David's JBJ 65 Build [PICTURE HEAVY]

dbjonesjr · Dec 3, 2019

Hi all!

I've decided to start up a build thread to keep up with the progress on my new build. With the fall semester coming to an end I decided to get back into a larger tank again. Time isn't something I have an abundance of while pursuing a Chemical Engineering degree, so I'm keeping my father more involved this time around so he can help take care of it while I'm away. I played with the idea of getting something mid sized like a 40 breeder again for the last few months, so when the JBJ 65 went on sale at the local fish store I jumped on it.

As I'm starting this a couple weeks after the initial setup, I'm going to try and catch up in the logical order I would've posted in from the beginning.

Current Equipment
Tank: JBJ 65 Gallon Rimless Flat Panel (1)
Stand: JBJ Black Cabinet Stand (1)
Top: JBJ Glass Top (1)
Lighting: EcoTech Radion XR15w G4 Pro (2)
Flow: EcoTech VorTech MP40wQD (1)
Auto Top Off: Innovative Marine Aqua Gadget Titanium Hydrofill (1)
Heating: Eheim Jager Trutemp 150 Watt (1)
Substrate: CaribSea Fiji Pink Arag-Alive! 20 lbs (2)
Rockwork: CaribSea LifeRock 40 lbs (2)

Planned Equipment
Flow: Possible Additional
Controller: Undetermined

Current Consumables
Salt: LiveAquaria Professional Reef Salt
Carbon: Bulk Reef Supply Premium ROX 0.8
Dosing: Bulk Reef Supply 2-Part Pharma Calcium and Alkalinity
Pellets: New Life Spectrum Thera-A and Grow
Frozen: Mysis Shrimp
Coral Food: Bulk Reef Supply Reef Chili and PolypLab Reef Roids
Amino Acid: Two Little Fishies AcroPower

Planned Consumables
Algae Control: Underwater Creations Vibrant Aquarium Cleaner

Current Livestock
Fancy Percula Clownfish (4)
Lawnmower Blenny (1)
Mexican Turbo Snails (1)
Whammin' Watermelons Zoanthid (1)
Blue-Green Zoanthid (1)
Blue-Orange Zoanthid (1)
JF Violet Orange Montipora (1)
Montipora Spongeodes (3)
ORA Purple Rim Montipora (2)

Planned Livestock
Yellow Tang (1)
Wrasse (1)
Cleaner Shrimp (1)
Pistol Shrimp (1)
Goby (1)
Assorted Clean Up Crew (1)

dbjonesjr · Dec 3, 2019

I initially only ordered one box of CaribSea LifeRock. The attached pictures will show how that looked. I liked what I came up with but it just didn't fill quite enough of the tank for my taste. I ordered more and will show the scape that I came up with after that as well.

At this point I was also reconsidering my lighting choice for a couple of different reasons. The main reason I planned on going with the Kessil A360X is because I had it laying around from my previous tank. It's a great light but I wasn't sure how fond I was of shelling out another $500 for another light and mounting. Unfortunately, T5 wasn't an option because of the combination of mounting options and fixture styles. I went ahead and sold my Kessil package and bought a pair of EcoTech Radion XR15w G4 Pros from @nickkohrn (thanks so much again). He's working on what I think will turn out to be a gorgeous 40 breeder build.

While all this has been going on, I've also been working on getting the tank cycled. I currently have some very neat clowns (one Fancy Percula and three Platinums if I'm not mistaken) and a blenny in a holding tank while the display cycles. I believe the tank should be ready for fish by this weekend.

nickkohrn · Dec 4, 2019

That looks great! I'm excited to watch it progress!

dbjonesjr · Dec 13, 2019

Figured it's about time for an update... because I am now home as the semester has ended! I went to Columbus for a frag swap last weekend and picked up a few Zoanthid frags while I was there. Nick also provided me the brackets to mount the lights from the back of the tank so I switched that up. The clownfish I got are doing great, along with those frags.

Additionally, I went ahead and ordered an EcoTech MP40wQD during the week. It should get here tomorrow so I'm pretty excited for that. I also grabbed a few frags of Montipora from a local as it was overgrowing his tank. I got a couple really nice sized pieces from him for a great deal. Thanks Steve! I'm itching to get the pump in for flow for these things!

dbjonesjr · Dec 27, 2019

Welp here is another update! A few big things have happened, including the bleaching of the Jason Fox Violet Orange (at least I think it just bleached, but I'm no expert). I added an Alkatronic to the tank last night, but didn't get it up and running until this morning as I was mistakenly diluting prediluted reagent. Oops! Anyways, it seems to be working well. I seem to be getting a bit of growth out of the Porites (Sand Dollar Montipora), as well as good healing from the Purple Rim Montipora. All three pieces of Spongeodes are doing well. Picked up a couple new pieces at our local reef club Christmas event two weekends ago as well. I actually really enjoy the softies I got there. Also got a cleaner crew from Reef Cleaners. There were a lot of losses but they took care of me. Added a Sailfin Tang.

Ask questions! I'd love to answer them.

kartrsu · Jan 26, 2020

Awesome build! I’m thinking about setting up a mid size aquarium too. The JBJ 65 seems like the best deal on a per gallon basis, but I’ve been reading reviews on the sump warping over time. Have you experienced that at all? Thanks!

dbjonesjr · Jan 26, 2020

kartrsu said:
Awesome build! I’m thinking about setting up a mid size aquarium too. The JBJ 65 seems like the best deal on a per gallon basis, but I’ve been reading reviews on the sump warping over time. Have you experienced that at all? Thanks!

