ElZesto
Active Member
What up.
I’m working on a 75g display build for a new tank and it seems like time to start a build thread. The basic plan:
Various water rectangles:
75g Marineland display from petsmart
Eshoppes r-100 sump my roommates had for years
A custom frag tank ~8g
Standard Equipment:
Jebao MDP-2500 return
Got an old reefbreeders 48” 240w LED light (circa 2017?), a number of LEDs are burnt out, the housing is rough, and the controller frankly sucks. Like 3 channels and only on/off time controls. So we’re replacing all the LEDs, matching spectrums to an Orphek Icon (but as an experiment of AliExpress LEDs vs the real deal, I think it will be worse but really wonder how much worse). Should be ~306w max although we will probably never go that high. Controller will be arduino based, kind of, but more on that later…
Bubble magus (I think 70?) that my roommate also had lying around
Probably a viperspectra in the sump that will be dual use for night fuge/frag tank. Anyone know if there’s any probably with having corals in frag tank lighting inverted from display? I feel like it will be better for stability but who knows…
Reefpi that will primarily just be data logging, although it will have some control. The plan is to use arduinos to mimic PID breakouts over I2C, so that if the reefpi is unavailable for some reason the devices it normally controls will still go.
Dual icecap 4k gyres on opposite ends of tank
Equipment in the works:
Trying to build an auto dosing system with a completely different design than normal dosers to automate moonshiners. Again, more on that later… we’ll see. Regardless the plan for this tank is moonshiners. I’ve had a 40g setup for a year now and it’s going good as far as coral, but I’m curious to see the difference in doing water parameter with really high accuracy.
Ideally a frozen auto feeder. Have a design complete, waiting parts.
Stocking Plan:
Fish:
Purple tilefish. I absolutely love these fish, ideally a pair as (apparently) they do better as a group.
One spot foxface. Again, I just love these fish. I know it’s a risk will LPS/Zoas, which I’ll have to watch out for but if I have the space I really want to try one. They’re just so striking and interesting creatures.
Pair clowns
Melanarus wrasse
Flasher wrasse
Ideally a few bengai cardinals, but this depends on how the rest of the fish get along. 7 relatively active/not small fish in a 75g sounds like enough, so I think that might be it.
Coral: Mixed reef ideally - these are just the ones I know I want, but tbh if moonshiners goes well it’ll probably just sort of be whatever catches my eye. Also the frag tank I expect will be changing conditions as I switch type of coral to grow out, so no real plan there as I like the idea of just having a small sandbox area for growing different coral.
SPS:
Birds nest
Cyphastrea
Acto of some kind - flow and tank permitting
Tabling montipora
LPS:
Euphylia - all, big fan, combo of foxface makes me nervous though
Favia
Plates
Softies:
Zoa garden somewhere
Palys
Toadstool mushroom
Ok now we got the basics of tank plans, here the build write up of the current standing.
To start, I got a weird hookup off Craigslist for a 10-12yr old system for free, lights, filtration, everything. It was a bit of work to get it but we have it now.
Only pic I have from breakdown (at the end, I was foolish):
Got the tank, filtration, lighting, wave makers, all the rock and everything back to my house. Rocks in question after being cleaned with sprayed saltwater and put in a bucket of fresh mixed saltwater:
That water looks bad because I initially didn’t have enough water flow and had a nasty anaerobic bacteria grow over a few days. Got the water flow up, and setup a HOB protein skimmer and the water is perfectly clear now.
Then, designed the basic system I have in mind to get a visual for the options. Options for drain was single or overflow box. Originally the frag was going to be coming off the drain, but we changed out minds for a reason I forget… so now it’s off the return. Spent all that time on design, and now the designs changed lol. Still a fun exercise.
I don’t trust the tank after over a decade of use, so I took it apart to replace all the old silicone. First time trying this, and we ended up chipping the glass a bit, so we figured it’s probably best to just buy a new one. $150 for a marine land 75g at petsmart. Next was stand build. Went with the basic rocketengineer stand, with a few 2x4s in the lower frame to brace the bottom floor for sump/frag tank weight.
