75 Gallons of Entertainment! The build begins...

[TanksNStuff]

Well, months after a heartbreaking experience with a 135g tank cracking on me while making it reef-ready in the garage... I finally got into the hobby.

I went into the details of my new setup in my first post here but since this will be my official build thread I will copy/paste it here and then keep this thread updated as I progress. Any comments, tips, suggestions, etc. are welcome as this is my first fish tank and although I read a lot of info on the net... nothing replaces actual experience.

Anyway, I just bought a 4-month old used Oceanic 75 Gal. Reef Ready with a nice 32" high stand that has a nice 8-switch power panel mounted inside, 48" Nova Extreme T5 (10k Daylight and Actinic combo), 30 Gal. Sump w/baffles, Mag 9.5 return pump, 250w "Stealth" heater, and a small clamp-on light with a Helical 26w compact fluorescent bulb (for the fuge compartment in sump), and a digital thermometer. Plus, I got all the live sand and about 50 Gal. of the water from the tank. I also bought the lone clown fish that was a previous tenant of the tank. Old owner said they loved the T5 lights... and when I saw the beautiful corals they had in the tank I can see why. Can't wait to get my own!

So, I have enough to get the tank started and it's currently setup and running. I added about 40 Gal. of salt water to the tank (mixed using water from my new 4-Stage Ro/Di) and I made sure the salinity of the mix matched what I brought from the old tank before putting it in. When the tank was full to proper level and I was able to run the sump pump, I tested the PH, Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate (all were in the proper ranges with the ATI test kit) and temp is holding at 76F. I added the clown fish after I felt like the tank was stable and he has been swimming happily for about 48 hours now. He has eaten some flakes yesterday and today, so I don't think he got too stressed with the tear-down/move. By the way, the overflow plumbing was set up perfectly on this tank with no noise at all and no "waterfall" action inside the corner overflow section. The light fan has a little bit of a hum, but other than that the tank is silent as can be.

I know I need to add a good skimmer and a good powerhead (temporarily using a Rio 1400 but want a Vortech or similar), and eventually an ATO among other equipment but my wallet just got a little lighter over the last couple days, lol.

I also just bought a 20 lb piece of cured Live Rock at Aquarium Center (LFS) and have about 30-40 lbs more in smaller pieces that I want to add once I make sure it doesn't have any copper in it (I tried to cure it before using non-rodi mixed salt water and it all turned green - not sure if that means copper, but I want to be safe). LFS suggested I clean it all with acid and vinegar to bleach out any possible copper, then bring up the water to be tested. (Is this a good idea? and where would I get the acid?)

Well, that's my experience so far. If anyone has any tips or knows of a good deal on a skimmer or powerhead suitable for a 75G tank, please let me know.

Here are some pics:

Full Tank/Stand Shot. That's the 20 lb piece of live rock in the middle... I may reshape the sand bed when I put the other rock in -

Stand/Sump. I may change the hinges on the doors so they open all the way, but otherwise this stand rocks! -

Closeup of Sump. Skimmer chamber is 10.5" x 11.5" w/32" cap room, Fuge is 12" x 11.5" x 11" H (Needs Cheato?), Return section is 9.5" x 11.5" x 9" H (Have a filter bag w/ carbon in it)-

Live Rock I will add later. See all the green pieces? -

Nemo! -

 

[TanksNStuff]

Sorry the pics are a bit large. Photobucket links are embedded and I don't know the code to change the size. I'll try to put future pics in a separate post so it doesn't create horizontal scroll bars (at least it does on my monitor resolution here at work, not sure if it will for everyone.)

Oh, since I'm already making a 2nd post here, might as well give some info on my next few steps of the plan. I'm not just winging it! ;D

I'd love to go buy some fish/corals to give my clownfish some company... but I think my first priorities are making sure I have proper filtration and a "cycled" tank so the livestock has a healthy environment to thrive in.

So, first thing I'll do tonight is do a copper test on the saltwater that I washed a few pieces of live rock in. I used a maxi-jet to spray the gunk off and then scrubbed them with a toothbrush and then let them soak in a bucket overnight. I took an initial copper test with a salifert kit and it was clear so no sign of copper yet. I figured I'd let them sit in the water for at least 24 hours and then test it again to see if any leaching occurred. BTW - I noticed a few fleshy tubular worms in the rock. They were dead since I've had the rock out of water for about 4 days, but they were still soft so they must have been living when the rock was curing in the non-ro/di salt water for months. Are these good or bad to have?

