Misinformed on how to start! Trying to fix - Need help

[Schlagg]

I got interested in building an aquarium years ago - was very interested in reef tanks.

TANK: Used 75g tempered glass tank from a local.
LIGHT: Aquaticlife 48" 4x54 Watt T5 HO Light (w/ 4 Lunar LEDs).
POWERHEADS: 2 Aqueon 700 circulation pumps.
HEATER: Aqueon 150W Heater
RO/DI: Typhoon 5 Stage RO/DI Reefkeeper
**FILTER: Marineland C360 canister filter**

I buy some live sand from pet store and slap that into tank and fill with RODI water. Plug everything in and behold... a tank with water.

Never progresses past this point and I'm moving from Louisiana to Michigan.


Tank/Canister/"live" Sand sit in freezing dirty garage for 3 years.


Rekindle the desire to have a reef tank - Take stock of what I have:

Dirty tank full of disgusting sand/useless canister filter with burnt out motor and media that had not been replaced in years. RODI has 2 cracked filter housings.

Clean out the tank, buy parts and fix the RODI, buy heavier duty heater (300w), start filling some large tubs with RODI water and get the salinity to a specific gravity of 1.024. I'm about to buy some live rock and live sand, BUT WHAT DO I DO WITH THIS CANISTER?

The friendly people at marineland sent me a brand new motor for free, but honestly, it doesn't help me. Four of the five media layers are useless for a reef tank.

What in the world do I do? Drill the tank? Drop a lot of $$$$ and buy/make a hang on overflow/sump/skimmer? Please, help me out

 

[btb72]

They have overflows that aren't super expensive. Canister filters are terrible I'd sell to a freshwater guy to pay for it

 

[Schlagg]

Agreed on selling the canister.

But you're suggesting getting an overflow into a sump with a skimmer? Isn't that gonna get extremely expensive?

 

[btb72]

Yes on sump. Petco does a $1 per gallon sale few times a year. If you don't want to do a skimmer, (I would) a lot of people do a ats (algae turf scrubber). Takes a little more knowledge to implement. But is a cheaper option.

 

[Ou8me2]

Petco has the 1.00 per gallon sale right now till 1/28/17. You could always look for a used sump or build one yourself. Is there a tempered glass sign on the bottom? Usually, the sides aren't tempered and just the bottom. I guess it depends on your budget or how much you think or want to do yourself.

I will say I bought a very nice use acrylic sump several months ago which came off a 220 for 40.00 for my 75, so there are deals out there if you are patient.

 

[ColoReefer970]

You can't drill tempered

 

[Schlagg]

Thank you all for your responses - so the consensus seems to be buying a sump tank.

How big does the sump tank need to be for a 75g tank? Is there a specific kind of sump tank that is better than another?

 

[dreadhead]

I think there is some excellent info in this thread for anyone starting up. It has helped me get back into this. Grab a pen and paper and read through imo...

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2075632

 

[top shelf]

Like many said try to sell the canister filter to pay for other supplies. If your tank is tempered glass on all sides you won't be able to drill it which limits you to a hob overflow. If your unsure you could try to find a manufacturer name on the tank and call to find out. If there is a Petco $1 per gallon sale going on a 40 breeder would make a very nice sump. Depending on where you put it you want the biggest size you can get/fit. Its fairly easy to diy a sump there are many good threads here on it. When I built mine I used a 15g, some aquarium safe silicone, and went to Lowe's to have my baffles cut. You could build.your sump for around $60 if they have that sale and you diy one yourself. Plumbing parts are fairly cheap and the other big expense would be the overflow itself.

 

[Ou8me2]

I'm not going to say 100% that the sides are not tempered but if you do some searching you'll see many of us have drilled the back side with success on this very forum on 75-gallons and including myself. You can do a search and find how to tell if the glass is tempered with a pair of polarized sunglasses and a laptop.

You can email the company who made it and ask but even that is not a 100% guarantee cause if they run out of normal glass they will substitute tempered glass on any given day. Most companies don't temper all the glass cause it is more expensive and heavier. The one thing I will say that is 100% is the bottom is tempered on a 75-gallon. I've drilled 3 75-gallon's on the back over the past 9 months and not one of them was tempered on the back glass.

If you aren't comfortable with drilling then you can get a HOB overflow which some people will say isn't the best. They do work but you'll need to read up on the con's of using one. A Sump will always be the best.

You probably won't get much out of the canister filter unless it is a very high-end one but it will offset the cost of setting up the new HOB and sump.

 

[Schlagg]

What's the minimum amount I'm looking at spending to make this reef tank a success? Given all the pieces that I do own

 

[Ron Reefman]

Schlagg, I hate to say it, but if this expense is an issue, maybe a marine tank isn't the hobby you should be looking at. These are not cheap to buy, even used, and the cost of buying fish, coral and maintenence can be just as much.

 

[Schlagg]

The expense is not an issue, but like anyone else, I wanted to see what the best deals are and have a realistic dollar figure to compare costs.

I'm moving forward and I'd like to get a sump, a hang on overflow and return pump, a protein skimmer and an aquarium stand that can house all of this comfortably. If anyone has any suggestions besides petco $1 for 1 gallon sumps, I'd love to hear it. Thank you in advance.

 

[crawlerman]

You may be better off selling your setup as a freshwater aquarium on craigslist and buying an established reef tank from craigslist. There are usually some great deals on reef setups. Buy the time you buy a sump, return pump, overflow system liverock, skimmer, test kits, chemicals, fish, corals you will be well over $1000. I sold my complete 75g setup when I left South Carolina for $500. Was the best I could get. I would only buy one that is up and running successfully. My fear would be buying a setup that was crashed due to contamination.

 

[Schlagg]

Update: I took crawlerman's advice and sidelined the used tank for a reef-ready Deep Blue 75g tank from a LFS.

We ordered an Eshopps Refugium R100 and I'm looking into return pumps to see what the prices look like. The LFS had a SICCE Syncra 3.0 714 gph that they recommended, but I wanted to see if anyone here had any suggestions.