Mike's 75 Gallon

[reef_keeper]

Hey everybody, I'll start off by saying I've been in the hobby for around a year or so. I had a tank (same tank) setup for around 6 months about 2 years ago. The tank is up right now (sorta) and has been for around 6 months. I'm just not happy with it so I have decided to make some major, and minor changes. Thought that I would start a thread so I could get some advice and tips from all of you experts out there. Right now I am in the proccess of taking everything down and getting my holding tank ready for my clowns and CUC while I work. Here's a picture of the tank around a week ago...

I was using an Eshopps pf-300 overflow box and it was about to snap off the back of my tank lol, plus it was so noisy! All in all...I HATED the thing, so I am going to drill and build my own internal overflow and use the Herbie method with 1" drains. I plan on drilling and using 3/4" pvc with loc-line for the return as well. I will be replacing the old sand with new special grade sand. (40LB dry and 20LB live)The stuff I had was the sugar size and I could not get decent flow without sandstorms. I am also contemplating 100lbs of marco from Marcorocks.com with maybe like a 5LB LR to seed. How do you guys feel about that? Don't worry, plenty of pictures to come soon.

 

[reef_keeper]

Here's what the tank looks like today..

I am re-painting the back black once I get the tank drilled so I decided to see how hard it would be to get the paint thats on there off the back...not so hard haha

I'm just trying to do as much as I can untill I get my diamond bits to drill the holes and everything else that I've ordered.. Im nervous as HELL about drilling btw!

 

[Mikelush78]

Sounds good! I have sugar grain size sand and I have really good flow without sand storms, just have to position the flow correctly, but you can replace the sand for new sand I that would be easier...

 

[reef_keeper]

Sounds good! I have sugar grain size sand and I have really good flow without sand storms, just have to position the flow correctly, but you can replace the sand for new sand I that would be easier...

Yeah, I like to keep plenty of flow around the bottom so the detritus doesnt build up so much around my rocks. It seemed like if it was too low I was creating huge craters in the sand or I had dead spots. Thanks for the reply

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[reef_keeper]

I did get a package today! A healthy reef starts with a good water source...

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[reef_keeper]

Got the tank cleaned out tonight, still waiting on my hole saw to get things rolling. Going to clean it out with vinegar and water when I remove it to drill.

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[reef_keeper]

Got a lot finished yesterday. Finally received my bit to start drilling.

The left overs...

The drilling went really smooth, took an hour and a half to finish all three holes. This was my first time drilling glass. I was nervous as hell about drilling but for anybody thinking about drilling their tank, if I can do it so can you.

A little blurry. Black background.

I built the overflow box from 1/4" black acrylic and bonded it together with weld-on #16. Seems to be good so far. The box dimensions are 8"L X 5"H X 4"D.

heres another look at the overflow. I was a little sloppy with the glue on the side im going to try and clean it up with a razor.

I measured, cut, and mocked up my plumbing. Here in the next couple days im going to get it all glued and do a leak test on everything. Ill probably run freahwater for a few days in the system just to insure there are no problems.


My pictures arent the greatest but I got so caught up in working on it I wasnt concerned with taking many pictures but I should have. More to come soon!


Mike

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[Bosco83]

Great job it's coming along very your going to love it! You did a great job on your plumbing nice and clean. Are you going to cut teeth in the overflow box you made?

 

[reef_keeper]

Great job it's coming along very your going to love it! You did a great job on your plumbing nice and clean. Are you going to cut teeth in the overflow box you made?

Thanks! Just trying to take everything slow and make sure its how I want it. The reason I'm doing all of this is because I rushed everything when I first started and nothing good happened lol. So here's to moving slow :beer:. Ive actually put a lot of thought on the teeth for the overflow. I could probably do it but with a little research I believe it wouldn't allow as much water to overflow into the box if there are teeth, plus much better surface skimming. I was a little concerned about critters getting into my overflow the way it is so Ive decided to use the scrap piece of acrylic I have left and make a lid. I'll have to draw something up. Plus I would think another benefit of the lid is that its black and will help keep the light out so I have minimal algae growth in my overflow.


Mike

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[vitodog]

Great job so far. You inspired me to drill my empty 55 gal. If you don't mind, could you supply a little detail on how you moved and maintain your livestock in your "holding tank" while you complete the work on the DT. And, how long do you expect the livestock to remain in the holding tank. Thank you

 

[reef_keeper]

Great job so far. You inspired me to drill my empty 55 gal. If you don't mind, could you supply a little detail on how you moved and maintain your livestock in your "holding tank" while you complete the work on the DT. And, how long do you expect the livestock to remain in the holding tank. Thank you

Its not hard to drill, just go slow. For my "holding tank" I went to Wal-Mart and bought a little 10 gal starter kit. All I needed to keep alive were 2 clowns, peppermint shrimp, and my CUC. I have a powder brown but my LFS is holding him for me, I didnt want to put him in a 10 gal. Not even temporarily. I used a few rocks and sand from my tank so I would have a minimal cycle and could transfer the fish easily and safely. The bio load is much greater in the little 10 gallon so ive been having to do frequent small water changes but no big deal. The livestock has been in there for around 2 weeks. Im not sure when ill be able to add my fish back to my system, depends how my cycle goes. If you have any other questions please ask. Heres a look at my 10 gal..

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[reef_keeper]

FedEx came today.

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[reef_keeper]

Getting ready to order 100lbs of marco rock from marcorocks.com. Does this rock need to be cleaned or do I need to do anything to it before adding it to my tank?

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[reef_keeper]

Nobody has anything to say about the rocks?

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[reef_keeper]

Received my rock from marcorocks.com. They are awesome. The rock is pre-cycled so I am going to put it in the tank and cycle with it. My ro/di stopped working last night? When I turned it on it was making water fine, today when I looked it only made around 5 gallons and stopped. I just replaced the filters.


Here's the rock

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[reef_keeper]

Looks like my membrane is shot on my ro/di. Bummer. Its building up lots of pressure right before it enters the membrane but normally if I listen carefully I can hear the sound of the water being pushed through the membrane. All I can hear is a small drip noise if I place my ear right up to it now. I just double checked all my lines and my new filters I just put it, everything seems fine.

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[reef_keeper]

Got my membrane today. Bring on the water!

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[reef_keeper]

Here's a quick look at my skimmer and sump.

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[reef_keeper]

Added the dry sand today and rock. Will add the live sand before I add the water. Been playing around with the rock for a while. Heres my final scape.

What do you guys think?

Mike

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[footballdude2k3]

I am putting together a 75, personally I like the minimalist look more, less of a wall and more caves, but all that matters is that you like it when you look at it everyday