75 gallon w/ detailed cost breakdown

[Bob2bob]

Hey all,

My 75-gallon tank thread with a 40breeder sump. I've had tanks on and off for quite some time but between moving apartments and everything I never wanted to go too big or had the time to get any tank too stable. Assuming I don't mess anything up with user error this tank should have years (5-10) before I'll have to think about tearing it down from a move again.

The plan is for it to be a mixed reef - so softies, LPS and SPS.

I'm cheap so I'll try and keep it affordable but I also know that this is going to take some $$. I'll try and document what I spend. I plan to get it right this time so taking my time with it.

Here's the plan and the current total (updated: 9/3/19):

Livestock specific breakdown:

Coral List:

Softies:

1. Ricordea (2 types, orange and rainbow)
2. Blue Sympodium
3. Zoanthids (12 types)
   1. Green Skirt Eagle Eyes​
   2. Green Bay Packers​
   3. Mean Greens​
   4. Gorilla Nipples​
   5. Ghetto Bob Marleys​
   6. Armor Of Gods​
   7. Bam Bams​
   8. Utter Chaos​
   9. Sunny D's​
   10. "Rastas" (unclear if true)​
   11. Spidermans​
   12. Orange somethings​
4. Green Star Polyps
5. Toadstool (Leather but putting in softy list)

LPS:

1. Euphyllia (5)
   1. Hammer​
   2. Frogspawn​
   3. Duncan​
   4. snakeskin torch​
   5. green Aussie torch​
2. 2 Candy Canes (mint and neon green)
3. Yellow rim Acans
4. "lazerbeam" Chalice
5. "lightning" Goniastrea

SPS:

1. ORA Green Stylophora
2. ORA Spongodes
3. ORA Sour Apple Birdsnest (seriatopora)
4. "Mean Green" porites
5. Flaming Setosa
6. "Hulk" Leptoseris
7. Aussie High Voltage Acro
8. PC Rainbow Acro
9. Bali Green Slimer Acros
10. BC Frankenberry Acro
11. Garf Bonsaii Acrio

Fish List (5):

1. 2 Oscellaris Clownfish (designer bullet hole & ORA black clown)
2. 1 lawnmower blenny
3. 1 yellow one spot fox face
4. 1 flame angel

Invert List (3):

1. 1 emerald crab
2. 1 cleaner shrimp
3. 1 turbo snail

Specific Build Parts:

1. Drilling the tank and DIY stand (part 1/3)
2. DIY stand (part 2/3)
3. DIY stand (part 3/3)
4. DIY sump (40 breeder)
5. Rockscape
6. DIY water station (part 1/2)
7. DIY water station (part 2/2)
8. Plumbing the tank
9. DIY Light Fixture

 

[Bob2bob]

The Display Tank:
I picked up an Aqueon 75 from Petco at the $1 per sale I came home to find that it was tempered glass all around after doing the LCD screen and polarized glasses trick. I ended up returning it and getting another one...which also had the same problem. I called them and it seems that they have no idea which ones use tempered on the sides. So I returned that one too and then got smarter and brought my Kindle and sunglasses to the store. Couldn't find a dang tank that felt untempered for drilling

Eventually got a 75 on Craigslist for $100 that was from a brand called Deep Blue. Didn't find any bad reviews on a quick search so pulled the trigger.

Drilling:
I bought an overflow and return from glass-holes.com and got to drilling ($108). Making that first hole was so nerve-wracking but it actually was super easy! Super glad I did it but I think I might have messed up and put the holes a bit too low.

Getting it all setup

Marking the hole positions. Glass holes is great. They sent everything i needed including the stencils.

Overflow holes cut, and test fitting works


All three holes I made. You can see the smaller return I made in the back. Not sure if I should get a second return
cut on the other side, left it at 1 for now.

Water testing the tank for a few weeks after drilling. Seems to be holding up just fine with no leaks thankfully. You can also see the 40breeder I bought for a future DIY sump.

I also made a DIY stand. Followed some instructions from another post that everyone seems to use. It's super solid and feels plenty strong enough but I definitely am still somewhat nervous about it all when since it'll end up having 600+ pounds on it for years...

I did about 80% of the stand in 1 weekend but then it took another few weeks to finish all the little details (sanding, puttying, trim, door, etc) and then another few weeks to get all the paint and poly coats completed. That 80-20 rule is sure spot on with these projects both with time and trips to home depot. Thought I'd get it all done in a week LOL probably ended up being about a month in total.

