KikoenaiW
New Member
- Joined
- Nov 15, 2025
- Messages
- 22
- Reaction score
- 9
- Location
- Las Vegas
- What state or country do you live in
- Nevada
Alriiight here we go. This is my 75 Gallon Mixed Reef thread that I'll try to update frequently in hopes of getting some valuable responses from this lovely community!
I have questions at the bottom.
I started cycling two days ago, on Nov. 18. I've added some bottled bacteria from API and Microbe-Lift. I dosed ~2ppm Ammonia, and after 48 hours, I'm up to .25ppm Nitrite, and 0 Nitrate, with my Ammonia still hovering at around 2ppm.
This is my rock formation!
My equipment is as follows. An HOB filter, one wavemaker (I'm planning on getting another), two 150W heaters and a 79gal cooler hooked up to an InkBird, a protein skimmer, a 75gal/day RO/DI filter, and a smaller heater for heating up top-off water and water change water. For lighting, I ordered a Glowrium light fixture that'll arrive this Sunday. Yay! I still need to get a lid, but I'm not sure if the lighting fixture will affect what lid i'll have, so I'm waiting until I see how it'll go in. I'm also going to get an auto-top off at some point, but right now I have no issue with manually pouring in water.
My current planned livestock additions are:
Snails - many dozen, various kinds. The kinds most available to me are Turbo, Trochus, and Astrea.
Conchs - 3, not sure what kind yet
Hermit crabs - 8ish, mostly scarlets, some blue legs. I had some terrestrial hermits when I was VERY young, and I hardly remember them, but I remember naming them after Yu-Gi-Oh! characters, so I may do the same this time around.
Shrimp - 2 peppermint, 1 cleaner
Emerald crabs - 3 (Love these little guys)
Clownfish - 2 Ocellaris Black Snowflake, this pair specifically, which as of me writing this are on a huge sale! Nobody take them!
Damselfish - 1 chrysipteria springeri
Wrasses - 1 fairy, 1 flasher, not sure of the species yet, it'll depend on what's available to me, but definitely something docile.
Chromis - 1
Engineer Goby - 1, I LOVE THESE! I love long fish. One of the stores near me has some eels but MAN are they big, pretty scary too. My rock is pretty stable so I'm pretty sure I won't run into any trouble with them moving stuff around.
Tuxedo Urchin - 1
Gracilaria hayi - 1, these are just pretty, and i wanted some "plant" life, so what's better than a macroalgae? (seriously, i have no clue.)
For corals, from left to right in my planned positions, which you can see in marker in that picture, though some of that is pretty hard to read.
Anthelia - On that mid-height ledge on the far left. One of my favorites! Super pretty, I love how they move around, I know they can get out of control but I just can't resist...
Kenya Tree - Mid-height, on the large rock behind the Anthelia placement. Super pretty! I love their structure.
Zoas - on the low ledge below the Anthelia and Kenya Tree. I'm basically just hoping for something hardy, but the plasma cutter zoas on BRS are pretty dang cool.
Xenia - On the highest ledge.
Nepthea - In the dead middle on the ridge.
Toadstool leather - Also in the middle, but on the low ledge.
Duncan - mid height ridge, on the rock just right of center.
Bubble - Below the duncan, just right of center, on the low ledge. These are my absolute favorite! im hoping that I won't run into trouble with its sweepers. It'll be about 6 inches away from the toadstool leather, and the duncan will be 6 inches above and facing the opposite way for the most part.
Hammer - On the far right mid-height ledge. It is on a rear rock, it'll really only be close to the duncan, but even they will have ~5 inches apart at minimum.
Caulastrea/Candy Cane - Farest right rock, low ledge. Who doesn't love trumpet coral?
If there is any issues with these lineups that you can spot please let me know!
My general plan right now is to add the snails and hermits once cycling is over with, and maybe giving them some pieces of nori if they need it. After that, it'll be the shrimp and clownfish. Some time after that, will be the zoas, nepthea, and toadstool leather. After that, the springer damsel, and the engineer goby. After that comes the Duncan and the Candy Cane. After that will be the Bubble, then the Hammer. Once they're established, I'll put in the soft corals, Anthelia, Kenya Tree, and Xenia (I'm putting them in late so they don't take over before other things are ready for war).
The big issue I'm having right now is that I have no actualized time frame for any of this, nor do I have any idea of if the order I'm putting things in is correct. From what I know, cycling is done once a dose of ammonia can be converted to nitrate within 24 hours. After that, the snails and hermits. After that, I'm not actually sure how long to wait between each step, or if my planned steps are even "correct". I would love love love some insight on my timeline, and how long things will/should take.
Thank you to all that read this far!
? - When should I turn the lights on? Not immediately I assume because I don't want unneeded algae growth.
