Bronc's 75g Reef

[Bronc]

One of our LFS had a deal on a 75g tank that I tried to pass up and couldn't. ($350 for the 75g tank, stand, hood, 20g sump with baffles, plumbing & Sicce 2500 return pump!) So after much pleading with my better half, I'm now the proud new owner.

Time to upgrade from the old 25g tank: (Build thread here: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/broncs-25g-reef-build.242309/ )


To a 75g tank!

There is a bit of cleanup work to do to before it is ready to be installed. I went ahead and filled it with freshwater to test for leaks in the tank and plumbing and I'm glad I did. (Especially in the garage instead of the upstairs!) One of the ball valves was missing a rubber gasket - but thankfully I found it underneath and that same pipe had a bad glue job on one of PVC pipes and it came apart dumping about 2-3 gallons of water.


All of the pics are PRE-CLEANUP.

Today I replaced most everything that was metal (door hinges, piano hinge on the hood, hooks, etc) as they were all pretty rusted. I also cleaned most of the sump up and my son cleaned the tank. We also used a touchup pen to fix all of the scrapes and nicks on the wood, then cleaned it and applied a good coat of eco-friendly, non-toxic wood preservative. We still need to drain everything, remove the sump, do a final cleaning, then I plan to repaint the sump area with white FlexSeal and mount a couple of shelves for electronics.

I'm getting a 4-bulb T5 setup used really cheap to mount in the hood for now (I'll probably buy the same ATI bulbs that I currently use). Later on I'll probably add some LED strips. I've also got to purchase a new skimmer - I'll most likely grab a SC-301 for the time being as I've heard good things about them.

My plan is to relocate my current system a few feet away, then get the new system in place with some new live sand and about 30lbs of additional live rock and let that cycle then move my current livestock, rock and equipment over in the next couple of weeks.

 

[Chrisfish]

If the 75 gal. Looks anything like your current tank it will be awesome!! Looking forward to following this new thread

 

[Bronc]

Parts list:
75g Oceanic Tank with stand & hood
20g sump w/baffles
Bean Animal plumbing (I think)
Sicce 2500 Return Pump
48" 4-bulb T5 fixture
(Pending) ATI Coral Plus 48"
(Pending) ATI Aquablue Special 48"
(Pending) (2) ATI Blue Plus 48"
(Pending) Blue Actinic LED Strip
SCA-301 In-sump Protein Skimmer
Aqueon 200W Heater
Bubble Magus BM-T11 Dosing Pump
Marinecolor® Acryli Made Liquid Storage Bucket 3 Rooms 4.5 Liter
Jebao RW-8 Wavemaker w/Controller (will be adding a 2nd one)
AutoAqua Smart ATO Micro - Auto Top off System
HDE LCD Digital Thermometer
Caribsea Arag-Alive Reef Sand
32 lbs Live Rock now - will add at least 30 lbs more
Purigen - 100g size

 

[Bronc]

Parameters Targets
Ammonia - 0
PH - 8.2
Nitrite - 0
Nitrate - 0-2.5
Temperature - 79
Salinity - 1.026
Magnesium - 1330
Calcium - 430
Alkalinity - 8.3

 

[Bronc]

Initial Livestock
(1) Yellow Watchman Goby (Cryptocentrus cinctus)
(1) Springer's Damsel (Chrysiptera springeri)
(2) Green Chromis (Chromis viridis)

(1) Candy Cane Coral (Caulastrea Curvata) (LPS)
(1) Frogspawn Coral (Euphyllia divisa) (LPS)
(2) Orange Mushroom (Discosoma Malaccensis)
(1) Tubbs Blue Zoas (Zoanthus sp.)
(8) Orange Bam Bam Zoas (Zoanthus sp.)
(9) Flaming Meanie Greenie Zoas (Zoanthus sp.)
(2) Green Pipe Organ (Tubipora musica) (Soft)
(1) Neon Green Hydnophora (Hydnophora sp.) (SPS)
(1) Green Star Polyps (Briareum sp.)
(5) Nuclear Green Palys (Palythoa sp.)
(1) Green Slimer Frag (Acropora Yongei) (SPS)
(3) Pink Birds Nest Frag (Seriatopora hystrix) (SPS)
(2) California Tort Frag (Acropora Tortuosa) (SPS)
(1) Pink Cat's Paw (Stylophora pistillata) (SPS)
(1) Strawberry Shortcake (Acropora microclados) (SPS)
(1) Green Leptastrea (Leptastrea sp.) (LPS)
(1) Green Stylophora (Stylophora pistillata) (SPS)
(1) Unknown Australian Acropora (SPS)
(1) Pink & Green Millepora (Acropora Millepora) (SPS)

