75 Gallon Mixed Reef with 40 Breeder sump build

atx100r · Dec 4, 2017

Mandelstam said:
Very clean and nice build! Definitely going to be epic!

One thing that at least in the pic looked a bit worrying (potentially anyway) was that one of the tubing from the overflow looked like it was starting to kink. The one on the left in the pic:

I can see why and I understand the hassle. But one way to remedy it could be to make the transition to tubing further up the back of the tank. That way it has more room to flex in a larger radius. And maybe to use reinforced tubing.

Maybe it's not a big deal as it's not the main drain but I just thought that it stood out a little in the pic and that I should bring it up at least.

Hope to see an update soon!

You are correct @Mandelstam that line does have a slight kink. Luckily it is the trickel line. I didnt notice it until I had everything in positon. I have been keeping my eye on it and may swap it out at some point but for now allis good.

atx100r · Dec 5, 2017

Its been a bit since I did an update. The tank is doing great and I will be adding a new Male Anthias this weekend and hopefully picking up a yellow eyed Kole that will go into QT then into the tank.

I am currently not running a controller on the tank. Although I do have my eye on the a Profilux unit down the road. For basic electrical management I currently use 2 ADJ PC-100A power centers. These are typically used by DJ's and such but I personally like the fact that each outlet has its own on/off switch. I mounted the units on the outside back of my stand on the side where there is no foot traffic so folks cant see them. Makes it really easy to turn things on and off when feeding and or doing housekeeping. I also mounted my Gyre, Jabeo pump and Finnex Titanium heater controllers on the back side of the stand also. I thought about putting them inside the stand but really nobody is ever on this side of the stand to see them, access is easier and they are out of the way of any possible water damage or salt creep.

For my lighting I was initially running them off of mechanical timers I picked up at Lowes. I have already gone through 3 of them in about that many months. I started hunting for other options and came across this unit on Amazon (Mengyasi Smart Power Socket )
that had good reviews. I've only had it for about 3 weeks but so far it has been flawless. The beauty is that you can program each of the 4 outlets to go on and off individually. It also comes with an App so you can monitor/power on/off from your phone. My lights have 2 separate plugs and I need an additional receptacle for my grow light. That leaves me with 1 extra receptacle that I am thinking of running a short extension cable from so when I am doing maintenance in front or in the stand I can just plug into it. You can turn any of the 4 receptacles on and off via the app or via multiple timers per day. So far I love this thing. It also has 4 USB ports but they must all be on or all off. I currently don't use them.

On Black Friday I also grabbed a good deal on the Trigger Systems 10 gallon ATO Reservoir at $102.00 from BRS. This still seems like a lot of money to me for what is essentially a plastic box but my wife was really getting on me about having a bucket sitting there and I couldn't find a better option.

For my birthday my kids got me a Reef Octopus 150 Int protein skimmer. Well actually I bought it then dropped a bunch of hints to my kids that this would be something that I want/need. I started my tank and have been running it since February with no protein skimmer. I have to say that its not the most expensive unit out there but it is one of the few things I have bought that I feel was worth the money I paid for it. The build quality is very good and solid. I was worried about the noise this thing might make but honestly you cant even tell its on the unit is that quiet. I've only had had it going for about 5 days now but it immediately started producing a nasty looking brown skim. I can only imagine what its going to smell like when I take that lid off. Some time back I made a DIY algae scrubber and I added that to the refugium section of my sump. I also hit up Algae Barn and jumped on there black Friday buy one get one free special. I purchased Chaeto, 5280 pods and the ocean magic phytoplankton. I think I received all that stuff in last Wednesday prior to getting the skimmer hooked up. I followed the instructions and seeded the tank at night and continue to feed it daily. I transferred my grow light from my old system and mounted it directly above the Refugium. I recently watched the experiments they conducted at BRS regarding Chaeto and its possible benefits and growing options. If you haven't seen it I think its really worth a watch. The 2 white hoses next to the skimmer go to my BRS reactor that I run ROX 0.8 combined with BRS GFO. I change this out every 2 weeks.

