Brazilian 65 gallon almost a cube

[ReincidentReefer]

Hello,

My name is João and I'm from and live in Brasil. After a couple of years away from reefing due to a couple of reef disasters I've decided to star a new reef tank.

It's a 65 gallon custom made that I plan to have fishes, inverts and mixed corals.

Display: 65 gallons (28" x 28" x 20" height)
Sump: 24" x 16" x 16"
Return Pump: OceanTech 792 gph
Circulation: OceanTech 1585 gph (it seems much less than this so I will add a new circulation pump, stronger than this one and will use them both)
Substrate: 50 pounds of OceanTech Bahamas Sand
Rocks: 36 pounds
Skimmer: OceanTech Eco 120 (265 gph)
Lights: OceanTech LED Solara 90W
Salt: AquaForest ReefSalt

I am using a temperature controller but didn't set up heating and cooling yet, the tank is maintaining around 78.8 Fahrenheit (26 Celsius). And using a "power strip" with one fuse on each outlet for safety.

Here are some photos of the hardscape I did on the LFS:

And here is the final product, couldn't do the same scape (looked like different rocks when I got home hahaha):

PS: The dark spots on the substrate are Life Source from the first time I applied it wrongly and it didn't dissolved completely.

Side view:

With lights (didn't adjusted it yet) on just for the picture:

Sump, I am using a couple of OceanTech nano Block as biologic filtration:

Temperature controller and "power strip", ATO sensor on the right:

I started cycling it on 11/01/24 only on display because my return pump wasn't here yet and the whole system on 11/04/24. I've been dosing 3 drops of AquaForest Bio-s daily and a teaspoon of Aquaforest LifeSource weekly, lights off, skimmer on the 7th day.

There is still a lot to work with wiring, organization on the sump, etc.
These are my parameters yesterday (Red Sea Tests):

PH: 8.2
Amônia: 0.8
Nitrate: 0.2
Nitrite: 10-20
KH: 7
Temp: 36
Salinity: 1024-1025

Not sure what happened, can't delete this last image.

Would love to hear opinions, critics and tips.

Thanks.

 

[Gumbies R Us]

Following along!

 

[ReincidentReefer]

Following along!

Nice to hear that, new updates coming soon!

 

[ReincidentReefer]

Hello,

On 17/11 I made some tests and got these results:
PH:8
Amonia: 0
Nitrate: 20-50
Nitrite: 0.5
KH: 7-8
Salinity: 1025
Temp: 24,7

Also started to turn the lights on for 4 hours a day.

On the next day I added a heater to my temp controller and was able to get the temp up.

Today I was curious and tested the nitrite, weirdly is on 1, even though two days ago it was on 0,5 and Amonia still 0. Should I do something about it (like a water change) or is it just part of the cycle?

Thanks!

 

[ReincidentReefer]

After some research about nitrite and a thread on the forum , I decided to slowly start to add livestock.
I added a pair of Ocellaris, one Black storm and one regular and a little frag of zoanthus rasta (11 polyps).

The Zoa opened a couple of hours after I put in the tank and it's looking good. The fish are a little picky with food, they get it then spit it out and mostly swimming close to the glass. Probably part of the adaptation right?

Zoa:

Clowns:

I'm struggling a little bit with the lights setting, can't get a color that I'm 100% satisfied yet. Personally it looks much better than in the pictures, not a good photographer here hahahaha.

Thanks.

 

[ReincidentReefer]

I was worried about the low KH so started dosing manually Red Sea KH, got up to 7 now (along with a 5 gallon water change).

Also a few new additions to the tank:
Jason Fox Jack-o Lantern Leptoseris

Trumpet Kryptonite:

Mushroom not sure which but maybe Superman? Also it's splitting.

And a BTA Rainbow, with is acting weird. Here is a Thread about it: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/bubble-tip-anemone-issue-on-adpation.1085411/#post-13097239

 

[Gumbies R Us]

I was worried about the low KH so started dosing manually Red Sea KH, got up to 7 now (along with a 5 gallon water change).

Also a few new additions to the tank:
Jason Fox Jack-o Lantern Leptoseris

Trumpet Kryptonite:

Mushroom not sure which but maybe Superman? Also it's splitting.

And a BTA Rainbow, with is acting weird. Here is a Thread about it: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/bubble-tip-anemone-issue-on-adpation.1085411/#post-13097239

Love the BTA!

 

[ReincidentReefer]

Love the BTA!

Thanks! A little bit moody, but beautiful hahaha.

 

[ReincidentReefer]

Just a couple of updates.
I added around 10 turbos, 10 small hermit crabs, 10 medium hermit crabs.

Also a frag of Montipora Digitata Forest Fire which broke in 3 in the bag, so now I have three frags, a plate coral (if anyone can help me identifying what color is it? It looks whiteish with green tentacles and blue tips) and also a cleaner shrimp.

My zoanthus got plenty new polyps and my rhodactis splitted in two also.

Still can't take good photos of the tank.

Montipora Digitata Forest Fire

Plate

Cleaner Shrimp

My BBT lost her bubbles, but at least she settled now:

The tank now

Havin a little trouble with maintaining KH, but I'm dosing Red Sea B. Also had some brown algae with is already going away.

I'm feeling the water is a bit cloudy, can anyone help me with that?

Thanks!

 

[ReincidentReefer]

Hello everyone, my zoanthus is not opening 100% the last fews days, I thought maybe because of too much light so I've put it on a little shadowed area, right next to where the bigger clown sleeps. This morning I woke to these on the frag base:

Are those turbo snail eggs? Clown eggs? I don't think they are clown eggs since the clowns are too young and recent on the tank (my tank is 2 months old). I hope it's not something unwanted haha.

I have as CUC Nishi snails, turbo snails and hermit crabs (small ones and yellow legged ones).

Thanks.

 

[ColorMeGone]

Looks like a great start but if it was me, I would test phosphates.
I don't see that in your testing.

 

[ReincidentReefer]

Looks like a great start but if it was me, I would test phosphates.
I don't see that in your testing.

Thanks! I added a cleaner shrimp which died without any signs of why. Also a Bicolor dottyback with a Peppermint shrimp (which was killed by the bicolor).
Also a Mummy Eyes chalice, which I love.

That's the next test I'm buying, will go to a LFS this weekend to test the phosphate, especially because I'm fighting brown and green algae.