Stblindtiger’s 75 Gallon Reef Tank

[Stblindtiger]

I cut a few pieces off the end of that return (last picture) and raised the end of the return to only sit in the water 1/2 inch deep. That should help prevent too much back flow overflowing the sump if the check valve fails.

 

[Stblindtiger]

I updated my light, got rid of the canister and hang on the back filters, added a sump, and finally added some fish to the tank... I also added a CUC and some Chaeto so I thought it was a great time to update the build thread! What do you think? Any issues with these coral and fish being successful future additions to my tank???

Equipment List:
-Aquarium: Used Non Drilled 75 Gallon with CS50 Siphon Overflow (attached Kohler Aqualift 3 GPH Pump to prevent losing siphon)
-Wavemaker: 2 Hygger 2100 GPH Magnetic Powerheads
-Salt: Red Sea Fish Pharm Coral Pro Marine Salt
-RO Filter: Max Water 6 Stage 100 GPD RODI System
-60 lbs of Nature's Ocean Coral Base Rock
-1 Medium Piece of CaribSea Original Life Rock
-Cabinet: Custom made Wood Stand that came with Aquarium
-Amazon Basics Standby UPS 800VA 450W Surge Protector Battery Power Backup
-Display Tank Lighting: 2 SMATFARM 95 Watt G5 Aquastar LED's

-Sump/Refugium: Custom 3 section 15 Gallon (20 Gallon Total Capacity) Glass
*Section 1 of Sump:
-Mechanical Filter: Bubblefin Pre-Sump Filter Sock 4"
-Skimmer: IOAOI Hang on Protein Skimmer for tank up to 80 Gallons
*Section 2 of Sump:
-BioFilter Media: Little pieces of rock/shell/dead coral, and Fluval BioMax Filter Media scattered along the bottom
-Heater: 2 Hitop 100-Watt Adjustable Heaters
-Chaeto
-Refugium Lighting: Hygger 24/7 6 W LED mounted 6" above Chaeto on the outside of Refugium Lid
*Section 3 of Sump:
-30 PPI Foam pads in last set of sump baffles to keep Chaeto in
-Return Pump: Hygger 2120 GPH Saltwater Aquarium Submersible Pump 24 V w/ Controller

-ATO: F-Zone Auto top Off System with Dual Optic Sensor
-2 Gallon Reservoir

Livestock List:
Current stocking:
AlgaeBarn's Poseidon's Feast (Live Copepods)
Daily dose of AlgaeBarn's Ocean Magik (Live Phytoplankton)
Coraline Algae (Pink bottle added 1/30/23, Purple Bottle added 2/17/23)
Daily dose of Brightwell Aquatics Coraline Accelerator (Multi-Nutrient Supplement)
2 Maroon Gold Stripe Clownfish (2/16/23)
CUC: 7 Cerith snails, 8 Nassarius snails, 7 Margarite snails, and 8 Nerite snails (2/16/23)

Possible Future fish/Invertebrate additions:
Paired Wheeler Goby and Pistol Shrimp (future addition)
Bubble Tip Sea Anemone (future addition)
Royal Gramma (future addition)
Lawnmower Blenny (future addition)
Blue green Mandarin (future addition)
Exquisite Wrasse (Future Addition)
Leopard Wrasse (Future Adition)
Yellow Tang (future addition)
Linckia Blue Starfish (Future Addition)
Maxima Blue Clam (Future Addition)


Future Coral additions (very tentative... haven't researched a lot about these yet):
Zoas (future addition)
Hammer coral (future addition)
Torch Coral (Future addition)
Acropora Coral (Future Addition)

 

[ElementReefer]

How do you like sump life versus the other filters?

 

[Stblindtiger]

How do you like sump life versus the other filters?

It was definitely fun putting it together, and getting it up and running! If the Chaeto can help slow down my water changes, I will like it even more!

It definitely looks a lot cleaner without seeing all the equipment in the tank. It's also nice not having all the microbubbles from the skimmer in the water as well. It can get annoying if I have to use the shut off valves and then need to get the pumps/valves tuned to the same rate so that the water is draining in at the same rate as the return pump is pumping it back out again. I put marks on the valves to help me get it back up and running if I ever have to move them again.

I just did a water change though and I didn’t have to mess with the shut off valves too much. Just shut off all the pumps, and let the water drain into the sump until it lost its siphon, drained out 15 gallons, refilled with 15 gallons of new saltwater and then just turned the pumps back on. Had to play around with the one shut off valve, but got it back in time pretty quickly.

I have been debating adding some kind of "y splitter" in to better utilize the return pump for water changes, but I don’t feel like playing around with that just yet.

Hopefully at some point I will be trying to add nitrates into the system, but for right now, at what level of Nitrates should I be doing a water change?

 

[Stblindtiger]

So the next step in my tank's story has been wrapping my head around water parameters.

I found the attached ideal water parameters, purchased a ph and TDS meter, the Red Sea Reef Pro Test kit and gathered the following test results:

Ideal Rates

PO4..........Kh............Ca..................Mg.........NO3.........PH...........Salinity...........Tds

.01-.03.....8-12.....380 - 450.....1200-1400...1-20......8.1-8.3.....1.023-1.026......0

My Measured rates:

PO4............Kh........Ca.......Mg.....NO3..........Ph........Salinity....Tds from RO filter.....Tds tap water

.12...............7.8......300.....1400....16...........8.12.......1.023................2...........................220


It's been a struggle to get my Nitrates down to at least 16. I've done 2 water changes in the last week... one of 15 gallons, and the second was 30 gallons. (They were as high as 75 at one point!) I'm hoping the Chaeto will start pulling my nitrates down as it grows. I've swapped out my drain sock for a cleaned one, and swapped out the sponge in the last baffle for a new one so I'm hoping the Nitrates stay down.

The clownfish finally started to eat some of the mysis and brine shrimp, and I added into the rotation some pellets from Pricine Energetics. I have some fresh frozen food from bulkreefsupply set to be delivered on Friday. I'll try the garlic mixed in with some of that when it arrives to add into the rotation as well. Happy to see them start to eat the freeze dried food though!

I put an order in to DrReefsQuarantined fish for an Anemone, shrimp, Lawnmower Blenny, and Yellow Watchman Goby, so they probably won't be delivered for at least 4-6 weeks from now. Time enough for me to build some guards for my wavemakers, but should I do anything about these results? Some are within/close to ideal, but others are still a bit high??? Looks like I need to lower my phosphates, so I guess that is my next step now before I add any more fish! Anyone have any luck with SeaChem Phosguard? I plan to add some of that into the first set of baffles of the sump next. Hoping that will solve my Phosphate problem...


Thanks for all the help everyone!