TVS 75 Gallon Build

[The Velvet Sea]

New build incoming! 75 gallon + 20 gallon long sump (exotic, I know haha). This will be my largest personal tank (4th reef overall, 55gallon, 24gallon, 20gallon, and I can finally afford to really do it right this time, not saying my other tanks were failures but they always left me wanting more...).

Some details and specs of equipment that I already have coming:
-75 gallon 48"x18"x21" (reef ready overflow at one end for peninsula installation)
-20 gallon long sump (I need to do some baffling but I'm waiting until the skimmer arrives, not planning on a fuge)
-Super Reef Octopus 1000 internal protein skimmer
-Eheim 1262 return pump (wondering if this might create too much circulation between the display and the sump, easy to dial it down with a ball valve but I'd hate to waste watts, guess I'll find out).
-ATI Sunpower 6x48" 54w T5 fixture (ATI bulbs=Blue+, aquablue special, purple+, you get the picture, DIY conduit style light hanger)
-Digital Aquatics Reef Keeper Lite controller for heater, fans, and T5s
-Floatswitch for auto top off from autotopoff.com

I have most of the other peripherals already (i.e. 6 stage RO/DI, full compliment of Salifert and Elos test kits, Hach phosphate colormeter/photometer, BRS Carbon/GFO reactor, refractometer, 3 part calc/alk/mag supps etc.).

Planning to use dead rocks from BRS that I'll seed with a bit of live rock from my current 24 gallon aquapod which is pictured as my forum avatar.

I've not decided exactly what I'm going to do for circulation beyond the return pump. I'm leaning towards an MP40 on the exposed peninsula end but I'm looking at my options. I have an MP10 which won't cut it alone on a 75 gallon, but I'm thinking of ways I could incorporate it into the build. If not, you may see it on the classifieds before long. I need to take some measurements on the available space at the overflow end that will be against the wall before I can totally make up my mind on providing the circulation.

Coral stocking plans, a few sandbed suitable LPS frags (acan, favia, fungia, etc.), SPS dominating the rockwork but that won't be for a long long time.

The only fish I'm leaning heavily towards is a hawk, longnose or flame, because I love their personality. I'm sure I'll have a couple more but I've not decided and I'm used to taking these things slowly.

I'll take some pictures of the tank when I get it this weekend and do some leak testing!

Let me know what you think of my plans!
Thanks,
TVS

 

[floydie83]

Looking forward to it! Good luck!

 

[The Velvet Sea]

Thanks floydie83!

Another day, another purchase. BRS has their dry rock on sale with free shipping over 50 lbs so I picked up 65 lbs of the pukani :dance:

 

[The Velvet Sea]

My BRS Pukani dry rock arrived today. I ordered 65 lbs. The table is 2'x4' which is a larger footprint than my 75gallon tank. It will be more than enough rock. I requested small to medium sized pieces with nothing larger than a big football and that is exactly what I got. I'm very pleased with it. Very porous and irregular shaped. I did find a few dead critters including one nice size dried up bristle worm. Even though it is all dried, there will be some decay.

This little corner is all of the breakage. The rock was very well packed.

Future 20L sump with SRO-1000int!

Tank arrives tomorrow!

 

[The Velvet Sea]

Tank and stand arrived today and the problem solving phase has officially begun:mtool:

I had the stand finished on all 4 sides since it is a peninsula installation. Well, since the back is not open, the 20L sump won't fit in the front doors! Oops. Jigsawed a 13"x13" square hole in the wall end and the sump will fit in there. I knew I'd make a hole in that end for the return plumbing and the electrical, just didn't know it would be that large. Anyhow, it won't be visible when set up so all is well!

Time for me to do some staining!

 

[shaggss]

TVS

Good start, seems like you know what you are doing!

I would give that dry rock a good vinegar bath for a few days. I have been reading a few threads that have said there is a lot of PO4 in BRS rock.

The 1262 maybe ok. I have one on my 50G, with 4' of head and it does a great job (not dialed down at all).

I would go more smaller vortechs than one big one to cover all areas of your tank. I know Tim from Ecotech will be upset with me for saying this, but when you turn those vortechs up, you can definitely hear them. So a few smaller ones on about half flow and they are virtually silent. You could also incorporate a "dry dock" in your overflow to house the vortechs. Then you wont have power cables showing. Do a search for d2mini (Dennis). He has a great overflow setup.

How are you planning your overflow? If you haven't heard of Herbie or Beananimal overflows, do a search now before you fill your tank. They are great and completely silent, easy to maintain and cheap to make.



HTH

cheers :beer:

 

[The Velvet Sea]

Hey Shaggss,

Thanks for the input! I'm hesitant to do a vinegar bath with the rock, but I'll definitely take it slow. I have a hach PO4 colormeter that I can borrow from work whenever I need it, so I'll be sure to watch that closely. I'll be surprised if I have anything other than sand, dry rock, seed rock and maybe a minimal start to a CUC in the tank within 3 months.

I know what you mean about the noise from the vortechs. I was surprised at how easily I can hear my MP10 at full speed.

