Back in reefing after 15 years - 75 gallon new build canister filtered!

[MDReefguy]

6 days post water change, parameters are:

Salinity 1.025
PH 8.2
DKH 9
CA 420
Phosphate .04
Nitrate 2-3

 

[Leslie_Orphek]

th

NICE!!

Just keep up with cleaning out the canister and it will be fine.

If you need inspiration for what a canister filter can do. Check out this tank

this is pretty awsome for a cannister, i must say as "reefers" we discount the capability of this piece of equipment and forego a perfectly working unit for a reactor 3 x the price and still need to add a pump..

 

[MDReefguy]

Been awhile since an update, tank is moving along nicely, hit 5 months yesterday. Added some livestock and corals, including some emerald and pithos crabs, a pair of Occelaris Clowns, Exquisite, Linespot, and Pink Streak Wrasse, all from @Dr. Reef. Had to slowly acclimate the wrasses, I was worried about the salinity difference so I did it over 3 hours to get them up to 1.025. Wrasses (all 3) ate while accliamating, settled in immediately and never hid, and now zoom all over the tank. Thank you Dr. Reef!

I started dosing All For Reef, and think I have it dialed in now. Haven't water changed in a month, CA at 420, Alk at 9, Mag at 1350, Ph 8.2, Nitrate 5, Po4 .06. Little bubble algae but the crabs are slowly controlling it, no other problems!

Also, I run skimmerless, I have a Tidal 55 with Polyfloss I change every few days, purigen and chemipure blue in it as well. Fx6 canister with 1 of the sponges, and the rest rock rubble and matrix.

Flow is the filters plus 2 Nero 5's.

Lighting is 2 Kessil A360x's, and I recently added a 39" AI blade grow, which provides nice fill!

Also caught the Pithos crabs breeding which was kinda cool!

 

[Ryebreadiest]

Awesome tank! Anything you would do different at this point?

 

[MDReefguy]

Awesome tank! Anything you would do different at this point?

Thanks! I think aesthetically I would have used a finer grade sand, I used the special grade and its a bit chunkier than I'd like.

For Equipment, I think I would have gone with a 3rd Kessil for better coverage, but I didn't want to hang the lights and I have a center brace so a light in the middle wasn't possible.

Honestly its all pretty easy to maintain and I don't tinker much now!

 

[MDReefguy]

Another update, Just hit 6 months on the tank.

Parameters have stabilized,

Nitrate: 12
Phosphate: .06
Calcium 420
Mag: 1250
PH 8.2
Alk 8.0
Salinity 1.025

Things haven't moved much from those numbers since I started dosing AFR.

I do a 10% a month water change, and don't mess with it much now. Found a giant flatworm hammering my torch corals which had both receded. A few dips and I think they are rebounding, but moved them to a frag rack for observation.

Added a derasa clam, and my final fish, a Tomini Tang from @Dr. Reef.

Stocking list is:

Neon blue goby
Firefish
Tailspot Blenny
Pair Osc clowns
Royal Gramma
Chalk bass
Linespot Wrasse
Pink Streak Wrasse
Exquisite Wrasse
Tomini Tang

The final Tomini tang came in today, and as all fish I've received from @Dr. Reef, ate day 1, never hid, no issues.

Thanks for reading

 

[MDReefguy]

Update time,

Things still going well, very little algae. Have dialed in the TM all for reef to hold me pretty stable at 8 Alk and 420 Ca. Tank has settled in at .05 phosphate and 13 or so Nitrate. 10% water change every 2 weeks, change some filter pads and that's about it.

Had my 1st loss, Tomini tang ended up with a really swollen eye, and went downhill quickly. I think in hindsight it was an injury, but he was still new and maybe couldn't handle the stress of shipping, the injury, and all that. Anyways, left the tank as it was for a month, everyone else was good, and swung by my LFS yesterday.

Found a white tail tang they've had for a few months, ate well in store, had been hit with copper and dips, they were a bit sad to see their "pet" go, but a win for me. Good looking community member that has fit right in!

 

[MDReefguy]

Updating here for my own journal, tank is doing great. Had some minor Dinos that turned into cyano, and still fighting that, but it's not terrible. Switched out to a sump and Eshopps overflow, was able to add a skimmer and refugium and the tank is definitely more stable.

Lost my White tail tang to a skin infection of some kind, he had it in the store but they dipped him and it had cleared. The infection came back in my Tang, but didn't affect anyone else. Have added corals, a Biota Cleaner wrasse, Biota yellow tang, and Sunburst anthias, all settled in nicely. Also SPS starting to grow! Digitatas, Monti Cap, Pocellapora, Leptosera, Anacropora, and a Stylo.

 

[Reefer Brent]

Would love to see the plumbing you did for the overflow and sump. Is it quiet?

 

[MDReefguy]

Would love to see the plumbing you did for the overflow and sump. Is it quiet?

It's somewhat quiet, I have a "Maggie muffler" coming Friday to see if that helps. I just used the flex hose that came with the eshopps box to drain, and a flex vinyl tube running off my return pump. I also stuck a piece of airline tubing down the overflow drain to give the air a place to escape. Most of the noise is from it draining in the sump, which lands underwater, but then overflows from there, and I don't have floss or a sponge or socks in it. My brother in law is 3d printing a piece for me so I can add a sponge to quiet it down, but its not horrible, at least for me.