75 Gallon technology heavy tank with DIY

[ilyad]

Most Recent FTS (Previous versions below equipment list)

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Current Equipment
Aquarium: 75 gallon Crystal Dynamic tank, 36x24x20 inches, 3 sides low iron glass, rimless, reinforced bottom and starboard, reinforced corners, external overflow.
Overflow: Modular Marine 1600gph low profile
Plumbing: 1 inch blue PVC and gray Sch. 80 fittings
Sump: Trigger Systems 26in Sapphire
Skimmer: Ultra Reef UKS-160
Controller Cabinet: DIY in-stand cabinet with Acrylic shelving (made locally at Plastics shop)
Brain: GHL Profilux 4 with Pofilux Touch
Sensors: GHL Ph, GHL Temp, GHL Salinity, GHL Flow (on return)
Doser: GHL Doser 2.1, 4 head
Secondary Doser: Seachem AquaVitro Sentia Dose Primary + Secondary
Dosing Containers: 3x Bubble Magus 1.5L Liquid Storage Containers + Voss Water Bottle DIY
UV: Aqua Ultraviolet 25 watt classic
Heating: 300 watt Finnex TX Deluxe controlled by Profilux
Cooling: GHL 6 fan Propeller Breeze 3 with PropellerControl 2.1
Return: EcoTech Marine Vectra M2
Flow: 2x EcoTech Marine MP40 with 3d printed guards
ATO: GHL Doser 2.1 using float and optical level sensors
ATO Reservoir: IM Auqa Gadget 15gal
Media Reactor (Currently Off): BRS Deluxe Carbon Reactor
CO2 Reactor (Currently Off): BRS CO2 Reactor + US Solid Solenoid
Canopy/Light: DIY canopy wall mounted using projector mount
Main Light: 2x ReeFi Uno 2.0 Pro LED (120 degree reflectors)
Supplemental Light: LET Lighting 2ft T5 HO Miro-4 Retrofit Kit
T5 Bulbs: 2x ATI Blue+
Stand Lighting: MOSTON 3 watt Super Bright Rechargeable Closet Lights 78 LED (Amazon)
Lid: Custom Octo Aquatics Octo Lid with feeding door
Rock: MarcoRocks built into custom structures
Sand: 40lbs CaribSea Special Grade Arag-Alive

Media/Dosing List
Dosing Liquids (3 part): BRS Pharma
Trace Dosing Liquids: Reef Moonshiners
Supplemental Food: Ammonium Bicarbonate, Easy Reefs Easy Booster 25
Mechanical Filtration: Filter floss
Reactor Media: ESV Granular Activated Carbon
CO2 Reactor Media: JorVet Soda Lime
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Previous FTS
January 2025

December 2024

Late November 2024

Mid November 2024

Early November 2024

October 2024

September 2024

June 2024

Late February 2024

February 2024

December 2023

May 2023

October 2022

September 2022

August 2022

February 2022

December 2021

April 2020

Late December 2019

December 2019

October 2019

August 2019

 

[ilyad]

I guess we have to start with a quick introduction. I've been keeping saltwater tanks since 2011 (albeit with a 3 year gap). Since then, I have only kept nano's due to space restraints. I am glad to say that I am finally getting a regular sized aquarium. That being said, I figured I would start a build thread to document my process.

Unlike some of the posters here, I don't have professional photography equipment, but I am handy enough with my iPhone and a gel filter. So bear with me as a lot of the photos may be slightly bluer than other great threads.

Well, here is the list of the equipment I am envisioning for the aquarium:
- 75 gallon Crystal Dynamic tank. Tank is 36x24x20 inches, it has 3 sided low iron glass, rimless, with a center overflow with a herbie drain.
- plumbing is blue 1 inch PVC and gray Sch. 80 fittings.
- Trigger system 26 sapphire sump.
- Lighting will have 2 G4 Radion XR15 Pro's with diffusers and a retro fit 2 bulb T5 kit (one on each side of the radions) housed in a DIY floating canopy.
- Flow will be achieved through an MP40 (potentially a second one later when corals grow in) and a Vectra M1 for the return.
- Tank will include a GHL Profilux 4 controller as well as the GHL Doser 2.1.
- Currently I have a Warner Marine skimmer which will be eventually replaced by a better model (once I figure out exactly what I want).
- Finally, the rock work will be CeramEco's VidaRock.

The tank was delivered to my LFS this Saturday!

While planning my build, I knew that I wanted to use dry rock in order to minimize unwanted pests from entering the aquarium. After some extensive research, I settled on CeramEco's Vida Rock because of their light weigh, high porosity, and the fact that the rock is inert. One day while perusing their website, I noticed a rock that I absolutely fell in love with, and although I was still months from getting my aquarium, I decided to buy the rocks right then.

Here is the center piece rock that caught my attention.

While I was ordering this rock, I also picked out some additional pieces to combine on shipping and to allow me to mix and match the look I would want when it came time to aquascaping the tank.

In case you were wondering, the rock comes packed very well. Its wrapped in plastic and then the entire box is filled with expanding foam to prevent it from moving or breaking. Out of the 4 pieces that were sent, only one had very minor breakage that could easily be fixed with a bit of glue.

 

[ilyad]

Now what kind of build thread would this be without any pictures of a tank or coral, so while I wait to get this one up and running, here is a picture of my current nano to hold everyone over.

 

[ilyad]

Quick little update. Last night I moved my tv and the the tv stand/entertainment center to the right side of the room to prep for the tank delivery.

The new tank will fill the entire space on the left of the tv. Next step will be to move the nano to the other side of the room where it’ll be until the new tank is set up and cycled.

