First Time Reefer 65 Gallon

[tfeeken]

First time reefer here setting up a 65 gallon tank. My intentions are a mixed reef system for my in home office. As a full time work from home person, even prior to the 'Rona, my office has always been pretty boring. That and people give me a hard time for having nothing in the background during our conference calls . Well, it's time for that to change.

I've watched all of the BRS 52 week videos and a number of other resources for how to set up and what to expect in running a system so hopefully I'm being proactive and much more prepared than the average compulsory reefer. After all of that and ongoing research, I went in search of a cube at first but then came across this tank on a local buy/sell page and for $100 I had a tank and stand. The tank had a rear center internal overflow and the silicone was in pretty tough shape so I figured lets rip it all out and then put in an external overflow.

As you can see, the silicone was all over the board when it came to condition. There was some that was flaking off just by rubbing your finger over it and then there was some that was the nice light blue tint. So in order to get all of it for a continuous new bead, the internal overflow also came out as well.

Now, the decisions on what overflow to put in. Because this is a rimmed tank, some options are notched and some would require a little trimming to get them to fit. If anyone has experience with these and would make a recommendation, I'd be much appreciative. From what I've read, they all come with good reviews. Also, should I find some glass and silicone it over the existing holes or is there a better route to go? I don't really foresee putting the giant center overflow back in. Some of the options I've narrowed down to are:

Fiji Cube - $115 comes with drill bit and only needs one hole and would probably require some frame trimming.
Exotic Marine - $180 does not come with a bit and needs two holes. Unsure about frame trimming.
Modular Marine - $130 comes with drill bit and needs two holes. Does not require frame trimming.


Also a part of my searching for parts and materials, I stumbled upon what I believe is a pretty awesome deal. Roughly 200lbs of Pukani for $150 from a local guy that had it sitting around for a few years after taking down a big tank system. I've got multiple totes of this stuff and now I'm just trying to figure out how I want to go forward with the aquascaping. I originally thought I'd put in the work and build kind of a hybrid stacked and NSA style type scape. Not entirely a light branching style but have some mass to it. Now that I found this Pukani I'm not 100% sure the path I'd like to go.

For the rest of the build out, I came across a Reef Octopus Varios-2 return pump that was new and deeply discounted on Ebay, and a couple of lightly used Icecap 3k Gyers. For other equipment, I've been trying to decide between a Simplicity DC skimmer or a Reef Octopus 110 Int. For a light I'm somewhat torn as I like the shimmer from LED's but coverage and later on, growing out SPS, a T5 hybrid lighting setup would be nice. I've found a Reef Breeder Photon v2 light that was barely used but trying to work with the seller has been a bit difficult.

As far as a sump, I've also been looking at the Exotic Marine baffle kit for a 20 Long. Seems like a pretty nice set of features including adjustability.

I'm planning on setting up a QT 20 Long tank here hopefully this weekend and put in the first inhabitants, the typical clowns so to get on a good habit of QT and treatment prior to introduction to the tank. Once they're through the Humblefish process, the tank should hopefully be close to completing the cycle and then I'll be able to start on the next set of inhabitants.

 

[ScottR]

First time reefer here setting up a 65 gallon tank. My intentions are a mixed reef system for my in home office. As a full time work from home person, even prior to the 'Rona, my office has always been pretty boring. That and people give me a hard time for having nothing in the background during our conference calls . Well, it's time for that to change.

I've watched all of the BRS 52 week videos and a number of other resources for how to set up and what to expect in running a system so hopefully I'm being proactive and much more prepared than the average compulsory reefer. After all of that and ongoing research, I went in search of a cube at first but then came across this tank on a local buy/sell page and for $100 I had a tank and stand. The tank had a rear center internal overflow and the silicone was in pretty tough shape so I figured lets rip it all out and then put in an external overflow.

As you can see, the silicone was all over the board when it came to condition. There was some that was flaking off just by rubbing your finger over it and then there was some that was the nice light blue tint. So in order to get all of it for a continuous new bead, the internal overflow also came out as well.

