My 75 Gallon Reef build

b4tn · Jul 6, 2015

I finally got a chance to start on the stand today. Stand Measures 35" high and I can still reach to the bottom all the way to the back. Next weekend I will put some skin and trim on it to match wifey's furniture.

I should be getting a 20 gallon long for the bottom and a glass holes overflow system soon. Once the stand is finished I will drill the overflow and returns and paint the back black.

Still have not decided on a skimmer or lights just yet but most likely I will be going with dual Aquastar LED's and an Octopus.

Finished Frame

Tank fits and sits level

And test fitting in the final resting place

KJ · Jul 6, 2015

Looking good .

Rhino · Jul 6, 2015

Great start so far. Can't wait to see how this turns out.

b4tn · Jul 21, 2015

Making some progress. I started skinning the frame. I'm not as happy with this as I expected. It's solid I'm just not sure how pretty it's going to be. Turns out as I I already knew. I suck at wood work and lack a lot of wood working tools.

I got some new toys

. So far I love this BRS RO/DI. No more lugging gallons of distiller water from the grocery store!

I also got my glass holes 1500 in and out kit. Finally worked up the nerve to drill.

I was worried at first. The template was a pretty good size bigger than the hole saw. But I emailed them and within 15 minutes they got back to me and said 1/8" on all sides is normal to make sure water gets in for cooling.

Tomorrow I will clean up the tank and roll on the blue latex paint I picked up from Home Depot. Hopefully I get the stand finished this weekend.

JcStark87 · Jul 23, 2015

Your build is looking good man. The stand looks solid. Give yourself some credit! Slap some molding on there and it'll bring it to life. Looking forward to seeing the progress.

b4tn · Jul 23, 2015

JcStark87 said:
Your build is looking good man. The stand looks solid. Give yourself some credit! Slap some molding on there and it'll bring it to life. Looking forward to seeing the progress.

Thanks. I have some trim and some more wood in the basement for doors just have to get to that part lol

b4tn · Jul 23, 2015

A pair of Ocean Revive T247's, an Octopus 150INT Classic, and a Since silent 3.0 have been delivered and should be here Monday

.

So the blue latex paint irritated me. Over the course of two days of laying a coat letting it dry, and laying another coat, and then again for a third coat I peeled it all off and went with black spray paint I found in the basement. Done in 30 minutes. The latex paint kept cracking while it was drying leaving pin holes all over the place. So I said to heck with it and sprayed in instead. Here it is with bulkheads.

SeahorseKeeper · Jul 23, 2015

Looking good!!

cginter · Jul 24, 2015

Looking good man.

kschweer · Jul 24, 2015

Coming along very nicely! Stand is looking really good. Best of luck moving forward.

SantaMonicaHelp · Jul 24, 2015

Looks great, awesome start! Looking forward to seeing the progress.

~SF

b4tn · Jul 24, 2015

Thanks everyone. I think I am finally happy with the stand. I finished the trim tonight and I'm going to sand and stain it all tomorrow. The goal was to get it to somewhat match my wife's China cabinet.

b4tn · Jul 24, 2015

Forgot to mention. The whole front panel comes off held by magnets so I can easily get to all the plumbing.

JcStark87 · Jul 24, 2015

b4tn said:
Thanks everyone. I think I am finally happy with the stand. I finished the trim tonight and I'm going to sand and stain it all tomorrow. The goal was to get it to somewhat match my wife's China cabinet.

Wow. Really like the stand. You did a great job with it. Goes very well with the China set too!

b4tn · Jul 26, 2015

Took advantage of the petsmart $1 per gallon sale and picked up my sump. [emoji3]

b4tn · Jul 27, 2015

I'm feeling pretty accomplished today. With the stands stain and poly finally dry I was able to move it inside and clear a spot for me to install the bulk heads, overflow, and do a leak test. So far no leaks

I used cabinet door magnets for the front panel. I finished drilling and adjusting them so the front panel just snaps into place and holds a lot more solid than expected. Hopefully I don't have to move this tank by myself again at 100 lbs I'm tired of lugging it back and forth. But I have to say.. I'm really glad the blue paint didn't work out. I think the black looks amazing and blue would have been a bit of an eye sore.

On top of that my reef octopus and Sicce 3.0 arrived today. I was worried this pump would not be enough but man it has some serious flow! I used it to empty the tank after the leak test and the tank was empty in a hurry. It took me longer to fill it with the garden hose.

Next in line is the sump. I still have to decide how I am going to partition it off. I was originally going to do three chambers and call it good. But now that I have the 40 I am seriously considering building a frag rack into it somehow. I still have some more research to do. If anyone has any ideas for a sump with refugium space "and" frag space please feel free to share.