My new 65 reef with pics!!!

zachstone13

New member
OK i just learned how to use photobucket.... so here we go

The specs
65 aga rr tank, 120 lbs of figi and tonga rock that bleached quite a bit upon curing
175 watt 10k metal halide, 2 36 inch 20 k vhos
12 hour photoperiod, halide on for 8 in the middle
20 long sump fuge in sump as well
Sealife systems skimmer, upgrade planned as heavy bioload wanted
DP 900 return, i think too much flow maybe, around 800 per hour with head?

erinrandom016.jpg

The tank aquascaping... the rock on the bottom right is a 50 lb rock with a ton of holes...

erinrandom012.jpg

the crocea finally staying put

erinrandom009.jpg

the rbta and crocea, as well as some green algae which really adds to the pic.

more to come...
 
My bioload as of now is
maroon clown who doesnt leave the rbta
foxface lo, hes a hider
longnose hawk
yellow headed sleeper goby
clown goby- loves the leathers

Here are a couple pics of the sump, the skimmer ect. I would like to upgrade skimmers to a very nice one, ie deltec/ aqua c/ suggestions welcome.
erinrandom003.jpg

the sump
erinrandom002-1.jpg

the skimmer
Other fish id like to add are some kind of tang, i know a 65 is small so i was looking into a small one like a kole, but would love a chevron, purple, or blue maybe. Id also like to put in a pygmy angel like a flame or coral beauty or potters, and maybe a ribbon eel. That would be a HUGE bioload i know, prolly not realistic. I should have gone bigger....

Here are just a couple more pics
erinrandom014.jpg

xenia i just picked up

erinrandom018.jpg

the maroon peeking out

I would like to add more swimmers to the tank, the foxface is nowhere to be seen, as you can tell, the sleeper goby and hawk hang out, and the clown is soooo little.

The water is fine too.
ph 8.2
ca 450
alk 3.4
nitrate- almost 0
nitrite- 0
ammonia- 0

Any thoughts or comments welcome!!!
 
It looks like a very nice set up thus far. I agree with you getting a new skimmer.. I don't think much of the Pro-Clears. I lot of people think highly of the Aqua C Urchin, ASM, EuroReef and Deltec. I am skimmerless myself, but any one of the above would be just fine.. I would definitely get one that is rated for more than your tank.

Not sure of what your temp is in your tank, but if you don't have fans in your canopy or if you do and think they are too loud I would suggest using a fan blowing into your sump. One that I like is the 6 inch Lasko fan you can find at lowes for about 13 bucks. It's a verticle tower fan and is a virtually all plastic.. so nothing to carrode or rust.

What's your clean up crew looks like? Some people are fans of just hermits, or just snails, and usually both are used at the same time. I would suggest 1 hermit per gallon or two.. but that's my perconal preferance after using all three combos I mentioned above.

As for your flow no worries.. I am not sure if there is ever too much flow :) - I personally would be more concerned about what my flow pattern is and how it is distributed. Maybe you have a lot more flow in an area where a coral or all of them would like less flow? Things to think about.

HTH
 
Nice tank :)

You should be careful with the battery on top of the skimmer cup. The skimmer's effluent can be pretty acidic and will likely cause the battery to rust and possible melt the skimmer lid and or poison the tank. Try using a diving weight if you need to keep the from popping off, it will be safe around the aquarium. :)

Best of luck!!

-ER
 
Last edited:
carib sea aragonit i think, the smallest grain in the store. The battery was moved a long time ago lol. Just went to the store today, got a bunch of new additions. We picked up a flame hawk, which i hope will get along with the long nose. Its a little one, and with the research i did on here they should be ok. Also picked up a sebae anemone as well, a porcelin crab, another crocea, and a nice acropora. Pics will be up when they all adjust.
 
The cleanup crew is about 20 blue leg hermits, 5-10 red leg, a brittle star, and about 22 snails, 2 being big obnoxious mexicans, the rest are astrea. It is starting to actually look like a real tank!!!
 
Looking good so far. A few questions though, are you using a single MH bulb? Does your tank have a center brace? If so, how did you position your bulb?
 
Yeah it does have a center brace, I decided that instead of taking it out and putting 2 others in, we'd just position it off center for now... there is plenty of light on the tank, and the right center is definetly brighter and grows more algae than the rest of the tank. It looks kind of natural, with a more blue side and a spot with more light. Right now its a 10k bulb, for the next bulb Id like to try 12 or 14k to make the contrast smaller. Im uploading pics of the new stuff i got today, a bright blue ricordia, a nice acropora colony, a flame hawk, a sebae anemone, and a porcelin crab for the sebae, as well as one more crocea.
 
newstuff004.jpg

heres the porcelin crab hosting the new ricordia

newstuff007.jpg

this is the acropora, its my first i dont know that much except alot of light and flow.... it has blue tips.... any tips appreciated.

newstuff020.jpg

this is the little clown goby sitting in the acro, he still has not eaten yet, its been 5 days or so, ive tried all food including live brine.

newstuff018.jpg

i saw a bunch of the guys out together, so i snapped a pic


Is flash photography bad for the clams? They seem like they hate it. Any simple tips, as im not the photographer... it have a simple 5.6 megapixel camera....

Ok, thats all for today, again i appreciate the comments and the tips, you all are such a huge help!
 
Does the longnose hawkfish eat your hermit crabs? I wanted to get one but somebody told me they will eat hermits and shrimp.
 
is that a battery in your skimmer!?!
Its the best venturi skimmer $$ can buy, it sucks up thos batteries.....
the battery was the only dead weight i could find, the skimmate was pusing up the top, it was there for an hour or 2, until i could find something else to hold it down.

Does the longnose hawkfish eat your hermit crabs? I wanted to get one but somebody told me they will eat hermits and shrimp.
Ive had several in other tanks, some will get your cleaners ect, but for the most part if they are well fed, they shouldnt touch hermits and big true cleaners and bloods. I saw the most awesome mated pair of harlequin shrimp in the store, and was going to spring for them, if it wasnt for the hawkfish. Only problem with the shrimp is how the eat starfish, kinda a hassle, but they are sooooo cool looking...
 
Does anyone know how i could disperse the flow more evenly, i have a megaflo and the return is the one that came with it, it branches out into 2. Can i just connect more? Any other ideas, i dont want to ADD more flow, there is a ton in there, with the 800 per hour and another powerhead. Any thoughts?
 
Back
Top