James' 75 gallon intro

[FoMoCo Master Tech]

I've been surfing Reefland for months now while attempting to start my first aquarium and realized I've never introduced my setup. After 5 months, I figured better late than never. I'm not quite sure why i decided to start a marine aquarium but im glad i did. So here's my 75 in all its glory (or lack there of).

I bought a used 75 gallon SeaClear tank with the wet/ dry built into the back. I thought it was a good idea at first because i wouldnt have to worry about plumbing and what not but now that im a LITTLE less of a newb i probably would have went with a more traditional set up. Either way, the tank came with a stand and canopy (got all for $200).
I promptly removed the bio balls and left the wet/ dry empty. I cured 115 lbs of Fiji live rock (ordered online for about $260 shipped) in the tank and added 80lbs of Carab Sea "live sand". I came across Reefland and overloaded my brain with all the information i could possibly take. I bought the skimmer made specifically for the SeaClear System II and realized it's a pia to get dialed in. I bought 2 Korilia powerheads (750 and 1050) and a Marineland Stealth heater. Also picked up a 4 ft 4x 54w t5 light fixture with 2 10k's and 2 actinics (wish I would have at least went with a 6 bulb fixture). I followed Lee's setup method and after about the longest 8 weeks of my life, finally added a mix of nassarus, cerith, and astrea snails (also ordered online) as a CUC. I also set up a permanent (for now) 20 gallon qt. After the CUC I went a got 2 cleaner shrimps and an emerald crab. After qt I added 2 false percs. Then i got rid of the $6 crab after it ate a $20 shrimp and thats where I'm at so far. I haven't had any major problems other than what i belive to be hydroids and I just started to monitor cal, alk and phosphates. I want to start adding coral and possibly an anemone but I still have a lot of research to do before heading that route. I'm sure my lighting isn't going to cut it and i want to practice keeping cal, alk and mag in balance first. So what do you guys think so far? I've already been thinking about upgrading to a larger tank with a sump/ fuge but thats just a pipe dream for now

[twisted]

nice set up! glad you started a thread! i also have a 75 and started with a 4 bulb fixture. the nice thing with the 75 is that another 4 bulb fixture will fit real nice! or a 2 bulb, but 4 more is always better. i ran 2 4 bulbers up until last week when i upgraded to an icecap 8 bulb.
its really not to difficult to add a sump or fuge to your tank. when i did my first one i just picked up an overflow and a 10 gal tank and did a dsb,cheato and turned it into a fuge. they go a long way in nutrient control and keep the pods growing and multiplying. i think the setup cost around 100 buks with the return pump and everything.
im not sure if i missed it, but are you running a skimmer? if not, i would highly recommend one. parrothead and many others here use a aqua remora model and think they are great! EDIT-just reread and see you have one
just remember, when you are dosing your tank, never add anything you cant test for. all those suppliments and crap are not needed if you do regular water changes. alk is the most important one to stay on top of. that will make sure that you cal and mag are in the proper solution and stay stable.
thanks for sharing! Good Luck!

[Parrothead]

Looks real nice, you'd be surprised about what you can keep with the 4 bulb set up, I know people keeping sps, lps, and even clams with a 4 bulb over a 75

[FoMoCo Master Tech]

nice set up! glad you started a thread! i also have a 75 and started with a 4 bulb fixture. the nice thing with the 75 is that another 4 bulb fixture will fit real nice! or a 2 bulb, but 4 more is always better. i ran 2 4 bulbers up until last week when i upgraded to an icecap 8 bulb.
its really not to difficult to add a sump or fuge to your tank. when i did my first one i just picked up an overflow and a 10 gal tank and did a dsb,cheato and turned it into a fuge. they go a long way in nutrient control and keep the pods growing and multiplying. i think the setup cost around 100 buks with the return pump and everything.
im not sure if i missed it, but are you running a skimmer? if not, i would highly recommend one. parrothead and many others here use a aqua remora model and think they are great! EDIT-just reread and see you have one
just remember, when you are dosing your tank, never add anything you cant test for. all those suppliments and crap are not needed if you do regular water changes. alk is the most important one to stay on top of. that will make sure that you cal and mag are in the proper solution and stay stable.
thanks for sharing! Good Luck!

Thanks for the ideas. I may have to sneek in another fixture for now. The problem with adding a fuge is that the filtration system is integrated into the back of the tank (one of those all in one systems). Theres an overflow on the left corner that feeds into the built in skimmer housing and then empties into the bio ball chamber. Finally theres a seperate chamber for the return pump. I removed the bio balls and store about 2 handfulls of the rubble that came in my boxes of live rock. I didnt have any space for them in the display area without being an eye sore so i keep them there. I think i can use them as frag plugs when I start adding coral (good idea?). The chamber where the bio balls go is about 24"x 3"x 20" (l/w/h). I wonder if i can add a single bulb 24" fixture over the chamber and use chateo to help with the nitrates (always aroud 20ppm). It just doesnt seem like enough room to really work well. My options seem limited due to the "all in one tank". The good news is that the wife is at least considering allowing me to upgrade to a larger tank. She though after about 2 months and $1200 of me attempting to start my first aquarium, i would fail, give up and use the tank to store used motor oil .

