75 Gallon Build

[Lincoln 993]

Hey everybody. New to the forum thing, but the group I'm usually with has been quiet recently, so I decided to give it a shot. Plus, nice to be around other hobbiests, not many out here in the desert.

Anyway, I'm starting up my 75 gallon reef build. I've had bigger tanks in the past, but this is what I've got, and I have to live with it. Just today, I gave its previous inhabitants (five fantail goldfish) to a local pet store, and now the tank it empty. Currently it's a 75 gallon tank with a HOB overflow, a 20L tank that I've been using as an algae farm (worked very well actually), and a hodgepodge of equipment from my previous reef tanks. I do have a coralife 2 bulb t5 fixture currently with a single reflector, but that's only for now. I don't plan on having inhabitants until maybe October, and no photosynthetic organisms other than algae until February, 2018.

Due to my current employment situation (college student working evenings as janitor :spin3, I'm limiting my purchasing power to about $150/month, so no big trips to the LFS or any websites for now. With that being said, I'm going to focus on my DIY equipment first, then on purchasing equipment. Eventually, I hope to keep a mixed reef (softies, LPS, and SPS with clams, anemones and other critters), but that's in the far future. Focusing on now haha.

So, my first step is to relocate the tank to it's resting place for the next few years. I'm going to run my standard sterilization and cleaning procedure, then I want to paint a background onto it. While I'm doing that, I need to clean out the 20L and install baffles into it, and figure out how I'm going to plum the system. The stand also needs doors and maybe a new color (it's purple like a grape popsicle).

Anyway, I'll post status updates and any questions I have here. Most will be things like equipment reviews, procedural stuff, opinions on tech... that sort of thing. So, thanks for reading. Pictures will come as updates do, maybe monthly.

 

[quantumfuzz]

Looking forward to seeing the progress.

 

[Lincoln 993]

Thank you quantumfuzz!

So, day two. I got the tank cleaned out with plenty of water and vinegar. Same with the sump tank (which was REALLY gross! Plenty of compost food in there), though the sump tank has a lot of hard water build up, and I think I need to get it off before I try to silicone baffles into it (want to make a custom refugium). I also have plenty of tech: a reactor, plenty of pumps and an ATO switch.

Which brings me to my first question. I have a HOB protein skimmer I salvaged off the last tank I maintained (long story, but I can't see it any more). I don't really like the skimmer. The reason I took it is because it was expensive (more than my current tank), and the new tank was getting a new skimmer. I saw a video on YouTube by Joey (AKA The King of DIY), and it looked interesting. It was made from a water bottle, a length of PVC pipe, a couple of suction cups, and an air pump with a wooden stone. I was wondering if anyone here uses DIY skimmers (and what design you like). I don't think I'll buy one, just because that would extend my budget out a lot, and might push me back a few months. At most, I'll just stick with the HOB I have. It actually fits nicely on the sump. If anyone uses thir HOB's on their sumps, let me know too. I'll put some pictures up this evening.

 

[Lincoln 993]

Hey ho everyone :wavehand:,

I've been off grid for a while, mostly because the build is going very slowly. As is common I suspect, budget is the biggest limiting factor for me, and as such I can only purchase a critical piece of equipment every month or two at best. But, progress has been made.

First: The tank is in place, and I've begun the setup of the sump. For filtration I'm planning on using an ATS as the primary filtration method. With that, I also have an 8x8x4" block of Marine Pure for biological filtration, a carbon/bio pellet/gfo reactor that I'm planning on using for bio pellets, and a Reef Octopus BH-100 HOB skimmer. I've also constructed a reverse flow undergravel filter based on the one posted on YouTube by The King of DIY. It's plummed directly into the return. but I can put a diffrent pump on it later if need be (did put an anti-siphon hole on it. Forgot about that at first :facepalm

For flow, I was able to pick up a Maxspect Gyre XF-250 from BRS when they were having their big sale last week. I'm calculating my flow needs based on an LPS/SPS dominant system at between 20 and 50 times the DT volume in GPH. That works out to 1500-3750 GPH. Since the pump goes up to 5300 GPH, I think I can send it within my range without overexerting the pump at all, and I can put it on my eventual dream upgrade (220 gallons :inlove.

Lighting is going to be provided by two 2 bulb T5HO fixtures (a Coralife I got a couple years ago, and a Sunblaze) and two Kessil a150w LEDs. Went with the a150 because of cost, and because I already had one a 150, so I wanted to match it. I'm planning on getting a Seneye Monitor with a PAR meter so I can properly mount the lights. The BRS PAR videos are what I'm going on with my goals.

Finally, rock. I'm not really sure what I'm going for. I know the scape, but I've had a 110 gallon that failed on me and I suspect part of it was the amount of rock in the tank (I think I had 120 lbs, I'm not sure). So I'm going for a minimalist look just to decrease weight. The Marine Pure brick should provide adequate biological real estate to offset my minimalist rock setup.

So that's my update. I'm still maybe 4 months from setup, so I'll keep you posted on my progress. And as soon as I can get my mits on a passable camera, I'll share pictures. Also thinking about doing a vlog for it, but I'm just playing around with that idea.

Have a Happy Labor Day for all my fellow Americans, and a good Monday for everyone everywhere!