Next was time to drill the new tank to attempt to setup basic plumbing (single drain) and see if we could get it to an acceptable volume for my living room. This was sooo stressful, but thankfully we had lots of glass from the old tank we took apart to practice on. After about 2 tries, I felt good and we went for it. It came out pretty well I think.
Practice:
Tank with hole:
Then we setup the single drain for some garage science to see if we could get it quiet:
The single drain pipe is just way too much water noise IMO. Crazy enough, my roommates were like this seems fine put it in the living room, but I know it’d be killing me after 2 months of eating dinner next to a trickling water fall noise all the time, so no go.
On to the next DIY maneuver… over flow box. I got acrylic cut from the local plastic shop. Spent $120 on the acrylic I had them cut for the frag tank, annnnddddd $12 for the acrylic for the overflow box because they had pieces in the scrap bin. All the acrylic is 3/8” cast acrylic. Probably overkill for everything, but I don’t know what I’m doing and the frag tank cracking or leaking makes me terrified, and the overflow piece we’re in the scrap bin so whatever, might as well be beefy. Price difference on cut vs scrap was crazy. The problem was now I needed to figure out how to cut it. I have access to a decent chop saw, with a 80t blade, so figured I’d try it on a scrap piece and it actually went quite well.
Got all the overflow pieces cut. Internal dimensions ended up at 4” x 8” x 8”
Got it bonded last night. First time working with acrylic so one of the joints I don’t like much, but I don’t think it’ll leak, and overall I’m pretty satisfied.
Now we’re waiting for bulkheads to be delivered, then we’ll get the actual plumbing done… then maybe the tank will get setup in its actual spot, who knows…
So anyone who sees this, please share inspiration for how to make the stand look nice! I’ve been having decisions paralysis on how to skin it to look nice. I was thinking a sheet of decent plywood stained and finished, and then held on with some rare earth magnets so you could just remove the whole front anytime sump/frag shenanigans happen, but then I worry it’ll just look like… well… a straight sheet of stained plywood. Idk maybe two doors on liftoff hinges, but making nice looking doors sounds hard, although I do have access to a nice wood shop so not impossible but it’s just a ton of work. Really want inspiration here! Please share what yall got!
Anyways, thank for checking it out! More coming soon.
I’m working on a 75g display build for a new tank and it seems like time to start a build thread. The basic plan:
Various water rectangles:
75g Marineland display from petsmart
Eshoppes r-100 sump my roommates had for years
A custom frag tank ~8g
Standard Equipment:
Jebao MDP-2500 return
Got an old reefbreeders 48” 240w LED light (circa 2017?), a number of LEDs are burnt out, the housing is rough, and the controller frankly sucks. Like 3 channels and only on/off time controls. So we’re replacing all the LEDs, matching spectrums to an Orphek Icon (but as an experiment of AliExpress LEDs vs the real deal, I think it will be worse but really wonder how much worse). Should be ~306w max although we will probably never go that high. Controller will be arduino based, kind of, but more on that later…
Bubble magus (I think 70?) that my roommate also had lying around
Probably a viperspectra in the sump that will be dual use for night fuge/frag tank. Anyone know if there’s any probably with having corals in frag tank lighting inverted from display? I feel like it will be better for stability but who knows…
Reefpi that will primarily just be data logging, although it will have some control. The plan is to use arduinos to mimic PID breakouts over I2C, so that if the reefpi is unavailable for some reason the devices it normally controls will still go.
Dual icecap 4k gyres on opposite ends of tank
Equipment in the works:
Trying to build an auto dosing system with a completely different design than normal dosers to automate moonshiners. Again, more on that later… we’ll see. Regardless the plan for this tank is moonshiners. I’ve had a 40g setup for a year now and it’s going good as far as coral, but I’m curious to see the difference in doing water parameter with really high accuracy.
Ideally a frozen auto feeder. Have a design complete, waiting parts.
Stocking Plan:
Fish:
Purple tilefish. I absolutely love these fish, ideally a pair as (apparently) they do better as a group.
One spot foxface. Again, I just love these fish. I know it’s a risk will LPS/Zoas, which I’ll have to watch out for but if I have the space I really want to try one. They’re just so striking and interesting creatures.
Pair clowns
Melanarus wrasse
Flasher wrasse
Ideally a few bengai cardinals, but this depends on how the rest of the fish get along. 7 relatively active/not small fish in a 75g sounds like enough, so I think that might be it.
