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65 Gallon Start Up

And so it begins…


It’s time to begin my journey in to the wonderful world of reefing. I’ve been wanting to get into the salt water world for many years but haven’t had the itch or the ability to get it done. Now that we own a home and the major remolding and construction are done with, (it was a foreclosure so we basically had to redo the entire house) the availability for a tank is there. I’ve always been a sucker for aquariums, and have been to a majority of the country’s top rated ones, Baltimore being my favorite. I just need to get the wife on board so I could get my own piece at home. This permission came after a cruise we took with my wife’s family over the holidays. We went to the Bahamas, Jamaica, The Grand Caymans, and Cozumel, with snorkeling stops at all of them. That vacations came after we spent our honeymoon this past May in Fiji and Northern Australia. We spent a lot of time in the ocean and she really enjoyed seeing all of the fish. So on our drive home from the cruise ship she gave in, and I’m on the beginning down this road.


The second reason for wanting to start this fish tank now, is that we are expecting our first child in July and want to get the tank set up and running before the baby gets here. I like the idea of having the tank near the babies pay area in the basement, which is where we spend the most of our time in the house. I think the baby will love taking its naps next to the tank and love the idea of as it grows up it will be able to enjoy the tank with me.


So I began my journey with a 46 gallon bow front that was given to me by a cousin. He had at one point many years ago a reef tank set up, but has since abandoned the hobby. I knew I would not want this to be my final display tank as its very old and have may scratches and center brace and trims is cracking. So I decided to set it up on my basement floor temporarily until I could set up my system. I wanted to get a head start on cycling and curing the dry rock I had gotten, about 30 lbs. The rock has been cycling for about 2 weeks or so, and I haven’t checked any water parameters yet, accept for the salinity of the water. I’ve just been ghost feeding every other day and I’ve added Dr. Tim’s Aquatics Eco-Balance Multi-Strained Probiotic Bacteria for Reef Aquariums. I figure once the final tank is set up and transfer the rock over ill start the cycling process over again like it was brand new. I was just looking to get a jump start on the cycling process when I got to it.


I have now acquired a 65 gallon tank with the dimensions of 36x18x24. I am currently in the process of expanding and finishing a stand that was meant for a 55 gallon tank. I’m also working on a custom sump and above tank refugium, which should all be finished by the end of the month. I don’t plan on having any fish, even if the tank is cycled, until we get back from San Diego in the first week of April.

So this is the Tale of my Tank, I am very open to any suggestions, help, and advice I can get, and thank you for taking the time to read my story.
 

mnat

Officer Emeritus
Staff member
Moderator
Congrats on the new baby and a reef tank. Good time to set it all up.
 
So this weekend I transferred over my rock and water over from my cycling tank to the display tank. It seems I have a bacteria bloom going. Im hoping to get the over flow, sump and return pump working next weekend. I still have some work to do on the aquascape, looking for the right pieces to make an arch connecting the two rock sections, and then a few pieces of live rock from an established tank to help the process along and get some coraline growing.
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SeahorseKeeper

Officer Emeritus
Officer Emeritus
Looks like you are on the right path! Congrats on the new baby! I know that my tank is a great source of entertainment for my nieces and nephews. The only way my niece would sleep at my house was if she was near the tank.
 

art13

Officer Emeritus
Officer Emeritus
Always good to see new people in the hobby, ever since I put my tank in the wall and my 1 year old can see it now, he stares at it all the time. Good luck, the bloom will eventually go away, it's a good time to get used to doing tests, depending on what you plan on putting in. If the bloom lasts too long a small uv will clear it up in a few days, I had to use one once when it lasted over a month.
 

Mark_C

Staff member
Officer Emeritus
NJRC Member
Moderator
Gratz on both!
And, BTW, best babysitter ever.

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Fish Brain

Officer Emeritus
Officer Emeritus
At least you know a baby is on the way, before setting up the tank.

When I set up my 65G in the spare bedroom of my apartment, 8 months later I had to move the tank to make way for a crib. Only to then have to break it down 4 months later when we bought a house and I upgraded to a 120. B-)

You can check out my tale of the tank thread here:

My 65G | NJ Reef Club


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
So yesterday was the day. After adding a few small pieces of a clean up crew last month (2 blue leg hermits and 2 nassarius snails), just to get my feet wet and to have something to look at after my tank had finished its cycle, I got my first fist. Yesterday I went out and got 2 small ocellaris clownfish. So far they are doing great, swimming around checking out the entire tank last night, this morning they seem to have found there spot and have been hanging out around and behind the bottom of the overflow pipe. I did not quarantine these since they where the first ones going in and I do not have much invested in the tank to lose, but from now on i will quarantine. Now goes the waiting game till I can get the next one. I was thinking maybe a wait week until i pick up the next fish, since it will be in quarantine for a while that should be enough time for the tank to adjust to the new load.

1 question i do have is, what does everyone use to clean the glass outside the tank. Mine has alot of salt spots and just looks dirty?

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njtiger24 aquariums

Officer Emeritus
Article Contributor
I use a water/white vinegar mixture. Not so the ratio (the wife makes it for cleaning other things). It does a good job on cleaning the glass and I seen no ill affect with my open top tank.
 

Trio91

Administrator
Staff member
Moderator
i like to use vinegar but i get those streaks which annoy me, i know i shouldn't use it but with my fully enclosed (new) tank, im using news paper and windex. im spraying a small amount on paper and just wipe

again i know it's bad, but i am very careful with it
 

mnat

Officer Emeritus
Staff member
Moderator
Welcome to the club and congrats on the tank, we live in point pleasant so good to have someone else local. We use windex wipes to clean the glass if we really want it to look nice. Be very careful with the spray as it can get in your tank and is not good.
 
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