pcdebb's 75G FOWLR

[pcdebb]

I guess it will be fun to keep my own blog of my SW build

I filled it up a couple of days ago and the water is pretty clear, nothing but the aragonite. I plan on getting rock tomorrow. Theres a guy who has some live rock and base rock, so i'm hoping to hear back from him and get a deal. I also got a couple of leads on a protein skimmer with wet/dry. one of the protein skimmers is a PSK100 from Eshopps rated for 75-100 gallons. Any feedback on that brand?

I have my canister filter running right now until I get a protein skimmer/sump/wet dry thing going, and a marineland maxi-jet 600, rated 750GPH. I love these because I can have it as a powerhead or a pump.

 

[melosu58]

Looks like a pretty good start Deb. Good luck on the start up.

 

[pcdebb]

I just got back from getting some stuff. The guy with the base/live rock has an awesome setup, he's got me even more excited! He had bins of DIY baserock that he sold me for next to nothing, and gave me some live rock out of his established tank, even gave me a big scoop of his aragonite substrate. The baserock looks interesting, giving it a rinse and working on the rockscape before putting it in. I also picked up the protein skimmer noted above. that guy is upgrading to a much bigger tank. I may go back and buy the sump from him seeing as I need one (or can I DIY that? petco still has some dollar a gallon tanks)

pics later!

 

[pcdebb]

I've arranged the rock and it looks okay to me. I'm open to any suggestions if I should move something either way. Should I add a second circulation pump on the left side? The one that's in there is a marineland.

 

[shady3210]

I think the scape looks great but I'm sure you will change it 10 more times. Petco is still having their sale so the DIY option maybe cheaper.

 

[pcdebb]

haha yea, I may go back to the guy I got the rocks from and get a few more small pieces from him to sort of build on what I have. I want it to be just right

would a 10 gallon for the sump be good? I dont know if a 20 gallon will fit underneath

 

[shady3210]

haha yea, I may go back to the guy I got the rocks from and get a few more small pieces from him to sort of build on what I have. I want it to be just right

would a 10 gallon for the sump be good? I dont know if a 20 gallon will fit underneath

I'd try and fit a 20 gallon if you can. 10 wont give you much room for equipment.

 

[Ingy]

Is your rock sitting on the sand? If it is you may have problems with fish digging out underneath it and it settling

 

[pcdebb]

Is your rock sitting on the sand? If it is you may have problems with fish digging out underneath it and it settling

Yes it is on the sand. What should I do, set it deep in the sand?

 

[AusAaron]

Yes it is on the sand. What should I do, set it deep in the sand?

tank is coming along nicely. Yeah I'd say bury it down to the glass to be safe. Then u shouldn't get any movement when fish dig around.

 

[kdpuffer]

Good start so far, I like your rockscape. As far as powerheads go you need to decide what your doing with the tank. Are you doing a fowlr(fish only with live rock) or are you going to do a reef and if so what types of coral are you wanting? If you want sps corals you want lots more flow, about 30 times tank volume so you would want 2250 gph. A softie and LPS tank should have about 20 times so 1500 gph and a fowlr is about 10 times so 750 gph. These are guidelines and most people accomplish this with multiple powerheads. I run 3 on my 55g 2 are 1050 gph and one is 1400. I run a wave maker so they alternate being on. Also Maxijets are handy little units but I don't like them in my tank, the suction cups are garbage and they hold the pump up which results in a mess plus I find them very noisy. Great to have on hand for mixing water and auto top offs or even water changes. I prefer hydor koralia powerheads as they are reasonable price and look nicer plus they have a magnet suction cup so they don't move and they run quiet.

 

[pcdebb]

I'm definitely starting as fowlr and I was considering doing corals in the future. I dont know what kind so I have to do alot of research. as I research fish i'm looking to see who is reef friendly or not.

 

[pcdebb]

my salinity is a little high, so I'll be doing some water changes to bring it down. since my corner tank is a tad low (1.020) I may just move the water over to that tank to balance both of them out. Water is crystal clear already, but I've been moving rocks around so it clouds up for a second. so far so good! I'll start doing water tests tomorrow.

I also may need to trade my skimmer, this one is too tall to fit under my tank!! My only other option is to build a special sump that would sit next to it, and I would have to have it covered since I have a cat. I dont need cat hair in the tank lol

 

[pcdebb]

things are much clearer today. gonna add the second pump on the left side for some added circulation. Looking to add a little more rock this week

specific gravity: 1.032
ammonia: .25
Nitrite: .25
Nitrate: 10
pH: 8.4
Alkalinity: 240ppm
Hardness: 300ppm

all was tested with API saltwater kit and strips except Alkalinity and Hardness, those were strips only. SG was tested with a refractometer

 

[pcdebb]

Heeyyy I think I see something moving on one of the purple rocks!!!

 

[pcdebb]

is this "living"? on another rock there is something that looks like a teeny teeny tiny fan or something moving around

Live rock - YouTube

 

[pcdebb]

finally got my salinity down to a good level, and i'm in the middle of a diatom stage. I think I see some hair algae as well but it's very minor right now. will closely monitor all week, think I may try a fish or two soon

temp: 84
salinity: 1.024
pH; 8.4
ammonia: 0
nitrite: 0
nitrate: 0

 

[pcdebb]

added a few blue-legged hermits today. they were 99 cents they should have fun with the hair algae i'm starting to see

 

[pcdebb]

changed my lighting to a 50/50 actinic blue/10,000k daylight bulb. makes the blue damsels look incredibly blue! added a few more rocks

 

[NightHawk-33]

changed my lighting to a 50/50 actinic blue/10,000k daylight bulb. makes the blue damsels look incredibly blue! added a few more rocks

did u put your actinic bulbs at the back or front?