75 Gallon Reef Tank Build - 1 year old

[Atoll on me]

This will be my first attempt at creating a reef tank with a sump. Previously I had a 10 and 20 gallon reef tanks with all HOB equipment. After struggling with the inability to make small changes relatively easily with I've decided to go larger and get a 55 gallon tank and a sump that hold about 30 gallons at running level. My goal is to buy second hand, hence the name.

UPDATES:
October 2024 - 55gal and eshopps sump set up
December 2024 - Bryopsis Outbreak
February 2025 - Dinos Outbreak
May 2025 - Ugly stage over
July 2025 - Upgraded to 75 gallon display
August 2025 - Upgraded sump
October 2025 - Added first hand made rockwork and the tank hit 1 year old

 

[Atoll on me]

First Pictures:

The first picture is from the display side. There will be a wall here
The second picture is the sump. It is an older eshopps sump
The third picture is how the tank and sump are plumbed

 

[Atoll on me]

The display wall and two Viparspectra 165W have been added!

 

[Atoll on me]

Recently added Fish, Coral and CUC from old tanks/LFS/Online to new tank.

Fish Stock:
-Pair of clowns (one from old tank)
-Blue eye kole tang
-Cleaner goby

Coral Stock:
-3 Duncan coral (from old tank)
-1 Gonipora (old tank)
-2 Zoas (old Tank)
-1 Torch
-2 Frammer? (Frogspawn/Hammer?) (old tank)
-3 Montipora
-1 Green Sinularia
-1 Asst Australian - Favia? (old tank)
-3 Mushroom

Clean up crew:
-Dozens of nassarius snails (old tank)
-1 sand sifting starfish (old tank)
-1 Long spine sea urchin (old tank)
-1 Red tuxedo urchin (old tank)
-3 Turbo snails (old tank)
-5ish little hermits (old tank)
-1 Halloween Hermit
-4 astraea snails (old tank)

 

[Atoll on me]

Here is behind the curtain:

I have an old eshopps sump that holds about 25 gallons at the level I run. Inside the main chamber is a 200W heater and a protein skimmer. The refugium has a 30W light and some chaeto. I use a Brute 20 gallon trash with a spigot to hold my RO/DI water. Below that is a 10 gallon trash can that I mix my saltwater in.

 

[Atoll on me]

Roughly 2 month update:

The tank has changed quite a bit in the last couple months. I have seen the diatom stage and am currently in the hair algae stage. I'm trying to leave it alone as much as possible with the exception of manual removal of some of the algae to prevent it from being overrun.

This tank started with a lot of coral from the get go. While not ideal, this was intentional because I wanted to shut down two other tanks sooner rather than later. All of the coral from those tanks was added into this new tank. So far the coral seems to be doing well!

I'm hoping the algae starts to clear away in the next few weeks.

 

[Gumbies R Us]

Roughly 2 month update:

The tank has changed quite a bit in the last couple months. I have seen the diatom stage and am currently in the hair algae stage. I'm trying to leave it alone as much as possible with the exception of manual removal of some of the algae to prevent it from being overrun.

This tank started with a lot of coral from the get go. While not ideal, this was intentional because I wanted to shut down two other tanks sooner rather than later. All of the coral from those tanks was added into this new tank. So far the coral seems to be doing well!

I'm hoping the algae starts to clear away in the next few weeks.

Tank is looking good for two months!

 

[Atoll on me]

4ish Month Update:

I'm currently battling dinos. I kept struggling with 0's for both nitrates and phosphates and I belive that is what led to the dino boom. Im now dosing NeoNitro and NeoPhos to raise nutrients and hopefully beat the dinos.

Other than the dinos the rest of the tank is doing well! Im seeing alot of coral growth and have continued to add corals as well.

Below are some highlights:

This hammer/frogspawn morph is constantly growing heads

These mushrooms are popping up all over this live rock I bought from a LFS. As well as a hydroid..

This torch below drew me in due to the color. Im still hoping its tentacles grow long like the torch in the background, but ive grown to like the reverse tear drop shape this torch has.

Here is the whole tank.

 

[Atoll on me]

6th Month Update:

I have continued to battle Dino’s and GHA. I’m happy to say I believe I am starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. I have been dosing nitrates and phosphates for a couple months to prevent bottoming out nutrients.

 

[Bohemian Waxwing]

Lookin good

 

[Atoll on me]

Newest member to the tank

After keeping a booming pod population in the refugium for months I thought it was time.

 

[torombolo]

Looks very good, I had 2 Vipar Specta 165W on a 75 gal I had with softies and some (very few) LPS and they worked good.

 

[Atoll on me]

*If you’re reading this please knock on wood*

I believe I have finally made it out of the ugly strange. This has been a long road. I have dealt with Bryopsis, lots of Dino’s and GHA.

The Bryopsis was fixed by doing two treatments of Fluconazole. The first treatment greatly cut it back. But after about 2 weeks it’s started to grow back so I did another treatment and that seems to have fixed it.

