Joe's Really Slow Progressing Build

[horseplay]

Hi folks, just introduced myself in another thread and now here's my build thread.

I have never kept salt water before so the question is where do I start. After looking at countless posts on various forums I decided on a 75. Figure it's big enough to give me some chance of success in the meantime small enough to be manageable. This will be my learning tank.

Ordered a 75 reef ready tank from Marineland. Marineland tanks were Perfecto a while ago so the quality should be ok. I have heard horrible stories on Deep Blue tanks so they're out of the question. Aqueon makes quality tanks but the overflow is in the middle instead of in the corner and it's HUGE. Plus the Marineland tank would come with all the plumbing with slightly lower price.

Since the tank will be in the basement fishroom I will build a real simple stand with 2'x4'.

This will be probably be the slowest build thread ever but since I don't have a lot of free time (have another 3 tanks to run including high maintenance discus tank) and enjoy setting up tanks I don't care. Just be real patient with me. How slow? I expect to start curing rocks in August after the summer vacation trip is over!

Looking forward to you comments and suggestions.

 

[horseplay]

As the first step of this long process I will build the sump. The sump will be a 40g breeder divided in three sections. Sorry no pictures yet but I promise plenty to come. From the right to left are Drain and Skimmer section, return section and fuge. The fuge will be about 15" wide and 12" tall. There will be a bubble trap between the skimmer and return sections.

I have a 1600 gph Rio 26 pump. At 4" head it should pump 1000gph. Figure 600gph will go to the DT and 400gph to the fuge. I have read there should be a lot of flow in the fuge but I am not sure. So far so good?

sump waiting for the glass baffles:


plumbing:

 

[Classklown90]

Off to a good start. I believe the common sump.layout has the fuge in the middle though. Is there a reason why you're not doing that? Have you looked into coral types? What types are you looking to Keep if any

 

[horseplay]

Off to a good start. I believe the common sump.layout has the fuge in the middle though. Is there a reason why you're not doing that? Have you looked into coral types? What types are you looking to Keep if any

Not sure about the pro and con but I have seem it done both ways. Maybe with the return in the middle there is more flexibility on how the fuge is used?

Here's a diagram:

As for corals I have no idea. Is there much difference between Softie and SPS setups? Honest I probably can't tell the difference between all the corals yet but I like to have the option to keep most of them.

 

[redfishbluefish]

I too have a 40B sump with the return in the center. But note that I have two drains feeding the sump in both corners of the sump.

As far as your 2 x 4 stand, here’s the build instructions for dimensional stands. For a four foot tank, all dimensional lumber can be 2 x 4’s.

 

[Zippy69]

Welcome! I myself started with softies and lps. As I became more confident and consistent with my water parameters I moved on to Sps. My intent was to have a mixed reef, but the sps bug got the better of me and my tank is sps dominant.

 

[Classklown90]

Not sure about the pro and con but I have seem it done both ways. Maybe with the return in the middle there is more flexibility on how the fuge is used?

Here's a diagram:

As for corals I have no idea. Is there much difference between Softie and SPS setups? Honest I probably can't tell the difference between all the corals yet but I like to have the option to keep most of them.

I'll let someone else chime in in the sump. There is a big difference in those coral setups. Softies are more forgiving both in water quality and lighting. I suggest buying a light that can support anything in case you move up. Sps would require very good water quality, as we'll as powerful lighting and eventually some sort of dosing setup or reactor. I'm very biased lol but I don't think any coral can compare to the colors you can get from sps

 

[horseplay]

Paul - if you have the drain feed the fuge, aren't you going to have a lot of detritus? It's seem there are so many different opinions on fuge design. The stand plan is exactly what I have in mind. Your picture really help visualize it. Since the overflow is in the corner the green screw strip in the back will be on the outside, but otherwise it's what I need.

