Backbay Reef’s AA 65gal AIO

[bakbay]

Got really bored this Christmas so bought a full setup from a very cool, local reefer here on the forum. I figure I’ll start the build thread to share my journey. For starters, I’m super thankful for the pristine setup. The previous owner took great care of the system and livestock. My next chapter is to take this tank to the next level, without crashing it, of course.

Theme for this tank will be mushroom-dominant. I’m planning to collect as many cool mushrooms over time.

I currently have various systems with intricate sump & equipment but this is my first AOI setup so will be very interesting.

System Setup
Tank: Advanced Acrylics 65gal (48x20x16) AOI
Return Pump: Jebao DCP-4000
Heater: Aquatop 300W Titanium
Light: AI Grow 36”
Skimmer: none - I don’t plan to run one
Filtration: sand, rocks, bio media

 

[bakbay]

Livestock – AA65 Mushroom System

Jawbreaker Mushrooms
• Deadpool Jawbreaker ×1
• 4-Color Jawbreaker – 4” mother w/ 4 babies
• Jawbreaker – 2.5” mother w/ 2 babies
• Eclectus Jawbreaker – mother w/ 2 babies
• Candy Crush Jawbreaker ×1
• Purple Monster Jawbreaker ×2
• Colony of Orange Jawbreakers

Bounce / Specialty Mushrooms
• OG Bounce Mushroom ×1
• Magic Carpet Mushroom ×1
• Sunkist Mushroom ×2
• King Kong Jawbreaker – mother w/ 2 babies
• Interstellar Mushroom ×1
• Doughboy Mushroom ×1
• Kryptonite-type mushroom (one-of-a-kind, Philippines)

⸻
Anemones
• Chicago Sunburst (CSB) Bubble Tip Anemone ×4

 

[joseserrano]

Very nice tank

 

[bakbay]

Very nice tank

Thanks. I need to move your Solomon Island mushrooms over. I think they will do better here vs my high-light, high-flow frag tank!

 

[joseserrano]

Thanks. I need to move your Solomon Island mushrooms over. I think they will do better here vs my high-light, high-flow frag tank!

Yes, they do well in lower light. Also need some white spectrum lights. I find all blue for a few few months and they started to shrink

 

[bakbay]

Yes, they do well in lower light. Also need some white spectrum lights. I find all blue for a few few months and they started to shrink

I’m acclimating at 25% intensity. From the LPS/Softies preset, it’s around 14% whites.

 

[bakbay]

Some mushrooms are still shriveled up from yesterday’s move, along with my 50% WC. Hope that they’ll open up soon…

 

[bakbay]

These two BA Helmet Picasso clowns are loving life…

 

[Tangwich]

Love the shallow reef looks. Congrats Larry!

 

[thresher]

Some mushrooms are still shriveled up from yesterday’s move, along with my 50% WC. Hope that they’ll open up soon…

Cold water has a tendency to do that

 

[KarateQuat]

im jealous of all those shrooms !!!

 

[bakbay]

I didn’t like the goosenecks so swapped them out for the Current USA mounts. These are much more stable and aesthetically pleasing overall.

 

[bakbay]

Love the shallow reef looks. Congrats Larry!

If this works out well, I might convert my whole 90gal SPS frag tank into a huge lagoon. I already got 2 Gigantea nems there. If my friend doesn’t want both Haddoni’s next week, I’ll have a pretty insane shallow reef, full of anemones!

So far, this is my favorite tank, yet!

 

[bakbay]

Cold water has a tendency to do that

Yes - makes sense. Thanks for the reminder. They were in 75F water for likely several hours. I’ve increased to 77F and just changed to 78F. I think that it’s the sweet spot for mushrooms, right?

 

[bakbay]

UPS: this tank is next to our DIY battery and we’ve tested it today. We can suffer a total power loss and can still run for 10+ hours without intervention.

Next up: hook up an ATO. I have a Tunze ATO but since the tank is next to my water station, I’m just going to tee off and use a float valve. It’s cheap enough and haven’t had any issues (knock on e-wood).

 

[bakbay]

The previous owner did a great job with flow by using these loc-lines to spread out laminar flow. It bothers me enough aesthetically so asking my gifted son 3D some RFGs to have random (but still low) flow in the tank.

 

[bakbay]

Return pump: when I’m bored, I might hook up a second pump just in case. I’m a firm believer in redundancy, esp since this is the tank’s life support.

Heater: same, need to purchase a second one, just in case one fails; which they typically do.

Other than that, I’m done. Well - need to play the mushroom Pokémon game and collect more?

 

[bakbay]

im jealous of all those shrooms !!!

Thanks - I got really lucky. This is a great setup from the previous owner. I’m still learning on how to successfully keep these wonderful creatures. Some of my mushrooms melted in other tanks so hoping this purposed-built tank will help.

 

[bakbay]

Update - added a small bag of ROX carbon into the baffle/overflow. Hope this will neutralize any chemical warfare.

Tempted to move my Haddoni over… but resisting the temptation! lol

 

[bakbay]

Last night’s video

https://youtube.com/shorts/fYZostuudBA?si=1FMCpiWol5Flgagj