new fowlr/reef sumpless build need input

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greaver83

Aquarium Advice Freak
Joined
Oct 19, 2011
Messages
233
Location
trinity north carolina
Ok so i got a 75 gallon with an extremly nice stand on c list and im looking at doing a sumpless reef i ordered the lights 2x54w t5ho 48" and an ac11o today i will be ordering a skimmer first of the week an hob style i will be making all of my own live rock from an agrocrete recipe i found online to be tried and true i like the idea of being able to customize each piece and knowing it doesnt have any nasty hitch hikers i am looking at power heads now 1) i was wondering what power head setup would be best 2)if 125lbs of live rock would suffice 3)if an ac110 fuge mod and skimmer would be ok as far as filtration 3) i use black diamond blasting media in all my fw tanks with no adverse affects i was wondering if seeded with some live sand/rock if it would turn to "live" sand after awhile and lastly would i be able to grow any types of soft coral under the dual 54w t5ho's one 10k and one acentic blue i know everyone is going to recommend a sump but i just cant do a sump for one the extremely nice cabinet wont allow for it and 2 i really dont want to have to worry about a flood on my nice hard woods any and all help would be appreciated because this will be my first attempt at sw and it will be a very slow build
 
wow for your first sw tank it sounds like you have done your research good job.

first of what its this recipe you are talking about for your live rock.

for your power heads you just bed them to be cycling all you water you want good flow through out your tank. your lights should be fine to support some Coral life like xenia corals and blue ridge Coral and you should be fine with some mushrooms to.
 
yes that should be plenty of live rock not sure about the sand thing. all i run for filtration is a sea clone100 protein skimmer and water change for my 55. hope i helped you a little let me know its you have any more ?s
 
Yuh i like to do my research on things before i jump in you should see me when im buying a new car lol. I like to get it right the first time and this community has a wealth of knowledge to draw from a wise man learns from other peoples mistakes :)
 
Yes the sand will turn live with LR. Get a couple lbs of LR to seed the rock you have. 125 is more than enough. I had 110 in my 150. Im up to 130 and will be getting to ~150. Hydor koralias are great powerheads. Theyre also not too expensive. I personally think you could keep mushrooms zoas and leathers under that light. I kept an anemone under pretty low lighting for 1 month and it was perfectly fine. I would get any LPS or SPS or clams or nems, but I think you should be fine with leathers shrooms zoas etc. If you have anymore ?s feel free to ask. GL!!!!!
 
125 lbs of dry base rock is alot of rock and once it soaks up the water it will weigh atleast double
 
thats a good point gti i havent taken into consideration the wet weight of it when they say 1.5lbs per gallon is that its dry weight or its wet weight when i make the rock i was just going to use up the whole bag of cement and make a bunch of interesting shapes and stack it in until it looked like enough i like lots of rock i also know surface area is more important than weight
 
thats uysually wet weight when peopel say 1-2lbs per gallon of live rock. i personally wouldn't go by weight i would go by what actually suits the look of the aquarium best generally when you put enough rock in to make good platforms and caves for corals and fish is usually enough to meet the requirements for good filtration.

on another note i had 19lbs of live rock in my 26g for 8-9 months before i added my cured lace rock in which was 8 lbs when it was dry and soaked up 3.5 gallons of water in a 5 gallon bucket
 
It has begun I went out and picked up the tank today hot it home the seals looked a little weak so I went ahead and resesled them the guy I got the tank from totally has a lfs in his basement with tons of stuff super cheap supplies and live stock he threw in 25lbs of live rock and 75lbs or so of live sand from a system he just got done tearing down so I'm going tomorrow to grab some instant ocean and as soon as the silicon gets set I'm going to start the cycle and start making my own lr if your near high point nc you have to check out reef critters on Warner rd In Kernersville here are some pics I'm still waiting on the Skimmer lights and ac110
 

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It has begun I went out and picked up the tank today hot it home the seals looked a little weak so I went ahead and resesled them the guy I got the tank from totally has a lfs in his basement with tons of stuff super cheap supplies and live stock he threw in 25lbs of live rock and 75lbs or so of live sand from a system he just got done tearing down so I'm going tomorrow to grab some instant ocean and as soon as the silicon gets set I'm going to start the cycle and start making my own lr if your near high point nc you have to check out reef critters on Warner rd In Kernersville here are some pics I'm still waiting on the Skimmer lights and ac110
 
OK guys I'm about to start adding water ina few hours do i figure the sg by the bucket or do just mix like the bucket says and adjust once it's in the tank
 
Water is in just put enough to cover the rocks and sand because I'm going to have to move in a few weeks when the guy comes to pick up the fw. Setup I sold him do I bbs to do anything special to keep the lr alive other keeping the sg correct and using power heads
 
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