A dry dock in the overflow sounds very interesting! I might have too much thickness to deal with for dry docking a vortech in there though. The overflow box is 3/8" glass, then covered with 1/4" acrylic and the acrylic isn't completely flush with the glass box all the way down. Plus with my Herbie plumbing (see below) I don't think there will be enough room to dry dock. I'll look into it anyhow since it sounds so cool. I'll probably be forced to use an MP40 on the exposed end and a Tunze along with the return line on the overflow end. I'm not going to over do it on the rock, despite what is pictured above, so that shouldn't impede flow too much.

Thinking about the MP40 on the exposed end: Dealing with the cord and the controller are going to be an issue for me. The cord can't go up and over the tank because it simply won't be long enough since it is a peninsula and the MP40 will be way out on the peninsula end. I'm thinking I might have to drill a hole in the exposed end of the stand for the cord to go through. Now with my MP10, the dry side of the pump is permanently attached to the controller. If the MP40 is the same, either the dry side of the pump or the controller will have to fit though the hole in the stand... that will be a pretty big hole when ultimately just an electrical cord will be feeding through it. The only solution to that I can think of is a very large desk grommet, and I'm not sure I can find one that an MP40 dry side will fit through! Ugh.

As far as the drain: I'm going Herbie since I only have 2 holes in the overflow. 1" drain and a MONSTER 1.5" emergency drain. I know most people use the bigger line for the main drain, but 1" can definitely handle all of the recirculation that I would ever push, and the plumbing parts (gate valve) is a good bit cheaper for a 1" than a 1.5". If the 1" ever clogs I will have no concerns about whether or not my emergency can handle it. I just don't see the need to make the 1.5" drain the main line.

Thanks again for the advice Shaggss! Much appreciated.

 

[gregmoeck]

nice looking base rock

 

[The Velvet Sea]

Thanks Greg!

I really enjoy the problem solving stage of a new build, even though it can be challenging and a bit frustrating at times. As far as the MP40 cord problem I discussed previously: I started looking at the ecotech website and saw a video demonstrating how to upgrade a Gen2 driver to the new ES driver and discovered that it is pretty easy to disconnect the pump dry side from the driver! Now I can just run the cord through a small desk grommet in the end of my stand for a nice clean look. I might even mount my RKL on the outside of the stand and run the bus cord through the grommet too. :spin2:

Edit: Just after typing this I decided to do it to my MP10. I opened the driver box and disconnected it from the dry side pump and was able to feed the cords into my stand. Previously neither the dry side nor the driver would fit through the hole. Worked like a charm!

 

[shaggss]

I started looking at the ecotech website and saw a video demonstrating how to upgrade a Gen2 driver to the new ES driver and discovered that it is pretty easy to disconnect the pump dry side from the driver! Now I can just run the cord through a small desk grommet in the end of my stand for a nice clean look. I might even mount my RKL on the outside of the stand and run the bus cord through the grommet too.

Yep.....very easy! keep the pictures coming on you build....

 

[The Velvet Sea]

The stand staining went well. The photo is a little yellow washed from the compact florescent bulb in that room, but it is fairly representative of the look of the stand. My camera ran out of juice after I snapped off two shots of the front. This is the better of the two. I'll shoot a few more tomorrow evening.

 

[The Velvet Sea]

:celeb1:I think it is time for this build's first full tank shot:celeb1:

Today I got home and had a nice selection of cool stuff waiting for me including:

Then I found this:

Compare the picture of the light fixture shipping box to the T5 bulbs pictured above.

Yeah, something is not right and it is the fixture.

This is where the story gets boring or interesting, that is up to you.

Yesterday I detected a fraudulent charge on a credit card. I called the bank to file a claim and have it canceled. Not a big deal, but one order that was in the process of going through for my gate valve, heater, miscellaneous plumbing, etc. was canceled because the card was being deactivated. Oh well. I went to the local branch and got a temporary card but now the temporary card isn't working because the expiration and security code aren't the same as the new permanent card that is being issued to me through the mail, thus rendering the temporary card useless. Another oh well. I can deal with it but I have to delay that plumbing order a bit. Glad I'm not rushing things!

I called the vendor about the sunpower fixture and yep, they confirmed that they accidentally put in the wrong item code when they forwarded my order to the distributor. Not a big deal. They're placing a new order with the distributor for the correct fixture and I'm going to send the 24" back to them. Then they asked me for a credit card number just so they have a guarantee that I return the 24" fixture. I can understand that, but the card I want to use isn't working! I explain my situation to them and how my last card was compromised and I find out that they had another customer contact them about having a card compromised and they think they might have a problem with their site security. Now it sounds like my card was compromised because I did business with this vendor! And I have the wrong light fixture too! Ugh. I didn't suspect a problem with this vendor's security when I called the bank to report the issue, but after looking at my recent charges, the fraudulent charge happened on the day after I placed my order with this vendor. I refuse to divulge the name of this vendor because I like them. Mistakes happen (the wrong fixture). Even if my card was compromised due to my transaction with them, fraud is widespread and though they might need to look into their site security, I forgive them.

