Amalee’s 75g Build

[Bo.]

Thanks for the recommendations everyone! Super helpful for future reference. If I ever were to upgrade or redo the plumbing, I will definitely go gate valve with the traditional 45 degree elbows.

We didnt do anything crazy for the aquascape and I’m glad we didn’t because the second we went to bring the rocks from outside to inside, the adhesive fell apart. We tried some hydraulic cement from Home Depot as well as JB Waterweld Epoxy sandwiched with superglue.

The pieces are relatively large/heavy though, and I made sure they flattest piece of rock is what’s touching the glass bottom. I also ensured they were stacked perfectly atop one another without wiggling. So I’m confident in the scapes security as long as I don’t have any extremely large fish (which I don’t intend to have any).

I’ve got a mound to the left, an island in the far back, and a small “hill” to the right. In between the crevices of the hill are smaller pieces of rock with dead coralline.

Which hydraulic cement did you use? Mine seems to be holding up well.

 

[AmaleeC]

I like your timeline as it's very similar to my own, and stock list starts out very similar, swapping maroon for oscillaris (two kiddos) and melanarus for a paracheilinus. Firefish pair are my first as well, and will be until my cuc is established. When do you plan on adding yours? My firefish go in Sunday, they've been at the lfs for a couple of weeks already

You kids have good taste! I prefer oscillaris myself, they’re just classic SW fish Haha But I didn’t have too much luck with them in my 20 and after some futile attempts, I ended up with a maroon.

Funny thing, I also considered the paracheilinus! Lol I couldn’t decide between which wrasse and then found out that lyretails will swim together in a tank and they dominant male is very nice. So I went with those. Secretly, I still think I’d like to add another wrasse farther down the line.

It will be awhile before I add any fish, I have good experience with Microbacter7. But I’m jealous of TubroStart having your tank cycled so quickly! Regardless, this thread may be super dead for a little bit after this to allow appropriate time to cycle besides the addition of the lights
Good timing too because, my boss has already let us know that they may start cutting hours at my job for everyone. We’re an “essential” but my state has gone on lockdown so no one is really taking advantage of the services we provide.. This whole thing with the virus is crazy! Stay home and stay safe everyone!


Btw we used the Sakrete gray leak stopper. Another Reefer recommended it.

 

[AmaleeC]

The lids are done, and my sump is full! The Microbacter dry rock kit had my tank cycled in 4 days and my first fish went in!

I was surprised my tank cycled in four days! I put the copepods in as a test and they just got up and walked around like nothing lol

The engineer goby, and the damsel were $22 total at WWC. So I decided to just go for it. My Richmonds wrasse also went in and she is LOVING the extra space. So far, so good! I’m itching to add some lyretails!!

 

[AmaleeC]

As a very early birthday present, my lights are coming in April 16th via Amazon! I guess my family couldn’t wait either to see the tank full of coral lol I’m ecstatic! Can’t wait to switch over my softies and LPS. They’re going to love it! I am a bit nervous as I hate the thought of losing any of my acans, or hammers. I want everything to work out well... In addition, I hated watching my 20g tank go through “the uglies” and don’t wish that upon my 75. It hasn’t had a diatom bloom yet, but water parameters are good. I’m testing every other day to keep an eye on the ammonia levels with my first few fish in there. So far so good! I read about a total tank breakdown to get rid of this issue once the GHA sits in. But it’s still kinda annoying to think my tank is going to go through that phase regardless.. Let’s see if the Microbacter Kit does its thing!

I’ve started adding fish to get some “nutrients” going for my corals as I wait for the lights. As an update about my fish: I’m really hoping I don’t regret putting my damsel in as one of the first fish. As of right now, he seems to really like my wrasse. Watching them swim together around the tank is adorable to say the least lol they’re all really enjoying the space. Also, my engineer goby made his home exactly where I expected him to and I can’t wait to watch him grow! Still really itching to add my lyretails

 

[mch1984]

You may have already said, but what lights did you get?

 

[AmaleeC]

You may have already said, but what lights did you get?

I went with the Viparspectra 165W lights. I considered the Philzon, because price was definitely a factor. But I love the remote feature and the timer feature on the Viparspectra. I’m going to attach them to a chain instead of the rope like thing that it comes with. That should give them a nicer look. I’ll be painting any colored buttons black and I’m going to try to set the the timer facing towards the wall and not where it’s visible for everyone. Hopefully that gives everything a nicer look.

 

[AmaleeC]

Well, here’s the finished product! We had to put some PVC on the conduit to keep the pipes facing straight I think it just made me like my light hangers more!

I love the rockwork under the blues!! But it’s been a total pain to find a good spot for all of my corals in terms of good flow for everyone.

The rockwork on the left is more of a “softies only” type deal. It’ll have a zoa garden and there’s plenty of room for my mushrooms to reproduce. Tomorrow I’m picking up a toadstool frag to put as the “centerpiece” for that side of things.

The rockwork in the middle is an anenomes island with mini maxis and RFA. Some acans will be going to the left of the island.

I wanted the rock work on the right to have my SPS/LPS. I would like to put the SPS going to the left with the wavemaker pointed right at it. Then my hammers and Duncan can go to the right side. I thought it would work, but my LPS isn’t too happy about things. One of my hammers is enjoying the flow and the other one is receding. My Duncan just gave up completely in extending. He still extends but he isn’t extending as much as before... Maybe I should point the power head somewhere else... If I point it straight, the flow is hitting the front of the tank and bouncing off the front panel. Maybe that could work? Idk. Flow has always been my weakness lol Suggestions are welcome!

Enjoy the pics!

 

[mch1984]

Looks good, my euphylias were always very picky about the flow. I had a torch that loved the flow and my hammers needed to be shielded from it. Its tough to make them happy sometimes.

 

[AmaleeC]

Looks good, my euphylias were always very picky about the flow. I had a torch that loved the flow and my hammers needed to be shielded from it. Its tough to make them happy sometimes.

Yes! I’m planning on buying a torch and I’m sure he’s going to LOVE the flow so he can go nearly anywhere on the rockwork. Needless to say, I think he will be a nice addition. I’m happy to say that my teal hammer came out a lot more today, and my other hammer was content as always. I’ve moved my Duncan closer to the center rock and he’s expanded fully already! Maybe in the future when he’s bigger he’ll enjoy some higher flow, but only time will tell Some of my RFAs were upset today, so I lowered the light intensity. This light is a major jump from my Current USA light so I don’t blame them. At the moment things are at 10 Blues and 5 Whites, let’s see how everyone does.

Also, I got a new shipment of coral!! I bought from ReefIslandofNY on eBay and the seller is AWESOME! I got some really nice SPS, an elegance coral, GSP and Xenia. I’ve had GSP and Xenia before, but they didn’t do so well in my 20. So I thought I’d give them a try again. The Xenia is looking a little droopy but I think I saw some Aptasia on there so I’ll have to pluck it when I get home. I love the way GSP moves in the flow, it’s what got me into reefkeeping. I like to keep my water relatively clean and they tend to hate that.. Let’s see how it goes this time around.

 

[AmaleeC]

Well, I made the rookie mistake of adding fish too fast. Go figure

I’m going to try to do a water change shortly. I added some Seachem Prime to help lower the ammonia and give my bacteria a fighting chance to keep up. The fish and corals look good. No retracted corals and no labored breathing. The only ones who looked upset were my snails, so I put them back into the 20g. From here on out, it’ll just be a matter of being patient and not adding things for awhile. And so this is where the battle with “perfect” water parameters begins.

And while we wait, enjoy some of these very low quality photos from my iPhone 11

 

[AmaleeC]

Diatoms came in this week and my rockwork is already turning green from some live rock in there from my last setup. I’m shocked that everything has advanced SO quickly compared to the first tank I setup! I bought some live rock and am going to try to get some of the pretty coralline off to put into the 75. Lots of pests came in with the rock though, so I can’t say it’s worth it.

As far as additions go: A horseshoe crab (to be rehomed when it’s bigger), a tiger conch, a red legged hermit, some nassirius snails, two lyretail anthias, a blue wall hammer, a highlighter torch, a purple tip torch, a toadstool, and some acans.