Buying a bunch of 2x4's from home depot. Had them cut to length since I don't have a mitre saw (or even circular saw) on hand.

Laying out the pieces for the top and bottom.

It's all coming together now

I covered the bottom and top with some 1/4" plywood and then sanded everything.

Then Covered the sides and sanded that too. Going to leave the back open but will have a cover on the front. I hate hinged doors. They always get in the way so will have to come up with some pop off solution for that later.

In all spent $106.35 on the 2x4's, screws, plywood, etc and I think I ended up with a stronger stand for cheaper

 

[Tahoe61]

Welcome to R2R.

You're doing an awesome job on the build, and I am impressed with your ingenuity for keeping the price down.

 

[Bob2bob]

Finishing the stand took longer than I expected haha Seemingly, unending amounts of sanding, painting and applying poly but in the end I think it came out great!

I covered the front with the same 1/4" ply as before. Though I only took a photo of it from the back for some reason.

I didn't want to have hinged doors. I find they always get in the way of everything so I decided to cut out the inside and figured I could come up with some form of magnet + wood stand thing that would work. I was semi-successful at this...

I used a jigsaw for this and set up a straight edge but boy did that end up leaving some jagged edges. At this point I was planning on using trim to keep the "door" from falling inwards and cover up the defects. I had the handles from a previous project so that part was....free?

Started painting the stand. Used a grey paint + prime that I had some extra of for the interior. I think it came out really nice. Has some blue undertones.

For the exterior, I'm going to go with the wall color which is some kind of tan. It's about the tank after all so hoping that this blends in a bit.

 

[Bob2bob]

Welcome to R2R.

You're doing an awesome job on the build, and I am impressed with your ingenuity for keeping the price down.

Thanks! Yeah every little bit counts and can go towards future livestock I find that I am cheap in some places and then spend money in others and have no consistency...

 

[Will Milberger]

Very nice, so far! and Howdy!

 

[Bob2bob]

After going to home depot I actually changed my plan for the stand "door" and glued a slightly wider/bigger piece of 1/8" birch (maybe) ply to it which I think does a better job and also has the benefit of not looking like a minimalist painting on my stand .

I brought it inside to do a test. This is before I returned the Petco tank since it was tempered. You can see the tan paint on the walls that I'll be painting it.

And final product! It took a bit longer than expected, especially with three coats of paint on the interior and exterior and then an additional 3 coats of poly with sanding in between them each to help keep it water proofed.

I also last minute changed where I wanted it to go. It's more centrally located in the house now and can be seen from the kitchen which is way more used than the previous spot. The "door" has magnet attachements at the top and a small piece of wood on the back which rests on the bottom of the stand. It's a little bit heavier than I'd like but when it's in feel quite solid and isn't going anywhere. The handles kind of remind me of this guy: ;Happy

It's really level but since I had an old yoga mat lying around I put the tank on it. Also you can tell that I painted the back of the tank with a few coats of black paint. I forgot which one, but it's the paint that BRS recommends in their youtube video.

I'll trim the excess yoga mat off later obviously.

So far the damage hasn't been too bad:

I tried being generous with the Misc section too so I could cover things like paint and handles that I had lying around. Not including any tools either because I find those to be good investments and things you should have anyways. I only bought an extra Japanese flush trim saw for this. I did the labor so that was free.

 

[Bob2bob]

For the sump, it would have been nice to get a fancy acrylic one with all the bells and whistles but it was hard to justify the price and the smaller overall size it would have been. Instead, I bought a 40breeder from Petco at the $1 per gallon sale. I guess Central ran some numbers but turns out on tanks 40 gallons and up the $1 per sale turns into a 50% off sale so instead of 40 it was 50 (+5 for tax). Guess it had to happen eventually.

I don't have too many photos of the build process but it was pretty easy. I called a few local glass shops and had three panels made which cost me $49. Originally, I was thinking of buying another 40b for the sump and cutting the glass myself but this was cheaper, better and faster which is hard to beat.

Baffle sizes were:

1. 17 3/8 x 8.5
2. 17 3/8 x 11
3. 1 3/8 x 14.5

I would probably take an inch off of each panel if I did it again.