Whats next? Well Christmas is just around the corner and I hope to add a UV sterilizer to the system. I am currently leaning toward the TMC Vecton 600. If anyone has any experience with this or a similar unit please let me know.

atx100r · Feb 10, 2018

So I've decided to add a UV Sterilizer to the tank I did a bunch of research and decided on the Vecton 650. The unit is well built and sturdy...It included all of the fittings I needed for connecting...I think my only complaint about the unit is that it has the input and output on opposite sides. I knew this from looking at pictures prior to purchase but didn't realize the hassle it would cause when trying to plumb it. With the limited space u see most tanks getting that hose to bend 90 degrees in a short space can be tough...I ended up using a piece of silicon hose on one end, at $12 per foot. I live in a rural area so the auto parts store was the only place that had it...probably could have gotten for cheaper online but I'm impatient...

atx100r · Feb 10, 2018

I ended up mounting the unit at the return end and continually cycle the return water through it...I might add it directly to the return line at some point but for now it's here....It's out of the way and can be easily accesed. You can see in this picture the return from the UV is on top and getting that to bend down into my return section would be difficult and require some fancy plumbing...As a result it returns to the 2nd chamber...

Mickali · Feb 11, 2018

Everything on your build looks great so far! I'm currently in the research stage of my tank, and will definitely be looking back on this for ideas. Thanks for sharing!

atx100r · Feb 12, 2018

Mickali said:
Everything on your build looks great so far! I'm currently in the research stage of my tank, and will definitely be looking back on this for ideas. Thanks for sharing!

Thanks I appreciate that...

atx100r · Mar 26, 2018

Been a while since i updated. will be getting some new lights this week and will Post. Tank is doing good. And just sent in my first ATI water test.

atx100r · Apr 8, 2018

So I purchased 2 used Maxsoect Ethereal units for the 75 gallon...They are still in acclimation at around 40%. I'm very happy with the units...Coverage is great and the col8r is much better than the black box MarAqua unit I had....Actually it's not even close. My daughter even commented how natural it looked instead of the abnormal blue I got from the black box.

atx100r · Jun 28, 2018

Checkout giveaway

https://www.reef2reef.com/index.php?threads/411912/

BrewPug · Jul 1, 2018

Tank is looking great.

atx100r · Sep 11, 2018

It's been a while since I have done an update....So I was getting tired of maintaining all the small individual pumps in my sump for the reactor, scrubber , UV etc.

atx100r · Sep 11, 2018

So i bit the bullet and purchased the VarioS 6 and did a DIY manifold....I've had it up and running for a few months now and couldn't be happier.

atx100r · Sep 11, 2018

I also completed phase one of my 2nd water mixing and AWC Station. I moved everything to my basement for everal reason. Consistency Temp control, proximity to water and drain, minimal noise and located close to bel8w my main display. Phase one is the water mixing station and phase 2 will be the AWC. A few things of note here. I looked at the molded storage containers but due to shipping I really though they were cost prohibitive. I used industrial Brute containers and over all the CV research I 8ntially used UniSeal bulkheads. They leaked mo matter what I did to them. After further research I went with traditional bulkheads with the thread and nut on the outside. If it tried installing them the traditional way with thread and nut inside the container they also leaked...this could be something I was doing but believe me I tried and tried and this is the only way I could get them not to leak... I upgraded my 4 stage BRS RODI to six stage and added a float valve to turn things off. So far I'm super happy with the upgrade. Not having to make water every week is a big step up. Also the auto shut off is great.

Crabs McJones · Sep 11, 2018

atx100r said:
So i bit the bullet and purchased the VarioS 6 and did a DIY manifold....I've had it up and running for a few months now and couldn't be happier.

Nice! Congrats on the upgrade

ShellSea · Aug 27, 2019

atx100r said:
So i bit the bullet and purchased the VarioS 6 and did a DIY manifold....I've had it up and running for a few months now and couldn't be happier.

Hi there. Just wondering if you are still happy with the manifold. I'm thinking of doing the same thing. Seems to be 2 schools of thought, 1. is where the manifold tees off the main return pump, 2. have a dedicated pump just for the manifold. What did you use?

atx100r · Aug 28, 2019

ShellSea said:
Hi there. Just wondering if you are still happy with the manifold. I'm thinking of doing the same thing. Seems to be 2 schools of thought, 1. is where the manifold tees off the main return pump, 2. have a dedicated pump just for the manifold. What did you use?

Hi there...yes Im happy with the manifold. I went directly of the Varos pump. one of my main reasons was I wanted to get rid of all the pums in my sump...Having to celan them and them taking up space was a pain. Because of this I actually oversized the pump and dont run it at 100%. I think if I would do anything different I would have mounted it differntly. I could still do it but dread the though of unhooking everything and mounting it to the underside of the stand instead of the back wall.

RyanJ · Jan 11, 2020

Love your thread. I'm doing almost the exact build you have done. Currently getting my gumption up to drill the tank. Thanks for the inspiration and ideas! Hope mine turns out half as good as yours. Your carpentry skills are fantastic.