Matt's 75g reef build...My first SW!

R

reeferwanabe

Hello all,
My name is Matt and I am in the process of building my first SW tank. I would like to take the time to show what I have done and inform you the direction I would like to move forward with. First, I purchased a 75g acrylic tank from craigslist. It was in rough shape as far as scratches goes so I took the time to resurface it. I tried to use the car polish that I have read through other forums and youtube videos and that just did not work for me. I was able to sand it down successfully; started with a 1000 grit wet/dry sandpaper, then a 1500 grit and finished with a 2000 grit paper. I used a palm sander during this whole process. Afterwards, I made a trip to the acrylic supplier in Southwest Fort Worth where they assisted me with my purchase of Novus. Now, that stuff worked great!

The stand that came with the tank was aweful. Honestly, I just can't imagine how those stands are made to hold up so much weight; therefore, I proceeded to build my own. Below will be some pictures. The tank is a traditional 48x18x21" so I built the stand just slightly bigger but I did make it 36" tall. I will be using a 20G long sump, purchased at PetCo ($1 per gallon) and I made a side panel that will house all the electrical. Something told me that I should attempt to separate all or most of the electrical stuff from the water as much as possible. I stained the stand as close as to my existing furniture as possible, we'll see.

I currently have items on order so below I will list them. I ordered some particular brands based on recommendations I found on other forums before I knew about this one. Please fell free to leave comments as I know for a fact that I will be asking for much help.

Reef Octopus 4 NWB110 Protein skimmer - scheduled to arrive tomorrow
Coralife Turbo Twist UV sterilizer 18 watt - scheduled to arrive tomorrow
BRS 5 stage plus 75 GPD RODI unit - scheduled to arrive Thursday (I need recommendations on where to install this. I do not want it in garage as it gets too hot or too cold and I have little room in garage and house)
Mag 7 return pump - scheduled to arrive tomorrow
various plumbing materials - all scheduled to arrive tomorrow

I am trying to order/build stuff in the order I should go, based there are no leaks and whatnot. Once the above items arrive, I will be building my sump, plumb all materials and perform a water/leakage test in the garage. If all goes well, I hope to move it into the house this weekend.

Items next I plan on purchasing will be a heater, sand and rock. Here are my questions regarding those:
Heaters - should I use 1 or use 2 so I will have a backup incase one fails?
Sand - how much is required?
Live rock - I really like the Primo Deco live rock from Live Rock N Reef and have read some reviews from other sources (all good). Has anyone here heard anything good or bad about this? Also, do I need a light for cycling the tank with sand and rock installed?

As for the light goes, I plan on ordering the AI Vega x 2. I know the price is high and I warned my wife about this but I am concerned on the timing to order them. (not just timing for the tank but to tell wife that I spent over $1000)

Gosh, I wrote a book here, lol...I think that is it for now. I do have other questions but I need to gather my thoughts and purhaps need to post them in another thread. I appreciate everyones thoughts and assistance on my current build.[attachment=2]75Gal stand front.JPG[/attachment]
 
Welcome to saltwater! My first saltwater tank was a 75 as well. That was in 2003. Sounds like you are researching & patiently taking steps which will make you very successful in this hobby!
 
Sounds like you are surely moving in the right direction. You don't need a light for cycling, it will only excel the algae growth. I would look around on our for sale board and look for live rock there. It can be costly to ship and costly to purchase from a LFS.

Welcome aboard and don't hesitate to ask any questions. This board is full of knowledgeable and friendly people.
 
Good deal on the light though; not required for cycling that is. It will by me sometime to ease it into a conversation to the wife.
 
Wow, sounds like you have a great start and welcome to the saltwater world. Kudos on doing your research first. I think that will help you get off to a really great start.

@reeferwanabe wrote:
The stand that came with the tank was aweful. Honestly said:
Nicely done. Woodworking is one of those things I can't do to save my life.

@reeferwanabe wrote:
Reef Octopus 4 NWB110 Protein skimmer - scheduled to arrive tomorrow Coralife Turbo Twist UV sterilizer 18 watt - scheduled to arrive tomorrow BRS 5 stage plus 75 GPD RODI unit - scheduled to arrive Thursday (I need recommendations on where to install this. I do not want it in garage as it gets too hot or too cold and I have little room in garage and house) Mag 7 return pump - scheduled to arrive tomorrow various plumbing materials - all scheduled to arrive tomorrow said:
These all look great to me. Did you plan on getting a mixing pump to make your salt water? If not, may I recommend a Mag 3, 5, or 7 so that you have backup parts to your main pump? The Mag 3 and 5 share the same motor block and impeller, the Mag 5 simply has the outlet on the cover drilled out larger. You can turn a Mag 3 into a Mag 5 by drilling the opening of the cover larger or by just getting a Mag 5 cover. The Mag 7 uses the same motor block as the Mag 3 & 5 and the same cover as the Mag 3 but has a different impeller from the other Mags I listed.

@reeferwanabe wrote:
Items next I plan on purchasing will be a heater said:
Heaters:
Personally, I would use two smaller ones but at the same time you have two potential items that could fail and cook the tank. 6 of one 1/2 dozen of the other. I'd suggest adding a controller of some sort as so many heaters seem to develop issues over time.

Sand:
Try out this calculator for your desired depth: http://www.garf.org/calculators/SandBedCalculator.asp

Live Rock:
Sorry, but not familiar with those sources. You could always get live rock from folks here or go through the process of cooking and curing your own. I would do the latter if you have time with a bleach bath and acid bath if it used rock from established tanks. You'll want to get rid of phosphates before you start out if at all possible. It does not need light while curing.