If no copper is present in the bucket tonight, I may let it sit another 24 hours and test again to be safe. I'm also considering taking a small piece and putting it in a separate bucket with vinegar... and then testing that too. I'd rather not use this extra rock at all if there is any copper in it but I'd like to be able to use it since I have a bunch, it's expensive, and some of it has red/purple coralline algae growing on it.

If after all that there are no signs of copper, I will start to bond some pieces together to make a nice landscape in the tank. (Another reason to hold off on livestock... so they don't get disturbed by the landscaping project.)

Once I get some rock in the tank (or before that if I can) I will get a protein skimmer going in the sump. I've been looking for a used one on a few forums and just trying to find the best one for my budget. I also want to get some Chaeto for the fuge chamber of the sump to help with feeding, etc. The powerhead will be next on the list and once that is taken care of (and my system is safe for new additions) I will go get some livestock and let the real fun begin. My girlfriend has already picked out like 10 fish at the LFS, so I better get a move on, heh.

OK, so my basic plan is:
1. Get LR in the tank / landscaping
2. Get a Skimmer going and some Chaeto in the sump/fuge
3. Get a VorTech or Tunze powerhead
4. Populate it
5. Water changes and testing along the way

Future plan (when my bank account can breathe again)
6. ATO - can't see a reason not to have one except for $$ right now
7. Auto Controller - I'm a newb and need all the technology available, lol
8. Other stuff I don't know about yet. ???


I will keep updating this thread when I can and post pics, etc. for anyone who wants to follow along.

 

[ricwilli]

Welcome to the forum. The setup is coming along nicely. You are off to a good start. All I can say about the dead rock is test it, test it and test it before you put it in the display tank. I would even go as long as two months, testing it twice per week as well as doing water changes.

 

[TanksNStuff]

Thanks for the welcome, comments, and advice ricwilli!

Ugh, 2 months? ??? I'm willing to be patient if need be, but is there any way to determine whether even a small trace of copper is present in that rock in a shorter time span? If I need to wait 2 months to be sure on that rock, then I'd probably rather just get new rock instead (cured or uncured). Being patient is one thing, but prolonging the inevitable is a waste of time IMO.

Is there a way to force any copper content to be leached so that I can test for it? Would acid or vinegar do that? Also, would it be possible for only a few pieces that were in the curing tank to have it and not all? Or, would it affect the entire lot if any? Just wondering if I need to be sure on the whole batch or if I can just sample test on a few pieces.

Actually, I have all the water that the rock was curing in for 6-8 months still in that tank. I guess the rock would be OK to use if I tested that and found NO traces of copper? To be honest, I didn't do any water changes in the past 4 months or so because I didn't think I was going to get back into the hobby. So, if that water is copper free, then I should be safe, right? Don't know why I didn't think of that to begin with.

Thanks again for the input.

 

[arvin]

Besides copper, you would also need to test for ammonia, nitrite and nitrates. Invest in a good test kit or your lfs can test this for you.

If you dont want to wait for too long, then you can buy some more live rock (really live) and mix it up with the dead rock that you have now. You can also buy nitrifying bacteria to speed up the process. Either way, you should test and make sure that your tank is free of ammonia, nitrates etc.

 

[TanksNStuff]

Thank you for the reply Arvind!

Yes, I will have to test for those too. My main concern right now though is to determine if the rock I have will be worth using at all (won't be if I find any copper at all). I'd rather not buy more if I don't need to, which is why I want to find out ASAP. If there is no copper, I will then test for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate as per your recommendation before adding to the display. Is there anything else that I should check for while I'm at it?

I have an API test kit that I bought a while ago (high range pH, Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate). I know it's not the most accurate but until I get going I plan on using it up. I will most likely check the display parameters daily for the first week or two, then cut back as long as everything doesn't change or spike. So far, everything has been reading in the acceptable ranges. As far as getting a quality test kit, what do you all suggest for this and where is a good place to get it? Is it better to buy tests for a single element or buy a "kit" that has everything? Are some brands more accurate than others for certain element tests?

