I accidentally got inspired and now I have a 75gal

[Ireland.Escada]

3 weeks ago I dragged a 75g with all the fish, sand and rocks hundreds of miles in a snow storm. All the fish made it alive. They seem to be happy and always begging for food.

I am feeding twice a day. 1/2 shrimp brine and 1/2 mison shrimp (sure that’s the how it’s spelled).

I think I would like a new tank because this one is all scratched up. I am just not sure when I should change the tanks. Next year? Next week? Should I let the little guys settle in a bit?

I also really need to fix the rocks. Due to all of the traveling, I threw the rocks in. Nothing is really set up. Should I glue/poxy underwater? How log can the rock stay out of the water if I take it out to adhere it?

why can’t I disturbed the sand?

so many questions

 

[blaxsun]

While the inhabitants are settling in it affords you the opportunity to plan for a new setup.

I wouldn't bother epoxying at this point, no. If you take the rocks out of the water, 10-15min max. Why shouldn't you disturb the sand? The same reason you don't go snorkelling in a porta potty: you simply have no idea what kind of crap you're going to stir up.

 

[Fishfreak2009]

I will be following this! Excited to see the reef you will create!

 

[Fishfreak2009]

3 weeks ago I dragged a 75g with all the fish, sand and rocks hundreds of miles in a snow storm. All the fish made it alive. They seem to be happy and always begging for food.

I am feeding twice a day. 1/2 shrimp brine and 1/2 mison shrimp (sure that’s the how it’s spelled).

Mysis shrimp I would also suggest adding a good pelleted diet into the mix like TDO or NLS on top of the frozen food. Brine doesn't have a lot of nutrition, unless you get spirulina enriched or it is fresh hatched live baby brine.

I think I would like a new tank because this one is all scratched up. I am just not sure when I should change the tanks. Next year? Next week? Should I let the little guys settle in a bit?

That is totally your call. If you do decide to get a new tank, I would either completely wash all the sand before moving it, or get new sand, to avoid an ammonia spike and system crash from releasing a bunch of decaying material into the water column. If it were me, I'm pretty lazy and just start with dry aragonite from CaribSea in the 40 lbs bags. It tends to come pretty clean, and I've never had to rinse it.

I also really need to fix the rocks. Due to all of the traveling, I threw the rocks in. Nothing is really set up. Should I glue/poxy underwater? How log can the rock stay out of the water if I take it out to adhere it?

I would not epoxy them all together until you decide on a proper scape and if you are going to swap tanks. No need to cement them together then have to break them apart again to get them back out if you get a new tank.

Honestly, I don't glue any of my rockscapes together (I only glue down corals), I just fit pieces snugly into one another and have my rock structures built directly on the bottom glass so the gobies cannot burrow under and topple them.

why can’t I disturbed the sand?

See first response

so many questions

And everyone here is happy to answer them! Fire away!

I would also suggest pulling the fake plants and decor out. They work pretty well short term in a quarantine system, but long term can leach various chemicals/heavy metals in a reef tank depending on what they are made with.

If you decide to make it a reef, I love the Viparspectra 165W LED fixtures from Amazon. 2 of them are absolutely perfect to light a 75 gallon, and will allow you to grow any coral, even SPS once you're comfortable with stable water parameters. You wouldn't need to upgrade later. They're a great light, easy to use, have built in timers, and don't cost a small fortune. They are what I have lighting my 75 gallon.

 

[Ireland.Escada]

Mysis shrimp I would also suggest adding a good pelleted diet into the mix like TDO or NLS on top of the frozen food. Brine doesn't have a lot of nutrition, unless you get spirulina enriched or it is fresh hatched live baby brine.

That is totally your call. If you do decide to get a new tank, I would either completely wash all the sand before moving it, or get new sand, to avoid an ammonia spike and system crash from releasing a bunch of decaying material into the water column. If it were me, I'm pretty lazy and just start with dry aragonite from CaribSea in the 40 lbs bags. It tends to come pretty clean, and I've never had to rinse it.

I would not epoxy them all together until you decide on a proper scape and if you are going to swap tanks. No need to cement them together then have to break them apart again to get them back out if you get a new tank.

Honestly, I don't glue any of my rockscapes together (I only glue down corals), I just fit pieces snugly into one another and have my rock structures built directly on the bottom glass so the gobies cannot burrow under and topple them.