[FoMoCo Master Tech]

Looks real nice, you'd be surprised about what you can keep with the 4 bulb set up, I know people keeping sps, lps, and even clams with a 4 bulb over a 75

Thanks parrot. Its good to hear that i didnt completely waste money on a 4 bulb fixture. I've been kicking around the idea of at least attempting to keep coral and anemone with my current set up. The wife really wants me to get an anemone. Maybe I'll get one, let her get attached to it, and use it as an excuse to pick up another fixture .

[Parrothead]

Wait a few more months before you think about adding an anemone, your tank needs to mature a little more and get all your water parameters in order before you add a sensitive creature like an ane.

If you can, take a picture of the built in filt. system and post it, I might have an idea or two for you there, just need to see what you have there

[FoMoCo Master Tech]

I'll try to get those pics up this weekend during my water change. I'd love some ideas! Ya, still got a while for a nem but I might pick up some Xenia just to spice up the rockwork. I can only stare at pods for so long. I tried to get a shot of a small hydroid colony but its in a bad spot I hope they don't take over.

[twisted]

I'll try to get those pics up this weekend during my water change. I'd love some ideas! Ya, still got a while for a nem but I might pick up some Xenia just to spice up the rockwork. I can only stare at pods for so long. I tried to get a shot of a small hydroid colony but its in a bad spot I hope they don't take over.

you could add some zoas or palays too. just make sure you can keep the xenia somewhat isolated. with all your rock being close together, it could become a xenia tank

[FoMoCo Master Tech]

Alright, I took some pics of the all in one part of my tank. I hope you got some good ideas for me Parrot cuz im feeling like its all but hopeless. I also too a trip to San Jose today and bought some zoas and a few $6 shrooms (ya, im a cheap arse!). I've been monitoring phos, alk, and cal level for the last 2 weeks or so. Cal is around 420. Phos is 0 and alk is 24dkh (high!). I attribute that to the massive water change I had to do last week. I lost an Astrea between the back of my tank and a piece of live rock and I think a fighting Conch died (haven't seen it in about a week). I did an 80% water change cuz the nitrites hit 1.0. Noticed in the new water, the PH was low so I added baking soda. Prolly added too much. Anyhow, I've read conflicting posts on high dkh (some say to leave it and it will balance on its own and others say to do partial water changes.) I'm going to do a 10% in the morning and retest. If it's still high, I think I'll do another 25% the following day. Nitrates still holding at 20ppm so I have to figure something out soon or I'll start freaking out. I know nitrates need to be as low as possible for coral but is it a death sentence for the xenia and zoas?I aclimated the bits of coral for an hour before adding tham and the polyps opened within mins. The LFS Iot them from claim they are watermelon zoas but i got the fealing the guy wasn't too sure cuz he initially called them Eagle Eyes. The price was right either way so I picked them up. I'll get a pic posted later this afternoon. My wife thinks I'm crazy cuz I dragged her to three differed stores in San Jose just to window shop.
I've already compiled a list of palys, zoas, lps and fish I want so now it's just a matter of making it happen (slowly, I might add). Now that I think about it, I think the Alk is high because I added pickling lime to boost Cal for the first time around the same time. nevertheless, I have to get that under control.
UPDATE: I can't get the pics loaded. I'll try later as it is late (or really early).

[twisted]

hey James! cant wait to see the pics! do you have Purple Deaths, tomahawks, fire and ice zoas and palays on your list? if not, they are great adds. im loving the ones i have. just a bit of advice for when things seem off with your tank. take it easy and go slow. when my tank had issues, it seemed when i took drastic measures, they got worse. corals are hardier than we give them credit for alot of the time. your tank isnt loaded with corals so all you should really be doing is regular water changes and maintaining your alk. wc's should keep your cal and mag at good levels without having to dose. i have quite a few corals in mine and still only dose alk with my daily evap replacement water. find a good product for alk, whether it's Brightwell 8.3 dk (i use this one), or something else. just use it and stick with it and let you water changes replenish the other stuff. i think we sometimes over think and over work our tank to achieve perfection. i dont believe that a perfect and always stable tank is best. if corals are used to perfection, when things do go a little south, you experience loss and hurting corals. keep it simple and let your corals tell you what is going on. you'll know when they need something

[FoMoCo Master Tech]

Thanks for the advise and recomendations Twisted! I had Fire And Ice on my list but I'll have check out the Purple Deaths and Tamahawks. I saw you have Sun coral. Do they open during the day? I've read they open mostly at night so I opted for the Orange Dendro. What do you think? I'm really diggin the Candy Apple Orange Palys and Japanise Fruit Loops Zoas. The color is amazing. I havent yet researched the cost of my wish so it might change if the prices are too crazy. Anyway, lemme see if I can get those pics to load.

