Im hooked. 75 gal upgrade experience.

[ReefAddictionAnonymous]

3 weeks after my first aquarium, I knew it was too small. I found a great deal on a full setup locally for a 75 gal and pulled the trigger.

Still a complete newbie. I had a lot of beginner knowledge under me and a vision for what I wanted the 75 gal to be. We brought it home, cleaned (what a freakn mess it was) and hardscapped it.

I wanted a sump room, so the storage closet under the stairs was repurposed. I even added a sink lol.

Can I say, what a blast to have created this. It's been awhile building... anything. And this was fun. Trying to figure out the tank overflow and make it silent, such a challenge and fun. Who knew something so obscure and straightforward could be such a complicated challenge. But. As I sit here 10ft away, silent as can be. Love it.

The tank is barely 3 months old. But, and yes, I know, too soon. But here's what it holds :)

1 blue spot goby
4 green/blue chromis
1 orange line chromis
2 yellow/blue damsels
1 purple firefish
1 yellow dottyback
1 purple royal gramma
1 blue hippo tang
1 red scooter dragonet (this dude is my fav)
3 lyretail Anthias
1 peppermint shrimp (what a mistake and uncatchable).
1 scarlet skunk cleaner shrimp
1 decorator crab (gift and I'm keeping a close eye on him. He keeps wearing my clove polyps)
1 flame tail blenny
1 maxima clam
1 flame scallop (what a pain to care for)

For coral:
1 indigo gold torch (absolute fav)
Purple tip green stemmed hammer
3 various acans
Magicians zoa
3 varieties of mushroom
2 Duncan's
Cotton candy tipped torch
2 Acropora
1 montipora
2 entrusting corals include red and blue.

I've got 12 more various zoas coming next Tuesday that after quarantine will find a home somewhere.

And that's my start. It's been only 3 months and I'm considering going 400gal + lol!

This has been an amazingly fun ride. I've learned a ton. And its brought back all the old zoology, chemistry, and tradecraft that I have cherished in the past. Cannot wait to keep this craft going and scaling up! Today's current setup:

 

[Crabs McJones]

I had that exact same tank. How are you liking it so far? How do you have the drain set up currently? For mine I ended up doing a herbie style drain in the overflow and had the return come up over the top on the right hand side. Tried having one as the drain and one as the return, but too many close calls with overflowing I decided to go that route instead.
Following along :)

 

[ReefAddictionAnonymous]

I had that exact same tank. How are you liking it so far? How do you have the drain set up currently? For mine I ended up doing a herbie style drain in the overflow and had the return come up over the top on the right hand side. Tried having one as the drain and one as the return, but too many close calls with overflowing I decided to go that route instead.
Following along :)

Im loving it. But I feel like in 3 short months, im at capacity and now just hsbr to wait for frags to mature and fill in. Id have loved to go bigger, at the time it seemed like such a jump from the 13.5 ha!

Id say it is a modified Durso. 2 holes. One I used for return pump. One drain. The modified comes from using a gate air line valve to control the siphon level. So it's a constant flow siphon, very efficient at draining as it's always under some level of suction and not passive draining. The tank valves are full open so it's not an overflow drain controlled by closing the main drain valves.

I have 2 redundancies to prevent overflow. 1 on my Octo pump float control. If that fails, I have a overflow indicating sensor connected to a smart power strip and a google home automation that shuts off the pump... it will even send me and my wife a text saying overflow indicated and the pump shutdown. Lol.

Im running these Kasa smart power strips. I've set up google automation for routine feeding, spot feeding, skimmer and refugium light controls. It's been fun setting it all up.

I hope I dont have any overflow situation since the main valves are full open. If the air line becomes salt clogged, it actually helps because it causes a full siphon that really sucks down the water. But with the 2 redundancies of return pump shutoff... I guess that makes me comfortable?

If it does overflow, I've got overflow sensors at the base of the sump and DT. They, again, are connected through google home and will shut it all down. So if there is overflow spillage, hopefully it would be minimal.

 

[Fish Styx]

Outstanding build!

 

[ReefAddictionAnonymous]

Outstanding build!

Thx! Im happy so far. Can wait till everything matures. It'll be fun to see what it becomes.

