65 Gallon Wife Approved Build

[Miah2bzy]

Got our AlgaeBarn order today with the Ultimate Refugium Starter Pack: Pom Pom & Sea Lettuce Macro, Galaxy pods, PNS, Pod towers, and more.

In the sump I took out the wall that was separating a fuge compartment from the protien skimmer compartment to make a larger area for a fuge. I added the pod towers along the back to prevent the algae from going into the return compartment. Added the red pom pom and sea lettuce to the fuge, galaxy pods, and other things.


The maxspect gyre had broken directional fins on it so I got replacement/upgrades for those today. The new directional fins work brite well now!

Left side: Gyre set to random, 70% mode, all day.
Right side: MP40 set to Reef Crest, 75%, all day.

 

[Miah2bzy]

Comparing different LED accent lighting for either the T5 (2x coral+, 2x blue+) or the 2x250 14K halide setup.
In your opinions, do you think visual pop (lower color ranges) should be prioritized over more natural color ranges (with less pop, but all day viewing)? I saw the note on the ultra bars and was considering 4 ultra bars angled vs 2 reef brite 50/50.

 

[Dr.DiSilicate]

Comparing different LED accent lighting for either the T5 (2x coral+, 2x blue+) or the 2x250 14K halide setup.
In your opinions, do you think visual pop (lower color ranges) should be prioritized over more natural color ranges (with less pop, but all day viewing)? I saw the note on the ultra bars and was considering 4 ultra bars angled vs 2 reef brite 50/50.

I think you’d be happy with either the ultra bars or the orphek or4 bars. The or4’s are co rollable out of the box with a pretty great app, the look and feel of the ultra bars is similar. The t5 aren’t going to give you a pop over the halides.

I’ve run light bars with halides for years! Best of both worlds imho. They give the blue pop everyone loves, halide still are the best for growth, combining them both is amazing.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Miah2bzy]

First leak of the build.

Used a saddle valve on a 1/2” copper line to run the 5/16” line to the rodi filter we had setup a few months back. Came home and the saddle was leaking. Luckily we caught it within the first 5-10 minutes and no water damage to the basement.
Cut out the saddle and put in a shark bite Union.

In the process of all that we had to drain the house main line. The drain was a faucet instead of a gate valve and wouldn’t shut all the way - the gaskets get all junked up here. Got the leaking drain valve off and saudered in a new one with the right extension for the adapter.

Later that night the water alarm went off again and the handle on the new gate valve was leaking! Took the handle off and tightened the packing down. No more leaks!!!

 

[Miah2bzy]

I think you’d be happy with either the ultra bars or the orphek or4 bars. The or4’s are co rollable out of the box with a pretty great app, the look and feel of the ultra bars is similar. The t5 aren’t going to give you a pop over the halides.

I’ve run light bars with halides for years! Best of both worlds imho. They give the blue pop everyone loves, halide still are the best for growth, combining them both is amazing.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

We’re leaning towards the halides, not sure which led spectrum to go for though, full spectrum with controllable channels or blue actinic. Full spectrum leds would allow for all day viewing but with less pop, actinic would pop but less all day viewing.

 

[SynDen]

We’re leaning towards the halides, not sure which led spectrum to go for though, full spectrum with controllable channels or blue actinic. Full spectrum leds would allow for all day viewing but with less pop, actinic would pop but less all day viewing.

The Halides can provide all the full spectrum light you need, and accent lights should favor the blue and UV light imo. Thats how I light my tank anyway

 

[Miah2bzy]

Thanks for the input! I am putting in an order for the Reef Delight Ultra Bars. I discussed with the customer support for Orp3 and there is a control module needed to use those plus a mod on the light itself, the Orp4 doesn't need a control module but was more expensive than the modular ultra bars. We plan to build our light hanging fixture next, 2 spots for halide reflectors to sit and the Ultra Bars fit well with what we're building there.

 

[Miah2bzy]

Small win: Pods are starting to show on the sides of the refuge and in the aquarium. Macro algae seems to be settling in and growing well. Parameters are leveling out.