Right now, all I have is a single clownfish, a 20 lb piece of LR, and any organisms that survived in the 50 gallons of water and live sand I took from the previous owner when it was taken down. I'm thinking of it as a 4-month old environment (minus the livestock) with about a 40% water change and hoping that it will remain "cycled" until I start adding more livestock. The old owner had some algae in the sump too but kept it for his other tank. There are also a few snails and a tiny starfish that I have found already... and a handful of tiny "tadpole" looking things swimming in the sump (noob question - are these copepods?) I'll try to get a pic of them tonight, but no guarantee my camera will be able to get a good shot. But my point is, I don't think I have much of a bio-load to deal with yet and don't expect any spikes.

I will certainly report any water quality changes as I go along here. Thanks again for the reply Arvind!

 

[ricwilli]

If the rocks have been in the same water for 6-8 months, than you should be able to test that water for copper.

 

[TanksNStuff]

Thanks ricwilli! That's what I figured too. I just tested it about 10 minutes ago and the results were negative (0.0 ppm copper) so that's a relief! I'll start soaking that stuff again in a clean batch of salt water and then do the basic testing / water changes / testing until it's ready before putting it in the display. (Guess before that I will bond them together first too.)

However, when I got home today, I noticed there is an orangish/pinkish colored covering over the majority of my sand bed, and some on the back wall too. Also, if you look closely, you can see micro bubbles rising out of the sandbed. Is this a good thing or a bad thing? I'm guessing it's an algae bloom beginning.

I just ran the basic 4 tests and pH, Ammonia, and Nitrites were all in normal range but Nitrates were at 10 ppm. Apparently I do have some bio-load going on, eh?

So, do I let the tank correct itself now or should I add anything to lower Nitrates? And what's the deal with the covering on the sand bed?

Thanks in advance for any input.

 

[TanksNStuff]

Here are some pics of the orangish/pinkish covering on the sand bed (The blue atinics sort of distort the actual color... but you can at least see what I'm talking about.):

 

[ricwilli]

That algae bloom is probably caused by the sand being moved. It should go away fairly quick since you have only one fish. Water change will help as well. Though it might come back when you put in the rocks that you been holding in tap water. Just keep an eye on the parameters and the fish.

 

[TanksNStuff]

Thanks again ricwilli. I really appreciate you tagging along here.

Last night, I used a long handled glass cleaner and lightly cleaned it off the back panel. This was one of the cleaner pad type, not a scraper. It got it off pretty easily, but it basically just rubbed it off and into the water.

I checked again this morning and the algae bloom didn't get any worse. Then again, the lights were off all night. I will see what happens when I get home tonight. Should I try to siphon it off the top of the sand bed, or let it fix itself?

As for the spike in Nitrates... I happen to have a jar of Nitrate sponge that someone gave me. Should I put some in a media bag and add it to the sump, or should I just let it go for a day or so to let it finish cycling?

I also noticed this morning that my filter sock on the drain is getting pretty dirty. I took it off to clean it, but when I did the drain started making tons of bubbles in the skimmer chamber. I put it back on and decided I'll go buy another tonight, switch it, and then clean the dirty one. I'll also pick up some more media (micron) bags and some epoxy for the rock project while I'm there.

 

[Jcurry@wesketch]

Don't bother siphoning the algae at this point, just let it grow and burn itself out. Your tank is very young and will go through many different types of algae blooms in the coming months. The best way to keep your nitrates down is with water changes. Personally I'd stay away from those chemicals like nitrate sponge, chemi pure etc...The only thing they clean out is your wallet. Water changes with RO filtered water will cure anything that's wrong with a reef tank.

 

[TanksNStuff]

More input is always welcome. Thanks Jcurry!

I'm glad I asked about the Nitrate Sponge before I put it in. I guess that stuff might help if I was in an emergency situation and had extremely high Nitrate? I'll just let the tank ride it out then. Been wondering all day what might happen with the algae while I was at work. ???

I'll do a water change tonight then. I have about 90gal. total including the display and the sump, how much do you think I should change out? 25%, 40%, more, less?

I have about 25 gal of Ro/Di Salt mix already made up, think that will be enough?

On another note, I just agreed to buying an AquaC EV-120 skimmer and will be able to pick it up Sunday. Not as soon as I had hoped, but it's progress!

