The Build starts here!

[ColormeJosip]

Nawa [Hello]

The long of it is I was gifted a 65 gallon [36"L x 18"D x 24"H] tank and stand. It came with a HOB Filter, live sand, light, and heater but I'm relatively confident that these pieces will have to be replaced for the reef build. I've done a bit of research but need to start sifting through the marketing ploys and endless internet advice with an actual community to start tackling the lifelong desire to have a reef tank.

The Plan: Very large [live] rock wall for Zoa Garden will be main aquascape in the tank. No fish, but maybe in a perfect world way down the road I'd add a Snowflake or Golden Dwarf Eel but I've got enough to handle just getting the reef off the ground for now.

Backstory: Straight up, I personally have never fully alone owned and maintained any tank in my life. That being said my wife has 3 FW tanks in the house and I help with those, they just dont have the dopamine in them for me personally. So I'm personally not a complete tank newb but this is definitely my/our first foray into Reefing. Luckily we already have a long enough python, testing kits, a good understanding of the Nitrogen cycle, a little back up equipment, and a great relationship with our LFS to start from. Additionally I am a 3d printing nerd so if that can be utilized I'm able and willing to print parts / brackets / nozzles / ect.

The Questions:
-Will an oversized cannister filter [probably Fluval Fx4 or Fx6] with a HOB refugium be enough filtration for a coral only tank or should I plan a sump tank?

-If I "Must" go with a sump tank how viable is converting this non reef ready tank into a DIY'ers AIO? Likely walling off the back side to bring the rock wall formation forward in the tank and hiding the filtration gear behind all the rock, opposed to a "peninsula" set up.

-If I "Must" go with a sump and a DIY AIO is not a plan for success can we plan talk planning the sump tank? I have room for a 20 long under the stand but I will absolutely have to DIY the sump likely with something like the fiji cube kits or cut to fit glass. If we go this route I will build it to leave room for pieces like a protein skimmer but likely will slowly ramp into these higher tech pieces of equipment. I would prefer to keep it as low tech as possible up front but build it in a way I can grow into it and add pieces as they become necessary or available to me.

-I am interested in talking lighting in general for the tank plan so I know what to expect but I'm envisioning this journey to be a longer that normal on and I am not in a rush to put corals into the tank. If I cannot reuse the old lights I have for the refugium that will likely be the first light I buy unless I'm barking up the wrong tree.

-I've been told that I should use 40-60 pounds of live sand and am expecting that I'll be over the 1 pound rock / 1 gallon water general rule with my aquascape plan. How will this affect the amount and type of filtration I need to plan?

-What things have I forgotten to consider?

 

[Snowxcross]

Nawa [Hello]

The long of it is I was gifted a 65 gallon [36"L x 18"D x 24"H] tank and stand. It came with a HOB Filter, live sand, light, and heater but I'm relatively confident that these pieces will have to be replaced for the reef build. I've done a bit of research but need to start sifting through the marketing ploys and endless internet advice with an actual community to start tackling the lifelong desire to have a reef tank.

The Plan: Very large [live] rock wall for Zoa Garden will be main aquascape in the tank. No fish, but maybe in a perfect world way down the road I'd add a Snowflake or Golden Dwarf Eel but I've got enough to handle just getting the reef off the ground for now.

Backstory: Straight up, I personally have never fully alone owned and maintained any tank in my life. That being said my wife has 3 FW tanks in the house and I help with those, they just dont have the dopamine in them for me personally. So I'm personally not a complete tank newb but this is definitely my/our first foray into Reefing. Luckily we already have a long enough python, testing kits, a good understanding of the Nitrogen cycle, a little back up equipment, and a great relationship with our LFS to start from. Additionally I am a 3d printing nerd so if that can be utilized I'm able and willing to print parts / brackets / nozzles / ect.

The Questions:
-Will an oversized cannister filter [probably Fluval Fx4 or Fx6] with a HOB refugium be enough filtration for a coral only tank or should I plan a sump tank?

-If I "Must" go with a sump tank how viable is converting this non reef ready tank into a DIY'ers AIO? Likely walling off the back side to bring the rock wall formation forward in the tank and hiding the filtration gear behind all the rock, opposed to a "peninsula" set up.

-If I "Must" go with a sump and a DIY AIO is not a plan for success can we plan talk planning the sump tank? I have room for a 20 long under the stand but I will absolutely have to DIY the sump likely with something like the fiji cube kits or cut to fit glass. If we go this route I will build it to leave room for pieces like a protein skimmer but likely will slowly ramp into these higher tech pieces of equipment. I would prefer to keep it as low tech as possible up front but build it in a way I can grow into it and add pieces as they become necessary or available to me.

-I am interested in talking lighting in general for the tank plan so I know what to expect but I'm envisioning this journey to be a longer that normal on and I am not in a rush to put corals into the tank. If I cannot reuse the old lights I have for the refugium that will likely be the first light I buy unless I'm barking up the wrong tree.

-I've been told that I should use 40-60 pounds of live sand and am expecting that I'll be over the 1 pound rock / 1 gallon water general rule with my aquascape plan. How will this affect the amount and type of filtration I need to plan?

-What things have I forgotten to consider?

Hey - first question, HOB fuge with cannister or sump? It can totally be done, have i done it, do i know anyone who has? nope. The only issue is you'll have more options and room if you stick with a sump. All equipment, heaters, etc can live there instead of in your display tank, but again that's a preference.

Not exactly sure what you mean by making this an AIO, it's not an AIO right? Otherwise, i wouldnt make it an AIO by creating space to hide parts in your display.

You say you're not in a rush to put corals in, so i would stick to that and not worry about lights either. Get your rock (live or dry), add your water, some bacteria, etc and get that established. Once you see some things like diatoms, algae first beginning get your cleanup crew asap. Depending on the amount of rock you use, you may not know the amount of mechanical filtration needed until you start testing your nutrients.

One other thing i'd consider here being you asked is flow, research that a bit too. Good luck.

 

[exnisstech]

It's doable IMO I run a 40g breeder with a hob filter, power head, heater and an ATS. The scrubber is a floating type and not attractive but it was an experiment because I already had it and it's growing so much algae I've decided to leave it running.
The tank . The pump on the right was carbon reactor for GAC I'm no longer running.

Scrubber full of tang food. They love this stuff.

 

[ColormeJosip]

Not exactly sure what you mean by making this an AIO, it's not an AIO right? Otherwise, i wouldnt make it an AIO by creating space to hide parts in your display.

Basically what I was thinking here is making the tank an AIO by adhering a back plate to the display and baffle out the back section as the sump. I realize I will lose display space and the smaller "sump" will not be as effective as a separate "true" sump tank but I wanted to ask people who know more ha!

You say you're not in a rush to put corals in, so i would stick to that and not worry about lights either. Get your rock (live or dry), add your water, some bacteria, etc and get that established. Once you see some things like diatoms, algae first beginning get your cleanup crew asap.

This is basically exactly my plan. Before I can even get that far I have to decide on whether or not I am going to alter the tank into a franken-AIO or start just building and plumbing the typical sump

One other thing i'd consider here being you asked is flow, research that a bit too. Good luck.

Absolutely! Many thanks for the input.

It's doable IMO I run a 40g breeder with a hob filter, power head, heater and an ATS

What is your maintenance schedule and success rate look like with that set up? no judgements or shade of course!