 

[redfishbluefish]

Let me further explain…the drain on the right side of the sump first enters a filter sock (that you cannot see in the photo above.) The purpose of the sock was to keep any “hard” things (like snails) blocking the skimmer pump. The left drain directly enters the refugium, and I’m sure detritus enters the refugium, but it’s either “consumed” from the refugium or returned to the DT to yet another path.


In regards to my overflow, I have a Glass-Holes overflow, where the 1500gph overflow has two 1 ½ drain lines:

If you’re not familiar, the Glass-Holes overflow are DIY overflows that do not drain through the bottom of the tank. They drain through the sides of a tank. The one thing I really like about these overflows is that they are very small and do not take up much space in your tank. Here’s a “front” side of that 1500 gph overflow in the 90 gallon tank I have:

 

[redfishbluefish]

Joe, not sure where you are located, but you're more than welcome stopping by to see the mess I've set up. I'm in Sayreville, NJ.

 

[horseplay]

Joe, not sure where you are located, but you're more than welcome stopping by to see the mess I've set up. I'm in Sayreville, NJ.

Paul - I am in Holmdel. Not too far from Sayreville. Actual we go to the farmer's market on route 9 sometimes. I would love to see your setup. Thanks for the offer. Your overflow box looks very slick.

 

[horseplay]

I spent sometime last night to play with the rockwork.

Is that enough rock? High enough?

I will use the JB Weld epoxy to glue the rocks together. Tried yesterday now I am not too sure. It does stick the rock together but I am not sure how strong the bond is since the rocks are kind of crumpy. Any suggestions? Anyone tried cement?

 

[Hawkeye]

we used to have a member here that bred discus. They were really cool. The babies would eat the "mucus" off the mommy. Anyways - rockwork looks great. I remember my first try - it was like soooo ugly lol.

Good luck with the build. looking forward to it.

 

[horseplay]

after talking to the gang at the meeting I changed design of the sump. it makes more sense now.

I applied the silicon on one side and waited for it to dry then applied to the other side. The glass panels are perfect fit.

Also rebuilt an old stand. Will need to get it painted.

 

[horseplay]

Tanks is filled. I have the rock in the 40g breeder for 1 week tonight I moved everything in the DT. I think the tank is cycled as there is no ammonia/nitrite and I've been feeding the rock a few pellets a day. The phosphate level is fairly low I will be start monitoring the numbers to get everything stablized.

I branched off the return above the refugium so I can run GFO/Carbon reactors.

 

[horseplay]

BTW, do I need to run a light in the refugium if I don't put cheato in there? I mean will the stuff on the live rock die without any light at all?

Also, would biopellets a better option than cheato for nitrate removal?

 

[ecam]

Joe... what kind of light are ypu using on that refugim

 

[horseplay]

Joe... what kind of light are ypu using on that refugim

It's a freshwater LED. I only use it when I work on the sump.

 

[AnthonyJerseyShore]

If you are just doing a bug farm (pods) then no, light isn't needed. You won't see a lot of good algae growth down there, but the rock will still be live. If you decide too anyway, that freshwater led is probably more then enough

 

[horseplay]

It's time for a quick update. The tank has been running since 6/17, for 2 and half weeks. I added a pair of clowns in there to test the water.

I decide to get a used T5 lighting from Tommyboynj, 1. because it's cheap 2. it's proven and 3. I will have time to figure out which lighting I really need down the road.

There are 40lbs of Fuji pink in the tank and I really like the color. It just make the whole tank look brighter. Plus it clears up overnight.

The coraline algae has really taken off in the last couple of days. I am only running two T5 tubes for now.

Here's the water supply. The tank on the left is the mixing tank and on the right is the RO water tank. I have pumps in each tank so water change is just flipping switches. It's inspired by mnat's setup after seeing it in the meeting in his house.

The powerstrip with individual switches for each pump.

The waste water goes into the 40g breeder tank and I use that for my Tropheus tank above. These guys love high TDS water.

I will be on vacation soon so nothing will happen for a while. But this is one vacation I will have something nice to look forward to at the end. I will start stocking corals in August.