 

[gveng]

Is that CA Aquariums in Reseda? Looks really familiar!

Good luck with the build! Love the dimensions of the new tank.

My only suggestion is to stick with the (2) xr15's and not use the T5 retro fit.

With the tank being so close to the tv, the light bleed from the t5s will be unbearable.

I'm pretty local in Granada Hills. Let me know if you need any help.

 

[ilyad]

Is that CA Aquariums in Reseda? Looks really familiar!

Good luck with the build! Love the dimensions of the new tank.

My only suggestion is to stick with the (2) xr15's and not use the T5 retro fit.

With the tank being so close to the tv, the light bleed from the t5s will be unbearable.

I'm pretty local in Granada Hills. Let me know if you need any help.

That sure is CA aquariums... I went through Elliot and Austin to place my order with CD.

As to the light, that is one of the concerns I had while planning the build. To minimize the bleed from the light, I plan to build a floating canopy that will help with some spillover (although Im sure there will still be plenty). But mainly, I plan to use the light as a supplement to give the coral that better spectrum and cover some shading, hence only 2 bulbs instead of 4, a 24 inch bulb instead of 35, and only a few hours. Im hoping that the 6 inches on the side plus the canopy will keep most of it off. Lastly, if the problem is still persistent, I will change my schedule to run the T5's a few hours when mostly nobody is home and the Radions will do most of the heavy lifting the rest of the time.

Also, @gveng thank you for the offer for help... if I'll need any, I'll definitely reach out, but I think I'll be ok for now. Still some DIY work to be done before.

 

[LatinKing]

Will be following this thread.

 

[ilyad]

Will be following this thread.

Great! Thanks for following... I’ll have a small update later today.

 

[ilyad]

Sorry I was unable to get an update earlier, but I’ve actually been doing a lot for the new tank. So here goes a large update....

First and foremost, I had to move the old nano to the other side of the room to empty the spot where the 75 gallon is going.

Although I was worried about the process, it went relatively smoothly. I disconnected a lot of the equipment that may have potential to move and set it aside. Then I drained about 15 gallons from the sump and display into a large Brut container using one of the pumps. After that, my dad and I used the forearm forklift to slowly move the tank across the room, finally filling everything back up and reconnecting.

The whole process took roughly 3.5 hours and went surprisingly smoothly. I must say that without the forearm forklift, it would have been almost impossible to move the nano, even with so much stuff out of it. Because of that gadget, I didn’t have to pull any rock, coral, or fish. I did have an emergency air pump working to give extra oxygen to make sure everyone was alright during the moving process.

 

[ilyad]

The following day (Friday) I had the day off so I headed to CA Aquariums and with the help of my cousin and Elliot (co-owner) we brought the tank over to my house and put it into the new spot. Sorry for the lack of pictures of the move, but helping move was more important than snapping some pics.

Here is the tank in its place, nearly. I still have to do some work on the stand, wiring of outlets, and building a floating canopy. When everything is said and done, I’ll put the tank in it’s exact spot and have it leveled.

Too much sun made it difficult to photograph the tank because of all the reflections, but this will give you a good idea of how it looks. You can also compare the tank to one of the earlier pictures and see the difference in size.

 

[ilyad]

In other news, I went to the Coral Farmers Market West Coast show yesterday and picked up a few more coral. Although I’m absolutely full to the brim in my nano, there were some coral I couldn’t pass up and bought them. After all, I do have a big tank being set up

I got this baby Holy Grail Torch (cant wait until it’s bigger and colored up even nicer).

It definitely has much cooler color under more blue lighting.

Then picked up a frag of these Mohican Suns from Jason Fox himself.

Then I got a pretty wild rainbow Yuma

And of course while trying to take photos I was being photobombed by the inquisitive wrasse.

Finally, I traded a fellow reefer one of my JB babies for a chunky piece of a rainbow wall hammer. This one is almost impossible to take a good photo of with the iPhone while picking up the colors. Looks more brown than anything.

 

[luckyazn6]

What both was that torch at

 

[ilyad]

What both was that torch at

The torch and Yuma were with Stumptown corals.

 

[ilyad]

Here’s some more good news. With all the commotion of moving the tanks, I didn’t post that the controller for the tank arrived. A second power strip and the optical and float sensors are on back order (will come later).

As part of the upcoming build, I also purchased the ADIN expansion module that will allow me to control some digital inputs. Here is the step-by-step of the installation process.

Start with the controller and module

Unscrew 4 screws

Remove the top cover (careful with the wires that run to the color changing GHL logo)

Remove the module slot cover and the new module

Insert the new module

Realize you have to put the cover on before the module... because you were too dumb to look at it before. Pull the module and reinsert it with the cover.

Close the cover and add the screw back in.

The process was incredibly easy and only required a torque screwdriver. It probably took me longer to take all the photos than the actual installation itself.

So far I’m very happy with the way this controller is built and how it looks. Can’t wait to get into the nitty gritty parts later.

 

[ilyad]

The other day I measured the GHL doser and controller to sketch out an acrylic shelf I plan to use. I am still undecided whether I will buy acrylic sheets and cut and glue myself or have a plastics company make one for me. I’ll be shopping around for quotes in the near future to see which one will make more sense.

The shelf will be mounted on the inside of the stand on one side opposite of the sump.

 

[chefjpaul]

Great start, congrats on the new tank.

 

[ilyad]

Great start, congrats on the new tank.

Thank you! Coming along... slowly but surely.

 

[Rakie]

Looks great!

 

[lumsifu]

Wow, nice take build! Can't wait to see how it all turns out.

 

[mmw64]

Thank you! Coming along... slowly but surely.

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