65 Gal. reef build

as long as you don't plan a large lps/sps population you should get by without it

Wow its looking very nice..
You sure got some luck in that tank.. From start of my cycle to end was about 6 weeks...and many others on this forum had cycle period of 4-5 weeks..Did you a deli shrimp or anything to you tank to get your cycle going?
I am very interested in this...Sorry for all the questions *giggles*
What was your highest amonia reading during cycle time?

my highest ammonia reading was about 1.5 i think the biggest reason for my success was simply using very very very good liverock. the place i bought it from kept it in very low light at 76 F, tonnes of water movement and a constant protein skimmer on it for 1 month b4 even selling it to me. that plus the H2Ocean seemed to be very good in not adding anything bad to the tank at least. also i ran this tank with 2500GPH of water movement plus a canister filter and a protein skimmer that is sized for 125 gallon tank or tank plus sump =ing 125 gallons. ive now since added some more crabs (hermits) an urchin and im going to be putting in some cheaper fish (not expensive ones just because i dont wanna have a 100$ fish die on me for any reason) in it on saturday


P.S. I bought some Darwin Clowns! just a pair of them, there sitting at the shop for 4 weeks until im sure they will survive in my tank and not die off in the store. plus it gives me some time to have a good idea of what all i can add to my tank. these guys are 2" long too. sorry i havnt added any picks my camera was borrowed and not yet returned

Shannon *Admin* wrote:Wow its looking very nice..
You sure got some luck in that tank.. From start of my cycle to end was about 6 weeks...and many others on this forum had cycle period of 4-5 weeks..Did you a deli shrimp or anything to you tank to get your cycle going?
I am very interested in this...Sorry for all the questions *giggles*
What was your highest amonia reading during cycle time?

I can understand what Liverock is saying about his cycle. When I got into this hobby I experienced a similar scenario when I set up my 120g reef. I had done all the research I could for months and had an experienced reefer for guidance along with an arm full of test kits. Being a newbie I tested the water everyday single day looking for anything weird and as well as the ammonia spike from die-off. It never happened, the readings then are the same as they have been for 2.5 years. My ammonia readings were undetectable for the whole 5 weeks I waited.
I never really could figure out when the cycle started or finished so I waited 5 weeks before adding any livestock to try and be safe.

LiveRock wrote:
P.S. I bought some Darwin Clowns! just a pair of them, there sitting at the shop for 4 weeks until im sure they will survive in my tank and not die off in the store. plus it gives me some time to have a good idea of what all i can add to my tank. these guys are 2" long too. sorry i havn't added any picks my camera was borrowed and not yet returned

Looking forward to seeing a pic of your Darwins swimming around in your DT once you get them and you get you're camera back.

so i was glad to add also a small hammer coral and a very large tongue coral today they were quite cheap for me so lets wait and see how well they do. as im told the tongue is unkillable lol seems to like all areas of flow and light its got alot of both so we should be ok. still my camera is MIA, picks up on monday or tuesday of all the fish /crabs/corals

now i always test my water to ensure proper levels. but before i added ANY corals i went to a water testing place. they have told me my water is at 1.026 not 1.024 D: just swapped out some water and is doing better. other than that all levels are very good

Why did you go to a water testing place? Didn't you trust your test kits or refractometer?

temp,salinity,nitrate,phosphate IMO are the best to test when first starting never tested for anything else even when testing for phosphate and nitrate at first it didn't help much for me I still lost a lot of thing's

IMO calcium hydroxide ( kalkwasser) seems to of helped me keep my phosphate in check along with a 8.3 to 8.4 pH it seems IMO that calcium hydroxide has helped precipitate phosphate

nice selection of rock's

freshwater experience realy help's I can tell

Your tank is looking great, keep the pics coming!
What is the green looking tube at the rear/right side/ top of the tank for?

canister filter lol

All These Pictures were takin from my phone so please excuse the poor quality lol
the bamboo shark came out at night and i didnt have my camera handy so i used my phone





Peppermint shrimp, Decorator crab and bamboo shark

Awsome shots, Your phone takes better pics than my point and shoot...lol