I haven’t experienced it personally, but I could see how it would happen. I figure that I should let you know, in retrospect, that I would’ve been much happier with a standard tank and sump setup. The JBJ is nice, don’t get me wrong, but you don’t have nearly the amount of freedom as you would in a sump setup! The display area is a little weird since I wish it was deeper (18” or 24” instead of 15”). That makes it weird for lighting options like T5 hybrids that won’t fit without major spillage.

dwest · Jan 26, 2020

Chemical engineer huh... My wife and I are both chemical engineers. We graduated back in the stone ages (1990) from Ohio State. I had barely enough time for a 20 gallon FW tank in college. Good luck!

Wantsomemora Acrapora · Jan 26, 2020

dbjonesjr said:
Hi all!

I've decided to start up a build thread to keep up with the progress on my new build. With the fall semester coming to an end I decided to get back into a larger tank again. Time isn't something I have an abundance of while pursuing a Chemical Engineering degree, so I'm keeping my father more involved this time around so he can help take care of it while I'm away. I played with the idea of getting something mid sized like a 40 breeder again for the last few months, so when the JBJ 65 went on sale at the local fish store I jumped on it.

As I'm starting this a couple weeks after the initial setup, I'm going to try and catch up in the logical order I would've posted in from the beginning.

Current Equipment
Tank: JBJ 65 Gallon Rimless Flat Panel (1)
Stand: JBJ Black Cabinet Stand (1)
Top: JBJ Glass Top (1)
Lighting: EcoTech Radion XR15w G4 Pro (2)
Flow: EcoTech VorTech MP40wQD (1)
Auto Top Off: Innovative Marine Aqua Gadget Titanium Hydrofill (1)
Heating: Eheim Jager Trutemp 150 Watt (1)
Substrate: CaribSea Fiji Pink Arag-Alive! 20 lbs (2)
Rockwork: CaribSea LifeRock 40 lbs (2)

Planned Equipment
Flow: Possible Additional
Controller: Undetermined

Current Consumables
Salt: LiveAquaria Professional Reef Salt
Carbon: Bulk Reef Supply Premium ROX 0.8
Dosing: Bulk Reef Supply 2-Part Pharma Calcium and Alkalinity
Pellets: New Life Spectrum Thera-A and Grow
Frozen: Mysis Shrimp
Coral Food: Bulk Reef Supply Reef Chili and PolypLab Reef Roids
Amino Acid: Two Little Fishies AcroPower

Planned Consumables
Algae Control: Underwater Creations Vibrant Aquarium Cleaner

Current Livestock
Fancy Percula Clownfish (4)
Lawnmower Blenny (1)
Mexican Turbo Snails (1)
Whammin' Watermelons Zoanthid (1)
Blue-Green Zoanthid (1)
Blue-Orange Zoanthid (1)
JF Violet Orange Montipora (1)
Montipora Spongeodes (3)
ORA Purple Rim Montipora (2)

Planned Livestock
Yellow Tang (1)
Wrasse (1)
Cleaner Shrimp (1)
Pistol Shrimp (1)
Goby (1)
Assorted Clean Up Crew (1)

Nice setup, and beautiful home. I have those same wood floors.

dbjonesjr · Jan 26, 2020

dwest said:
Chemical engineer huh... My wife and I are both chemical engineers. We graduated back in the stone ages (1990) from Ohio State. I had barely enough time for a 20 gallon FW tank in college. Good luck!

LOL! Luckily with a supportive dad, Alkatronic, Apex and AFS, and 20 gallon top-off I can leave the tank for weeks at a time (but this still has yet to be seen as I actually move back in from the break later today). I go to Miami University (Ohio) which I actually chose over Ohio State for their paper program if you've heard of it. Given so, Ohio State is a great program and I grew up a fan!

dbjonesjr · Jan 26, 2020

Wantsomemora Acrapora said:
Nice setup, and beautiful home. I have those same wood floors.

Thanks! Three active dogs tear it up, but not much that can be done about that!

dbjonesjr · Jan 26, 2020

And as a quick update (although no pictures), the tank is doing well. I have a nice colony very unique birdsnest I picked up from a local today. Brian calls it "Blue Zing". It is actually a cross between ORA Bird of Paradise and ORA Green Birdsnest. It cross pollinated in his tank.

Blue Zing (one of a kind)

A couple years ago I had a spawning event in my reef. A standard ORA green birdsnest and ORA Bird of Paradise cross pollinated and created this new morph that is blue and turquoise. I call it the Blue Zing. Lighting: medium-high Flow: High You will receive a nice size chunky frag of this one...

lazyscoralhouse.com

Really excellent selection at Brian's. If you are ever in the area when he is open it is a must see. Excellent prices for excellent sizes and varieties. He has pretty much everything.

dwest · Jan 26, 2020

dbjonesjr said:
LOL! Luckily with a supportive dad, Alkatronic, Apex and AFS, and 20 gallon top-off I can leave the tank for weeks at a time (but this still has yet to be seen as I actually move back in from the break later today). I go to Miami University (Ohio) which I actually chose over Ohio State for their paper program if you've heard of it. Given so, Ohio State is a great program and I grew up a fan!

Is Michael Henry in your class?