I have the new 75g tank up on the stand and the old one is sitting in my entry way waiting to be returned for a new one.
I added the sand last week and I stole about 30-40 lbs. of live rock from my well established 65g. I will replace that rock with new rock once is cures. I also added 4 cups of sand from the 65g. I will slowly replace the sand in the 65g with new sand.
I took a good portion of the macros from the sump of the 65g and added them to the new 75g. Thank goodness I never have all of my eggs in one basket, and I had a few pieces of the red macros in the 65g. I did that just incase I ever had a tank crash. This was close enough. I liked the look of the old 75g, but no matter how hard I try I can't get the new one to look exactly like it. Oh well......different rocks can't stack like the old ones. It's close, so I will live with it. I did discover that I had more of the feather macro in the sump of the 65g then I did in the old 75g tank....hmmm wonder how I missed that? So those have been transferred to the new tank.
I have pods on the glass of the new tank already. Lots of them infact. I guess that's what happens when you pull all of the macro out of the sump and put directly into the tank. Pod explosion. No wonder my mandarin in the 65g is so fat, lol. That sump must have billions of pods. Once this tank gets an established pod supply, the mandarin will be moved over to this tank. I never get to see him in the 65 because there was so much LR he was always hunting behind them. In the 75 there is less rock, but lots more plants.
I added 60 nass. snails, 8 astrea snails, and 20 micro hermits. I am adding mysis shrimp to the tank to feed them for now. I also wrap a small piece of seaweed around a rock to feed the astreas. They love it. So far I don't have much of a cycle. Ammonia 0 Nitrate 5 nitrite 0 ph 8.4 temp 70 alk 14
calcium 450.
I have a hob filter on the tank for now since the 30g tank I ordered for the sump came in chipped. The new one will be here Thursday. I will add the baffles and finish the plumbing Thurday afternoon. The mag 9.5 is here and waiting for the sump to be completed. I ordered some EPDM for the baffle system. I hope it gets here before Thursday. No waiting for the silicone to cure then. I will update as I can.
The old tank had black trim and black silicone. I loved that. The new one has oak trim and the clear silicone which I don't like as much. BUT the new one is reef ready so I guess I'll live with the oak trim and clear silicone for the sake of a reef ready tank.
Angie