[twisted]

Thanks for the advise and recomendations Twisted! I had Fire And Ice on my list but I'll have check out the Purple Deaths and Tamahawks. I saw you have Sun coral. Do they open during the day? I've read they open mostly at night so I opted for the Orange Dendro. What do you think? I'm really diggin the Candy Apple Orange Palys and Japanise Fruit Loops Zoas. The color is amazing. I havent yet researched the cost of my wish so it might change if the prices are too crazy. Anyway, lemme see if I can get those pics to load.

my sun polyps open throughout the day but dont stay out all day. to be honest, id go with the orange dendro.have you seen the pink dendro? they are real perrty too! sun polyps need almost daily care as they need spot feeding at least every other day, and its usually a night feeding. candy apples are real nice looking. a friend in my reef club has some and ive been waiting for a frag of them.
the purple deaths are real neat. i got a frag of 4 polyps a little over a month ago and now have about 12 polyps. they get to be the size of almost a quarter and have great appetitites. rainbows are also a nice palay. darth mauls are also cool. if you want to check out lots of cools adds, go to coralpedia.com. you'll have a blast looking at all the flavors of corals you can get

[Parrothead]

Hey James,

First things first, go get a 1.75 Liter bottle of some good whiskey, I recommend Makers Mark, just kidding, after looking at your pics, that 3 inch wide is gonna be the killer, you could put cheato down in there, and light it, I would look into a led light strip sold at lowes or HD, I would not use a 24 inch light strip as you pretty much want the light on the cheato to be opposite the display tank lights, unfortunately trimming back the cheato if it's in those back compartments is gonna be a pita.

Do to the fact you have a wife, as do I, we have to make things pleasing to the eye when it comes to equipment, but you could always get a small over flow box and a 10 - 20 gallon tank to sit beside or under the display tank and a small pump to return, looking at the pics that is about the best opt. you have for a fuge....

[FoMoCo Master Tech]

I think I'm going to try to add a light and chateo to the back of this thing. Better than nothing, I guess. The good news is today the wife told me that she thinks its a good idea to get a bigger tank . Since I've hit my quota of big purchases in the past 2 years (I may have single handedly boosted the economy) by getting married, buying a house, having a baby and buying a suv, I'm gonna have to search high and low for a killer deal and piece everything together slowly. I figure I'll be ready to upgrade in the next 9 months. In the meantime, I'll build on and enjoy what I have now. I still haven't figured out what kind of zoas I have but I like them. I already see a couple of new heads forming. The shrooms I got are looking good but I swear the orange one I have was red when I bought it. Hopefully they'll grow nice and big. I think I need to swap out a bulb or rearrange them cuz the colors seem a bit bland with the daylights on. Anyone think a 10k, a figi purple and 2 actinics will be okay? Right now I have 2 10k's and 2 actinics. The third pic in my last post is with all 4 bulbs on. I don't think the colors "pop" like I want them to.

P.S. I'm not allowed near the tank while drinking after I scratched the heck out of 3 sides with a grain of sand and my magfloat. I'm still trying to buff them out!

[twisted]

on a 4 bulb i like the look from 2 super act and 2 aquablue+ from giesmann. a 10k, 2 act+ and a fiji would also look nice.
it is hard to tell from the pics but the zoas you have look like eagle eyes. i have a few pics of them in my thread. or just check out coralpedia. its a great place to find what zoas you have.

[FoMoCo Master Tech]

That's what I was thinking but some say its hard to tell between eagle eyes and watermellon. Either way I got 15-20 heads for ten bucks so I'm happy. They look like eagle eyes judging from the pics on coralpedia. Either way, they look cool. I gotta keep a look out for the fire and ice. The xenia frag I got attached to a rock on the right side of the tank so I have to make sure it doesn't get out of control. I have so much on my wish list I can't decide what to get first. I think the next fish I want is a midas blenny. I gotta make some time to head to san fransisco. I hear they have some nice stores there.

[twisted]

My advice on your fish adds would be to research each one you are interested in and add your fish according to the aggressiveness. add the peaceful ones first and the more aggressive ones last. most blennies and gobies arent on the aggressive side. i have a bicolor blenny that is a blast to watch. mine loves to tease my maroon clown. his hole is right next to my rbta and he has to time his exits and entrance to his hole inbetween the tentacle sways. whats real funny is when the roon blocks his hole and the blenny baits him away and makes his mad dash to his little hole. the roon has figured out that he can fan the tentacles right on to the blennies hole and keep him in there....or out...anyways, enough rambling

[FoMoCo Master Tech]

Thats awesome Twisted. Can't wait to get a blenny. Holding off on adding fish for now. The wife is all excited to start adding coral. She went and got some more zoas and a paly rock. Picked up some chateo and a blue linkia starfish today. I hope a 3 hour acclimation was enough. Its already moving about but time will tell. Last week was a busy one with my daughters first birthday. It was a blast. Nothing like smoking 55lbs of meat till 3:00 am. Anyways
Had a bit of a disaster trying to buff the scratches out of the tank. Ill have to give it another go next week. Ill get some pics up soon. Just letting anyone who cares know I'm still here

[twisted]

glad you are still around! looking forward to seeing some pics of the new adds. just make sure that if you aren't qt'ing new adds, check them over very well for hitchikers

[Parrothead]

+1 on checking for nasties