Reefing on a Budget: 75g Tank Build

[Travis L. Stevens]

I'll be working on it more tonight. It turns out that the foam set up to a more solid state in about 3 hours. I might be able to sit it upright tonight. We'll see though.

 

[Travis L. Stevens]

Last night I finished up the tank, roughed up the foam a little so it didn't look so man-made, sat the tank upright, placed the pillar supports, and filled it with sand. It looks really good so far and I'm quite impressed. I'll try to get the pictures uploaded after work today so you can see how things have progressed. In addition, I'll do an additional cost update and list some plans I have with the tank to make it a little better.

 

[cweber]

Very excellent!!! Glad to see it coming along.

You have pm.

 

[gws76]

Looks great! Great idea.

 

[Travis L. Stevens]

Alrighty. Pictures are ready (and formatted for easier viewing). I'll start by recapping with the new pictures.


This is what I had done in about a year's time just doing it a litle at a time.

Then as I worked through the night two days ago, I ended up with all the rock tied down

Then it was time to start using the Great Stuff foam in a corner to see if I liked it.

 

[Travis L. Stevens]

Obviously I like it, so I proceeded to do the rest of the tank and around the overflow

After it setup and dried, it was time to turn the tank upright

To help reduce the look of it being man made, I took a knife and roughed up the smooth foam and cut chunks out. It didn't make as big of a difference as I thought, but it helped

Finally, it was time to put all the plumbing, pillar supports, etc back in place

.....and fill with sand

 

[Travis L. Stevens]

Last but not least, we have a final product when I put the canopy on!

Through tonight and tomorrow, I'm going to work on filling to tank up with saltwater and getting some extra live rock in there to start getting the DIY/Base rock alive again. I'm getting excited.

 

[Travis L. Stevens]

75g Tank Statistics (Update)

Item ____________ Price _ Acquired?

75g Tank (Undrilled)........$80.........Yes
---(Thanks indoreefer)
Stand and Canopy...........$100.......Yes
---(Thanks JimmyS)
Wood for Stand/Canopy....FREE.......Yes
---(Thanks Anheuser-Busch for Gift Card)
Overflow........................FREE........Yes
---(Thanks YoungSilver)
1.5" Bulkhead.................$10..........Yes
Plumbing........................$20..........Yes
DownDraft Skimmer........$25..........Yes
---(Thanks JimmyS and poke75)
Mag 9.5 Pump................$45...........Yes
---(Thanks JasonF)
Refugium.......................$10...........Yes
(4) T5 Bulbs...................FREE.........Yes
---(Thanks Cichlid67)
Ballast...........................$30...........Yes
Basic Endcaps.................$10...........Yes
VHO Reflector.................FREE.........Yes
~150lbs of DIY Rock........$25...........Yes
PVC Rack.......................$50...........Yes
100lbs Pulv Limestone.....$10...........Yes
MaxiJet 1200 w/ Mod…....$20............Yes


------------------------------------------------
Total: ~$435
Elapsed Time: ~15 Months
Price per Month: ~$29 per Month
Price per Gallon: ~$5.80 per Gallon

*Prices rounded for easy math

 

[cweber]

water...water...water!!!

 

[Travis L. Stevens]

Well, it's now midnight and I just got back from the store and picking up some last minute rocks and salt. Because the rocks are alive, I'm stuck filling the tank up tonight. Looks like I'll have to start this bad boy up with treated tap water. No biggie for me since I've used treated tap water for about 2 years before getting an RO/DI without any problems. Plus, the tank is going to sit with just rocks in it in the dark until I get things situated and the pillars drilled.

 

[Travis L. Stevens]

It's done! The tank is filled with water, flowing, with lights, and live rock to get the tank movin' on up. Now, my next project is to stare long hours at the back of my eyelids. Pictures of the tank to follor

 

[cweber]

Yeah!!!

 

[magellan007]

woohoo! pics!

 

[Travis L. Stevens]

Okay, here's how things progressed.....

Fill the tank and add the liverock

Close the doors and enjoy the fruits of my labor

Toss the canopy on to make sure I can reach things

And fire that baby up!

This morning, it was already noticably clearer, but it has a long way to go since it's a new system

 

[Krbekk]

Looking good dude.

 

[cweber]

Very Excellant Bro!!! Thumbs up to you.

 

[mskohl]

this has got to be the epitomy of delayed gratification. I'm glad to see things are moving along now. Looking good and here's hoping for a speedy cycle!

How about some pics of that baby?!?!?

 

[magellan007]

sweeeet.... that'll tide me over for the time being. But not for too long!

 

[Travis L. Stevens]

The tank is clear tonight, but a little hazy. I fixed a micro bubble problem, and that helped. The skimmer is on the fritz. One moment it's making bubbles and the next it's over flowing. I've got to work out the kinks in it. But, it's the little things. It's a lot quieter than my 29g, but I can make it even more quiet with a few more twinks.

 

[Travis L. Stevens]

It's been over a week since I got to update, but here it is. The day of my last post to the next day, the tank clarity skyrocketed until it was crystal clear. I still have microbubbles from my pump inlet facing the oncoming water, no bubble deterant attached to the inlet, and the bubbles created from the water falling from the refugium to the return pump section. Just a few tweaks there and the microbubbles will be gone. In addition, I even got some Ricordea and a clam to put in the tank. My next step is to move the big rocks around to make room for my 29g corals. Then I'll drill the rocks, make the pillars, and position all the corals to their final resting place.

Tank Specs
SG: 1.0245 (completely topped off)
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 0
Phosphate: 0
pH: 8.2
Alkalinity 9
Calcium 400 (and rising)

Anyways, here is the tank clarity progression.