Dinos were a much greater battle. I believe they first got a footing because I had 0 nitrates and 0 phosphates. It shocked me how many bottles of NeoNitro and NeoPhos I had to use to even get detectable levels. Because of this I started making my own dosing nutrients by following RandyHolmes recipes. After many regular cleanings and even more time I believe the Dinos have lost. *please knock on wood now*

The GHA is still hanging on a bit, but it’s looks like it’s improving by the day. I never scrubbed the rocks to remove GHA, but do pinch and syphon the long strands.

After the nutrients were raised. I ultimately believe time and leaving the tank alone is what got me past the ugly strange. I was away from the tank for 3 out of 5 weeks about a month ago and this time not messing with things really helped.

I still have a ways to go. My nutrient levels need to be more stable and I don’t think I’m completly out of the ugly woods. But I’m thrilled with where the tank is now! Attached are pictures that I took earlier today. Besides cleaning the glass I have not cleaned the tank in over a week. I never thought I could be so proud to show off clean sand…

 

[Atoll on me]

I just got one of those clip on lens. I’m happy with the results so far!

 

[Atoll on me]

8 month update:

I recently added a rock that I had laying around to create more height in my aquascape. I also added a few new corals to try to mix up the colors in the tank.

 

[Atoll on me]

9 Month Update - does this mean the tank is full term?

Lots of changes in the last month and on the horizon.

While I really liked the 55-gallon tank I had been using I wanted to upgrade. A couple weeks ago Petco did their tank sale, and I picked up a 75-gallon tank and a 40 gallon long that I will use as a sump. Going from 55 to 75 isn’t a huge change, but the added width has been great!

10 days ago, I transferred from the 55 to the 75. My plan was to drain the tank halfway. Remove the rock with coral still attached and place it in buckets. Remove all the fish and inverts by placing them in the same buckets. Then finally drain the tank all the way saving the water and sand for the new tank. While this overall went to plan it took a lot longer than expected and I broke one coral. The added time was a concern for me because I knew the buckets were getting cold and I needed to get the new system running that same day. In total after about 7 hours, I was able to transfer everything over, plumb the new tank and re-hang the lights.

I originally planned to have my rockscape similar from the first tank to the new one. But that was just impossible the way I transferred things. In the end I think the new tank feels emptier because I now went with two islands instead of one large one, but I also think it feels empty because it’s a larger tank! I do like the two rock islands, but I will add more rock in the future. Step one overall was a success. No fish or coral died in the transfer and the tank has a lot more room to grow now!

My next step will be to swap out my old sump with the new 40 breeder. The reason I’m getting rid of my current sump is because its an old eshopps sump with all kinds of weird chambers and the flow is more complicated than it needs to be. The new one will have larger chambers and be much simpler, allowing for future expansion. The sump baffle kit I ordered has arrived. Now I just need to silicone it up and transfer sumps. I think this process will be a lot easier than transferring the tank and all the livestock. But I know I’ll complicate it because I want to reorganize my wiring while everything is pulled apart.

I guess I need to change the name of this build thread now-

 

[Atoll on me]

The new tank and sump transfer has been completed!

Two weekends ago I was able to install the new sump. I purchased a 40 gallon breeder and a roller filter baffle kit from eBay. So far it has worked out great. The sump is much more organized than it was with my old Eshopps sump and it allows more room for expansion in the future. There are still wires here and there, but it is a great improvement!!

The tank itself has also been doing well. I have been adding more SPS frags recently. I have two lighting zones in my tank. The island on the left is lower ranging from 120 par on the sand up to 250 on the top on the island. The right island is closer to 200 on the sand and 350 on the top. I am hoping the higher light on the right island will keep the anemone over there, but time will tell.

 

[Atoll on me]

One Year Update!

The system is now just over 1 year old. The first day the pumps were turned on was 9/28/24.

In this time I have seen many algae outbreaks, swapped out lots of different equipment, switching from a 55gal to 75gal, got a new sump, and finally now its settling into its form you see below. I don't believe it will ever be in its final form as I like to make a lot of changes.

My goal for the next year is to leave the rockwork alone, let the corals grow out, begin selling frags and learn to take better pictures.

Any advice on picture taking would be greatly appreciated. I would like to take wide angle shots while still having focus on the coral if possible.

 

[Gumbies R Us]

One Year Update!

The system is now just over 1 year old. The first day the pumps were turned on was 9/28/24.

In this time I have seen many algae outbreaks, swapped out lots of different equipment, switching from a 55gal to 75gal, got a new sump, and finally now its settling into its form you see below. I don't believe it will ever be in its final form as I like to make a lot of changes.

My goal for the next year is to leave the rockwork alone, let the corals grow out, begin selling frags and learn to take better pictures.

Any advice on picture taking would be greatly appreciated. I would like to take wide angle shots while still having focus on the coral if possible.

Congrats on your tank making it one year!