- Is that sand deep enough for an engineer goby? I have another 40lbs that I can put in but doing so would cover up the lower rocks that I'm planning on putting some of the coral on, though I also have some extra live rock so I suppose i could simply add more in the front. Thoughts?
- When and in what order do things go in?!
I have questions at the bottom.
I started cycling two days ago, on Nov. 18. I've added some bottled bacteria from API and Microbe-Lift. I dosed ~2ppm Ammonia, and after 48 hours, I'm up to .25ppm Nitrite, and 0 Nitrate, with my Ammonia still hovering at around 2ppm.
This is my rock formation!
My equipment is as follows. An HOB filter, one wavemaker (I'm planning on getting another), two 150W heaters and a 79gal cooler hooked up to an InkBird, a protein skimmer, a 75gal/day RO/DI filter, and a smaller heater for heating up top-off water and water change water. For lighting, I ordered a Glowrium light fixture that'll arrive this Sunday. Yay! I still need to get a lid, but I'm not sure if the lighting fixture will affect what lid i'll have, so I'm waiting until I see how it'll go in. I'm also going to get an auto-top off at some point, but right now I have no issue with manually pouring in water.
My current planned livestock additions are:
Snails - many dozen, various kinds. The kinds most available to me are Turbo, Trochus, and Astrea.
Conchs - 3, not sure what kind yet
Hermit crabs - 8ish, mostly scarlets, some blue legs. I had some terrestrial hermits when I was VERY young, and I hardly remember them, but I remember naming them after Yu-Gi-Oh! characters, so I may do the same this time around.
Shrimp - 2 peppermint, 1 cleaner
Emerald crabs - 3 (Love these little guys)
Clownfish - 2 Ocellaris Black Snowflake, this pair specifically, which as of me writing this are on a huge sale! Nobody take them!
Damselfish - 1 chrysipteria springeri
Wrasses - 1 fairy, 1 flasher, not sure of the species yet, it'll depend on what's available to me, but definitely something docile.
Chromis - 1
Engineer Goby - 1, I LOVE THESE! I love long fish. One of the stores near me has some eels but MAN are they big, pretty scary too. My rock is pretty stable so I'm pretty sure I won't run into any trouble with them moving stuff around.
Tuxedo Urchin - 1
Gracilaria hayi - 1, these are just pretty, and i wanted some "plant" life, so what's better than a macroalgae? (seriously, i have no clue.)
For corals, from left to right in my planned positions, which you can see in marker in that picture, though some of that is pretty hard to read.
Anthelia - On that mid-height ledge on the far left. One of my favorites! Super pretty, I love how they move around, I know they can get out of control but I just can't resist...
Kenya Tree - Mid-height, on the large rock behind the Anthelia placement. Super pretty! I love their structure.
Zoas - on the low ledge below the Anthelia and Kenya Tree. I'm basically just hoping for something hardy, but the plasma cutter zoas on BRS are pretty dang cool.
Xenia - On the highest ledge.
Nepthea - In the dead middle on the ridge.
Toadstool leather - Also in the middle, but on the low ledge.
Duncan - mid height ridge, on the rock just right of center.
Bubble - Below the duncan, just right of center, on the low ledge. These are my absolute favorite! im hoping that I won't run into trouble with its sweepers. It'll be about 6 inches away from the toadstool leather, and the duncan will be 6 inches above and facing the opposite way for the most part.
Hammer - On the far right mid-height ledge. It is on a rear rock, it'll really only be close to the duncan, but even they will have ~5 inches apart at minimum.
Caulastrea/Candy Cane - Farest right rock, low ledge. Who doesn't love trumpet coral?
If there is any issues with these lineups that you can spot please let me know!
My general plan right now is to add the snails and hermits once cycling is over with, and maybe giving them some pieces of nori if they need it. After that, it'll be the shrimp and clownfish. Some time after that, will be the zoas, nepthea, and toadstool leather. After that, the springer damsel, and the engineer goby. After that comes the Duncan and the Candy Cane. After that will be the Bubble, then the Hammer. Once they're established, I'll put in the soft corals, Anthelia, Kenya Tree, and Xenia (I'm putting them in late so they don't take over before other things are ready for war).
The big issue I'm having right now is that I have no actualized time frame for any of this, nor do I have any idea of if the order I'm putting things in is correct. From what I know, cycling is done once a dose of ammonia can be converted to nitrate within 24 hours. After that, the snails and hermits. After that, I'm not actually sure how long to wait between each step, or if my planned steps are even "correct". I would love love love some insight on my timeline, and how long things will/should take.
Thank you to all that read this far!
? - When should I turn the lights on? Not immediately I assume because I don't want unneeded algae growth.
- Is that sand deep enough for an engineer goby? I have another 40lbs that I can put in but doing so would cover up the lower rocks that I'm planning on putting some of the coral on, though I also have some extra live rock so I suppose i could simply add more in the front. Thoughts?
- When and in what order do things go in?!