Recent problems I’ve encountered: I recently dosed with Seachem Pristine due to cloudiness and we’re on day 2 of seeing how it does. So far it has just made the water cloudier. I’m trying to be patient without jumping the gun, as many reviews said it takes a two to three days to kick in.
Also, my highlighter torch was very upset today! I raised the flow on the wavemaker to get some more flow in the tank and it seemed to be doing okay, but now it’s receding I posted another thread about it to get some help. I’m really hoping it pulls through, it’s one of my favorites. I’ll keep you all updated here. Thanks for following!!

 

[AmaleeC]

Updates:
- Green, cloudy, murky water is clearing away at a very rapid pace since installing a second UV light of 13 watts. My other one was 5 watts. I installed the UV light Thursday and I’d say the water is probably 40% clearer.
- Suffered some losses in my euphyllia, and that really hit home *insert crying emoji*. My highlighter torch, and purple tipped hammer
- I thought I’d really like some SPS, but lately I’ve been more focused on LPS and it’s been hard finding the right flow for both. I may sell the SPS I have, lower the flow and get some pretty LPS going. I saw some nice trachy’s on eBay!

 

[AmaleeC]

Updates:
- Gave the SPS to a nearby reefer who helped me when I first started. It’s nice to give! :,) Hopefully they enjoys them and maybe she can give me something cool too in the future!
- Rocks are COVERED in light green algae, and I can’t wait to see it turn pink/purple!
- Water is still a little hazy, currently adding Dr.Tims to help with the clarity. Tried Seachem Clarity and it didn’t do much.
- No cyano (thank God!) and the only GHA is on frags that I brought over from my old system. It hasn’t spread.
- My sump is down!! The return was always pumping wayy too much water and blowing bubbles, it worked at first but the tank was literally overflowing with water. So I disconnected the return. I’m sure the differences in input to output is due to the plumbing design I have going. I bought the Rio 2100 to get a slower output and put the heater and UV light into the DT. I have a heater in my 20g sump since I have some copepods and chaeto in there.
- Coral: Added some torches, and an RBTA. Found the RBTA for $30 from a nearby reefer. And bought my torches from endeavoraquatics on eBay, a green torch for $65, purple torch for $30 and a highlighter torch for $20. I have not been disappointed at all! The prices can’t be beat and they have awesome customer service. Unexpectedly, the torches are probably my favorite coral in the tank. I love those guys! But I probably won’t be buying anymore lol $65 for one piece is the most I want to spend. Hoping to buy some branching hammers (teal, purple, green) to get my hammer garden going. Bought some RFAs at a great rate from another reefer too! Looking to get a nice little garden going for those guys too. My mushroom garden is complete, zoas garden is done + growing nicely, acan garden is complete (trachy is the centerpiece and the feeder tentacles on this guy are epic!) and toadstool is a little lopsided but that’s okay lol
- Fish: DYING to add a royal gamma, another wrasse, and a green clown goby. But with this quarantine no one really has fish!

 

[AmaleeC]

Here’s the latest and greatest:
- Water clarity is about 90% clear.
- All fish and inverts are doing well, I’m surprised to see my anemone doing so well given that it’s a new tank. But it’s extremely happy.
- New fish additions include a firefish, yellow coris wrasse, green clown goby and a neon dottyback. Everyone gets along really well, but I’m always monitoring everything to avoid any possible tension. Last addition will be a royal gramma, as long as the little guy can stand up for himself I don’t see any issues with that plan.

Here’s some pics:

Absolutely love my tank! This build thread is nice as it is a lovely way for me to see it progress. I’m looking forward to seeing the acan garden take off and the zoa garden too!

 

[AmaleeC]

Update:
Bad news!
- I had a huge ick outbreak from a fish I bought over at WWC. Poor thing had flukes crawling all over him and was covered in ick! I should’ve noticed before I bought him and put him in the DT. The infection spread and killed him, one female lyretail anthia, one green clown goby, and one neon dottyback (who I wasn’t so sad about losing). Here’s to hoping they swim in peace!
- I added some hammers and lost 2/3. Looking back, I didn’t have to throw out the first. I thought it had BJD, but it didn’t. The second one actually did have it and had to go. Two heads of neon green: gone. Sad to see my money go down the drain, as they were $45 and $80. I will say I have a two headed teal hammer I bought from dropoffcorals.com many months ago that is going strong despite the bacteria bloom, bryopsis, green turf algae, dinos and everything else - I actually am expecting some new heads in the future from this one!

