Hey all!
I decided I should start a build thread. If for no other reason than to keep a record of this process for myself. So, here we go!
I kept a 29 gallon, if I remember correctly, bow-front freshwater tank with a roommate something like 15 years ago. It was technically his tank, so it went with him when we parted ways. While I enjoyed the tank, the saltwater tanks I was looking at at the time were a completely different world, and I always wanted to give it a shot. So, after many years of not really being in a living situation where I would be comfortable running an aquarium, a family member had a 30 gallon aquarium (I know, title says 75, hang on...) he was no longer using and wanted to get rid of. I'm now in a place where I have the space for it. So, great! I'll take it!
Headed out to his place on a Saturday morning to get the thing cleaned up. It had been sitting for quite a while. It was never really cleaned out, just fish removed and drained. The smell was pretty awful, but tolerable. Got the gravel scooped out and put it on the tailgate of an ATV to start rinsing it out. Had my vinegar and a scrubby sponge, headphones on, and it was looking much better. I needed to re-arrange a bit so I tilted it up on a corner, it got away from me... and BANG! Big ol' crack down one of the long sides. Son of a... ;Rage
So much for that plan.
A few days later, after the rage cloud had lifted, I decided this wasn't going to be the end. So I started looking around local pet stores trying to decide what size of tank I wanted to go with. Then while poking around on craigs list I found a 75 gallon with a stand for $150. Fine. I got the space, so why not go bigger? And here we are.
I started to put together my first order of gear. Rock, sand, heater and controller, power heads x2, filter, salt... etc. etc. Here it is as of today. It needs a little more water but I didn't have enough between my two brute cans to quite get it full. Or at least the pump wasn't able to quite get all of the water out of them. It's a 55 and 20 gallon can, by the numbers, there should have been enough.
Some initial thoughts now that water is in the tank and pumps are running.
Seventy five gallons of salt water in a glass box in my living room induces a bit of anxiety. It's been full for a few hours and no major disasters yet, so that is starting to subside at least.
I may have made a mistake going with the HOB filter. That's a Seachem Tidal 110, which, in theory, is over-sized for the tank, but it's pretty noisy. I'm hoping the constant waterfall noise is reduced at least a little when I get a bit more water in it and it doesn't have as far to fall. The pump itself started out noisy as well, but it's gotten quieter since it's been running. I have my fingers crossed that once it's had more time to break in that noise will be reduced further. I'm also running it wide open to clear the cloudiness from the tank, and turning it down a bit later may help too.
The next thing to do is get the wiring sorted out. I have a GFCI outlet to replace the standard outlet. I also have a surge protector and temperature controller I need to figure out where to mount. And now that water is in the box, I'll be heading to the LFS for a few pounds of live rock. The first fish should go in next week.
I think that's it for now. Thanks for reading.
Current equipment list:
75 gallon, 48" rimmed aquarium and stand
50 lbs MarcoRocks
4 medium MarcoRocks foundation rocks
40 lbs Aragonite Fiji Pink sand
Brightwell NeoMarine salt mix
4 stage 75gpd BRS RO/DI unit
300w BRS heater/contoller
Hydor 2650 x2
Seachem Tidal 110
55 gallon Brute SW container
20 gallon Brute FW container
Lifegard Quiet One Pro 1200 for mixing station
Python WC system
Various tubing for the RO/DI and mixing station
I decided I should start a build thread. If for no other reason than to keep a record of this process for myself. So, here we go!
I kept a 29 gallon, if I remember correctly, bow-front freshwater tank with a roommate something like 15 years ago. It was technically his tank, so it went with him when we parted ways. While I enjoyed the tank, the saltwater tanks I was looking at at the time were a completely different world, and I always wanted to give it a shot. So, after many years of not really being in a living situation where I would be comfortable running an aquarium, a family member had a 30 gallon aquarium (I know, title says 75, hang on...) he was no longer using and wanted to get rid of. I'm now in a place where I have the space for it. So, great! I'll take it!
Headed out to his place on a Saturday morning to get the thing cleaned up. It had been sitting for quite a while. It was never really cleaned out, just fish removed and drained. The smell was pretty awful, but tolerable. Got the gravel scooped out and put it on the tailgate of an ATV to start rinsing it out. Had my vinegar and a scrubby sponge, headphones on, and it was looking much better. I needed to re-arrange a bit so I tilted it up on a corner, it got away from me... and BANG! Big ol' crack down one of the long sides. Son of a... ;Rage
So much for that plan.
A few days later, after the rage cloud had lifted, I decided this wasn't going to be the end. So I started looking around local pet stores trying to decide what size of tank I wanted to go with. Then while poking around on craigs list I found a 75 gallon with a stand for $150. Fine. I got the space, so why not go bigger? And here we are.
I started to put together my first order of gear. Rock, sand, heater and controller, power heads x2, filter, salt... etc. etc. Here it is as of today. It needs a little more water but I didn't have enough between my two brute cans to quite get it full. Or at least the pump wasn't able to quite get all of the water out of them. It's a 55 and 20 gallon can, by the numbers, there should have been enough.
Some initial thoughts now that water is in the tank and pumps are running.
Seventy five gallons of salt water in a glass box in my living room induces a bit of anxiety. It's been full for a few hours and no major disasters yet, so that is starting to subside at least.
I may have made a mistake going with the HOB filter. That's a Seachem Tidal 110, which, in theory, is over-sized for the tank, but it's pretty noisy. I'm hoping the constant waterfall noise is reduced at least a little when I get a bit more water in it and it doesn't have as far to fall. The pump itself started out noisy as well, but it's gotten quieter since it's been running. I have my fingers crossed that once it's had more time to break in that noise will be reduced further. I'm also running it wide open to clear the cloudiness from the tank, and turning it down a bit later may help too.
The next thing to do is get the wiring sorted out. I have a GFCI outlet to replace the standard outlet. I also have a surge protector and temperature controller I need to figure out where to mount. And now that water is in the box, I'll be heading to the LFS for a few pounds of live rock. The first fish should go in next week.
I think that's it for now. Thanks for reading.
Current equipment list:
75 gallon, 48" rimmed aquarium and stand
50 lbs MarcoRocks
4 medium MarcoRocks foundation rocks
40 lbs Aragonite Fiji Pink sand
Brightwell NeoMarine salt mix
4 stage 75gpd BRS RO/DI unit
300w BRS heater/contoller
Hydor 2650 x2
Seachem Tidal 110
55 gallon Brute SW container
20 gallon Brute FW container
Lifegard Quiet One Pro 1200 for mixing station
Python WC system
Various tubing for the RO/DI and mixing station