I plan to run a pretty light sump without socks or a skimmer for now. I'm solidly in the minority when it comes to socks and find that I get lazy and stop cleaning them out so I think they end up doing more harm than good for me. I'm not planning on running a skimmer either but will keep an eye on my nutrients and have left enough space in the first section to add one in the future if the refugium is not sufficient. The second section has room for a nice sized fuge which makes me happy and third section is for the return. The third baffle runs about an inch and a little off the ground.

Had some white GE1 so used that rather than buying another tube that was clear. I figure it's covered in the stand anyways. I used tape but still used WAY too much silicone and it got everywhere. Sticking your head in the tank while doing it had to be bad for my long-term health ;Dead

Once they cured overnight he baffles feel incredibly solid. I'd made a sump using acrylic baffles before and using glass this time is night and day. SO much stronger.

I got lucky since I didn't measure beforehand but the sump just fits inside the stand with enough room for the "door" to pop on and off. There's not too much room left over in there but it'll have to do.

Adding a sump to the setup only put me back another $104 not counting rubber gloves, paper towels and silicone that I had from before (which is all probably covered in Misc anyways since I was liberal there)

 

[AshwinRavi]

nice thread, following along. I have a 75G with 20L sump, thinking about getting the 40 breeder to upgrade my sump as well.

 

[Bob2bob]

nice thread, following along. I have a 75G with 20L sump, thinking about getting the 40 breeder to upgrade my sump as well.

It feels a little overkill but I have to say that I'm quite happy with all the extra space in case the power goes out or something happens to my return pump. Also feels good knowing I have space to add in a skimmer or other reactors in the future if I need to.

Do you have a thread? I tried clicking your name but couldn't find one but im also fairly new to R2R and might not have seen it. Would love to see a more established 75 and what you've done for more inspiration.

 

[Bayareareefer18]

Nice job. I too just finished my first 75 build with a 40b sump

 

[AshwinRavi]

It feels a little overkill but I have to say that I'm quite happy with all the extra space in case the power goes out or something happens to my return pump. Also feels good knowing I have space to add in a skimmer or other reactors in the future if I need to.

Do you have a thread? I tried clicking your name but couldn't find one but im also fairly new to R2R and might not have seen it. Would love to see a more established 75 and what you've done for more inspiration.

I haven't started a build thread yet (no excuses, am just lazy), been planning to write one for a while, just didn't get around to it.

my 75G was actually free, from neighbor who was upgrading or moving out. he left the empty tank to the apt office and they didn't know what to do with it. rest of my gear is mostly diy or used, my main motto was to do it as cheap as possible and learn from the many mistakes I would do, so eventually when I upgrade in the future, I could make better decision on equipment.

 

[Bob2bob]

Started work on the rockscape while waiting for some parts for a water station.

Really liked what I ended up with but was different in my head when starting

The plan is to go bare bottom and have a lot of flow underneath the rocks so that there isn't too much detritus build up anywhere. The photo that inspired me the most was:

(no idea whose tank this is but it's pretty great)

But in the end it I couldn't figure out how to do that using the dry rock I got from BRS. The pieces just
aren't flat enough and I probably don't have a big enough tank for it either.

Laying out my legos.

Playing around with some different options. I used solo cups as a temporary building block. Ended up using a few tubes of JB Waterweld from home depot once I found a design I liked.

Kind of have a dragon thing going on for the main island which I liked. At this point, I kind of figured that I wasn't going to be able to emulate the above floating scape.

I also wanted to have an island apart from the main structure. A bit worried that my tank isn't long enough to make this work but I really like some invasive softies like pulsating xenia and am toying the idea of keeping it far apart. It will probably figure out a way to cross on to the main piece but if I go that way at least I'll have a fighting chance of keeping it pruned.

The more I worked the main part the more pieces I kept taking from the smaller island. Can always get more rock i guess

Here's another view of this piece above that we decided we liked enough to start epoxying together:

You can see that it has a lot of valleys and underflow which will be great to prevent detritus building up but I'm also really excited to see fish swimming below and through it.

JB Waterweld had a small learning curve and only took me about 1 tube before we got the hang of it. Ends up being super strong but it's a bit tricky to get set up, specially if you are using gloves since it tends to stick to them.

The bigger challenge we had was keeping the design like we had planned it out as things tend to shift around during the process and cure time.

