Xxero's 65g Upgrade/Transfer

[Xxero]

I finally made an upgrade from my 40 breeder! Not much of one, but at the same time, it's a much more complex system.

Last photo of my 40 breeder:

New Set-up Specs:

Display Tank: 65g Marineland Reef Ready Corner Flow - 36 x 18 x 25
Macro Algae/ Refugium: Aqueon 15g Tower - 14 x 14 x 25
Sump: 40g Breeder

SoOo, like most in this hobby, I recently got the itch to make a tank upgrade. I didn't really want to go that much larger display wise, but I wanted to create a more complex system overall. I'm also not made of money, so in designing the new system I tried to keep to the same dimensions in order to utilize a lot of my same equipment. The new display tank has the exact same dimensions as a 40 breeder, but it's 8 inches taller. This being the case, I was able to re-use my same light fixture, pumps, etc. and re-use the 40b as a new sump.

I am also a BIG fan of display refugiums, so I incorporated a new 15g tower to suit those purposes. It is tied into the sump and the main display using my old Eshopps overflow box, and I plan on growing various macro algae in there. For now, it is the new home of my poor Emerald crab who has been in sump prison for over a year. He really seems to like it in there!

It starts with a stand - Based off of RocketEngineer's stand template:

Here's everything unwrapped and cleaned up. I built the refugium system separated from the main just in case things didn't work out or just in case I changed my mind in the future. The stand and plumbing were constructed for ease of removal:

3 days prior to transferring everything over, I added new water, new sand, and a few rocks from my old sump to the new tank and Fuge. Taking everybody's advice, I wanted to make sure to match temperatures and water parameters as best that I could:

Transfer day (last Sunday) went well enough, but I always dread this process. It is stressful for the livestock and it makes me a nervous friggin' wreck. I did take the opportunity though to rid myself of a few things that I no longer wished to keep: 3 Pajama Cardinalfish and a Blue Tuxedo Urchin to be exact. They were bagged and donated to my LFS, but everything else made it over to the new tank safe and free of harm:

The water is still a little milky from the new sand and my Goby's incessant churning:

The 40 breeder cleaned up and re-used as a sump. I decided to go the NO BAFFLES route. With the sheer size of the sump and the spacing between the skimmer/intake/return, I have seen no micro-bubbles in the main tank or the refugium. My skimmer's running water level is forgiving and things stay topped off all throughout the day. Please overlook the power cord nightmare. I still haven't had the chance to get organized in that department:

Emerald crab enjoying his freedom:

I measured and counted every drop of water that went into this new system, something that I have always overlooked to do in the past. After live rock, sand, plumbing, etc. I have an overall total of 96 gallons in the new set-up. The main display holds 53 gallons; the refugium 13; and the sump stays at a consistent 30. Between the refugium and the display tank, there is approximately 70 pounds of live rock. The Fuge has 20 pounds of new sand at about 4 inches deep, and the display took 40 pounds - just enough for my Watchman Goby to play around with.

Current Livestock:

* Ocellaris Clownfish Pair
* Diamond Watchman Goby
* Red Head Solon Fairy Wrasse
* Sailfin Blenny
* Red Serpent Seastar
* Pom-Pom Crab
* Misc. Mushrooms, Torch Coral, Stylophora and Birdsnest Corals.

The new system is approaching the 1 WEEK mark and everything is doing well so far. I took a series of water parameter tests this morning, and it appears that I am going through a small cycle of sorts:

Temp = 78
SG = 1.025
pH = 8.0
ammonia = .2
nitrite = 2
nitrate = 2
mag = 1120
alk = 8 dkh
cal = 430
phos = undetectable on API kit

Magnesium is low and I'll keep an eye on the mini-cycle going on, but everything else seems pretty okay to me.

It's really true when they say that "Every tank is different". Even though I was able to re-purpose a lot of my old equipment, rock, etc., this new system is definitely a unique monster all on its own. I have spent the better part of this last week fine tuning valves; adjusting powerheads; and monitoring water parameters, all of which are very different from what I have been used to in the past. It has been a fun little challenge to say the least.

 

[krusieski]

very nice upgrade


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[Xxero]

Thank you so much, Krusieski!

I haven't really been a big fan of the taller tanks in the past, but I'm really enjoying this one. The fish seem to appreciate the extra depth as well.

Next step will be to finish out the stand. Can't wait! :bigeyes:

 

[ksigaekdb]

I'm interested in seeing how you finish out that stand with everything setup already! Is the plan to just skin the sides and add doors?

