75 Gallon Reef Tank Build from Scratch

[Burch01]

Hey All!!
I have finally decided to make the leap into the wonderful world of marine aquaria and thought I would post my progress from building the stand to adding the fishies and coral. After painstaking research I have decided to go with a 75 gallon tank and utilize a HOB overflow since I will have plenty of room behind my tank and there was a noticeable price difference between reef ready and a regular tank (reference the attached drawing pics). The only thing that I have at this point are the stand materials and a 29 gallon tank that I will be using to construct the sump. With construction to begin this week in preparation of the tank purchase this week as well. So all advice on protein skimmers, heaters, pumps, etc are greatly appreciated.

The stand framing will be constructed out of 2x4's for the skeleton and 3/4" plywood for the top and bottom shelf. I have also included a 2x6 center brace to support the middle of the tank. The attached pictures show the stand design per component.

 

[Marines_Wife]

You are living my husbands dream. He wants to build his own stand everything just like your doing!

 

[Smitty]

Looks good...just a thought, you may want to keep the back of the stand open a bit, so that you can add/remove a tank/sump and make changes, repairs, add equipment, etc. :)

 

[Burch01]

Thanks Smitty.
I had actually thought about having a removable panel in the back so i might still do that. The sump and other ancillary equipment will be stored in the bottom of the stand and accessed through the front doors. I probably should have done a better job at calling those out.

 

[little_fish]

Hello and Welcome!

+1 Smitty

 

[Burch01]

So I have finally decided on which major components I would like to purchase for my tank. I am still up in the air on the lights. I want to start out with some beginner corals and the LFS said I could initially get by with HO T5's 2 @ 54W for a total of 104W (ofcourse we may have been talking apples to oranges) but after researching lighting requirements I need atleast 4 watts per gallon right?? So if I were to purchase a 6 lamp fixture the cost would exceed the cost for the Odysea MH system. Am I totally in left field on this???
Anywho, Let me know how I did.
Tank
Aqueon 75 Gallon Aquarium – $223.00 (LFS)
Lighting
Odysea ADV Plus Metal Halide System - $299.00
http://www.aquatraders.com/48-716W-Metal-Halide-T5-LED-Combo-p/54267.htm
Sump
29 Gallon Aquarium with DIY mods – Already have
Return Pump Danner Mag Drive Supreme 12 - $145.99
[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Danner-Mag-Drive-Supreme-1200-Pump/dp/B001EUG9HI/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1316632996&sr=8-2"]http://www.amazon.com/Danner-Mag-Drive-Supreme-1200-Pump/dp/B001EUG9HI/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1316632996&sr=8-2[/ame]
Protein Skimmer
Aquarium Life Support Systems 44V Magnum Skimmer with Sicce Skimmer Pump - $269.00
http://www.aquariumconnection.com/detail.php?ID=35373
Overflow
Lifereef Single Prefilter box - $119.00
http://www.lifereef.com/frame.html
RO/DI System
RD150 AQUARIUM REEF 150 GPD REVERSE OSMOSIS +2DI WATER SYSTEM with float valve - $165.95
http://filterdirect.com/product_info.php?cPath=21&products_id=204

 

[CurtisL]

I'm sure others will chime in... But i think your gonna want to spend a little more now and get a drilled tank than have the HOB overflow... just my .02

 

[Smitty]

I'm so glad you didn't let the lfs talk you into buying that fixture, you would have been truly disappointed. Oddessey's have done better with their light fixtures, I've never used their mh, but I did like their t-5 system over my old 55 gal.

 

[Smitty]

Or else, you can drill it yourself. Save a nice penny.

 

[Burch01]

Thanks guys!!!! I am seriously considering buying a pre-drilled tank. I would attempt to do it myself and I have no doubt in my ability, I'm just a little nervous doing it on a new $200.00 tank.

 

[Burch01]

So here is the latest progress for my tank stand.

Saturday I am going to go pick up the tank (I decided on the pre-drilled one) and I maybe a few other items.

Hopefully I am in the boring stage of the thread updates and that it will get better once I actually start setting up the actual tank.

 

[CurtisL]

looks awesome!! just a little concerned about sump access! other than that looks great!

 

[little_fish]

Ya, you are going to need to have behind the tank access and with your set up it might be pretty difficult.

 

[Burch01]

Thanks for the input guys I really appreciate it. I knew I joined the right site. Any thoughts as to how I might make improvements to make my life easier down the road?

 

[little_fish]

Can you leave a section of it open?

 

[Burch01]

Yeah I can definately do that. Instead of cutting a full triangle like I did for the bottom I can cut the top about 2-feet from the point and leave that area open to the space below.

 

[little_fish]

that sounds like a good idea

 

[Burch01]

So Saturday I went to my local LFS and purchased the tank. I also went ahead and bout a wet/dry filter and protein skimmer because they gave me 15% off. I might have gotten away cheaper building my own and just buying a skimmer, but both components have a lifetime warrenty and I like to buy from local businesses who sell locally made products. I also finished the top of the stand and left a 18" opening behind the tank for access and I cut and stained the oak plywood (pics attached). Next week sometime I am going to pick up about 80 lbs of the CaribSea black Hawaiin Sand. No all I have to decided on is what type of rock I want to purchase. I saw a deal on live aquaria for Haitian live rock that looked pretty nice, but I also saw some nice rock at marco and reefrocks.net. What do you guys think??

 

[Burch01]

Rock update..........I believe I will be going with Manado live rock from Premium Aquatics L-MANADO-CU Premium Aquatics - L-MANADO-CU Aquarium Supplies

 

[little_fish]

Personally i would get dry rocks from marco rocks and then just a few lbs of live rock. It will save you money that you can then use to buy cool fish and corals.