Getting it into the tank present a few problems as well because of the cross brace and I forgot to tank into account the width of the overflow. We got lucky again though because it caused us to make a few modifications and we think it came out even better. The end result is just a few touch points with the bottom and a lot of underflow potential. There's a bunch of valleys and it kind of reminds me of the arches on the Notre Dame Church in Paris. Maybe I'm biased lol.

The only concerns I have is that the putty is a bit grey and un-natural looking but I plan to go back and super glue tiny pieces of rock that broke off in the process around the putty that shows. I'm also concerned with the rock being directly on the glass. I'm toying with cutting up a silicone hot pad I have and putting it under the points of contact and then gluing tiny pieces of rock to any bits that show too.

from the front

from the side, you can see the cool arches that were made.

Adding the rocks and putty to the tank were an additional ~$145 but I do have leftover putty

Feeling good about what I've spent for the results I've gotten so far but it definitely is going to add up when I figure in the water station and equipment. Not too mention livestock.

 

[apex_everything]

Following! Looks great

 

[Ezrunner23]

great build so far.

 

[Bob2bob]

Water station, part 1

Introduction:
Started working on a water station. It's definitely a splurge part of the build for me and will end up being almost as costly as the rest of the setup! Still, the ability to keep fresh RO/DI water on hand, make saltwater without getting out a bunch of buckets and do easier water changes without any hauling by pressing a few buttons makes it worthwhile to me. I've kept tanks for long enough to know that with my tank keeping habits, making water changes easy and as hassle-free as possible is necessary for me to keep a good tank over several years.

Location:
I decided on putting the station in the laundry room which is about 15 feet away from the display tank sump. It's separated by a bathroom (so 2 walls) and also on the wrong side of the laundry room meaning it's on the wrong wall and I'll have to be creative with plumbing. I can always upgrade pump size if the pressure isn't strong enough. The space I was able to devote isn't huge but it will get the job done. It just fits the 2 25 gallon containers I got from Rural King ($134 shipped) and I already had a shelf there.

I shored up the shelf with 9 pieces of 2x4 so it should definitely be stable but I'll obviously keep my eye on it. It won't be fun but unlike the tank stand, if this needs to be rebuilt it's definitely feasible.

Equipment:
2 25 gallon containers from Rural King ($134)
4 stage RODI Pro from BRS ($224.99)
Pan world 40px pump from BRS ($124.99)

Setup:
I'm following this build thread as a guideline from @dbl https://www.reef2reef.com/ams/let’s-mix-it-up-designing-and-using-a-water-mixing-station.77/

as he says: "imitation is the highest form a flattery!"

I'm using 3/4" PVC and assorted connectors (unions/t's/elbows) from home depot. I did splurge on the Cepex ball valves though because I know from experience just how much the cheap standard ball valves seize up and become a nightmare. They're 4x the cost but if they live up to the hype it'll be worth it.


starting to come together. the two outermost valves will let me drain either tank individually using gravity power if needed for (very occasional) cleanings.

Further along, the valve on the top facing left will eventually hook up with the sump and allow me to transfer saltwater for water changes and freshwater to an ATO container. The uppermost valve will allow me to circulate water in the saltwater container to mix salt. Hard to see but the pipe goes into the container to about the 10-gallon mark. That's to both keep the noise down and also to help any salt that settles on the bottom moving around. I used a uniseal for that top pipe. You can also see some of the supports I added to the shelf.

Here's the start of connecting the water station to the tank/sump area.

Had to go over the door frame unfortunately because I sacrificed the convenience of water station location for a better overall area for the display tank. I'm a bit concerned about the head pressure that I'm creating but if I need to go up a pump size or two I can do that. You can also see the 4 stage pro RO/DI I have set up. I have a sink on the other side of the laundry room that it is wired too.

Pro tip: don't use a flush trim saw for cutting PVC. It's the only blade I have on hand that fits in my miter box but it's not the right tool for the job. I'd get something with that's more rigid. It made the whole process take longer because it kept getting seized up when the pipe "clamped" it mid cut.

Ran out of PVC pipe at this point so need to go back to home depot but I'd say it's 80% there. Currently, just dry-fit until I can get the whole setup complete.

Cost Breakdown:

Adding in a water station has certainly taken this tank from a $ to a $$ but I think it's worth it to keep a stable schedule with the tank around water changes and for ti's long-term health. I have to get some more pipe and connections but I'd say this is within $50 of its final total.