See first response

And everyone here is happy to answer them! Fire away!

I would also suggest pulling the fake plants and decor out. They work pretty well short term in a quarantine system, but long term can leach various chemicals/heavy metals in a reef tank depending on what they are made with.

If you decide to make it a reef, I love the Viparspectra 165W LED fixtures from Amazon. 2 of them are absolutely perfect to light a 75 gallon, and will allow you to grow any coral, even SPS once you're comfortable with stable water parameters. You wouldn't need to upgrade later. They're a great light, easy to use, have built in timers, and don't cost a small fortune. They are what I have lighting my 75 gallon.

Thank you so much for the information

 

[Ireland.Escada]

Mysis shrimp I would also suggest adding a good pelleted diet into the mix like TDO or NLS on top of the frozen food. Brine doesn't have a lot of nutrition, unless you get spirulina enriched or it is fresh hatched live baby brine.

That is totally your call. If you do decide to get a new tank, I would either completely wash all the sand before moving it, or get new sand, to avoid an ammonia spike and system crash from releasing a bunch of decaying material into the water column. If it were me, I'm pretty lazy and just start with dry aragonite from CaribSea in the 40 lbs bags. It tends to come pretty clean, and I've never had to rinse it.

I would not epoxy them all together until you decide on a proper scape and if you are going to swap tanks. No need to cement them together then have to break them apart again to get them back out if you get a new tank.

Honestly, I don't glue any of my rockscapes together (I only glue down corals), I just fit pieces snugly into one another and have my rock structures built directly on the bottom glass so the gobies cannot burrow under and topple them.

See first response

And everyone here is happy to answer them! Fire away!

I would also suggest pulling the fake plants and decor out. They work pretty well short term in a quarantine system, but long term can leach various chemicals/heavy metals in a reef tank depending on what they are made with.

If you decide to make it a reef, I love the Viparspectra 165W LED fixtures from Amazon. 2 of them are absolutely perfect to light a 75 gallon, and will allow you to grow any coral, even SPS once you're comfortable with stable water parameters. You wouldn't need to upgrade later. They're a great light, easy to use, have built in timers, and don't cost a small fortune. They are what I have lighting my 75 gallon.

I have a crazy work schedule. Sometimes up at 5 am home at 9 pm or sleep until 10am. I noticed on early days the fish don’t seem to wake up for breakfast. Other mornings I feel like I wake up to a tank of screaming fish yelling for food.

is this bad for them? Should I get an automatic feeder and put them on a flake schedule? Also, the tank is in my bed room. Will my late night TV and lights bother them? I was told the fish need to sleep.

 

[Fishfreak2009]

I have a crazy work schedule. Sometimes up at 5 am home at 9 pm or sleep until 10am. I noticed on early days the fish don’t seem to wake up for breakfast. Other mornings I feel like I wake up to a tank of screaming fish yelling for food.

is this bad for them? Should I get an automatic feeder and put them on a flake schedule? Also, the tank is in my bed room. Will my late night TV and lights bother them? I was told the fish need to sleep.

My wife feeds early morning before the blues even come on half the time because she leaves for work at like 5 AM. Then we have an autofeeder for pellets twice during the afternoon, and they get frozen 2-3 more times in the evening and she hand feeds pellets okxe in the evening. We feed WAY more than most people though, but it pretty much stops aggression between all the planktivores.

 

[Devaji]

welcome! I love it when people get inspired, even more so when it's reefing.

my 2 cents foe what ever there worth. if this is your 1st tank I would just run with it for a while (unless the scratches drive you crazy ) that way you figure out what you like and coral fish wise. they when you upgrade the tank you know what you want.

once you know what want then we can help you size the tank and offer up suggestions.
example if you decide you like fish more than corals and want to do a fish only with larger fish it's going to be different setup VS a classic reef tank.

all that said I am a big fan of waterbox and red sea aquarium there plug & play setup are very nice. they come with tank stand plumbing and sump.

 

[Ireland.Escada]

welcome! I love it when people get inspired, even more so when it's reefing.

my 2 cents foe what ever there worth. if this is your 1st tank I would just run with it for a while (unless the scratches drive you crazy ) that way you figure out what you like and coral fish wise. they when you upgrade the tank you know what you want.

once you know what want then we can help you size the tank and offer up suggestions.
example if you decide you like fish more than corals and want to do a fish only with larger fish it's going to be different setup VS a classic reef tank.

all that said I am a big fan of waterbox and red sea aquarium there plug & play setup are very nice. they come with tank stand plumbing and sump.