 

[Justfebreezeit]

Awesome build. Love the fish room. Have at it and don't get discouraged by making a mistake! Good luck!

 

[ReefAddictionAnonymous]

Awesome build. Love the fish room. Have at it and don't get discouraged by making a mistake! Good luck!

Appreciate it. Primed and ready many future mistakes ;)

 

[Fish Styx]

We're all here if you need support. Don't hesitate to ask any questions.

 

[ReefAddictionAnonymous]

Awesome build. Love the fish room. Have at it and don't get discouraged by making a mistake! Good luck!

Appreciate it. Primed and ready many future mistakes

We're all here if you need support. Don't hesitate to ask any questions.

Yall are my go to source! Ive learned so much with thread searches. Yall are crazy informative.

 

[Reginald Reefer III]

T&P to your wallet. :grinning-squinting-face:

Great build!

 

[Crabs McJones]

Im loving it. But I feel like in 3 short months, im at capacity and now just hsbr to wait for frags to mature and fill in. Id have loved to go bigger, at the time it seemed like such a jump from the 13.5 ha!

Id say it is a modified Durso. 2 holes. One I used for return pump. One drain. The modified comes from using a gate air line valve to control the siphon level. So it's a constant flow siphon, very efficient at draining as it's always under some level of suction and not passive draining. The tank valves are full open so it's not an overflow drain controlled by closing the main drain valves.

I have 2 redundancies to prevent overflow. 1 on my Octo pump float control. If that fails, I have a overflow indicating sensor connected to a smart power strip and a google home automation that shuts off the pump... it will even send me and my wife a text saying overflow indicated and the pump shutdown. Lol.

Im running these Kasa smart power strips. I've set up google automation for routine feeding, spot feeding, skimmer and refugium light controls. It's been fun setting it all up.

I hope I dont have any overflow situation since the main valves are full open. If the air line becomes salt clogged, it actually helps because it causes a full siphon that really sucks down the water. But with the 2 redundancies of return pump shutoff... I guess that makes me comfortable?

If it does overflow, I've got overflow sensors at the base of the sump and DT. They, again, are connected through google home and will shut it all down. So if there is overflow spillage, hopefully it would be minimal.

Well, you've gone about 10 steps further than I did. Sounds very well thought out :)

 

[ReefAddictionAnonymous]

T&P to your wallet. :grinning-squinting-face:

Great build!

I've had to turn over purchase authority to my wife. It all goes through her now. I lost purchase control on week one lol

 

[ReefAddictionAnonymous]

Well, you've gone about 10 steps further than I did. Sounds very well thought out :)

I read all these threads about not having a dry overflow would eventually get me. Scared me enough to find a way with redundancies that it made me comfortable. I just hope it all works but wish I never have to find out.

 

[Reginald Reefer III]

Keep thinking about what ifs... sooner or later you WILL get some water on the floor from an overlooked redundancy or mistake.

 

[ReefAddictionAnonymous]

Keep thinking about what ifs... sooner or later you WILL get some water on the floor from an overlooked redundancy or mistake.

I do a periodic test of each sensor to make sure it functions as expected.

On that note, does anyone do any kind of regular return line maintenance, like snaking the drain?

 

[backbayreef]

STOP

Please seek professional help ASAP as you might be infected by MTS (Multiple Tank Syndrome). :)

Loving it btw, keep up the awesome DIY work!

 

[ReefAddictionAnonymous]

STOP

Please seek professional help ASAP as you might be infected by MTS (Multiple Tank Syndrome). :)

Loving it btw, keep up the awesome DIY

Im still in the denial phase

 

[backbayreef]

Im still in the denial phase

You’ve come to the right place. Many of us are still in denial …after 30+ years! ;)

 

[backbayreef]

Btw: reef tanks are like women’s diamonds - they shrink over time - it’s a proven fact! ;)

I do think that the next toy you should get is an Apex or Hydros. It’s super cool for remote monitoring and automations. I would never have a reef tank w/o one.

 

[strich]

Very cool to see such a rapid progression and it sounds like you've largely pulled it off. I'd love to see some more shots of the tank and how it works.
Also what's your roadmap for it?