75 Gallon budget build (well that's what we've been telling ourselves)

Barnabie Mejia · Jan 3, 2020

Well its time to start a build thread! I haven't been the best at taking pictures every step of the way, but I will do my best moving forward.
I got sucked into this hobby when I came up on a free 29g running tank, it was forgotten in the corner of a house and we had to bring it back to life. My brother in law helped me get it right and after being on here and doing research when I travel for work, it is getting better. I got that 29g in april, and in September my sons and I began to gather everything for a 75g build. my wife likes the tank too and is very supportive of it!
I have everything that I need for the start up of the tank and for now its just a matter of putting all the pieces together. There are some things that I bought used and some that I bought new. just recently I was driving and I started to tally up everything I have bought, and man stuff adds up even for a tank this small!

System:
75 Gallon Aqueon (used, but in great condition) - $100
20L sump with baffles (New $1 gallon at Petco) - $20
overall volume should be 87 gallons

Overflow:
Modular Marine 1600gph - $120

Return:
(2) Jebao DCT-9000 (1 for backup) - $60 (package deal on R2R)

Lighting:
(2) AI Prime HD (yes I know the new ones are out, and the day after I bought the second one, the 16HD came out) - $218
Aquaticlife T5/ LED Hybrid - $165 LFS Price match

Flow:
(1) MP40wes - $200 on R2R
(1)MP10wes - $125 on R2R
(2) Jebao PP8 as back ups - $60 for both on R2R
(1) Tunze 6040 as back up for back ups - $130 (had this from my 29g

ATO:
Autoaqua Micro ATO - $130

Heater:
(1) BRS 300W with an Inkbird controller - $75
(1) Finnex 300w as a backup also on Inkbird controller - $40

Dosing:
Jebao DP-4 (will only be dosing Alk, Calcium, Mag) - $30 on R2R (have since gave it to my brother in law)
Komer X1 (3 total - Alk, Calcium, Mag) - $180

Reactor:
BRS Dual reactor (GFO, Carbon) - $20 on R2R

Skimmer:
Reef Octopus 150INT - $180 open box from BRS

Aqua UltraViolet 25W - $225 on R2R

That's about it, I think..... well I'm sure I missed a few things..... I don't really want to put a controller on it right now, my wife and I would like to have the boys stay busy working and maintaining the tank. at this point the cost of the controller wouldn't be out of range, but I don't want them to lose interest in the hobby if the just let the system ride on the controller.

I don't have pictures of the stand build, but you can catch some views of it in the pictures and if there are any questions on anything, let me know and I'll do my best at answering them.

Here are some shots of the plumbing work, its nothing compared to what i have seen on here, but my boys did a good job with the vision they had of keeping everything clean....

We tried to keep as much of the plumbing tucked up high with unions in every place tha we could to make the break down easy if we ever needed to.
On the return it will be off a Jebao 9000 and there is a manifold that will feed the reactor and a spare ball valve for future use in case we need it. the boys were going for a clean look when looking at the display and sump, just 3 PVC lines dropping down from the stand and a braided hose going up. all cords will be tucked away and routed in raceways.

I will post some more soon, I just needed to get this thread started so it motivates us to keep trucking along!

Thanks everyone!

Reefnman2 · Jan 3, 2020

Looking real good so far!

lpsouth1978 · Jan 3, 2020

Looks like a solid start. What do you plan on keeping in this tank? I love AI Primes, but 2 will be quite insufficient for a tank this size if you plan on keeping anything more than zoas, shrooms, and other low light corals.

Barnabie Mejia · Jan 3, 2020

lpsouth1978 said:
Looks like a solid start. What do you plan on keeping in this tank? I love AI Primes, but 2 will be quite insufficient for a tank this size if you plan on keeping anything more than zoas, shrooms, and other low light corals.