Coral: Mixed reef ideally - these are just the ones I know I want, but tbh if moonshiners goes well it’ll probably just sort of be whatever catches my eye. Also the frag tank I expect will be changing conditions as I switch type of coral to grow out, so no real plan there as I like the idea of just having a small sandbox area for growing different coral.
SPS:
Birds nest
Cyphastrea
Acto of some kind - flow and tank permitting
Tabling montipora
LPS:
Euphylia - all, big fan, combo of foxface makes me nervous though
Favia
Plates
Softies:
Zoa garden somewhere
Palys
Toadstool mushroom
Ok now we got the basics of tank plans, here the build write up of the current standing.
To start, I got a weird hookup off Craigslist for a 10-12yr old system for free, lights, filtration, everything. It was a bit of work to get it but we have it now.
Only pic I have from breakdown (at the end, I was foolish):
Got the tank, filtration, lighting, wave makers, all the rock and everything back to my house. Rocks in question after being cleaned with sprayed saltwater and put in a bucket of fresh mixed saltwater:
That water looks bad because I initially didn’t have enough water flow and had a nasty anaerobic bacteria grow over a few days. Got the water flow up, and setup a HOB protein skimmer and the water is perfectly clear now.
Then, designed the basic system I have in mind to get a visual for the options. Options for drain was single or overflow box. Originally the frag was going to be coming off the drain, but we changed out minds for a reason I forget… so now it’s off the return. Spent all that time on design, and now the designs changed lol. Still a fun exercise.
I don’t trust the tank after over a decade of use, so I took it apart to replace all the old silicone. First time trying this, and we ended up chipping the glass a bit, so we figured it’s probably best to just buy a new one. $150 for a marine land 75g at petsmart. Next was stand build. Went with the basic rocketengineer stand, with a few 2x4s in the lower frame to brace the bottom floor for sump/frag tank weight.
Next was time to drill the new tank to attempt to setup basic plumbing (single drain) and see if we could get it to an acceptable volume for my living room. This was sooo stressful, but thankfully we had lots of glass from the old tank we took apart to practice on. After about 2 tries, I felt good and we went for it. It came out pretty well I think.
Practice:
Tank with hole:
Then we setup the single drain for some garage science to see if we could get it quiet:
The single drain pipe is just way too much water noise IMO. Crazy enough, my roommates were like this seems fine put it in the living room, but I know it’d be killing me after 2 months of eating dinner next to a trickling water fall noise all the time, so no go.
On to the next DIY maneuver… over flow box. I got acrylic cut from the local plastic shop. Spent $120 on the acrylic I had them cut for the frag tank, annnnddddd $12 for the acrylic for the overflow box because they had pieces in the scrap bin. All the acrylic is 3/8” cast acrylic. Probably overkill for everything, but I don’t know what I’m doing and the frag tank cracking or leaking makes me terrified, and the overflow piece we’re in the scrap bin so whatever, might as well be beefy. Price difference on cut vs scrap was crazy. The problem was now I needed to figure out how to cut it. I have access to a decent chop saw, with a 80t blade, so figured I’d try it on a scrap piece and it actually went quite well.
Got all the overflow pieces cut. Internal dimensions ended up at 4” x 8” x 8”
Got it bonded last night. First time working with acrylic so one of the joints I don’t like much, but I don’t think it’ll leak, and overall I’m pretty satisfied.
Now we’re waiting for bulkheads to be delivered, then we’ll get the actual plumbing done… then maybe the tank will get setup in its actual spot, who knows…
So anyone who sees this, please share inspiration for how to make the stand look nice! I’ve been having decisions paralysis on how to skin it to look nice. I was thinking a sheet of decent plywood stained and finished, and then held on with some rare earth magnets so you could just remove the whole front anytime sump/frag shenanigans happen, but then I worry it’ll just look like… well… a straight sheet of stained plywood. Idk maybe two doors on liftoff hinges, but making nice looking doors sounds hard, although I do have access to a nice wood shop so not impossible but it’s just a ton of work. Really want inspiration here! Please share what yall got!
Anyways, thank for checking it out! More coming soon.
