I am new to R2R and happy to see all the ideas and resources provided through this forum. I have been reading up and studying in preparation for getting back into a reef tank. I kept a reef tank for about ten years, but ended up gifting it to a coworker and have been out of it for the last twelve years. I always loved it and wanted to pick it up again at some point. After some recent reef diving trips I have been unable to contain the desire to have a reef tank. I am building a 75-gallon mixed reef tank that I will keep in the front entry of my lab. I am very excited.
I will take some pictures and list equipment along the way.
First off, the tank:
I decided to go with the Innovation Marine EXT 75 (https://www.innovative-marine.com/shop/EXT-75-Aquarium-w-APS-Stand-White-p222130502). I am very impressed with the quality of their builds. It is a package deal with a matching aluminum stand that is simple and looks very nice.
When the tank arrived, we opened the crate and inspected for any shipping damage. It was well packaged and in pristine shape.
The stand took about 20 minutes to build. I like the two PVC foam sheets that Innovative Marine provides to protect both the tank and the sump in the bottom of the cabinet.
Water system:
My lab is connected to a municipal water supply and the water is pretty hard, so I purchased a water softening system and a 6-stage 150gpd RODI water system from US Water (50-to-150-gpd-ro-di-system.html).
I also purchased two 55g water storage tanks from Rotational Molding of Utah (https://rockymountaintanks.com/product/55-gallon-waterprepared-emergency-storage-stackable-tank/). They are clean, well made, stackable water tanks. They come with a high quality lead-free valve, which I replaced due to the brass contact material, with a PVC ball valve.
More to come...
I will take some pictures and list equipment along the way.
First off, the tank:
I decided to go with the Innovation Marine EXT 75 (https://www.innovative-marine.com/shop/EXT-75-Aquarium-w-APS-Stand-White-p222130502). I am very impressed with the quality of their builds. It is a package deal with a matching aluminum stand that is simple and looks very nice.
When the tank arrived, we opened the crate and inspected for any shipping damage. It was well packaged and in pristine shape.
The stand took about 20 minutes to build. I like the two PVC foam sheets that Innovative Marine provides to protect both the tank and the sump in the bottom of the cabinet.
Water system:
My lab is connected to a municipal water supply and the water is pretty hard, so I purchased a water softening system and a 6-stage 150gpd RODI water system from US Water (50-to-150-gpd-ro-di-system.html).
I also purchased two 55g water storage tanks from Rotational Molding of Utah (https://rockymountaintanks.com/product/55-gallon-waterprepared-emergency-storage-stackable-tank/). They are clean, well made, stackable water tanks. They come with a high quality lead-free valve, which I replaced due to the brass contact material, with a PVC ball valve.
More to come...