The entire total is now: $1,287.69 and you can see I've actually spent more on my water station than on my display at this point though that will change once I finish the plumbing, light setup and other equipment for the display.

Next steps: finish the water station dry plumping and then glue it all up. Then I'll work on a light fixture setup for the main tank and plumbing it all together. After that, I can finally add water!

 

[dbl]

The changing station is looking good!!! Nice work.

 

[Bob2bob]

Thought I'd make an update as I'm waiting on, what I think, are the last pieces, before I can finish the setup this weekend and start cycling.

I'm just about done with the water station which I'll post a follow up on. I made a few mistakes that I have to fix. Somehow managed to glue sections to the wrong pieces and left out one union head in the cement process ;Meh;Penguin

I've been keeping diligent tracking of the tank costs and where those go, so thought I'd do an update on that. I did a lot of DIY on this setup and went cheap in some ways (bought used tank) but also splurged in other areas. For example, I went with Cepex ball valves rather than the 4x cheaper versions at home depot. Feel free to ask questions and I can break it down even further

Setting up a water station was definitely a big addition (about 40% of the cost before equipment like lights/heaters to the overall setup) and while it's not necessary my thoughts are that it will allow me to keep up with the tank. If it does that, it's well worth it to me.

@BRS is the real winner, as you can see that before my equipment purchases they are the fine reciepents of just over 50% (54%) of the money. That's obviously not all profit as they have to buy goods/ship them/pay rent/insurance/employees/etc but good for them. They've made a great business and provide incredible content. Wish I came up with that biz. The next winner is Home Depot as wood/pvc/and random things sure do pile up.

I'll keep updating this but the proportions are about to change drastically as I have some big purchases coming in, specifically lighting and other equipment like heaters/pumps. Over time, these %'s will go down as livestock and ongoing costs will continue to rise but set up costs will stay static.

Now you know the answer to what's it cost to set up a 75 gallon reef tank - depending on light choices and water station setup you can do it under 2k - though I'll be over that ;Inpain

 

[dbl]

Thought I'd make an update as I'm waiting on, what I think, are the last pieces, before I can finish the setup this weekend and start cycling.

I'm just about done with the water station which I'll post a follow up on. I made a few mistakes that I have to fix. Somehow managed to glue sections to the wrong pieces and left out one union head in the cement process ;Meh;Penguin

I've been keeping diligent tracking of the tank costs and where those go, so thought I'd do an update on that. I did a lot of DIY on this setup and went cheap in some ways (bought used tank) but also splurged in other areas. For example, I went with Cepex ball valves rather than the 4x cheaper versions at home depot. Feel free to ask questions and I can break it down even further

Setting up a water station was definitely a big addition (about 40% of the cost before equipment like lights/heaters to the overall setup) and while it's not necessary my thoughts are that it will allow me to keep up with the tank. If it does that, it's well worth it to me.

@BRS is the real winner, as you can see that before my equipment purchases they are the fine reciepents of just over 50% (54%) of the money. That's obviously not all profit as they have to buy goods/ship them/pay rent/insurance/employees/etc but good for them. They've made a great business and provide incredible content. Wish I came up with that biz. The next winner is Home Depot as wood/pvc/and random things sure do pile up.

I'll keep updating this but the proportions are about to change drastically as I have some big purchases coming in, specifically lighting and other equipment like heaters/pumps. Over time, these %'s will go down as livestock and ongoing costs will continue to rise but set up costs will stay static.

Now you know the answer to what's it cost to set up a 75 gallon reef tank - depending on light choices and water station setup you can do it under 2k - though I'll be over that ;Inpain

Very nice tracking. I too tracked every cent when I first got going. Eventually, it started to depress me so I quite and have never looked at the spreadsheet again.

All kidding aside, thanks for sharing this. It can be a great documentation for someone new wondering "how much is this going to cost me".

 

[Bob2bob]

Very nice tracking. I too tracked every cent when I first got going. Eventually, it started to depress me so I quite and have never looked at the spreadsheet again.

All kidding aside, thanks for sharing this. It can be a great documentation for someone new wondering "how much is this going to cost me".

LOL, I'm worried about that but hopefully, by posting here I can keep accountable for it. I knew it was going to cost money going in since it's not my first tank. Still, I'm a bit shocked how much more certain parts have been -- specifically plumbing! On the other hand I've actually enjoyed the documentation process and going to the spreadsheet.