 

[Xxero]

I'm interested in seeing how you finish out that stand with everything setup already!

That makes 2 of us! :lmao:

I haven't put much thought into it, to be honest. But 'yes', basically. Skin it, add doors, etc. but nothing too fancy.

It's funny because I like all aspects of this hobby so much that I don't really even mind the bare bones as it stands now. When I sit and watch my tank, I find myself spending equal amounts of time looking at the sump and gizmos. When the DT lights go out, I will sometimes turn the sump lights on just to have something to stare at. :bigeyes:

 

[Xxero]

Insignificant Update.

Insignificant Update.

I'm bored, so I thought that I would post an update w/ parameters.

There's really not too much to tell. Tomorrow marks WEEK 3 with the new system, and I've just kind of been letting things settle down a bit. I did have to make a few tweaks to the Marineland tank though:

The corner overflow is designed with a removable cover that allows for both surface skimming and mid-level water intake. The design is good in theory, but I was getting pathetic surface skimming no matter what I did to try to fix it. It seems that the mid-level vents are much longer than the teeth at the surface or something, so you end up with more water being drawn in from below. I tried to just increase the return pump flow hoping to push more surface water into the overflow, but it would inevitably end up being too much flow which produced the dreaded gurgling/surging in the standard overflow pipes. I even widened the air intake hole on the top of the overflow pipe, but nothing seemed to help.

After a little internet research, I covered the mid-level vents up and the problem went away:

The water parameters have been stable so far, and all of the tank inhabitants seem to like their new surroundings. The initial mini-cycle lasted less than a week, and I haven't seen any traces of Ammonia or Nitrites since. Nitrates crept up to around 7ppm last week, and now they're up to 10ppm as of this morning. Tomorrow is water change day though, so this number will probably get knocked down a tad. My Magnesium is still low, and Calcium has only gone down by 10ppm. Alkalinity has been at a steady 8 dkh.

Well that's about it. I plan on finishing out the stand next weekend, and I am really excited about that. I think I finally know what I want to do, so now it's just a matter of making it happen. Happy Reefing! :bigeyes:

Little Sailfin Blenny...Easily one of my favorites:

 

[Xxero]

Weekend Stand Work

Weekend Stand Work

Well I finished the stand out this weekend, and I think that it turned out pretty nice:

I was trying to replicate this internet pic:

I liked it because with the planks being spaced, it would allow for plenty of ventilation down in the sump area. I also liked it because it kind of reminded me of cabinets you might find on an old pirate ship. :bigeyes:

 

[Xxero]

Macros!

Macros!

Plopped in my first macros for the Fuge:

Red Dragon's Breath (Halymenia sp.) from one of my LFS.

Caulerpa Prolifera from Gulf Coast Ecosystems.

I was very impressed with the C. Prolifera order received from GCE. Their portions and packing were fantastic. I will probably stick with these two Macros for now and see how they do, but I would definitely order more from them in the future. :bigeyes:

 

[Reefpuck]

Looks great! Love the stand too. I was originally going to go with a 40g breeder, but I'm leaning towards the 65g now. I like the idea of the larger water volume you get with the same width dimensions.

 

[Xxero]

Looks great! Love the stand too. I was originally going to go with a 40g breeder, but I'm leaning towards the 65g now. I like the idea of the larger water volume you get with the same width dimensions.

Thank you!

I would definitely go with the 65. It doesn't seem that much bigger than the 40 breeder, but that's 25 extra gallons to play with! :bigeyes:

 

[Xxero]

Weekend Additions.

Weekend Additions.

A small update, but lots of pics:

I went ahead and made a small harvest of the C. Prolifera Macro. I noticed some of the leaves going translucent, so I removed about half of what you see left here:

I left the Dragon's Breath alone, but I can already see a few new sprigs growing:

I also purchased a new occupant for the Fuge:

Orbic Cardinalfish (Sphaeramia orbicularis):

Poor guy has been at my LFS for about 6 months. I felt like he would make a perfect tenant for the Fuge:

I also found a healthy Kenya Tree specimen at one of my local Petcos. If you look at their new stock right after their delivery days, sometimes you get lucky:

I'm still not sure where exactly I'm going to place it in the tank yet. I just plopped it on top of a rock for now:

That's all Folks! :bigeyes:

 

[Xxero]

90 Days

90 Days

The new system has reached its 3 month mark, and things are going well so far. Here are a few changes along the way:

Last weekend I made the decision to evict my Red Head Solon Fairy Wrasse. I have had him for about a year and a half with no issues up to the point of transfer. But for whatever reason, the guy went rogue ever since moving him over to the new aquarium. He became very aggressive and generally territorial over the whole tank, and he took to darting at all of the other inhabitants. I tried to trap him with no success whatsoever, so I ended up removing all of my rockwork in order to net him out. I can never get my rock set back up the way that it was, but here is the after result:

It's been a week without the bullying, but the other fish still seem a little skittish. The Wrasse even had the Ocellaris pair separated to opposite sides of the tank at one point.

