75 Reef Reverse Build

[GhostKnife]

I know its a little odd but I am going to try it. I have pictures all the way through my build. I have not posted them. I was busy getting everything set up over the past 4-5 months. I still want to take a few pics of my new plumbing...I redid the tank as it was all vinyl tubing before and redid all hard PVC. I have a 20gal sump. A reef octopus skimmer. 2 Hydor koralia water circulators(3s). A mag drive 9 return plumbed into a 25 watt UV filter with ball valves to control flow into and out of and I can also bypass this unit all together.

I am going to start with pics I took today. This is the 75 up and running with LR in it.

Ammonia .05 meq/l (Wanted at 0)
Nitrite .1 meq/l (Wanted at 0)
Nitrate .5 meq/l (Wanted to keep below 30ppm)
Alk 9 dkh
Calcium 370 ( I aim to keep around 380)
Salinity 1.024 (I am aiming in the long run for 1.025)

 

[GhostKnife]

Here are some pics and like I say I will go in reverse. I have 75 lbs of LR.

 

[GhostKnife]

 

[GhostKnife]

I want to get a new water test kit. I have a seachem and an api master reef marine test kit. The seachem tests for the essentials but I dont like it. The reef kit test is the test I like i just need more than calcium, phosphate, KH, and Nitrate. Also the seachem gives me Meq/l readings which I then have to convert. Anyways thats what I have now.

 

[GhostKnife]

I have already seen crabs and just saw a shrimp about the size of a green bean. Pretty neat the moon lights are on in the tank now that is when I saw them. I did not think I would see this much right away. I am amazed at the over all condition this rock is in it is beautiful and the shapes are amazing.

 

[melosu58]

Nice looking start.

 

[GhostKnife]

Thanks mel!

 

[Justin1989]

Looking Nice! Werent lying about that LR were ya

 

[GhostKnife]

Here come some more pics...
The next two pics are my new plumbing job on the tank.

This was my old setup before I even started the tank.

This is the way my return and drain line look in the overflow box.

 

[GhostKnife]

My Helpers... This is not my kid btw. My girlfriends brother's. He is an awesome little guy though. The dog is ours.

 

[GhostKnife]

The Dining room was my little fort for a while. At some points it was hard to walk through the room. Im sure many of you know what I am talking about.

 

[GhostKnife]

The sand.

 

[GhostKnife]

I stained the stand myself. The first pic is with one coat on. I did not mix the stain all the way. The original color was a little lighter. The stand is all oak. The second pic is the final stain. There is a big difference.

 

[GhostKnife]

This is the stand and sump.

 

[GhostKnife]

Thats all I have found so far. I do have a lot of pics so I will more than likely post more. I did this thread kind of weird but ive been busy. I do have many questions. I do hope that showing this simple setup will help someone.

The hole in the back of the tank is for wires. It is not actually in the sump itself.

 

[GhostKnife]

The first question is what in the world is this thing...

There are actually two of these little things. The one is larger.

 

[GhostKnife]

Another question would be is it normal to have a little bit of condensation on the inside of the sump. Its a wood stand I am just curious.

 

[Tank2379]

Very Nice.... I like it.

 

[Innovator]

Seems like you are off to a great start The little red "alien" looking blobs are Foraminiferans or "Forams" for short. Say the long form 10 times fast They are filter feeders and quite beneficial. Condensation on the inside of the sump? Is there proper ventilation in the stand or do you have any fans blowing in/out fresh air?

 

[GhostKnife]

No I do not have any fans. Only hole in the entire stand is my 2 in. hole I cut with a hole saw for wires to run in and out. The thing I am worried about is I put an outdoor powerstrip on the inside of the stand. I have been checking for moisture... non yet on the powerstrip yet I dont want to take chances. After looking at the tank what do you think I can do. Fans does not sound like a bad idea. I could put fans on the door on the far right side of the tank. It is a little service door. This would make sense. Its just humid inside the stand/sump area.