Hey everyone. Im starting a new 75 gal mixed reef build and decided to do a build thread. Never blogged or even posted on reef2reef before but I have loved all the good information I've gotten here in the past. A little background, I had a cobalt c-vue 45 all-in-one running for about a year with pretty good results.
Unfortunately for the tank, although very good for our family, my wife got into grad school and we were required to move. We moved to Kansas city in the middle of Jan. The rock and livstock went throught two moves in just under a month. Out of the 45 into a 20 gal long on my moms spare bedroom floor while we closed on our house. Then up to KC during what someone from the south would call a bizzard. The drive was about 12 hours and the water got way to cold. I set up the 20 gal long in our basement and got everything warmed back up. Unfortunately I lost most of the corals besides a torch, gsp, duncans, and some blastos.
Ive thought multiple times about putting the 45 back together but havent got around to it for several reasons. First the 20gal is sitting on the stand for the 45 gal at the moment. Second the AIO back is acrylic and has separated from the glass and needs new silicone. Third one corner of the tank had depeloped a long "bubble" along the corner between the silicone seal and the glass. There were no leaks when Ishut the tank down but with it having been dry for 6 months and moved 1000 miles I'm not sure that I would trust it anymore. I've always wanted a reef tank and had loved having one for the past year but I was about to sell off the last of my fish and corals and try to get back in the hobby in a couple years. Thats when my wife came home told me that her co worker was giving away a 75 gal tank. She also mentioned that two other of her coworkers said they had saltwater tanks. This lead me back down the ribbit hole of frag swaps and how much I enjoy the hobby. So with my wife in grad school (read limited money and time) I'm going to attempt to put together a medium size tank that looks nice, grows corals, and doesn't break the bank (though it might bent it slightly). So the plan is to take this old 75 gal tank and turn it into a mixed reef.
I plan on drilling it and adding a overflow and sump, building a new stand with removable paneling, picking out new return pumps, heaters, lights, powerheads, building new rockscape and adding new livestock. Stay tuned and feel free to offer any input on how to keep cost down if you have it. My next post will be on some questions on selecting equipment and what I currently have in mind for the build followed by a post with the first leak test and painting the rims.
Unfortunately for the tank, although very good for our family, my wife got into grad school and we were required to move. We moved to Kansas city in the middle of Jan. The rock and livstock went throught two moves in just under a month. Out of the 45 into a 20 gal long on my moms spare bedroom floor while we closed on our house. Then up to KC during what someone from the south would call a bizzard. The drive was about 12 hours and the water got way to cold. I set up the 20 gal long in our basement and got everything warmed back up. Unfortunately I lost most of the corals besides a torch, gsp, duncans, and some blastos.
Ive thought multiple times about putting the 45 back together but havent got around to it for several reasons. First the 20gal is sitting on the stand for the 45 gal at the moment. Second the AIO back is acrylic and has separated from the glass and needs new silicone. Third one corner of the tank had depeloped a long "bubble" along the corner between the silicone seal and the glass. There were no leaks when Ishut the tank down but with it having been dry for 6 months and moved 1000 miles I'm not sure that I would trust it anymore. I've always wanted a reef tank and had loved having one for the past year but I was about to sell off the last of my fish and corals and try to get back in the hobby in a couple years. Thats when my wife came home told me that her co worker was giving away a 75 gal tank. She also mentioned that two other of her coworkers said they had saltwater tanks. This lead me back down the ribbit hole of frag swaps and how much I enjoy the hobby. So with my wife in grad school (read limited money and time) I'm going to attempt to put together a medium size tank that looks nice, grows corals, and doesn't break the bank (though it might bent it slightly). So the plan is to take this old 75 gal tank and turn it into a mixed reef.
I plan on drilling it and adding a overflow and sump, building a new stand with removable paneling, picking out new return pumps, heaters, lights, powerheads, building new rockscape and adding new livestock. Stay tuned and feel free to offer any input on how to keep cost down if you have it. My next post will be on some questions on selecting equipment and what I currently have in mind for the build followed by a post with the first leak test and painting the rims.
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