32.5 flex mixed reef build

[JNoyes1026]

Hello all!
So this is my second salt tank 1st I have a fluval 13.5 evo that has been running for 14 months. With the 13.5 I have had what I assume lots of you have dealt with ie. GHA, Cyno, water parameter swings, algae issues, bad lighting... while I was planning my building up of the 13.5 i found a fluval 32.5 for sale on FB marketplace (I have shopped tanks for 6 months daily on multiple selling pages). It was a lady that was selling her ex husbands tank because she didn’t want it and was moving. She said the tank had been running for a year and seemed stable just that it was dirty and wasn’t sure if everything was alive. She was asking $150 for it and all the contents. I agreed sight unseen. These are the pictures I got after I asked.
I ran to the store bought some storage totes and charged up a battery pack(ambient was 33F) to run one power head and heater. Made a successful transfer to my home (1hr drive) Here is a video after set up at home.(12/11/20)

I have lots of plans and will add pictures and info as I go.
Hints and tips are very welcomed!

 

[Lebsam225gal]

Good find! I’ve transferred freshwater tanks before but let me know how your parameter fluctuate after doing this with salt. Looking forward to seeing how it goes! Do you plan on transferring from 13.5 to 32?

 

[JNoyes1026]

Good find! I’ve transferred freshwater tanks before but let me know how your parameter fluctuate after doing this with salt. Looking forward to seeing how it goes! Do you plan on transferring from 13.5 to 32?

Yea so game plan is to move my clowns and lawnmower blenny and a torch from the 13.5 over in about 40 days. Then use the 13.5 as a qt tank.
When I moved the tank I took all the water and put it in totes and kept all the live critters and rock in a tub with the heater and then scooped all of the sand out. Directly after adding water I had lots of derius and sediment in the water column so I waited for it to all settle. I added all the critters. It came with a few corals, rbta, lawnmower, sally light foot crab , and 2 Talbot damsels.
Water parameters were ok but not great 2 days in. Ph. 8 alk 8 ammonia 0 nitrite .2 nitrate 40. I added my little ps1 skimmer ran it and did a 5 gal water change on day 5. Parameters were ph 8, alk 8, ammonia 0, nitrite 0, nitrate 20.
So after that I went to the local PetCo looking for some happy swimmers for the tank. I got a sand sifting sea star, handful of snails and a really small brown powder tang(I know they need more room but I planned on only keeping him till he was about 5”). Well day after I got the tang I noticed a white mark on his pectoral fin. ended up being ick. In a little over week i now have 0 fish.
but the corals and my rbta are looking good

 

[Mikedawg]

Good news is that now you can slow down since you don't have fish to take care of and get water parameters, etc. where you want them. May work for you but I've never read anything good about colored/dyed gravel.

Good luck

 

[JNoyes1026]

Good news is that now you can slow down since you don't have fish to take care of and get water parameters, etc. where you want them. May work for you but I've never read anything good about colored/dyed gravel.

Good luck

So I have no clue but it looks a lot like the rock that I have in my 13.5. If it is it’s the caribsea Agra alive Hawaiian black. Yea I am trying to look at it as a slowdown and learning opportunity.
Only bad things happen fast

 

[Mikedawg]

So I have no clue but it looks a lot like the rock that I have in my 13.5. If it is it’s the caribsea Agra alive Hawaiian black. Yea I am trying to look at it as a slowdown and learning opportunity.
Only bad things happen fast

Yeah, the top layer looks like regular colored aquarium gravel and below that looks like the CaribSea. Different grain sizes?

You have already learned the most important lesson in reefing - one I still haven't learned, lol

 

[JNoyes1026]

Yeah, the top layer looks like regular colored aquarium gravel and below that looks like the CaribSea. Different grain sizes?

You have already learned the most important lesson in reefing - one I still haven't learned, lol

Yea the black and white is the same size. The Hawaiian black I put in the 13.5 has a small amount of white in it also

 

[Lsuhunter]

That was a good deal for the tank just by looking at the coral! Good luck with it.