Where to put 75 gal of water?

[HarrisonMG]

Hi,
So I've had my 75g reef set up for a few months, but when I set it up I was adamant about not using a sump, and then "I saw the light". I've been using a HOB overflow, but now I'm gonna drill.

The only problem is...where do I put 75gallons of water?


A water change takes care of my sump's volume, and I have a 20 gallon storage bin already....50 gallons to go.

I am looking for a cheap, reliable way to put the water somewhere. Large storage containers/bins/trash cans are actually expensive, so I went looking at inflatable pools but that doesn't sound safe.

Any ideas I might've missed?

Thanks!

Heres my tank btw:

 

[on the spot]

reach out to your local groups - place an ad @ your LFS - I loan out my extra rubbermaids all the time. Someone has one in the garage/shed/basement/barn/other unnamed out building.

HTH

 

[neilp2006]

You can commonly find food grade 55 gallon plastic barrels on Craigslist for $15 each.

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[Gorgok]

Lowes return policy is pretty good... A temporary 44 gallon trash can would basically cost the fuel it took to get there twice.

 

[mcgyvr]

Lowes return policy is pretty good... A temporary 44 gallon trash can would basically cost the fuel it took to get there twice.

oh... booo.... hiss....
Don't be that guy....

 

[neilp2006]

Lowes return policy is pretty good... A temporary 44 gallon trash can would basically cost the fuel it took to get there twice.

Yeah- don't do this. That's kinda off.

Go find a cheap 55, then keep it stowed somewhere so if the tank ever fails, or you decide to change it up, you have the capacity.



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[Rover88]

I actually went to Home Depot and levelled with the salesman that I was using it for a one time thing, and asked if I could 'rent' a large brute container. He just laughed and told me to buy it and refund it.

So I mean.... Just be honest? :lmao:

 

[billdogg]

Don't you want to set up your mixing station now anyway? Go buy the freaking container of choice (I use a blue 55g barrel) and do it right.

jm.o2

 

[lapin]

How about a bath tub. Be sure you clean it. Soap and oil free. Mold is ok.

 

[HarrisonMG]

It thought about a tub....but said pass.

And I went on Craigslist and for $35 got a 55 barrel with removable lid!

Thanks for the advice.

Also, I have a water mixing station already that works well for me:
The 20g brute bin, on a small wheeled dolly
A powerhead or two does all the mixing.
I drag it into my room and pump it into my tank easy peasy.

A barrel I have no place for upstairs so couldn't use the larger capacity [emoji45]
Would be nice though to only mix every couple months


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[neilp2006]

Nice.


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[neilp2006]

That last comment- you really shouldn't kid a batch of nsw then keep it around for months. Weird things can happen like precipitation, contamination, stagnation. I think your system sounds like it's working for you, so that's awesome already.


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[Lsufan]

Do u plan on taking sand, rocks & everything out of the tank so u can lay it on the face to drill it? If not & u plan on drilling it standing up then I wouldn’t even empty the entire tank. I would empty it to where it is about 6” below where u are drilling & that would be it.

Removing everything so u can lay it on its face is definitely the easiest & safest route to drill, but if u don’t plan on taking out the rocks & sand then there isn’t a point in removing all the water

 

[Maggie321]

Dollar store plastic kiddie pool!

Maggie

 

[saveafish]

Dollar store plastic kiddie pool!

Maggie

+1 on that. Get the blow up ones and when done deflate and store. I keep one. Ive had to loan it out and use it my self for emergencies..

 

[HarrisonMG]

I was thinking take out everything but sand because I spent time making arranging it. I also put sand with small shells in top of regular and it would get all mixed in if I took it out.

I feel I should get rid of all the water because I'm drilling from inside so all the little shards are inside too. Thought I could put plastic wrap over all the sand and drill and call it a day.

With this barrel, I can empty my tank most way in a few minutes, put fish and rocks in bin and knock this whole thing out with hopefully no hiccups.


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[saveafish]

Exactly. Leave the sand in there or you will mix it up. That will be a whole new set of issues. Drain it down about an inch past your drilling. Don't worry about the glass dust. It will be ground up pretty fine. Side drilling go slow and have a water spray bottle going as you drill.

 

[HarrisonMG]

Oh ok. I guess when I think about it, dust shouldn't be an issue. Just worried about if it is floating around and fish inhaling it....after all so many fish in ocean die because of particulate plastic. But that would make my life so much easier to not have to catch the fish and move the corals.


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[saveafish]

It will sink to the bottom and 90% will be on the outside drizzling down any way. It's ok to go super slow and make a mess.

 

[Lsufan]

If u can drill from the outside u won’t be getting anything inside of thevtank. Place some tape on the inside & drill from the outside. I assume space is the issue which is why u want to drill from the inside, but if at all possible I would drill it from the outside in.