75 Gallon Reef

My last couple threads about my rebuild were very unorganized because I didnt know what I was getting but now I do so here we go.

Equipment

75 gallon DT
54 lbs of live rock
1.5" of fine sand
Marineland Maxi jet 900 GPH laminar flow
Marineland Maxi jet 1200 GPH powerhead
Marineland emperor 400 with removed biowheel and replaced with folded up
filter pads to take away noise
1200 GPH overflow
Mag float algae scraper
Reefbreeders 200 watt 32" controllable LED fixture

37 gallon display refugium
3 clamp on work lights
each produce 2767 K
Koralia 600 GPh
Currently 9 lbs of LR but adding more
Deep sand bed
2" of fine sand on bottom for nitrate to nitrogen gas
3" of sand mixed with crushed coral for oxigenated bacteria
home made overflow from LFS design

1st 10 gallon sump
Reef Octopus NWB 150 6" pinwheel in sump skimmer
Bubble Trap
1st baffle- 1.5" above bottom
2nd baffle- 8" high
3rd baffle- 1.5" above bottom
home made overflow

2nd 10 gallon sump
Finnex 300 watt titanium heater
Top fin digital thermometer
aa-aquarium 24 watt UV sterilizer
600 GPH return

Misc Eqip
Top fin salt- going to switch over to a reef salt
BRS 4 stage RODI system that produces 75 GPD
Testing
Red Sea Alk, Calc, Mag
API Nitrate, Nitrite, Ammonia, Phosphate, PH
Coralife hydrometer

Current Livestock

75 gallon
Blue tang (had for 2 years)
Yellow Tang (had for 2 years)
Bangai Cardinalfish (had for 2 weeks)
Dwarf fuzzy lionfish (had for 3 weeks)

75 gallon CUC
asterina starfish (10-14)
Nassarius Vibrex- 40
Nerite Snails- 20
Red leg hermit- 3
Dwarf Cerith- 30

37 gallon refuge
chaeto
grape caulerpa
ulva
assorted pods (a lot of them)

Desired 75 gallon livestock
5 to 6 blue green reef chromies
six line wrasse
occelaris clownfish pair
rose bulb anenome
assorted lps, sps, and soft corals

Desired 37 gallon refuge livstock
either a
peacock mantis shrimp
seahorse pair
dwarf cuttlefish

please post opinions

 

Looks good to me ....definitely let us know if you go for the cuttlefish...

 

i like it. i would get more flow in the display if you plan on keeping ANY sps at all, and even some LPS will need more flow than two maxi jets can provide.

 

did you say dwarf cuttle? YA!!!

 

Dwarf Cuttlefish FTW!

 

Dwarf cuttlefish are a real undertaking. I cant speak from personal experience but a LFS near me tried to keep them, they brought in 4 or 5 different shipments and they were all dead within a week. Any amount of stress and they can ink Im pretty sure, which fouls the water. Not only of your fuge but your entire tank obviously, then Im sure your corals would slime up and the snowball effect would continue. Also, cuttlefish naturally have a very short lifecycle unfortunately. I wouldnt even consider cuttlefish IMO. The other two options could work, but the seahorses need very low flow so your plumbing might need to be adjusted depending on how your system is set up. Lose the API test kits. If you are going full reef you will need something more accurate and quite frankly, pretty much anything is better than API. Red Sea makes good test kits, same with Salifert. Id get a PH probe, as long as you are going this route, might as well go Apex controller to monitor PH and temp as well as what equipment you deem necessary. Lose the hydrometer, get a refractometer. Do you have a TDS meter? There is still a decent amount to put together from what you have posted. Sounds like a cool system though when it matures.

 

The system is already 2 years old other then the 37 gallon refugium. Cuttlefish raised from eggs will live a year and will adapt to tank life better. Have you ever seen a maxi jet work? They are ridiculous, I dont think I could get much more flow without a whirlpool and sand storm for the fish IMO. Im almost 100% going for the cuttlefish

 

Will post photos tomorrow when everything is running.

 

Just got water in the display refugium. Will be taking the livestock out of the old refugium tomorrow morning and putting in the protein skimmer

 

Curious as to why you asked for opinions when you are settled on what you are going to do. Either way good luck. Keep us posted.