Kate's first tank

Waw great to know. I assume they come in all sorts of sizes(typical chick I am eh), because I can't imagine using the small ones I've seen, on the larger rock. They wouldn't be big enough.
Thanks for the help.

Yeah, I think I used 12'' and 8'' ties.

This is where we're at today

I added 5ml of the calcium today and I'll test again this afternoon to see where it's at. It's still a little blurry, but I'm hoping it'll settle more. The skimmer will be here this week and I'll get some liverock this week too.
The test kit I got was the API reefmaster- Do I need to get another kit to test the nitrites?
I still need to more the rock around a little more before I'm set on it. I think I got the sand level high enough, even though it's sloping in the middle.

I think the sand might be to high in spots. It is very easy to siphon out if it is. I would literally stick a ruler in the tank with the goal of 4'' to 5'', and no more than 6''.

I really like the rock work, by the way. Nice job.

Thanks Pasfur =) I measured around a bit and some spots were pretty close to 6 inches. Good eye ;)
Redid the sand to around 4 1/2 inches all around and my calcium is finally up to 400.Water cleared up too, but I'm having to take pics with my Flip so it still looks blurry.

Have you added any actual live rock yet? If not, try to get 5 pounds in there anyhow. The sooner the better to help seed that dry rock and sand along.

OO the live rock has been a pain in the butt. There's only 3 places that sell fish about an hour and a half away from me. Remember that old lday?
I actually went BACK there (my mistake) and tried to get some live rock last week.She told me I couldn't buy any untill I got a light..Then she tried to sell me a T5 fixture.
ugh. So we went to the other places. One didn't have any and the other place had some nice pieces but the guy would never wait on me.
Needless to say I just ordered some online and it should be here tomorrow. I'd rather do that then buy from that ol ...butt..LOL.

Wow youve got a place like that aswell? I feel for you. My LFS is a royal pain in the you know what as well. She obviously is in it for the sales because if she knew anything at all about saltwater then she would know that you dont need a light for LR. Some people Im telling ya. As much as I hate to resort to lying in order to purchase things from a LFS Im about to do just that. Next time I go back to mine Im informing her that I have already purchased a 75G aquarium and that its currently cycling! Maybe then I will be able to buy larger specimens. Of course not until a month or more after I tell her that. This is ridiculous! I feel like Ive got to think like a criminal to come up with some huge plot in order to be able to pull this off.

Good luck with the build, Im looking forward to watching it progress!

Added 11lb live rock on saturday.
Test results:
calcium 340 (again..)
nitrate 40
salinity 1.024
phosphate 0
alkalinity 8
My calcium won't stay around 400. It keeps dropping to around 340. Is that normal? I've been adding the liquid calcium every other day. It seems to be dropping too fast, when theres nothing in the tank to use it up. Maybe I'm still doing the calcium test wrong, but i doubt it. *shrugs*

You need to buffer your alkalinity up in order for your calcium to stay higher. What product are you using?

If this was my tank, for example, I would add the recommended dose of Kent Marine Super Buffer DKH this morning. Tonight I would add Calcium Chloride. This will allow both alkalinity and calcium to rise together, which is what should happen.

If you are using the BIonic products, then add both parts this morning and retest tonight.

Another point of concern is nitrates, which are pushing the limits. I would not be concerned just yet, but before you add livestock you will need to see nitrates drop naturally or you will need to do a large water change. Hopefully the deep sand bed will allow for good denitrification to occur soon and the nitrates will drop naturally.