Now, the decisions on what overflow to put in. Because this is a rimmed tank, some options are notched and some would require a little trimming to get them to fit. If anyone has experience with these and would make a recommendation, I'd be much appreciative. From what I've read, they all come with good reviews. Also, should I find some glass and silicone it over the existing holes or is there a better route to go? I don't really foresee putting the giant center overflow back in. Some of the options I've narrowed down to are:

Fiji Cube - $115 comes with drill bit and only needs one hole and would probably require some frame trimming.
Exotic Marine - $180 does not come with a bit and needs two holes. Unsure about frame trimming.
Modular Marine - $130 comes with drill bit and needs two holes. Does not require frame trimming.


Also a part of my searching for parts and materials, I stumbled upon what I believe is a pretty awesome deal. Roughly 200lbs of Pukani for $150 from a local guy that had it sitting around for a few years after taking down a big tank system. I've got multiple totes of this stuff and now I'm just trying to figure out how I want to go forward with the aquascaping. I originally thought I'd put in the work and build kind of a hybrid stacked and NSA style type scape. Not entirely a light branching style but have some mass to it. Now that I found this Pukani I'm not 100% sure the path I'd like to go.

For the rest of the build out, I came across a Reef Octopus Varios-2 return pump that was new and deeply discounted on Ebay, and a couple of lightly used Icecap 3k Gyers. For other equipment, I've been trying to decide between a Simplicity DC skimmer or a Reef Octopus 110 Int. For a light I'm somewhat torn as I like the shimmer from LED's but coverage and later on, growing out SPS, a T5 hybrid lighting setup would be nice. I've found a Reef Breeder Photon v2 light that was barely used but trying to work with the seller has been a bit difficult.

As far as a sump, I've also been looking at the Exotic Marine baffle kit for a 20 Long. Seems like a pretty nice set of features including adjustability.

I'm planning on setting up a QT 20 Long tank here hopefully this weekend and put in the first inhabitants, the typical clowns so to get on a good habit of QT and treatment prior to introduction to the tank. Once they're through the Humblefish process, the tank should hopefully be close to completing the cycle and then I'll be able to start on the next set of inhabitants.

Welcome to REEF2REEF. Looks nice so far. Lighting is tough as you need the right fixture and the right amount. I personally prefer T5 hybrids. LEDs are great as you can control timing, colouration, intensity, ramp up/down timing. And T5 just grow everything so beautifully. Look forward to seeing this come along.

 

[tfeeken]

Update on the build.

Tearing out the old silicone and replacing it took a bit longer than expected but definitely made it look much better and I have a lot more confidence of this thing lasting way longer. I drilled the holes for the overflow and two returns, sanded and refinished the stand from a black to the white and sanded and repainted the bracing on the tank to be black.

I decided to go with the Modular Marine overflow. The build on it is excellent and the template they provide worked really really well for drilling the tank. If you have a rimmed aquarium, this is notched and fits up nice and snug.

For the sump, I capitalized on the $1/gallon Petco sale and decided to go with a jaxracks.com 20 long refugium baffle kit. For $100 it's super nice. If you reach out to him, he also can make it a dual drain into the filter sock area for bean animal setups like this or other customizations. If you didn't want a refugium section, he could adjust the layout and offer an ATO section to the design instead for just a little more. He's also super responsive on questions.

For lighting I've picked up some lightly used Kessil 360's and some of their mounting arms. I'll need to come up with a better way for the mount to work over the framed edge as when they're tightened down they tip backwards. Perhaps they don't need to be very tight with the weight of the light hanging from them.

For flow, I picked up some IceCap 3k gyers for a pretty good deal from someone but I'm thinking they're going to be too big and would possible cause some issues with my locline returns. I also found a lightly used Nero 5 to see how that flow is and after it's running for a while will decide on the route I want to take.

After quite a bit of research and reading, I've decided to go with two 10 gallon tanks with HOB filters for my QT setup. I have some Coper Power and a Hanna tester along with some General Cure to handle a vast majority of livestock needs but will adjust depending upon the specimen.

Now, water is starting to fill and will have the cycle started today hopefully.