Other than that, I had a few different algae’s just take over the tank. First was the green turf algae, then dinos all over the sandbed and now I see patches of bryopsis, green slime and red slime (cyano) growing. I’m buying an urchin to see if he can help with the outbreak of dinos which I’m most worried about. Vibrant is killing the hair algae little by little, I love that stuff! The dinos turned from brown to green and after weeks of dosing now brown again. So we’ll see.

No new additions of coral yet. I still desperately want a hammer garden. But I’m hoping to restock fish first. Beginning with a royal gramma and urchin from Top Shelf Aquatics. After that, I don’t know what I’ll buy next but definitely something active. Maybe a chromi.

 

[AmaleeC]

Well friends, here’s where we stand!
Algae
- I was dosing Vibrant for the green turf algae and that sucker is GONE! Butttt it only made way for the bryopsis lol so I’m going to continue dosing and once everything’s officially gone, I’ll switch to the maintenance dosage (dosing every two weeks instead of weekly).
- I called Top Shelf Aquatics to find out what I should do about my dinos. They recommended DinoX so I’m going to try that. I also bought two tiger conch’s and they’re doing a stellar job at helping to clean up the place so no worries.
- Red slime and green slime still growing strong and spreading at an extremely slow rate. Once Ive gotten rid of the dinos and the bryopsis, I’m going to dose Chemiclean and scrub my rocks to let the UV light help with getting rid of them. But I don’t want too much going on at once, so it’ll have to be after the dinos are gone at least.

Fish
- I added some new fish/coral and all of the new additions got ick! So the guys at TSA recommended I wait three weeks before adding any new fish.
- I added another royal gramma, and he died within three days - I can only assume from illness. RIP. I’ll have to try royal grammas again another time.
- I added a chromi, who was getting picked on by one of the other fish. Poor baby has little bite marks on him, maybe it was my damsel. Nonetheless, I took him out and returned him.
- Last addition was a belted sand basslet. Nice fish. But I later found out that he was going to be a big boy and has a taste for my CUC ;Nailbiting So I spent over an hour trying to catch him. Finally caught + returned him for store credit. I didn’t notice until then that he was extremely territorial and flashing his jaw at everyone. Hopefully he finds a nice home somewhere else.

- I plan on adding an orange finned tomini tang, a kamohara blenny, and lastly will be a royal gramma to complete my fish selection. It’ll be my last time attempting a royal gramma though, may just be one of those things I can’t keep for the life of Me. Who knows?

Coral
- Top Shelf Aquatics has these beautiful hammers that are white under white lights and light blue under the blues. I picked these up as well as a yellow tipped hammer. They’re gorgeous ;Drool
- Zoas are growing nicely. I finally put my macro lens to work and took some close ups ;Happy
- Sold my elegance coral, Duncan, and acan garden for some store credit. I miss my elegance greatly, but I didn’t like its placement in the aquascape. It just wasn’t exactly what I envisioned when I envision my tank. When I’m ready, I’m going to use the credit to buy more fish! In the meantime, I just play with photoshop and dream what it’ll be like lol

 

[AmaleeC]

More photos, just some zoas and the last picture of my elegance before I sold it.

 

[fishguy242]

hi ,if you had ich in dt,would recommend 50-60 days no fish in dt,correct me if i am mistaken

 

[Gernader]

hi ,if you had ich in dt,would recommend 50-60 days no fish in dt,correct me if i am mistaken

Isn’t it 76 days?

 

[AmaleeC]

Isn’t it 76 days?

Haha yes it is. Thank you @Gernader @fishguy242! I know fallow is the best way to go, I’ve just been avoiding it if I’m being honest. I’m hoping this works. If not I’ll have to get a qt going to go fallow.