My budget 75 gallon build

[Smokeshow]

Thought I was getting a weird ammonia spike. Checked everything this morning and ammonia was going up. Turns out my daughter decided to put some flakes in it when she was feeding the other fw tanks. Luckily the filter sock caught out. Removed the sock and tested again this afternoon and no more ammonia so the bacteria is doing pretty good. Except I still have alot of nitrites. Hopefully not much longer until its fully cycled and I can start adding some fish.

 

[Smokeshow]

Moved the aquascape around a little and added some small pieces to fill in some gaps. And orderer some chaeto from another member. Still have some organizing to do around the sump. And got the fzone ato set up last night. Using an old salt bucket for the rodi resevoir.

 

[Smokeshow]

Picked up 2 led bars that have white and blue leds that i can control the intensity of each color independently.

Really like the blue. Also checked the parameters this morning and I think its done cycling. 0ppm ammonia and nitrites and 20ppm nitrates. I have a red sea care test kit thats out for delivery now and will test it again. If its the same ill probably head to the lfs and pick up a pair of black mollies

 

[revhtree Verified Admin]

Picked up 2 led bars that have white and blue leds that i can control the intensity of each color independently.

Really like the blue. Also checked the parameters this morning and I think its done cycling. 0ppm ammonia and nitrites and 20ppm nitrates. I have a red sea care test kit thats out for delivery now and will test it again. If its the same ill probably head to the lfs and pick up a pair of black mollies

Congrats on the new reef!

 

[Smokeshow]

The red sea test kit came in. So much easier and more accurate than the api kit. Levels were good. Also ordered 3 frangs of zoas. An eagle eye, stripped palythoa and a nirvana palythoa. Shoulr be here by Friday or Saturday. And the lfs talked me into getting a small pair of clowns instead of the black mollies.

 

[Smokeshow]

Looks like there was a hitchhiker somewhere in the bag. Can anyone id?

 

[Smokeshow]

Water parameters have been great all week. The chaeto is destroying the nitrates faster than I thought it would. At the beginning of the week it was sitting at 20ppm and this morning it was at 5ppm. Added 2 snails and a candy button on Wednesday. Going to the lfs this afternoon and may pick up another fish or 2.

My zoas were delivered this morning. Had to go to work so have them sitting in the jars they were shipped in next to the tank.

 

[Smokeshow]

Got the zoas in the tank. Was extremely happy with how well they were packed. It was a wysiwyg sale on ebay from a seller in Florida. When I got how the zoas were all opened up. Placed them all in a container and did a slow drip accumulation. I checked them over carefully for any pest and they were clean. Also picked up a new friend for my clowns. A scooter blenny. Not the best pic but it was already close the lights out so ill have to try a get a better one tomorrow.

 

[Smokeshow]

Ordered a second batch of corals from the same seller. Getting a hollywood stunner chalice, Anthelia Coral and a pavona cactus frag. Should be here on Tuesday. Picking up a bucket of red sea coral pro salt next week and will start using that for water changes. Had to make a small shelf for the Bubble magus curve 5 elite. It was overflowing pretty bad with a water depth of 10". The shelf had 1" pvc cut to 1.5" and glued it to a 1/4" acrylic sheet thats just big enough for the skimmer to sit on. Have it dialed in to around 2.5 on the dial and produces a nice dry skim. Parameters are still looking good. Need to get a calcium and phosphate test kits.

 

[Smokeshow]

Would these spots be the start of coralline algea?

 

[revhtree Verified Admin]

Would these spots be the start of coralline algea?

Looks like it to me!

 

[BARNAKEWLZ]

Looking good!

 

[Smokeshow]

Its only been about a week since I added the coral and snails. Though it would take a big longer to see anything. That pretty cool lol

 

[Smokeshow]

Also, it looks like the candy button coral is starting to get bleached.

I've been usinging a pipette to direct feed it and the zoas something called reef snow. Not sure what its called snow because its brown. Zoas seems to be doing very well. But they are on the substrate. Maybe its up to high? My lights are not the best. Currently have a marineland reef led and 2 led bars that i can control the brightness of the white and blue leds but its not bright at all. Currently working on a new light setup as well.

 

[Sebastiancrab]

hello all. Just wanted to start a thread showing my "budget" 125 gallon build. I was originally going to use my spare 75g until I saw a used 125 gallon for sale locally. Im using an eshopps eclipse L overflow and will have dual 3/4" returns. Sump is a 55g. Return pump is a Jebao dcq 10000. And have a bubble magus curve 5 elite. Here are a few pictures of where its at.
Water testing the 55g sump

The 125g and 75lbs of rock. Paid 250
for everything

Scrapped of the black paint and used my computer and some polorized sunglasses to make sure the glass wasn't tempered. Then I drilled the holes for the overflow and returns. I drilled from the inside going out so the gasket for the bulkheads will have a smooth surface to get a good seal.

Painted the back glass dark blue and installed the overflow box and return bulkheads.

Installing the glass baffles in the sump


And started working on the stand.

Should I add another support in the front center? Was wanting to keep it open to make working on the sump easier. Thanks for any input.

Edit: the 125 is now a freshwater tank with the 55g sump. Using a 75G for my saltwater.

Like your build thread. Do you have the outside of the stand finished?

 

[Smokeshow]

Like your build thread. Do you have the outside of the stand finished?

Thank you. Stand is still open at the moment. Started back at work and haven't had the extra time to work in the garage. I did get a few more things ordered and will have some spare time next week that I hope to get some stuff accomplished. Need to organize the wiring, finish the cabinet doors, build the canopy and decide if i want to try the mars led lights or go with the 4 buob t5ho retrofit. I recieved my hollywood stunner chalice, a pavona cactus coral and an anthelia coral frag on Saturday. Have a second jebao rw8 wavemaker on the way, an inkbird dual heater control to control 2 200w heaters. Picking up 2 55g rain barrels after work today for better rodi storage than the 32g brute trash can that ive been using. And ordered a rodi upgrade kit that adds a second charcoal filter and a second di filter to help prolong the filter life. May pick up a few more snails and some more cuc to help clean up some of the uglies that are starting to accumulate this weekend

 

[Smokeshow]

Picked up a purple fire fish yesterday.

Also got 3 55g water barrels. Going to build the rack tomorrow. Plan on 2 for rodi storage and the 3rd will be for saltwater mixing. The new filters will be here tomorrow. As well has the new wavemaker and heater controller.

 

[Smokeshow]

Built the stands for the 55g barrels. Ran into an issue when I tried to put the 1" bulkhead through the little port on the top. Ended up cutting a hole in the top. Ill make a lid for them. Thinking plexiglass so I can look down into the barrel if needed. Also decided to make all 3 rodi storage for a total of 165g +/- I have 4 other freshwater tanks between 125 w 55 sump down to a 46g. Ill mix the saltwater in a 33g brute trash can the day before water change.
The bulkheads are on the bottom of the barrels. Seemed like the best place to me. And got the new filters in. Starts with a 1 micron sediment filter, then 2x carbon filters, then 2 di filters. I had one pre-assembled di filter but go 2 refillable cartridges and 2 bags of di resin.
Its in my basement and will use a3/4hp pump with 3/4" fittings to pump the water upstairs for the water changes. And can easily fill a 5g bucket for small top offs.

 

[Smokeshow]

Some updates on the 75. Parameters are holding steady.
Temp 77.5
Sg1.025
Ammona and nitrites 0ppm
nitrates between 0-5ppm
phosphate .03
Kh 9
I don't have a test kit for calcium yet
there's a new polyp on the eagle eye zoa and the pavona cactus has some significant growth. Picked up a pearly jaw fish and what was labeled as a lta from my lfs yesterday. As well has several packs of frozen foods. The chaeto has exploded in growth. Its also very dense. At this rate it'll be ready for a harvest in a few weeks.

 

[Smokeshow]

Started to get this fuzz stuff growing on some of the rocks.

Checked my parameters is everything is at of near 0. Sg is holding at 1.025. Temp is 78. What is it? Is it normal for a new tank? Can or should i try to do anything about it?