GothFishKeeper
Active Member
I didn’t do a build thread on my nano because I had most of it setup before I started regularly using this website, but I’m setting up a 65g as an upgrade so here’s what I got:
Tank: Marineland 65g w/ drilled corner overflow
Stand: I bought a VERY used kind of beat up 6ft stand from a guy on Facebook Marketplace when I was planning on setting up a 150g. But when I decided to do a 65 instead it worked out that I had the stand because the depth is the same on both tank sizes, so I sanded and repainted it and also replaced the trim. I have to put the doors on still but I’m waiting to finish the plumbing first. I’ll post pics once that’s done.
Sump: I decided to keep it simple for now and DIY a 20g long sump with the Fiji Cube DIY baffle kit. I finished sealing it all together last night, so I’ll be cleaning up the silicone with a razor blade and then putting in the socks and water level adjusting plate after work tonight. If anyone has suggestions on water level please lmk.
Return pump: Sicce Syncra Silent 3.5
I’m hoping this isn’t too strong as I’m planning on mostly softies and LPS but with about 5-6 feet of vertical tubing the box says it should be around 350gph. Is that what it should be if that’s the flow rate directly out of the loc line?
Filtration: Filter socks, skimmer, regugium, then a baffle with coarse sponges and carbon before the return. I’m also debating on possibly adding some kind of reactor later down the line, as well as a UV sterilizer. If anyone has suggestions on what type of reactor, along with if I should put it next to the skimmer or outside the sump please let me know.
For a skimmer I’m planning on the Eshopps S-120. Once again if anyone has a better suggestion for a 7.5" x 12" space lmk.
Powerhead: I honestly don’t know what I’m going to use for a wavemaker yet. I really like the Jebao SLW-10 that I have on the lowest setting in my nano (Fluval Evo 13.5) because I can control it from the panel I have mounted to the stand. It was a bit strong for the LPS I have in there, but they adapted to it fairly well. Should I just use the same one on a higher setting, or will that not be enough for a 25" tall tank? This is the piece of equipment I’m really struggling to decide on so again any recommendations would help.
Lighting: I’m going to be using the stock light from my Evo on top of a glass lid for the time being, but in 6 months when I transfer my corals to this tank I’ll be using the light that I have on my nano which is a G6 Radion XR15 Pro.
Heating/cooling: I’m planning on using the inkbird controller that I have on my nano right now, along with the tunze aquawind on there. I have a 100W heater on there which I assume isn’t strong enough for an 85g system, so I plan on getting a larger version of the same one (BRS titanium heating element) when i transfer the controller over in 6 months. I most likely won’t need the cooling aspect until then anyways because it’s now getting colder and I’m in the Chicago area. So any suggestions on a cheap glass heater that would work for this setup would be great.
Stocking: I’m mainly setting up this tank to give my current fish more space to grow and swim, but of course I would like a couple more friends in there.
The fish I will be transferring from my nano are a pair of skunk clownfish (Female is a pink fiji and male is an orange) and a red rooster pygmy wasp fish.
I want to add some kind of bristletooth tang. I absolutely love the white tail bristletooth, but someone said the blue/yellow eye kole tangs do more work on the algae. Is this true?
I also want some kind of blenny… I love canary blennies, but I know lawnmowers are going to do more work.
This just crossed my mind as I was typing out this post, but would a foxface or rabbitfish of some kind do any kind of work on the tank? If so, would they be too large for a 65 that also houses the fish mentioned above?
Lastly I want to add a nem for my clowns. I LOVE the Black Widow BTAs, but I saw something a while ago that said they were aggressive. I’m not sure if that means they’re aggressive towards fish, corals, or other nems that people have kept with them, but I wanna make sure no tank mates get eaten or stung so any info on that would be helpful.
Now for corals:
The ones I have in my nano that I’ll move over in 6 monthsare a golden eye yuma mushroom, a pink goni, a gold branching hammer, and a neon green/yellow frogspawn (there was a specific name the guy at the reef shop told me but I can’t remember). Here are pics of them currently… I apologize for the lack of vibrancy in these pics vs how they actually look.
As for future coral stocking, I want a softie/LPS dominant tank. I would love a torch, but I know they’re hard to keep and I’m a beginner. I’ve considered acans, favia, zoas, green star polyps, duncans, and other kinds of mushrooms, but I’m not certain on anything. I’ll hopefully be building my rock scape tomorrow as long as my inventory manager remembers to order the rocks this time (she forgot last week) but I would like to have a stocking list by then so I can build based on what I plan to keep. Please give me suggestions on intermediate level corals to keep.
Right now I’m planning on having a taller structure and a shorter structure that will be connected by an arch. I’ll be using caribsea dryrock. If anyone has done or seen something similar they’d like to share for inspiration please feel free.
Tank: Marineland 65g w/ drilled corner overflow
Stand: I bought a VERY used kind of beat up 6ft stand from a guy on Facebook Marketplace when I was planning on setting up a 150g. But when I decided to do a 65 instead it worked out that I had the stand because the depth is the same on both tank sizes, so I sanded and repainted it and also replaced the trim. I have to put the doors on still but I’m waiting to finish the plumbing first. I’ll post pics once that’s done.
Sump: I decided to keep it simple for now and DIY a 20g long sump with the Fiji Cube DIY baffle kit. I finished sealing it all together last night, so I’ll be cleaning up the silicone with a razor blade and then putting in the socks and water level adjusting plate after work tonight. If anyone has suggestions on water level please lmk.
Return pump: Sicce Syncra Silent 3.5
I’m hoping this isn’t too strong as I’m planning on mostly softies and LPS but with about 5-6 feet of vertical tubing the box says it should be around 350gph. Is that what it should be if that’s the flow rate directly out of the loc line?
Filtration: Filter socks, skimmer, regugium, then a baffle with coarse sponges and carbon before the return. I’m also debating on possibly adding some kind of reactor later down the line, as well as a UV sterilizer. If anyone has suggestions on what type of reactor, along with if I should put it next to the skimmer or outside the sump please let me know.
For a skimmer I’m planning on the Eshopps S-120. Once again if anyone has a better suggestion for a 7.5" x 12" space lmk.
Powerhead: I honestly don’t know what I’m going to use for a wavemaker yet. I really like the Jebao SLW-10 that I have on the lowest setting in my nano (Fluval Evo 13.5) because I can control it from the panel I have mounted to the stand. It was a bit strong for the LPS I have in there, but they adapted to it fairly well. Should I just use the same one on a higher setting, or will that not be enough for a 25" tall tank? This is the piece of equipment I’m really struggling to decide on so again any recommendations would help.
Lighting: I’m going to be using the stock light from my Evo on top of a glass lid for the time being, but in 6 months when I transfer my corals to this tank I’ll be using the light that I have on my nano which is a G6 Radion XR15 Pro.
Heating/cooling: I’m planning on using the inkbird controller that I have on my nano right now, along with the tunze aquawind on there. I have a 100W heater on there which I assume isn’t strong enough for an 85g system, so I plan on getting a larger version of the same one (BRS titanium heating element) when i transfer the controller over in 6 months. I most likely won’t need the cooling aspect until then anyways because it’s now getting colder and I’m in the Chicago area. So any suggestions on a cheap glass heater that would work for this setup would be great.
Stocking: I’m mainly setting up this tank to give my current fish more space to grow and swim, but of course I would like a couple more friends in there.
The fish I will be transferring from my nano are a pair of skunk clownfish (Female is a pink fiji and male is an orange) and a red rooster pygmy wasp fish.
I want to add some kind of bristletooth tang. I absolutely love the white tail bristletooth, but someone said the blue/yellow eye kole tangs do more work on the algae. Is this true?
I also want some kind of blenny… I love canary blennies, but I know lawnmowers are going to do more work.
This just crossed my mind as I was typing out this post, but would a foxface or rabbitfish of some kind do any kind of work on the tank? If so, would they be too large for a 65 that also houses the fish mentioned above?
Lastly I want to add a nem for my clowns. I LOVE the Black Widow BTAs, but I saw something a while ago that said they were aggressive. I’m not sure if that means they’re aggressive towards fish, corals, or other nems that people have kept with them, but I wanna make sure no tank mates get eaten or stung so any info on that would be helpful.
Now for corals:
The ones I have in my nano that I’ll move over in 6 monthsare a golden eye yuma mushroom, a pink goni, a gold branching hammer, and a neon green/yellow frogspawn (there was a specific name the guy at the reef shop told me but I can’t remember). Here are pics of them currently… I apologize for the lack of vibrancy in these pics vs how they actually look.
As for future coral stocking, I want a softie/LPS dominant tank. I would love a torch, but I know they’re hard to keep and I’m a beginner. I’ve considered acans, favia, zoas, green star polyps, duncans, and other kinds of mushrooms, but I’m not certain on anything. I’ll hopefully be building my rock scape tomorrow as long as my inventory manager remembers to order the rocks this time (she forgot last week) but I would like to have a stocking list by then so I can build based on what I plan to keep. Please give me suggestions on intermediate level corals to keep.
Right now I’m planning on having a taller structure and a shorter structure that will be connected by an arch. I’ll be using caribsea dryrock. If anyone has done or seen something similar they’d like to share for inspiration please feel free.
