75 Gal. w/ DIY Rock and Custom Stand

[BuilderT]

75 gal. w/ Corner overflow. It's about 8 months old now. The pictures of the tank itself are from the beginning. I'll post the updated pics in the next comment to keep it separate. Did the cycle with 2 clown fish and Dr. Tims. Both clown fish are still alive and doing great! Waited about 3 weeks before adding any corals or other fish. Still going through the ugly stage but it's definitely getting better. 90% of the rock I made myself since it was so expensive to buy. The other 10% was live rock from my LFS $10 a lb!! I used portland cement, crush coral, and ocean sand. Had to let it soak in RODI water for almost 4 months before the PH stabilized. It was fun to do with the kids and let them come up with their own rocks!

 

[BuilderT]

This is the tank currently after running for 8 months. Had a few different algae outbreaks and now dealing with a slim algae that sucks off really easy with just a siphon hose.
Current Inhabitants:
Yellow Coral Banded Shrimp
2 Clown fish
5 Pajama Cardinals
Dottyback
Lawnmower Blenny
Yellow Watchman Goby
Pistol Shrimp
Fighting Conch
2 Urchins Pincushion and Tuxedo
10 or so Hermits blue and scarlet
2 Emerald Crabs
Free Snails that hitch hiked in. So far reef safe.

Only loss so far was a Bristle Tooth tang, pretty sure it didn't get enough food since they don't care for hair algae.

Corals:
Bunch of Zoas and Palys
Alveopora
Blastomussa
Aussie Lord
Acan
A couple Montipora
Clove Polyps
GSP
Elegance
Hammers
Frogspawn
Bubble Coral
Stylo
Birdsnest
Favia
Recordia and Yuma Mushroom
Duncan

I've become an addict to these corals haha!
Current Levels
Hanna- DKH 8.8
Hanna- Phos- .04
Salifert- Cal- 400ppm
Salifert- Mag- 1200ppm
API- Nitrate- 5-10ppm
Hanna-SG-1.025
INKBIRD-Temp- 76 degrees
****** PH Pen-PH- 8.1-8.3 *about to order a new one any suggestions?

I do monthly water changes at about 30% of volume with Tropic Marines Pro Reef Salt.
20 Gallon sump with 2 filter socks and Protein Skimmer that runs 6 hours a day. Also have live rock in the sump.
2 Power heads one in the back pointing at an angle through the middle to the front. The other one is on the side pushing flow across the top and pulsating.

 

[Fungusamongus]

Everything seems really happy. Even your cat, or maybe not so happy they cant get at the fish. What did you use to make the rock? Did you cure it afterwards?

 

[BuilderT]

Everything seems really happy. Even your cat, or maybe not so happy they cant get at the fish. What did you use to make the rock? Did you cure it afterwards?

Portland Cement, Crushed Coral, and Dry Ocean Sand, I had to cure it for a least 4 months in RODI water before I felt safe with it. I didn't start adding corals until probably 2 months after the cycle was complete too. So probably a total of 7 months for a fully cured rock that is starting to become live rock. 4 months of normal RODI water and 3 months of saltwater with fish and I did have live rock I bought from the LFS in with it.

 

[Fungusamongus]

Perfect. Thank you.

 

[Gumbies R Us]

Great looking stand!!!

 

[whybenormal]

Your tank looks really nice! I've been wanting to attempt the diy rocks for ... Ever since I heard you could do it.
Looking at how pretty your tank is, and the same size as mine, I'm now convinced that I actually just have too much rock, because I don't have enough room for all the corals I want. I've started breaking up some of my big pieces of live rock and trying to decide how I want the whole thing to look, and gluing it back together.
You've inspired me.

 

[BuilderT]

It's been a while...... a long while! BUT the tank is going good and strong. We've lost some corals and learned some lessons. Having trouble keeping SPS but found out my Mag was too low. Got that all sorted out now we are just giving it some time to see what I need to be dosing to keep it stable. Then we may try another SPS. Zoas, Mushrooms, Bubble Coral, Kenya Tree, and all fish are doing great. FYI avoid dotty backs lol he won't let me add any new fish so I'm tempting to remove him and send him back to the LFS lol. I also now have the new Neptune NP Tester thanks to BRS picking me as a winner. Plus, about $1500.00 in other tank related accessories!!
Here are some update pictures: