Mojo's 65g build

[mojo~]

Well its kind of come full circle for me here. I had saltwater fish for some time but my first real reef tank was a 65g tank years ago. I have since changed many times moving up to my 100g rimless miracles tank I sold. Life put me in a situation that I felt it was best.

Well things have gone well for our family and feel comfortable doing a nice little build. So I didnt want to go too big as all the parts are just that much more expensive. Now that we have had our baby I want to keep it scaled down for now. So it will be a 65g tank.

So far I have the 65g perfecto with corner overflow
20g long for sump
eheim 1260 return pump
Bubble magus dosing pump ( mounted it in my 40 breeder but never hooked it up.

BM storage containers 2.5l each

jager 200w heater
For lights I am going to use a mixture of T5's and reefbrite LED's Should give me the best of both worlds

Vortech MP40w es I like that they finally put on a on off switch on the controller

Reef keeper lite
And last but not least I am going to be running a reactor with some new biopellets from ATB.

I actually have a small container of the Warner Marine pellets I was going to try and then was able to get my hands on the ATB pellets. So it will be nice to be able to compare them as well. I have used the np biopellets in the past but did not really have the best results with them. I am going to be keeping a close eye on things with the new pellets.

More to come as I am waiting on the stand and canopy. So in about another week to 10 days I should have some pics of things coming together.

One thing I have done that I havent in the past is I started building some rock work. That way it will stay upright and not tumble down. I have used 2 part epoxy putty to put it together.

Well I ll leave you with my a picture of my first attempt at a 65g. Gosh I remember getting one of the first octo nw 110 skimmers for it and how I thought I was big time..... LOL . live and learn We will see if I can top it now years later......

old 65

So as you can see mostly softies. and was running a 36 in current sunpod. 2x150w mh.

Again,More to come and should be a nice little build. Not doing top of the line everything. trying to save some money where I think it can. Like going with the RKL over the elite and going with a used 20g long for the sump.

Mojo~

 

[epleeds]

nice to see you get back into things...im sure this will be looking great within no time.

 

[WhoDey64]

Good to see you getting back into it, was stunned when you sold the custom so soon after setting it up, but I understand that life sometimes prioritizes things for you....

 

[mojo~]

never really left, just kind of a knee jerk reaction to a possible turn in the finances. But all is good.

Stand and canopy should be here any day. So Ill be getting pictures and posts as this unfolds.

Mojo~

 

[solitude127]

I may have missed it, but what kind of skimmer will you be using?

 

[mojo~]

update !

Stand and canopy came in today. I was able to mount the light fixture and LED in the canopy tonight.
I was also able to mount a small light in the stand so I can see what I am doing.
I also put the baffles in the 20g long. Nothing fancy. Pictures tomorrow of the progress.

Skimmer will be a bk mini 160. But I have room to try out some other toys in there too. But the mini 160 should fit it nicely.

 

[imagex]

saw you did some nice skimmers in the past so why not make your own skimmer?? not worth it?? or the bk 160 that much better then it??

 

[mojo~]

I no longer have access to a lathe to make my own skimmer. So I bought the bk mini 160.

 

[Highlandjedi]

cant wait to see your new setup man

 

[mojo~]

working on it again this morning. I ll get some pics uploaded as soon as I can. Having some vortech issues with the move. So I had to throw my tunze 6045 in for now.

 

[Ritten]

Sweet. Love the aquascaping and also really like the stain on that stand.

 

[mojo~]

alright a few pics to share. here it is sitting

lights

few coral shots.

 

[mojo~]

 

[Gondore]

Looking good Jesse! When you have more time can you post more pics of your lighting?

 

[mojo~]

Thanks Dave, What would you like to see ?

Ok, So I am running 4 t5's just what I had on hand.
Uvl super actinic
ATI blue +
ge 6500
ATI blue +

With the Reefbrite LED mounted in front. Even with the 4 bulb t5's the LED fixture adds color to the tank. I like them so much I am planning on ordering another one and mounting it in the back of of the T5's. After that I will order some bulbs so I know what I will need. Probably will run the 2 aquablue specials a ATI purple plus, an ATI blue plus and the two reef brite strips.

I am going to go measure the phosphates and see where they are so I can monitor how the New ATB biopellets are doing too. We just had a club give away here local and we gave away some Warner Marine biopellets too. It will be interesting to see how things go for the other users too.

I have emptied the skimmer cup twice already. both times it was filled with more of a milky white NOG. it is starting to brown up now. But I am sure its from all the new dry rock dust and hence the cloudiness in the water.

Everything is looking pretty good.

Thanks for checking it out.

Mojo~

 

[mojo~]

Well trying to get my phosphates down. The rock I had dried out and I am sure will take some time to get things dialed in. They were .13 then spiked up to .22 I am running biopellets but e new rock might be more than the system can handle on its own. I added some GFO to see if I can get it under control.

 

[PurpleMonster]

nice, loving that BK Mini, i really want to replace my BM150 pr with a mini 180 but funding always hurts when it comes to these nice buys lol.

oh yea and one question where did ya get the Containers if you dont mind me asking ? im using some old 2part containers that i mix my diy 2 part in but i'd liek to be able to see how much i have left

Thanks.

 

[mojo~]

got them from socaltropicalfishoutlet they carry a lot of really nice stuff. order from them and premiumaquatics usually.

 

[PurpleMonster]

Thanks for the info, much appreciated.

 

[mojo~]

Ok, I got my second Reefbrite strip in from premium this week. I finally got it mounted this morning. I cant say that it is a ton brighter with the second one but I do have a much better Spread with the Blue Led's. I am really liking them. The color pop is amazing. Now I will have to see what T5's I am going to run with them. Currently I am using 2 ati blue +, a uvl super actinic and a ge 6500. I will most likely drop the uvl super and replace it with a ati purple +/ fiji purple/uvl 75.25. I may even take out a blue plus and replace it with a aquablue special. Ill have to see.

Phosphates have been a issue with the rock I have used being dried out live rock. started at .11 then climbed to .16 and all the way to .22 . Things are on the downhill swing now and today they were .09 So when I can get them down to about .02 or less I can stop changing 5 gallons of water every other day. lol. When I get the phosphates dialed down Ill get the reactor plugged in and start using it. but with so many water changes I dont think I am needing to add alk or CA at the moment.

well thats all for now.
Ill get some updated pics up here soon too.

Mojo~