The Orbic Cardinalfish is doing well, and free from all the drama:

Macros are thriving:

Made another small Macro order from Gulf Coast Ecosystems. Added Cymopolia Barbata and a handful of Dwarf Cerith Snails:

Remember the Petco Kenya Tree Coral frag I found?
20 Days Ago:

This morning:

Water change tomorrow, but that's about it. Happy reefing! :bigeyes:

 

[Xxero]

Pseudo-Update: w/Pics!

Pseudo-Update: w/Pics!

Not too much to tell, really. After removing my rocks to get to the Wrasse, I really wasn't happy with my aquascape arrangement. So last weekend I re-arranged a few things (during an Earthquake, no less!):

I stacked things taller and sloped things more off to the right...I think that I like this better:

The Macro-fuge is doing well:

The 3 Macros that I have seem to grow at an equal rate at the moment, but the C. Prolifera's roots like to travel around:

Side view:

I really like the C. Barbata. The tufts remind me of dandelion petals:

I hadn't even noticed, but my Torch coral has grown 2 new heads...up from 3 to 5:

I moved the Kenya Tree down onto the sand for now. I think that I will let it grow out some more, and then start cropping/attaching some of the frags:

I guess that's about it. Water parameters have been stable except for a small spike in Nitrates a couple of weeks ago. I think that was from taking all of my rock in and out of the tank the other day. They appear to be on the decline, but I still keep a watchful eye. :bigeyes:

 

[Spunky Bob]

Tanka looking really good, how did you get the coraline algae growing so fast on the back!!

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[Xxero]

ThanX! :bigeyes:

I have read that Coralline algae grows well with stable Magnesium, Alkalinity, and Calcium levels. I have also read that Phosphates need to be pretty much non-existent for Coralline to thrive. And I have heard that lighting has little to do with its growth.

In this tank, water parameters have been stable from day 1, so I attribute that to the Coralline's quick growth. I have also had this system's Magnesium levels ramped up to around 1500-1600ppm. I believe this might also have something to do with it. And I also like to keep my Calcium at around 450.

But I think that lighting does have a little something to do with rapid growth. If you look at the front view picture of the Macro-fuge, you can see that the right side glass panel is almost completely covered in Coralline algae. I haven't cleaned the glass in the Macro-fuge once since I set this system up, but the Coralline doesn't really grow on any of the other 3 panels. I believe the overspill of T5 lighting from the display tank is what makes it thrive on that side (based on nothing but common sense and observation), so it is my opinion that lighting does play a factor in things.

 

[Xxero]

Critter Update!

Critter Update!

A couple of new additions...

New Toadstool:

Added a small handful of Caulerpa Mexicana to the Fuge:

And a Valentini Puffer fish:

So far he is a model citizen...and just too friggin' cute! :bigeyes:

 

[Xxero]

October Harvest

October Harvest

Nothing new to report for the display, but the Macro-algae tank is thriving. It seems the Red Dragon's Breath even outgrows the Caulerpas...

3 months ago:

This morning:

 

[Xxero]

Autumn Pics

Autumn Pics

No news to report...More of a photo update. Just kind of sitting back right now watching things grow, swim, and eat. The tank has a really "healthy" feel to it, and I'm pretty content with that. :bigeyes:

I found a Macro hitchhiker the last time that I harvested the Dragon's Breath. It's purple and I think that it might be Bryothamnion???

 

[Xxero]

6 Months!

6 Months!

Here we are at the 6 month mark, and I really couldn't be happier with things. Well, I guess I do want to upgrade my skimmer soon and I might incorporate a couple of reactors somewhere down the line. But for now, I am content.


Harvest time for the Macros again. I still don't know what the lavender stuff is, but it grows like crazy:

Poor Orbic is out of swim room:

New Yellow Polyp Colony addition:

Very healthy specimen, and I can't wait to watch them grow:

6 month sump pics (never been cleaned!):

Everything seems healthy and happy and eerily in balance. (Knocks on wood) :bigeyes:

 

[Xxero]

Reaped!

Reaped!

Wow! What a difference. That was a very large bale! :bigeyes: