My 65gal in-wall

[jkst06]

Thought I would document my trails and errors on my first reef build! I've done a lot of research over the last few years (even started buying stuff and sold it after I realized I was moving too fast) and have finally (along with a LOT of help from my parther) put my dream into reality.

The space started out as an old 80s era wetbar, which basically was only used to store junk. With the plumbing already in place, it was a no-brainer that this space should be converted to a tank.

During construction:

http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll260/jkst06/aquarium192.jpg

http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll260/jkst06/aquarium193.jpg

http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll260/jkst06/aquarium205.jpg

[Capt_Cully]

oh man, what a tease. get going and give us more pix!

looks good so far, what equipment are you going with?

[jkst06]

Here is my equipment list

65 gal display
30 gal sump with fuge
Octopus NW150
Aquactinics tx5
Mag 9.5 return
40lbs dry base rock
60lbs Indonesion live rock (shipped overnight)
100lbs sand
Typhoon RODI

here are some shots of the finished product

http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll260/jkst06/001.jpg
http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll260/jkst06/aquarium003.jpg
http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll260/jkst06/aquarium007.jpg
http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll260/jkst06/aquarium004.jpg
http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll260/jkst06/aquarium009.jpg

[jkst06]

i put the rock in on 2/4 and it barely even had a cycle. My parms are today:

sg 1.024
temp 81
ph 8.3
Alk 6
Ammonia 0
Nitirie 0
Nitrate 1.5

My plan is to do a mixed reef, with more softies and LPS than SPS.

What should me next step be...a clean up crew or is it still too early to add any livestock? I will be getting my q tank set up today so i can add my first fish to it. I've also been reading up on dips and plan to implement a methylene dip for all fish.

My skimmer worried me for awhile...was producing a lot of wet skim and then TONS of microbubbles. Almost overnight on friday, it all seemed to click in and now it is producing some nice disgusting stuff:

http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll260/jkst06/aquarium010.jpg

[jkst06]

I have to say the BEST thing I did that I learned from here was to put in the DJ switch. It allows me to keep everything up and away from the sump and I can label everything and turn it off and on easily with just a flip of the switch.

Also, my research helped me get my wet area set up so it runs very efficiently. All I do for water changes is attach a hose to a maxi jet and away I go:

http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll260/jkst06/aquarium197.jpg

[Hop]

Looks good!

The one suggestion at this point would be to get some sort of water barrier or splash guard up around the sink. You can get a host of things to use at the local hardware store for this. You may see in short order that the exposed drywall gets a little soft from the humidity and water from doing general maintenance;)

Again, nice start!

[SSpiro]

Very nice! Tagging along.

[Capt_Cully]

Nice work. I like the sump set up. Nice DIY.

[jkst06]

thanks for the feedback! So do you think its ok to add some clean up crew?