 

[Miah2bzy]

Where do you all recommend getting metal halide bulbs? I need 250 watt double ended in or near the 14K spectrum.

 

[SynDen]

https://aquabrightsolutions.com/collections/250-watt-double-ended-mh-bulbs

 

[Miah2bzy]

Seneye Probe reads 1.5* less than the Apex probe:
In amongst the boxes of reef stuff we got in the initial sale, we found a “Seneye” probe. After digging some we got the seneye transferred to our account from the original owner and setup.
We have the strips on purchase for ph, n03/n04.
Currently the temp reads 1.5* less than the apex temp probe. In your opinion, which is more accurate and/or how would I calibrate it to be the same? (Or is this a non-issue)

 

[Miah2bzy]

Look what came in the mail today!!!

 

[Miah2bzy]

LFS got a couple fish/corals on my list in for me this week, they are currently in the 40B quarantine, ate some “Reef Frenzy” right after acclimation:

Yellow Choris Wrasse
Tomini Bristletooth Tang
Purple Firefish

Corals:
Blue Sympodium
Fruit-loops Zoa

 

[Miah2bzy]

Here’s a pic of the sand box I put in the Q tank for the choris wrasse, has about 1.5" sand (for scale the PVC is 3" PVC). Overnight the wrasse floated at the top of the tank or settled into one of the holes on the frag holder (back of picture). Is this normal behavior? Thoughts?

 

[SynDen]

Mine did similarly when I first introduced him to the QT tank and eventually he found the sand. Although maybe try a wider container for the sand. I used a longer rectangular tub. But either way he should find it eventually

 

[Miah2bzy]

12/20/25

Lights! We got the halides and LED bars up today. My son and I worked on this project together. Pics below.

1. Super Strut: We used a 10' length of "Super Strut" that we cut down to 2x3' pieces + 1x4' piece. All 3 were painted with exterior grade black matte paint. We lag screwed the 3' pieces into the joists above the fish tank. The 4' piece was put horizontally across these and secured.
2. Light Fixture: We built a 2x4 light hanging fixture that would let us hang the halides off of it and position the LED's. After multiple attempts we came up with the current design. Initially the halides were to be placed across the tank front to back but this ended up leaving no room for the LED Bars. We moved the halides to their current position (See pics).
3. Halide Fixtures: I had to take apart the halide fixtures to clean the reflectors. In so doing, we found a couple wiring faults. This led to taking apart the halide fixtures completely discovering that the hanging hardware had nearly rusted through. We took that out and used metal rods secured with washers and lock nuts on the inside. These extend up through the 2x4 with more washer and nuts. The original plan was the use hook/eye hook system, the new setup is a lot more secure.
4. LED Bars: We initially were going to place 2 bars across the front and 1 on either side of the tank, however, once we started working on the halides and had to turn those there was no room for the bars along the sides. There are two bars across the front centered and two bars across the back sitting at either end of the tank, see pics. This gives us better coverage and with the 2 bars in the middle allows the halides to sit where they are.
5. Note on the Reef Delight Ultra Bars: The Ultra Bars are some of the best LED light bars I've seen and I am super happy that you all recommended them. On setup however, the instructions are lacking in detail on how to setup the ultra bars with the app. Our error was that initially we had set them up and then when we plugged them in the bars turned on as it on schedule. We found out that when they're turned on they come on (duh!) but not with the app. We had not paired them properly. After reading the instructions and diving into the online documents, we found that the pairing code that the app requests is not on the LED bars or the controller module. It's "000-000". This should have been clear and/or a stick on the controller itself. Everything else is top not and looks like something you'd see at a trade show.
6. Upgrades:
   1. We currently having it hanging with chains, I'll be upgrading to galvenized cabling once we find the best placement for the lights.
   2. We have on order the trolley tracks that go in the super struts which won't be delivered until January. This will allow the whole light fixture to swing out in front of the tank so that we can work in the tank.

Will have a clean up crew coming next week, multiple fish in quarantine moving into the main tank, and corals coming soon!

 

[SynDen]

Looks great. That setup should work perfect