So, I could start getting coral before I have rocks glued and move them when I want an upgrade?
That actually sounds like a good idea. I never thought about doing that first. I am going to look into the tank suggestions you posted

 

[Fishfreak2009]

So, I could start getting coral before I have rocks glued and move them when I want an upgrade?
That actually sounds like a good idea. I never thought about doing that first. I am going to look into the tank suggestions you posted

I would not get a RedSea system. Too many catastrophic seam fails and leaking horror stories on here and elsewhere. If you are going to spend a premium for an AIO system, get a waterbox, otherwise build your own system (much more budget friendly).

 

[Ireland.Escada]

Good to know. It might take me a long time to get there anyways lol

 

[Jedi1199]

3 weeks ago I dragged a 75g with all the fish, sand and rocks hundreds of miles in a snow storm. All the fish made it alive. They seem to be happy and always begging for food.

I am feeding twice a day. 1/2 shrimp brine and 1/2 mison shrimp (sure that’s the how it’s spelled).

I think I would like a new tank because this one is all scratched up. I am just not sure when I should change the tanks. Next year? Next week? Should I let the little guys settle in a bit?

I also really need to fix the rocks. Due to all of the traveling, I threw the rocks in. Nothing is really set up. Should I glue/poxy underwater? How log can the rock stay out of the water if I take it out to adhere it?

why can’t I disturbed the sand?

so many questions

Is the picture what you have now or what the seller had? It looks fine to me. No reason to glue rocks together as long as they are stable. Some fish do like to dig out a hidey hole under rocks (my black capped Damsels regularly do this) as long as they aren't toppling the rocks you are fine.

I agree that the brand name Waterbox and Red Sea tanks, while beautiful, are really not worth the cost. I suppose it depends on what your budget is, and what you desire for your living space. Those tanks are usually sold as "plug and play" meaning, they are already drilled for a sump and have built in overflows and all of the hardware needed to start out right from the box. A little bit of DIY, a few hours work and you can save yourself thousands of dollars. Again, depends on you.

I personally run my 55g tank with canister filters and other external equipment. My "sump" which is really nothing more than a place for an oversize skimmer, is a DIY 10g tank with a Hang on Back overflow and DIY return.

There are SO many options on how to set up a tank! My advice, don't be in a hurry to change what you have. Learn how to do it the "old fashioned" way. Learn how to identify and solve the issues that all tanks get.

I personally feel, that new hobbyists more often than not, spend more money than time on their tanks. They read something that an experienced person does, and then think "If that's what he does I will too" then they spend absurd amounts of money buying stuff without knowing WHY!

Now, all of that said, If you truly desire a new tank, what are your restrictions? What size are you thinking? What is your budget? WHY do you want a new tank (other than the scratches on the current one)

 

[Ireland.Escada]

Is the picture what you have now or what the seller had? It looks fine to me. No reason to glue rocks together as long as they are stable. Some fish do like to dig out a hidey hole under rocks (my black capped Damsels regularly do this) as long as they aren't toppling the rocks you are fine.

I agree that the brand name Waterbox and Red Sea tanks, while beautiful, are really not worth the cost. I suppose it depends on what your budget is, and what you desire for your living space. Those tanks are usually sold as "plug and play" meaning, they are already drilled for a sump and have built in overflows and all of the hardware needed to start out right from the box. A little bit of DIY, a few hours work and you can save yourself thousands of dollars. Again, depends on you.

I personally run my 55g tank with canister filters and other external equipment. My "sump" which is really nothing more than a place for an oversize skimmer, is a DIY 10g tank with a Hang on Back overflow and DIY return.

There are SO many options on how to set up a tank! My advice, don't be in a hurry to change what you have. Learn how to do it the "old fashioned" way. Learn how to identify and solve the issues that all tanks get.

I personally feel, that new hobbyists more often than not, spend more money than time on their tanks. They read something that an experienced person does, and then think "If that's what he does I will too" then they spend absurd amounts of money buying stuff without knowing WHY!

Now, all of that said, If you truly desire a new tank, what are your restrictions? What size are you thinking? What is your budget? WHY do you want a new tank (other than the scratches on the current one)

I think your so right! This photo is the set up in my room.

I really have to remind myself this is a long term leaning experience. Is so easy to see these amazing tanks and think it happens with a 1 hour trip to a fish store.

I only want a new tank because this one is pretty scratched up. The restriction is I don’t have a lot of space in my house to set up a second tank in order to cycle a new tank. I would have to dig everything up, toss the old tank, then set up the next tank the same day. It can be done. Just don’t want to stress them too much (since we just did this a few weeks ago with a long drive. So I am going to wait a while before I try to set up a newer tank.

 

[Jedi1199]

I think your so right! This photo is the set up in my room.

I really have to remind myself this is a long term leaning experience. Is so easy to see these amazing tanks and think it happens with a 1 hour trip to a fish store.

I only want a new tank because this one is pretty scratched up. The restriction is I don’t have a lot of space in my house to set up a second tank in order to cycle a new tank. I would have to dig everything up, toss the old tank, then set up the next tank the same day. It can be done. Just don’t want to stress them too much (since we just did this a few weeks ago with a long drive. So I am going to wait a while before I try to set up a newer tank.

You won't need to "cycle" a new tank. If your plan is to simply swap out tanks, that can easily be done in a few hours.

Your current tank is already cycled. You already have all of the necessary bacterial colonies needed. They live mainly in the rocks. When you get your new tank and whatever other equipment you decide on, make sure you have everything ready to go and then start the process.

Net out your fish and corals and put them into a large enough container to hold them, plus a heater and a circulation pump. No need for a filter on this as it is just a place to keep them while swapping the tanks.

Place the rocks in a container and cover with tank water. No need for a heater or pump on this, unless it is the same container you are using for the fish and corals.

If possible, keep about 80% of the existing water. Try not to disturb the sand while draining this out as what is in the sand is generally pretty nasty and you don't want to add that to the new system.

The sand, if reused OR bought new, should be washed THOUROGLY! Make sure that the rinse water runs clear, even after a vigorous stirring.

Once you have the new tank in place, simply put it all back together, fill with the reserved water, top off with fresh salt water as needed and there ya go. You are cycled and ready to rock and roll, scratch free!!

 

[Ireland.Escada]

That sounds petty simple. So, I can change out the sand. I was thinking I had to keep the sand. Good to know I can replace it

 

[Ireland.Escada]

I updated the rocks and took out one fake plant. The tank stills have 3 fake items that I will take out as I go.

I think I decided to try and build a rock feature with open caves (modeling the fake drift wood the clowns like) and then try and copy the bottom part of the boat. The fish seem happy to swim in and out.

I am not sure why I got two rock slate. Maybe they are actually supposed to go on the bottom to better balance the rocks? Welp, I got them hanging on the top of the rocks

I tried to build a better home for the dwarf angle (Alicia). I hope she likes it.
I am just going to keep watching YouTube for inspiration.

since I did disturb the sand. I added 3 caps of prime and 2 caps of biofuel. If I recall. The lady at the fish store said the biofuel will help with any Ammonia.

 

[Jedi1199]

That sounds petty simple. So, I can change out the sand. I was thinking I had to keep the sand. Good to know I can replace it

You can replace the sand no problem. It won't effect the skip-cycle. The bacteria live mostly in the rocks, not the sand.

Flat rocks are great as both a base, and a platform to place new corals. There is no "right or wrong" way to build a scape. The guidelines are "Allow room to clean the inside glass. Allow adequate flow. Allow for places for fish to make their homes". Beyond that, the only limit is your imagination.

 

[Ireland.Escada]

I had the water tested again and it was a mess. So, I decided to buy a new tank (the scratches really bothered me). I did a 30% water change. I took out all the fake stuff. I also managed to lose the magnet for one of my current makers.

I think I need some more rocks for corals. But I feel that I am getting close to having coral

 

[Swbvegas]

Definitely need more live rock. Just be careful when adding it because adding too much can restart your cycle. Good luck.

 

[Ntvper]

While the inhabitants are settling in it affords you the opportunity to plan for a new setup.

I wouldn't bother epoxying at this point, no. If you take the rocks out of the water, 10-15min max. Why shouldn't you disturb the sand? The same reason you don't go snorkelling in a porta potty: you simply have no idea what kind of crap you're going to stir up.

I heard there is snorkeling in a potty that’s gotta be a real crappy job huh