Reef Central Online Community

Go Back   Reef Central Online Community > General Interest Forums > Tank Journals & Builds
Blogs FAQ Calendar Mark Forums Read

Notices

User Tag List

Reply
Thread Tools
Unread 03/21/2018, 02:43 PM   #1
MyHouseIsAZoo
Registered Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2018
Location: Caledonia, MI
Posts: 81
SLOW 75 gal Build

Hi all

I'm new(ish) here, joined back in January when we bought a 14gal biocube. Now here we are in May and we have already purchased a 75 gallon tank to build into a reef tank We bought the tank in Feb, and it will be a slow build as life will most definitely get in the way (we both work 40+ hours a week, have a 6 year old and 8 year old and recently took in my 18 year old sister). We are still very new to the saltwater/reef world which will add to our slow process.

We have a 30 gallon tank for a sump. We will purchase a baffle kit and build that out. I'm still trying to figure out exactly how that will run (open to suggestions).

Lighting will be LED. We are eyeing the Current Orbit Marine IC Loop Pro lights. We would do 2 light strips.

We will be investing in a RODI system soon. Right now we purchase RODI water from the LFS, but that won't be as economical when we are dealing with the larger water volume.

We will cycle with dry rock, so it will be slow waiting to add fish. Right now our stock list only includes a goby shrimp pair (we have a pair in our nano and love them).


Attached Images
File Type: jpg 75 gal tank.jpg (18.0 KB, 28 views)
MyHouseIsAZoo is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 03/21/2018, 08:25 PM   #2
Bayareareefer18
Registered Member
 
Bayareareefer18's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2018
Location: Bay Area California
Posts: 28
I am doing the exact same thing. Have a 75 that I drilled. Built a stand and a sump out of a 40B. Also using the dual 48" ic pros with two of the 1050 gph eflux. Will definitely follow along with your build as I go through mine


Bayareareefer18 is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 03/21/2018, 08:35 PM   #3
Bayareareefer18
Registered Member
 
Bayareareefer18's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2018
Location: Bay Area California
Posts: 28
That tank doesn't appear to have an overflow. Do you plan on drilling it? I thought of the HOB style overflow but the fear of malfunction is just too scary. Much more than the drilling process of the tank.

For the sump I had previously built this sump for a discus tank. I had all the baffles cut at tap plastics to my specs. Now that I switched to reef I tossed all that and ordered a Fiji cube baffle kit for the 40b. I love the baffle kit. Came with the baffles, filter socks and sock silencers


Bayareareefer18 is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 03/22/2018, 06:58 AM   #4
MyHouseIsAZoo
Registered Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2018
Location: Caledonia, MI
Posts: 81
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bayareareefer18 View Post
I am doing the exact same thing. Have a 75 that I drilled. Built a stand and a sump out of a 40B. Also using the dual 48" ic pros with two of the 1050 gph eflux. Will definitely follow along with your build as I go through mine
We haven't figured out the wavemakers yet, but I'm definitely thinking we will go with something that is compatible with the loop system for the lights. To be honest, I don't fully understand the wavemakers and what their purpose is. There are days I start researching for the tank and get so overwhelmed with information!

Do you have a tank build thread?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Bayareareefer18 View Post
That tank doesn't appear to have an overflow. Do you plan on drilling it? I thought of the HOB style overflow but the fear of malfunction is just too scary. Much more than the drilling process of the tank.

For the sump I had previously built this sump for a discus tank. I had all the baffles cut at tap plastics to my specs. Now that I switched to reef I tossed all that and ordered a Fiji cube baffle kit for the 40b. I love the baffle kit. Came with the baffles, filter socks and sock silencers
We are planning on drilling it. Terrifies me because I can't help by think about it not working and losing the entire tank because of it. That is a nice baffle kit! I'm looking at THIS kit. Just need to measure out our tank to make sure it will fit.


MyHouseIsAZoo is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 03/22/2018, 10:00 AM   #5
Bayareareefer18
Registered Member
 
Bayareareefer18's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2018
Location: Bay Area California
Posts: 28
I did start a build thread. It's pretty minimal.

As nerveracking as drilling was it wasn't bad at all. Just be sure that your tank does not have tempered back panel. If you are too worried some lfs or glass shops may go it for you. I used the eshopps eclipse L overflow which came with the hole saw bit

As far as wave makers they are to give you varied flow in the tank. Rather than pumps that are just constant on blasting your coral you can set the eflux pumps to ramp up and down opposite each other to give you varied flow in the tank.