(2) Hawaiian Feather Dusters (Sabellastarte sp.) (Invert)
(1) Tiger Pistol Shrimp (Alpheus bellulus)
(1) Fighting Conch (Strombus spp.)
(5) Margarita Snails (Margarites pupillus)
Red Leg Hermit Crabs (Clibanarius sp.)
Blue Hermit Leg Crabs (Clibanarius tricolor)
(1) Asterina starfish (Asterina spp.)
(1) Emerald Crab (Mithrax Sculptus)

 

[MasterBacon]

Is the Overflow teeth spacing correct or are some broken? Looks kind of scary for curious inhabitants.

 

[Bronc]

Is the Overflow teeth spacing correct or are some broken? Looks kind of scary for curious inhabitants.

It's kind of strange. A previous owner obviously cut them by hand (maybe after a few too many drinks!). I thought that the egg crate piece would set into place on top between the teeth but it doesn't, so I'll have to work on improving that.

 

[MasterBacon]

It's kind of strange. A previous owner obviously cut them by hand (maybe after a few too many drinks!). I thought that the egg crate piece would set into place on top between the teeth but it doesn't, so I'll have to work on improving that.

Cut some for the face and should be fine ya think?

 

[Bronc]

Cut some for the face and should be fine ya think?

Yep, I think so.

 

[Mike&Terry]

Congrats on the upgrade! Looking forward to following your progress...

 

[Daniel@R2R]

Following!

 

[Brew12]

Great deal! If you can make a 25g look that good I can't wait to see what you can do with a 75g!

 

[Bronc]

I've made a bit of progress this week. STILL HAVEN"T FINISHED CLEANING IT YET, so don't judge me!

I bought a used AquaticLife T5 fixture and a new SCA-301 In-sump Protein Skimmer.


Installing the light fixture was pretty simple. I removed the old reflectors from the hood, then added a wooden rail on each side to support the new fixture. This allows me to slide it in and out easily. There are already vent holes cut in the hood that line up with the fixture.


My son & I crafted a stand for the protein skimmer out of egg crate. I will most likely remove 1 row from the bottom to lower the skimmer as it is sitting in about 6" of water now and I think it should be a bit lower.


I also received a power center that I need to get mounted underneath the cabinet.


So plans for next week are to figure out how I'm going to mount electrical, dosing pump, dosing containers and ATO container. Once that's all figured out I'll clean the sump area and spray it with white Flexseal and then mount everything. Stay tuned!

 

[Bronc]

We've got the electrical mounts in place and cleaned the stand and applied a fresh coat of black Flexseal. Now I'll get the shelf mounted for the dosing pump and container and mount all of the electrical.

 

[Brew12]

Looks great! I really wish I had thought of the flexseal idea. Really curious to hear how it holds up over time.

 

[Bronc]

The tank is about ready to get wet!! Finished up the sump area with Flexseal and then used toolbox drawer liners to line the bottom and some of the shelves. Got the sump as clean as I can and bought a filter sock. Moved the 25g tank out of the way and got it all set back up and running. Hopefully tomorrow I can get the 75g moved upstairs and set in place and start getting some water in there!

 

[melypr1985]

Hey! This is really great! I'm following along

 

[Salty1962]

Very nice! Keep us updated..

 

[Bronc]

It's wet!! (but just barely!!)

Busy weekend! Got the 25g tank moved by doing a 15g water change and the family carefully sliding it around the corner.




All of the fish & corals were happy after the move. This morning we were able to get the 75g moved upstairs into its new home and I had 2g of saltwater left to dump in and make it wet! I've got 15g circulating now outside that I'll move into the tank in the morning and then I'll be making water for the next 2 days. Tuesday I'll grab some live sand & live rock and probably some bacteria as well to get it cycled quickly.

 

[melypr1985]

Oh yeah! And now the fun begins!!