 

[Jcurry@wesketch]

There was an article in Advanced Aquarist magazine about the percentage of water for an optimum water change. I won't bore you with the math or charts and graphs, basically they showed that 30% was optimal for a bi-weekly water change.

Don't worry about the algae it will come and go in all different colors and forms. When you start adding chemicals to "fix" things you end up screwing up your water chemistry and then stuff starts to die. It's a mistake every beginner makes. If you haven't opened the nitrate sponge yet see if can return it and use the money towards more salt or a high quality activated carbon.

I've never owned AquaC but it's usually one that is recommended by others. Don't worry Sunday is soon enough with only one fish.

 

[TanksNStuff]

I prefer to ask first before doing anything I'm unsure of. So if I make a noobie mistake it's most likely someone else's fault, hehe. Just kidding!

Anyway, I did a 15gal water change (that's all the salt-mix I had left, I need to make more tomorrow) and then ran all the tests again about 15 minutes later. Everything appears to be in normal range again, so either the algae is correcting the nitrate spike or the water change did, or both. Whatever it was, I'm a bit more relaxed now.

The algae bloom is now turning brownish and is now looking like hair growing out of my substrate. The algae appears to only be on the surface of the crushed coral though and a bit on the glass walls. There are still some microbubbles on the surface of the crushed coral, but a lot less than yesterday.

I can't return the nitrate sponge because it was given to me as an open container and some was already used. I'll just put it on the shelf for a rainy day I guess.

The clownfish has been acting slightly weird the last 2 days. He's been hanging around in one corner of the tank, underneath the powerhead. He comes out and swims around briefly once in a while, but for the most part he seems to always be in that spot. Is this normal? I thought he might prefer to hang around in the center, near the large piece of Live Rock... there is even a little ledge that he could hide unde. I thought it might have something to do with the powerhead running... but even if I turn it off for 5 minutes, he still hangs around the same area. Any thoughts?

Thanks again for the reply.

 

[Jcurry@wesketch]

The algae will use nitrate as a food source along with phosphate. That's why you can have a tank covered in algae and test 0 for nitrate and phosphate. The water changes will export the nitrate & phosphate before the algae can use it and eventually starve it. Remember that beneficial bacteria is still establishing itself which will also help control the nutrients in time.
The clownfish hosts in sea anemones in nature and are not really free swimmers. They tend to stay within a few inches of their host anemones at all times. Without a host anemone they will still exhibit their instinctual behavior but substitute somethin else for the anemone. Sometimes it's a different type of coral or macro algae. In your case it's the powerhead. As long a it's bigger than the slots in the powerhead it's not in any real danger, they can live without their anemone in an aquarium. Don't run out and buy an anemone, they are difficult to keep in an established tank and nearly impossible in a new tank. When you start adding more corals in the future it'll probably adopt one as a home.

 

[TanksNStuff]

OK, so if the nitrates test 0.0 and there are no microbubbles left, will the algae die off? How will I know when it's dead? Will it just detach from the sandbed and float into the water? Will I have to siphon it out, or should I at any point?

I'm glad to hear that Nemo is doing something he is supposed to, hehe. I was afraid he was hanging under the powerhead because something was wrong with either him or the tank. I was also considering that he just needed some company and almost went and bought another fish.

I'm not getting any types of corals for a while, at least not until after the skimmer and new powerhead are installed. I also still have my rock project that I want to finish before adding corals. Beyond that, yes, I want the tank to be established before I get into adding corals.

Thanks for the reply Jcurry. Wow, can't believe my thread made it to page 2 already.

 

[JRWOHLER]

Don't worry mine always hung up in the corner near the power head. Since the introduction of the second Mrs clown they move out and about and she hosts the anemone that we recently introduced to the tank.

 

[TanksNStuff]

Thanks for stopping by JR! Glad to hear yours is more active now with a friend. Maybe I should get mine a mate?

Is there any way to tell if my clownfish is male/female yet while it's alone? I don't know if this one was with others and/or if it has changed to female before I got it (came with the tank). I guess I could just make sure I get a male for the new one, then nature would take care of the rest.

 

[JRWOHLER]

They change sexes so the bigger one becomes the female, and if my pair is any indication the dominate one. Much like homelife ;D. In any case someone like Barry might be able to tell you how to sex them but sorry I cannot.