Getting ready to fill my tank this weekend and test out the wave pumps. For the price I think the ic pros are pretty nice with the understanding they aren't top of the line fixtures

If you want some good, easy to understand info watch the bulk reef supply 52 weeks of reefing video series. Everything you want to know from setup, to equipment, stocking etc

Quote:
Originally Posted by MyHouseIsAZoo View Post
We haven't figured out the wavemakers yet, but I'm definitely thinking we will go with something that is compatible with the loop system for the lights. To be honest, I don't fully understand the wavemakers and what their purpose is. There are days I start researching for the tank and get so overwhelmed with information!

Do you have a tank build thread?



We are planning on drilling it. Terrifies me because I can't help by think about it not working and losing the entire tank because of it. That is a nice baffle kit! I'm looking at THIS kit. Just need to measure out our tank to make sure it will fit.



Bayareareefer18 is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 03/23/2018, 08:54 AM   #6
MyHouseIsAZoo
Registered Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2018
Location: Caledonia, MI
Posts: 81
RODI system has been purchased and will be here Tuesday! I think hubby is getting sick of having to get water from LFS every week or two for me and then for his sister It will be nice to be able to just grab the water we need from the laundry room (our current planned location). The system I puchased is a 100gpd 6 Stage system. It has a 3 gallon storage tank. With this I will always have on hand 5 gallons of water at the correct temperature and 10 gallons at room temperature. We are talking about getting a bigger storage contaner eventually so we will have more water at the correct temperature so we can mix and change water on the fly if ever needed.


MyHouseIsAZoo is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 03/24/2018, 08:04 PM   #7
Bayareareefer18
Registered Member
 
Bayareareefer18's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2018
Location: Bay Area California
Posts: 28
Just wanted to say I finally got my tank filled. I am extremely impressed with the shimmer of the ic pros. It really is above my expectation for the price of these lights. Granted I did tons of research on lights and felt these were a great light for the price anyway but I really am happy with the purchase. I am fully aware I will likely need to upgrade them in the future but I am quite pleased at this point


Bayareareefer18 is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 03/26/2018, 07:10 AM   #8
MyHouseIsAZoo
Registered Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2018
Location: Caledonia, MI
Posts: 81
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bayareareefer18 View Post
I did start a build thread. It's pretty minimal.

As nerveracking as drilling was it wasn't bad at all. Just be sure that your tank does not have tempered back panel. If you are too worried some lfs or glass shops may go it for you. I used the eshopps eclipse L overflow which came with the hole saw bit

As far as wave makers they are to give you varied flow in the tank. Rather than pumps that are just constant on blasting your coral you can set the eflux pumps to ramp up and down opposite each other to give you varied flow in the tank.

Getting ready to fill my tank this weekend and test out the wave pumps. For the price I think the ic pros are pretty nice with the understanding they aren't top of the line fixtures

If you want some good, easy to understand info watch the bulk reef supply 52 weeks of reefing video series. Everything you want to know from setup, to equipment, stocking etc
That is the same overflow I've been looking at. I do like that it comes with the drill bit. I have verified with the manufacturer that only the bottom of the tank is tempered. LFS that we have been using for stocking our tank does not drill There is another LFS that we go to occasionally, but they don't give me the warm fuzzies. There is bubble algae in some of their stock tanks, and they don't seem to be super knowledgable. I will pick up things from there occasionally, but only because they sometimes have decent equipment pricing. The LFS we get our fish, CUC and coral from have dedicated people in their saltwater and freshwater areas. They know their stuff and seem to give us solid advice. I went in with a question about our biocube and the store we sometimes buy equipment from instantly suggested ChemiClean and seemed to not really want to help us out beyond that. Went to the other store the next day and the guy looked at my photos, asked a bunch of questions and said "that is a normal stage, but your lights are on too long, to avoid cyano and some of the nasty algae and to help contain the algae bloom you are having try to stick to an 8 hour lighting schedule" We picked up a few more hermits, water and went on our way. This is why we keep going back to them. That and I like visiting the adorable puffer that I know I can't take home!

Quote:
Originally Posted by Bayareareefer18 View Post
Just wanted to say I finally got my tank filled. I am extremely impressed with the shimmer of the ic pros. It really is above my expectation for the price of these lights. Granted I did tons of research on lights and felt these were a great light for the price anyway but I really am happy with the purchase. I am fully aware I will likely need to upgrade them in the future but I am quite pleased at this point
Good to hear! I've been doing quite a bit of lighting research. We just aren't ready to jump the gun and spend $1000 on lights. LOL! I'm trying to be reasonable with my "addiction" as hubby calls it (I told him it could be worse, I think cocaine is just as expensive and definitely much more detrimental).