I plan on having the livestock that I have in the 29g : hammers, torch, frogspawn (placed high in the 75g), acans, duncans, candy canes, a chalice. I we like LPS and eyuphillias but i'm sure it will evolve.
I would like to add a couple more primes to it but I think that will happen closer to water getting put in it. I have been keeping an eye out in the market place looking for people unloading them.

as far as fish: we will have 4 tangs. (I'm kidding! don't want the tang police coming for me)
5-6 chromis, the clown thats in the 29g (10 years old), madarin goby, lawn mower blenny, and maybe some firefish.

Barnabie Mejia · Jan 3, 2020

Reefnman2 said:
Looking real good so far!

Thanks! its been fun doing this with the boys!

Barnabie Mejia · Jan 28, 2020

Been working like crazy, but here is a slight update:
Sump is completed and tested (super basic layout) my son picked out the color combo on it and it gives it that real expensive synergy sump look with out all the great features and price tag

Bought the T5 Hybrid from aquatic life. Going to run blue+ 1 coral+ along with two AI primes with it. There may be some 90* mounts going on the market soon cause I wasn’t thinking I would go T5.... that will get here on the 30th....
I’ll try to update this more often!
comments and criticism welcomed!
Thanks everyone!

Barnabie Mejia · Mar 31, 2020

another little update.... now that we are forced to be home with the corona virus, we have been making strides on the tank and it looks like we may have water in it by the weekend!
we got the inside of the stand painted and Lit.

we also buttoned up all the plumbing, its glued and ready to get wet. As you can see we wanted to hide as much as possible, and the 2x6s really helped with this.

and if you notice we also got the ventilation in place on the back wall of the stand. 2 fans at 110cfm each should do the trick and they're flush mounted to keep it clean and not take up any extra room than needed. air flow is pushing the hot air out of the stand. they will be on a temperature switch with an override if needed. that should help keep the in stand temps in check.

My son just has to stain the outer skins of the stand and clear epoxy seal them, and I am building him a electronics box that will be on the left side of the stand to house his controllers and eventually an APEX (eventually..) it will be hinged and lit as well. hopefully we will have some more updates by the end of the week!

tippin.turtle · Mar 31, 2020

Just curious...what exactly is/will be generating the heat inside your cabinet that requires the addition of cooling fans?

Barnabie Mejia · Mar 31, 2020

tippin.turtle said:
Just curious...what exactly is/will be generating the heat inside your cabinet that requires the addition of cooling fans?

Well the stand will be closed 90% of the time, but will have windows on the doors, and the electronics cabinet will be backing the stand on the left side. there will be 2 holes that will pass through for cables and wiring. Summers here do get hot, and on my 29g I have had to place a fan to blow across the top to help control the water temp, I figured it might be needed here too.
but to answer your question directly:
I don't know how much heat will be in there or if there will be any heat in there, but for $13 for the fans, I guess its better to do it now rather than later if it does get hot in there. Like I always say "its better to have a parachute and not need it, than to need it and not have it"

tippin.turtle · Mar 31, 2020

Gotcha. I didn't see any doors and assumed you would have an open cabinet.

Barnabie Mejia · Mar 31, 2020

As far as the tank, the back is painted and the aquascape is done, going to add the sand in right before the water fill. sand has been rinsed clean and dried. let us know what you think! what we like about it is there are a lot of swim throughs for the fish. it also looks like one big piece, but it is actually two large sections that aren't touching and a small island for zoas on the front left. Caribsea Shapes FTW! we might move the rocks a little closer to the front pane just to be sure of the flow back there and to make sure we have room to clean glass around the scape.

Barnabie Mejia · May 2, 2020

On the home stretch, got the controller cabinet built, wired and installed! Just a little bit of wood, lights, and a fan to pull heat from the compartment of power adapters in the back... Let us know what you think!

lpsouth1978 · May 2, 2020

Looking good! What return pump are you using? I see a 100W controller there. That is A LOT of pump for a 75. I have a Jebao DCP-8000 on my 75 and don't turn it to 100% and it is 65W.

Barnabie Mejia · May 2, 2020

lpsouth1978 said:
Looking good! What return pump are you using? I see a 100W controller there. That is A LOT of pump for a 75. I have a Jebao DCP-8000 on my 75 and don't turn it to 100% and it is 65W.

DCP-9000 for the return, I got a good deal on it and I figured it was better to have a little more pump than we needed, and plus I am running a manifold for the GFO/ Carbon reactor and for the UV. The UV won’t be purchased now, but in the future it will go on. I got 2 9000s new in box for $60... couldn’t pass it up and I have a back up if needed!

lpsouth1978 · May 3, 2020

Barnabie Mejia said:
DCP-9000 for the return, I got a good deal on it and I figured it was better to have a little more pump than we needed, and plus I am running a manifold for the GFO/ Carbon reactor and for the UV. The UV won’t be purchased now, but in the future it will go on. I got 2 9000s new in box for $60... couldn’t pass it up and I have a back up if needed!

I would have done the same for that price! Nice find.

S.Pepper · May 3, 2020

Luv the ADJ power strip with the rocker switches. It makes life so much easier. I have the same on my system. U can see it on my build thread. GL.

Barnabie Mejia · Jul 20, 2020

so its been a while since the last installment of this journey that has taken waaaaaay to long. (I blame part of this on my ADD and being busy riding dirtbikes with the boys during COVID).

This Post is Loaded with Pictures..... Here we go!

Got rid of the white PVC elbows, glued up and supported. I couldn't use those fancy support clamps because of the spacing between the top and the PVC pipe, so this will do, and you really wont see it unless you get down on all fours and look up...

Ended up getting a smoking deal for a 25 watt UV from a fellow member on R2R and it fit perfectly giving good access to it for maintenance in the future. Fancy Clamps were used here because its visible and makes taking it out really easy.

Raceways were installed to hide wires, but strategically placed to make taking equipment out for cleaning easy still. they are mounted above the floor of the stand to keep cords out of potential water spills and drips.

the backside of the control panel in process. I didn't get a picture of everything cleaned up. painters tape to label cord ends so tracing cords back to equipment is not needed. looks ugly, but is not seen anyway.

Fired up the T5s for testing and looks good! in the bottom left corner inside the stand you can see wires, but I will button those up once I take the PRIME HD off the 29g and feed through the stand.
Here you can see the return pump feeding the UV and the UV feeding the display tank. I may add a gate valve in the future if the pump controller is not cutting the cheese.

Little man putting the first 30 gallons of water in the system! He was pumped!

A little cloudy, but not nearly as bad as it could have been, i rinsed it pretty good and let it dry before putting it in the tank.

Got the second 30 gallons in and had to take 5 gallons out, found a small leak on a overflow bulkhead, got that buttoned up. On the modular marine overflow the weir connects through the tank with 2 pieces of PVC that slide into the bulkhead, well, on my tank it is at a slight angle and was passing some water through. not a big deal because it was passing through the bulkhead, BUT i didn't have the next batch of water ready to fill the sump and i didn't want to have water just sitting stagnant in one of the chambers in the sump. so this afternoon we will fill the sump and lock down water levels in the sump.

MP40 moving some water to keep things correct!

Once the levels are good to go, we will drop in the Seachem Stability and follow the schedule, then hit it with some Microbactr 7. Tuesday we will move the livestock over from the 29g and shut that one DAHN!

Let me know your thoughts!

Thanks,

Barnabie

Barnabie Mejia · Jul 22, 2020

Just a little update: got everything topped off with water, took me a little while to get the return pump and gate valve to get dialed in, but its dead silent! Bean Animal FOR THE WIN! once the tank was up to temperature for an hour, I dropped in the seachem stability and let it ride! Threw the T5s on for a little photoshoot, but they will remain off until I get the coral and fish in there from the 29g and then the 29 gets shut down.

My question for you all is:

will pinky pads (filter floss) have a negative effect on the bacterial seeding? I don't have any in the sump right now, but I was just thinking about it on the way to work today... and when would be a good time to start breaking in the skimmer? its brand new.... I was thinking about turning it on in a few days and just letting it overflow until it starts to behave....