro.
jeff
 
dacooley

dacooley

Member
Hi All,
Well, after a few months of financial roughness, selling off some stuff, buying up other stuff off craigslist, I now have the 75G reef up.
Equipment changed during the last 3 months, so here is where I now stand!

75G aqueon tank and stand
Home built canopy
4x65W PC (2 actinic, 2 10,000k)
CPR CS-102 overflow
eshopps RS-100 20G sump
ASM G1 skimmer
rio+ 1700 return pump
Hydor 300W inline heater
Marineland Magnum 350 canister filter (Empty) used as the pump for the heater, but can drop carbon etc in if the need arises
80-100 pounds of live rock
80 pounds of aragonite

The live rock had been stewing since late august, but about a week into the curing process, my pump burned up and cooked the rock at 140 degrees overnight...
Got a new pump, did a 100% water change and let it stew... came back to life in about a week and did weekly 50% water changes on it.

Got the tank set up hardware wise the beginning of october...
1" check valve off the rio, 1" flex PVC to the tank for the return, 2 1 1/4" overflow hoses to the sump, did the mesh mod to the sedra 2500 skimmer pump, got the magnum 350 and the heater all plumbed in, canopy finished and the lights mounted and moonlights installed on it.
Live rock and aragonite in, brought home 125 gallons of pre-mixed Instant Ocean from the LFS and started filling...
Tank took about 3 days to clear up, and I didn't like the rock, so I took some out, took some that was still left in the tub in the garage, and bought some plastic rods and drilled and stacked to my liking.
Tank went cloudy again but only overnight...
Never had an ammonia spike or nitrite spike, but slowly started seeing nitrates. Did a 50% water change, and the next day brought home 3 green chromis.
After a week, they were very happy, and I picked up a few Zoa frags, a couple scarlet hermits, 10 margarita snails and an Orange Monti cap.
Zoas opened within an hour, and in a few days the Monti was brighter and looking really good... A fellow reefer off socalireefs offered to help me out with some frags from his tank... got a few more zoas, 4 frags of pony coral, a frag of a green toadstool and a frag of Birdsnest.
They have all colored up well and are happy as a ... clam
Picked up an emerald crab the other night, and it went to town! pretty cool to watch.
The Chromis' come to the front of the tank when I do, and if I open the top, they start splashing... They know where the food is!!! they have some unique personalities!
As of last night, water params are:

Temp: 79.5
alk 3.75
ph 8.3
ca 360
dkh 9
nitrite 0
phosphate 0
nitrate 5
sg 1.023

And they have been at these levels throughout the whole time it's been up (Since October 2nd)
I have been buying pre-mix instant ocean, but I want more calcium and a little higher SG... 1.025/6 and 450 or so Ca.
I am picking up a box of the new B-Ionic Seawater system and going to do 10% water changes weekly and see where it goes.
Everything is happy and healthy, seeing little white "hairs" reach out from under the aragonite and slide across the sand etc...
Posting pics of the progress next
 
nanoreefing4fun

nanoreefing4fun

Well-Known Member
RS STAFF
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to ReefSanctuary, a real Sanctuary of reef forums, with lots of very nice members
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