We have an unfinished basement and may be looking at building an in wall tank under the stairs It might not happen, time will tell. The basement is currently our wood shop and we don't have plans to finish it any time soon.


MyHouseIsAZoo is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 03/26/2018, 09:43 AM   #9
Bayareareefer18
Registered Member
 
Bayareareefer18's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2018
Location: Bay Area California
Posts: 28
Quote:
Originally Posted by MyHouseIsAZoo View Post
That is the same overflow I've been looking at. I do like that it comes with the drill bit. I have verified with the manufacturer that only the bottom of the tank is tempered. LFS that we have been using for stocking our tank does not drill There is another LFS that we go to occasionally, but they don't give me the warm fuzzies. There is bubble algae in some of their stock tanks, and they don't seem to be super knowledgable. I will pick up things from there occasionally, but only because they sometimes have decent equipment pricing. The LFS we get our fish, CUC and coral from have dedicated people in their saltwater and freshwater areas. They know their stuff and seem to give us solid advice. I went in with a question about our biocube and the store we sometimes buy equipment from instantly suggested ChemiClean and seemed to not really want to help us out beyond that. Went to the other store the next day and the guy looked at my photos, asked a bunch of questions and said "that is a normal stage, but your lights are on too long, to avoid cyano and some of the nasty algae and to help contain the algae bloom you are having try to stick to an 8 hour lighting schedule" We picked up a few more hermits, water and went on our way. This is why we keep going back to them. That and I like visiting the adorable puffer that I know I can't take home!



Good to hear! I've been doing quite a bit of lighting research. We just aren't ready to jump the gun and spend $1000 on lights. LOL! I'm trying to be reasonable with my "addiction" as hubby calls it (I told him it could be worse, I think cocaine is just as expensive and definitely much more detrimental).

We have an unfinished basement and may be looking at building an in wall tank under the stairs It might not happen, time will tell. The basement is currently our wood shop and we don't have plans to finish it any time soon.
Lol I completely agree. My better half does ask too many questions about cost when Amazon boxes show up everyday but she knows I am being reasonable. It's trying to find a balance of building on a budget but also not buying cheap equipment that will just need to be replaced anyway.

It's nice to have an lfs you can trust. I had a new reef store open up in my town and went and took a look. The frag tanks were a mess and all the fish looked terrible. I think 80% of them had cloudy eyes. Luckily I have a great one about 20 mins from me

I really like this overflow. I was considering one or the external eshopps but the fear of failure was too great. Even though drilling the tank was nerve racking it was well worth it for the safety aspect. I plumbed the overflow bean animal style and it works flawlessly


Bayareareefer18 is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 03/29/2018, 07:57 AM   #10
MyHouseIsAZoo
Registered Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2018
Location: Caledonia, MI
Posts: 81
RODI system has arrived. We will install when we get back from vacation. We need it too! I bought a TDS meter when I bought the RODI, straight from tap we are measuring 437, the filtered water from the fridge is 323 and the supposed RODI we buy from LFS measured at 126.

Our next purchase will likely be the overflow box, then we can drill (it should be warm enough to start using the waterhose soon). We also have to decide on a location for the tank. Where we want to put it is currently being hogged by the guinea pigs. The ones the kids got for Christmas that still squeal like we are killing them when we pick them up. Not sure they will ever be tame

We are also researching for the next build :crazy: LOL. It won't start any time soon, but I send hubby a photo of a tank someone built into a wall below a stair case and said it would be cool for the basement. He now wants to do it, but not buy a tank and put it in that space, but build it from scratch. We are now researching plywood tank builds as I think that would fit our needs (and budget) perfectly. I did a mock up of what my thoughts were and he liked it. If it works out it will be a drop off tank and will have a 2 wall display, the drop off would be at the corner. There is storage behind the walls where the tank would be, so we would have a "fish room" and all of the plumbing and such would be concealed back there. I will start a different build thread for that one when we get a little closer to it happening. This will combine our fish hobby and wood working hobby into one BIG project.


MyHouseIsAZoo is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is On



All times are GMT -6. The time now is 08:28 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Powered by Searchlight © 2024 Axivo Inc.
Use of this web site is subject to the terms and conditions described in the user agreement.
Reef CentralTM Reef Central, LLC. Copyright ©1999-2022
User Alert System provided by Advanced User Tagging v3.3.0 (Pro) - vBulletin Mods & Addons Copyright © 2024 DragonByte Technologies Ltd.