Lights:
I'm running 5 AI Vega fixtures and love them. I think they are a great choice. Here's how you sell LED's to the wife: Let her know how much you'll have to spend on T5 or MH bulbs every 6 months or so if you go with those types of lights and also the need for a chiller to deal with excess heat (you'll get to why you still need a chiller later in case the AC in the house goes out after the initial LED purchase is done [smilie=wink.gif]) and the extra electrical cost of running the chiller and the other lights. The LED's really do pay for themselves over time if you look at it that way.
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@ERIKATHORNBURG wrote:
Welcome to saltwater! My first saltwater tank was a 75 as well. That was in 2003. Sounds like you are researching & patiently taking steps which will make you very successful in this hobby! said:
I have read "the simple guide to Mini-Reef Aquariums" by Jeffrey Kurtz and also have a mini encyclopedia on hand as well as several apps on my phone for quick reference. I usually do an extensive amount of research for everything before I buy little alone start a new hobby. I believe I will enjoy this one a lot.
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Nicely done. Woodworking is one of those things I can't do to save my life. said:
Thanks...It's good to put trim on anything because it works well to hide the imperfections.

These all look great to me. Did you plan on getting a mixing pump to make your salt water? If not said:
I never new I needed another pump...I thought people used powerheads for mixing. Would that work?

Heaters: Personally said:
I plan on purchasing a controller. Been eye-balling the Neptune Apex.
I'll check out that site for sand, thanks.
Good advise on the lights. I'll try it out sometime when she is more alert from not working so much.

Thanks for all the advise here. Looking forward being part of this community!
Matt
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Power head would work for mixing unless you are doing larger quantities. I like to keep the water moving a lot and have a back-up pump too.

Apex or Apex Lite is a great choice if you don't mind doing a bit of hands on learning with the programming. Many of us have one though so I'm sure folks can step in and help with any questions. I could have gone with an Apex Lite on my system and saved a little as I don't use the variable speed ports for anything and don't need a second pH or ORP probe. If you ever want to add those on, you can just get modules that will give you those functions so you're not permanently losing anything.
 
I also attended the macna this year but everytime I visited the Apex booth, they were all busy with other people. I should've stayed to talk to them as that was my chance to learn the questions I have.
 
@MBSL55 wrote:
Power head would work for mixing unless you are doing larger quantities. I like to keep the water moving a lot and have a back-up pump too. Apex or Apex Lite is a great choice if you don't mind doing a bit of hands on learning with the programming. Many of us have one though so I'm sure folks can step in and help with any questions. I could have gone with an Apex Lite on my system and saved a little as I don't use the variable speed ports for anything and don't need a second pH or ORP probe. If you ever want to add those on said:
Is that the only difference between the lite and full apex? I'm not too sure if I would ever need those, I doubt I would but the lite is cheaper.
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Yup, that is it. Lite normally does not come with pH probe but vendors will often bundle that in.

Variable speed ports are used for controlling Tunze pumps or DIY dimmable LED ballasts. You can add variable speed ports later with the VDM module if you want.

You can add ORP/secondary pH probe with a PM1 module. Calibrating an ORP probe is a pain so mine just gives me a general idea of whether ORP is going up or down or staying stable. I probably don't really need it, but the port was there so I used it. I think the folks that run Calc reactors have a need for two pH probes though. I just use one to monitor where things are at.

Heres a quick phone pic of the "brains" of the Lite and Full:

[attachment=0]uploadfromtaptalk1349275207096.jpg[/attachment]

If I did it over again, I'd probably still get the full Apex . . . just in case.
 
@MBSL55 wrote:
Yup said:
I'm looking online for new powerheads and possibly a controller. I have discounts to use for some places and trying to bundle to save more. I currently have some powerheads I got off of craigslist but they are held on by suction cups. I tested it on the acrylic sides and it worked up to the point I bumped into it and it fell off. Any slight movement by tilting upwards will release the suction. I think the Tunze Turbelle Nano Stream 6045 will do the job just fine. Plenty of power plus uses a strong magnet to hold in place. Since I have a 10% discount from Salty Supply, I'm thinking to purchase the Apex Lite as well. Like you said, I can always upgrade for the controller (as I learn more in this hobby) and I think the Apex Lite will be a great start.

Side Note: Just got off the phone with wife and I told her that I will need to purchase lights soon. I must've gotten her on a good day because she stated that she will help to pay for them. It will still be a while though. Still a lot of money to put into and holidays are coming up fast.
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Yup, I'm dead...just ordered 2 powerheads and the full Apex controller, all from Salty Supply; however, I did save $68 by using their promo code!!! I broke down and went ahead with the full controller for feature use.
 
LOL, nice, very nice. If it makes you feel better, quality items tend to hold their value so if you ever decide to change or upgrade people will jump on a fairly priced used Apex, Tunze, Ecotech, AI, etc. equipment.
 
I just hope it arrives when wife is at work, lol. At least it was free shipping.

She wanted me to hold off in buying live rock (which will probably be from you) and save up for the lights but I told her that I needed it for cycling.
 
I went with live rock the first time , wont do it again, I didnt get any nasty hitchhikers but I have read so many threads since of nasty hitchhikers that I wont do it next time.... might want to look at the non live rock options from BRS
 
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