Justin's 75 gallon mixed reef build thread....

[Justin....#JAMAS]

System Profile:

• Display tank: 75 gallon mixed reef
• Stand: Handmade wood stand
• Sump: 20-gallon made by myself
• Protein Skimmer: Classic Octo 100 HOB and Octo 50 in sump
• Carbon/phosphate filtration: Red Sea carbon bag
• Return pump: Deep Blue 850gph return
• Water circulation: 1 950GPH hydor, 1 400gph hydor, 1 2100gph current usa eflux controllable powerhead.
• Lighting: Kessil AP700 and coralife t5 with ATI blue plus and true actinics
• Lighting (refugium): 60w plant light (chaeto grows crazy)
• Calcium/alkalinity/magnesium dosing: levels stay stable with water changes with Red Sea Coral Pro salt!

This is the most recent shot of my 75 gallon mixed reef! Its still a young reef at aboyt a year old now, but things are really starting to grow and spread like crazy! My goal is to have all my zoas and palys kind of grow together with all the different variety of colors on the arc and other places in the tank, there should be some really cool morphs when it reaches that point, and look crazy cool at the same time!! Everything stays stable with water changes! Recently the corals have been taking off fast and i can tell the tank is maturing nicely bc of how my RBT is doing! Thanks for stopping by and im very proud to look at day one of my tank from where it was nothig to what it is now! Ive come a long way and cant wait to look back on these pics when the 2 year mark comes around!!! I keep everything simple, no expensive things, no reactors just filter sock, pads, and good husbandry and everything is showing it by how healthy things are!

Most recent

Fish:
2 ocellaris clownfish
1 Midas Blenny
1 Yellow Tang
1 yellow watchman Goby and pistol shrimp pair
1 cleaner shrimp
3 narssius snails
4 trochus snails
3 turbo snails
1 fighting conch
1 Rose Bubble Tip Anemone
1 beautiful Rock Flower Anemone

Corals:
2 green mushrooms
2 green spotted mushrooms
1 deep red mushroom
1 purple, with green ring on the edges mushroom
1 Duncan
1 frogspawn
2 green star polyps
16 different zoanthids and palythoas!
1 atlantic purple stylophora
1 green/oarnge digitata
1 bright green plesiastrea




​

This is day one of my 75 gallon mixed reef!

 

[77railer]

Looks like you are doing good. I was wondering when you were going to take that bubbler out

 

[Justin....#JAMAS]

Lol yeah, I put that long bubble stone in when I was cycling bc I read it helped the bacteria multiply faster or something, don't remember, but after about a week I got real tired of that bubbler! Lol but thank for the comments man! I don't have a tank like everyone else but in the next week or two I'm ordering new lights, maybe kessils? Not sure, what kind do you reccomend for a guy on a budget that will grow coral and make the colors pop?

 

[Foxy-88]

Tanks is looking good. I like the arch. I'm on my second saltwater tank which is a 75 gallon tank as well. I've got a Duncan and a frogspawn also. My Duncan is one of my favorite corals.

 

[DarthSimon]

Looking good man!!

 

[Justin....#JAMAS]

Thanks guys! Means a lot! Just have the basics, but trying to get a system in place to keep my top three parameters stable, since I can't afford a dosing pump! Don't think I need one since I only have softies and one stylophora.
Also, I started with a low dose of vitamin c pills BC some zoanthids I've had that were huge last week, have shrunk and balled up so I researched and started dosing last night! I started dosing NOPOX a few weeks ago to lower nitrates just a little and I think that's what did it to these ZOA's! Anyways, have you guys ever dosed vitamin c ? And can I crush up these pills and mix them in tank water until dissolved instead of just throwing them in the sump?

 

[Foxy-88]

I dose nopox and got rid of my gfo and filter socks. I've seen nothing but success with it. I think dissolving the pills into tank water and then pouring into the sump would be a good idea. I've personally never used them before but all tanks are different and require different things based on coral needs

 

[Justin....#JAMAS]

Right, well I read some forums about reefers using nopox in conjunction with carbon and the pamphlet that came with the red sea carbon I use said its all good to do, but I'm wondering if dosing with it had any ill effects on these ZOA's? They were the most beautiful green and blue zoanthids I've seen, well they were palys, but over the last few days they have just shrunk and it wasn't until I started dosing the nopox...trying to rule everything out and play investigator, but its difficult and sucks bad to see those beautiful things shrinking and balling up! I cleaned crap off of them a minute ago, and saw that on one side of them a feather duster that looked to be in the middle of them and when I touched it, it quickly retracted like a feather duster would, are these OK to be in the middle of ZOA's/palys ?

 

[Justin....#JAMAS]

For 8 months I didn't run anything but mechanical filtration, matrix in the sump, and chateo. I'm wondering if I should take the carbon out and just run it all without that carbon or nopox and just dose vitamins and little food at times....just seems like the more natural thing to do....?

 

[Foxy-88]

How much nopox are dosing. I use it with carbon as well

 

[Justin....#JAMAS]

Well I followed the instructions as it says according to the measure of my nitrates .....it was just a hair over 10ppm, which is OK, but wanted to see what effects as far as good effects of would have on the tank/coral other than lower the nitrates..guess I got my answer...

 

[Foxy-88]

Ya I dose 2 ml every third day so my nitrates hang around 2 ppm so my Sps can keep their color without making my Lps angry

 

[Justin....#JAMAS]

Yeah, sounds about right!! So I've started dosing this vitamin C and I started with 1,500mg as I have a 75g and I dose it in the morning and once at night...I'm gonna post pics here of some of the ZOA's I have that are having problems and post pics hopefully afterward so I can see the results and others can see the documentation on the effects of dosing vitamin c!

This last one is a ultimate KO paly! About 6 months ago I ordered one of these and a frag of rastas but I believe some hermit crab got to them last time and ate them all!!!!! Well about a week ago I was sent another frag of each! The rastas are open and happy, but the other night I walk up to the tank and the one hermit crab I have, the one that ate the same zoanthids last time I got these ate two of the polyps on my ultimate KO !! I couldn't believe it! The hermit was right next to the frag like he was licking his chops from just eating one of my favorite palys that I have yet to see open! Well there was just one polyp left with maybe half of the I guess body that links polyps together! Now that body has shrunk into the one polyp and seems like the polyp has gotten just a ahair smaller but won't open! I'm guessing he's mad from the hermit piggin out on him and hoping the vitamin c works and gets this polyp healthy!

 

[Justin....#JAMAS]

Ya I dose 2 ml every third day so my nitrates hang around 2 ppm so my Sps can keep their color without making my Lps angry

And my nitrates were above 10ppm, and the nopox has taken it down to about 2.5ppm so I cut out the nopox for now

 

[Foxy-88]

And my nitrates were above 10ppm, and the nopox has taken it down to about 2.5ppm so I cut out the nopox for now

It took me a few weeks to figure out how to keep the levels consistent

 

[Justin....#JAMAS]

I'm figuring it out slowly, for dosing by hand after testing with red sea foundation test kits and salifert, on how to really keep levels consistent and corals happy! I've been recording my test results and made this graph to show myself just how up and down it really has been so I could get a good visual. In the first week there were a lot of up's and downs and really have noticed if I just leave the tank alone, and don't put my hands in and don't mess with or move corals and just let everything be, it all seems to start sprouting and growing fast! For instance, since two days ago, this fairy dust paly I have, grew 2 or 3 heads in two days!!!!!!! I really couldn't believe it but happy, other zoas and palys also have at least 1 or 2 new heads popping out too!

 

[Foxy-88]

I'm figuring it out slowly, for dosing by hand after testing with red sea foundation test kits and salifert, on how to really keep levels consistent and corals happy! I've been recording my test results and made this graph to show myself just how up and down it really has been so I could get a good visual. In the first week there were a lot of up's and downs and really have noticed if I just leave the tank alone, and don't put my hands in and don't mess with or move corals and just let everything be, it all seems to start sprouting and growing fast! For instance, since two days ago, this fairy dust paly I have, grew 2 or 3 heads in two days!!!!!!! I really couldn't believe it but happy, other zoas and palys also have at least 1 or 2 new heads popping out too!

I learned this myself as well. The only time I really distrub my tank is when I clean,it with the magnetic cleaner, feeding rods food every third day and water changes. Other than that I don't touch it. Less interference the best haha

 

[Justin....#JAMAS]

Very true!!!

 

[Justin....#JAMAS]

#reef2reef
#worldwidecorals
#mywwccontest

 

[Justin....#JAMAS]

Made a 20 gallon long sump for my 75 gallon. I'm going to install it very soon! Pictures coming!! I'm really thinking about upgrading the tank and order thick glass to make myself a 200 gallon monster!