Anyhow, gonna be a week until my card issue is resolved, and then a week or so before I get the rest of my plumbing and probably longer before I get the correct fixture. I can do a tank leak check, but I won't be able to set up my "herbie" until I get the correct plumbing. I also don't want to begin building the light hanger until I receive the fixture. I can't place the tank until I build the light hanger. So basically everything is being pushed back. Thankfully I've been in the hobby for over 20 years so I have the patience aspect down pat :lmao:

Reefing is always an adventure!

 

[sstewart81]

Looks good, cant wait to see it up and running.

 

[The Velvet Sea]

Looks good, cant wait to see it up and running.

Thanks very much. You and me both!

Leak testing at 50% :thumbsup:

 

[The Velvet Sea]

Leak testing at 100% with makeshift plumbing.

I shipped the 24" sunpower back to the vendor and the 48" should be on the way to me now. I also ordered my glass baffles from a local glass shop and they should be ready later today or tomorrow. Then I need to let the leak test run for a bit, drain the tank and silicone the baffles in the sump.

I've ordered my circulation which will be provided by an MP40W ES on the exposed end and a Tunze 6065 on the overflow end. The eheim 1262 will also be returning water up to the overflow end. Hopefully between those 3 pumps I will have a good amount of flow. Now I just need to reorder the final touches for my herbie plumbing and install it, as well as build the light hanger. Then I should be about good to go for saltwater, sand and dry rock which will hopefully be in 2-3 weeks or so.

Thanks for looking!

 

[chris3_16]

I am suscribing to this. I have the exact same tank sitting at my parents house. Once I get the room, its going up.

So what lights are you going with 4 or 6 bulb fixture?

What are you planning on keeping?

 

[The Velvet Sea]

Hey Chris, thanks for looking.

I am using a 6 bulb ATI Sunpower T5 fixture. I have all ATI bulbs. 4 Blue+, 1 Purple+ and 1 Aquablue special. I fired it up and it is very bright. I want to stock with SPS dominating the rock and some acans, brains, fungia etc. on the sandbed. Probably a healthy stocking of fish, flamehawk, cardinals, pseudochromis, and clowns are on my list of possibilities so far.

The build is coming along great. I received the correct light fixture quicker than I expected and have begun to build the light hanger out of electrical conduit. I'm in the process of painting the conduit black. I siliconed the bubble trap baffles into the sump. All of the sump equipment fit (SRO-1000int skimmer, ViaAqua heater, eheim return pump, ATO float switch, filter socks that I plan to only use when needed but I need to have room for them, temperature probes for heater and Reef Keeper). I can't imagine trying to fit a fuge in there though as it already feels a bit cramped. I also received all of the plumbing, MP40 and tunze. I should receive a big box of salt and sand today. Speaking of sand: I'm planning a shallow sandbed with the CaribSea Seaflor Special Grade Reef Sand. Most reviews stated that this sand stays put pretty well in high flow tanks.

I ordered a sun lift light suspension which should be here by early next week. By then I should be finished painting the conduit and I can finally place the tank, fit the plumbing and fill it up by next weekened!

 

[The Velvet Sea]

I would love input on aquascaping! The tank is standard 75gallon 48"x18"x21".

I like the look of minimal aquascapes, but I'm also concerned because I want to stock a lot of SPS and will be running T5s. I've always used halides for SPS in the past. I don't know how high I should stack the rock to get the SPS closer to the lights. Reviews of the sunpower fixtures are pretty good though and many people claim they can grow SPS on the sandbed, not sure of the depths of those tanks though.

None of the rocks will be touching the 48" long panes of glass. One of the 18" panes will be against the wall and this is where the overflow will be. I could use this wall and lean rocks against to build some structure. It shouldn't be too much of a detritus trap and will be easy enough to clean since I can get to it from both sides and it won't be wide.

I've thought about trying to build two peaks with a valley in the middle. I've also thought about building a wall with a large cave in the middle that you can see through from both sides.

Aquascaping is one of the hardest parts for me.

 

[The Velvet Sea]

Everything is here! Some items days sooner than I expected. Pictures will come next time, I promise.

I spent the last hour struggling to connect the sunlift light suspension to my sunpower. The connections on the sunpower are great, but the one way clamp device that is on the fixture is designed to have a metal cable feed through it, not a piece of string like is on the sunlift. The string isn't stiff enough to feed through the clamp on it's own. I had to use the metal cable that came with the sunpower to feed a length of sewing thread through the clamp. Then I had to use some skilled knot tying to get the thread to feed the string on the sunlift through the clamp on the sunpower. Ugh, but it worked!

As soon as the paint dries on my light hanger conduit I can place the tank, plumb and fill. I am so excited that it is almost ready. I can finally stop bleeding money! Well, at least for a few months until the stocking begins :fish2:

 

[shaggss]

Hey great you have all the equipment now......Just take your time and dry fit the plumbing first before gluing!

As for aquascapes try these two web sites.

HTH

cheers :beer: