Rimless 75g reef build. From the ground up!

JcStark87 · Jul 14, 2015

RafaelsReef said:
Over a year later.

Oh wow man. What a transformation! Looks great

dmort · Jul 17, 2015

+1 to reef cleaners dry rock. Great value. And you could have a yellow eye kole tang in there no problem.

Picturesque Aquatics · Jul 17, 2015

Very clean looking! That protein skimmer does a heck of a job, good choice.

s2nhle · Jul 17, 2015

Live rock do have some unwanted stuffs in there. So be careful.

JcStark87 · Jul 19, 2015

Exciting moment for me this weekend! Finally added water to the tank. Had a small leak at first but just needed to tighten the nut for the receiving line. Can't wait for it to clear up

RafaelsReef · Jul 20, 2015

JcStark87 said:
Exciting moment for me this weekend! Finally added water to the tank. Had a small leak at first but just needed to tighten the nut for the receiving line. Can't wait for it to clear up

Tank look great. Decided on the rock yet? Aquascaping could be a pain.
Shows up your sump set up

JcStark87 · Jul 21, 2015

RafaelsReef said:
Tank look great. Decided on the rock yet? Aquascaping could be a pain.
Shows up your sump set up

Thanks I appreciate it! I ordered 75 lbs of live Fiji rock. Comes in Thursday. I've been watching tutorial after tutorial of ideas. We shall see lol

revhtree · Jul 21, 2015

Great build!

Harold Green · Jul 22, 2015

JC, just curious as to why you didn't buy florida live rock. It normally costs around $5 a lb and is usually covered in encrusting sponges and coralline algaes. I've order several times and even with air shipping it's cheaper than local dry rock. The tanks going to be really impressive. Good luck with the build.

JcStark87 · Jul 22, 2015

Harold Green said:
JC, just curious as to why you didn't buy florida live rock. It normally costs around $5 a lb and is usually covered in encrusting sponges and coralline algaes. I've order several times and even with air shipping it's cheaper than local dry rock. The tanks going to be really impressive. Good luck with the build.

Personal preference I suppose. I wanted live rock over dry rock I knew that. The majority of live rock that I wanted you are put on s waiting list. Visually appealing I prefer Fiji rock over Florida. To each there own I suppose. But thank you Harold green! Do you have Florida live rock in your aquarium?

JcStark87 · Jul 22, 2015

revhtree said:
Great build!

Thank you revhtree!

Aleks · Jul 23, 2015

Hi! What are your plans for the aquascape?
I'm also going to remodel your reef.
Very interesting. Beautiful interior!

Harold Green · Jul 23, 2015

JC I don't want to sound like an ad but I've purchased Florida live rock three or four times over the years. Never more than a few days wait and it was overnight shipped to the nearest airport. Last time I ordered I asked for rock with live corals and I received rocks with brain corals, ivory corals, and tube corals all of which are still growing a year later. The rocks also had crabs, snails, sponges,and lots of clams that survived shipping. Last order lacked the many glass anemonies and tube worms that earlier batches had but still nice rocks. I'm trying to convince myself to not be so lazy and do a build thread but unfortunately I didn't think to take pictures of the stand construction. Very clean build you have going and I'm sure it's going to be a beautiful reef.

b4tn · Jul 23, 2015

This looks amazing! I love how you have have your lights hung. I am currently building a 75 as well and haven't figured out how I am going to hang my lights and keep the wife happy yet. I wish I could get my tank that close to the wall I would do it the same way.

JcStark87 · Jul 23, 2015

Aleks said:
Hi! What are your plans for the aquascape?
I'm also going to remodel your reef.
Very interesting. Beautiful interior!

I have no idea. Just gonna wing it and not overthink it. I'll post photos tomorrow night. Rock comes in tomorrow and I can't wait!! And thank you

JcStark87 · Jul 23, 2015

Harold Green said:
JC I don't want to sound like an ad but I've purchased Florida live rock three or four times over the years. Never more than a few days wait and it was overnight shipped to the nearest airport. Last time I ordered I asked for rock with live corals and I received rocks with brain corals, ivory corals, and tube corals all of which are still growing a year later. The rocks also had crabs, snails, sponges,and lots of clams that survived shipping. Last order lacked the many glass anemonies and tube worms that earlier batches had but still nice rocks. I'm trying to convince myself to not be so lazy and do a build thread but unfortunately I didn't think to take pictures of the stand construction. Very clean build you have going and I'm sure it's going to be a beautiful reef.

That's cool bud! I'm glad you enjoy the Florida live rock. Again to each their own. I don't want all the extra guests with my rock. Personally I like a little more control on what goes in my tank. I enjoy the look of Fiji. Thanks for your comments and following my build. Look toward to seeing your aquarium!

JcStark87 · Jul 23, 2015

b4tn said:
This looks amazing! I love how you have have your lights hung. I am currently building a 75 as well and haven't figured out how I am going to hang my lights and keep the wife happy yet. I wish I could get my tank that close to the wall I would do it the same way.

Thanks! I appreciate your comment. I bought the hangers at Home Depot. They're flower pot hangers lol. Solid metal. You can get larger (longer) ones so you can have your tank further away from the wall. They come in many different styles too. Believe I spent $10 on both. Very inexpensive!