My First Reef Tank! 75 gal Build

[Scrappy RN]

Ok, good to know! I'm going to have to look up the chemistry of why saltwater holds less oxygen. Now that I think of it I don't even know what form of oxygen is dissolved in freshwater. Like is it free floating or bound to something primarily. And then how do the gills get the oxygen out of the water? Biology fascinates me. I know how the human lungs work very well. Gills not so much

 

[Scrappy RN]

Still sitting in the car. ... tapping my foot impatiently. Of course the phone would probably charge faster if I weren't surfing the net!

 

[cale0721]

I dont have a generator but after last winters ice storm I lost 10 fish so after that I bought two power inverters for my car. I'm prepared for winter and storm season.

 

[Fin]

Still sitting in the car. ... tapping my foot impatiently. Of course the phone would probably charge faster if I weren't surfing the net!

Hope you're not still outside in the car.

 

[Scrappy RN]

Hope you're not still outside in the car.

Lol, no! Finally went in a little after midnight when the phone was charged enough to last until morning. But it was so hot I couldn't stand it. Power finally came back on shortly though!

 

[Scrappy RN]

I dont have a generator but after last winters ice storm I lost 10 fish so after that I bought two power inverters for my car. I'm prepared for winter and storm season.

Power inverters? Something else to research! Lol They surely are cheaper than generators though!

 

[Fin]

I have a power substation less than a block from my house. So, I am on a short wire. Almost never have power outages. In fact, I haven't had a single outage since Hurricane Rita in 2005. Maybe you could move closer to the power?

 

[Scrappy RN]

Lol, I suppose that's one way to tackle the problem!
I like the country life though so I think we're stuck

 

[Scrappy RN]

So many questions....so little time!
I'm such a concrete learner--and a global learner. I need to see pictures and I need to understand how the whole thing fits together and how each part works in order to understand the whole system.
Which brings problems when I can't see things actually working yet. Youtube only does so much so I can't wait to go to the local reef club soon!!

Some things I've not grasped yet:
--I understand the term, "Automatic Top Off" machine but am trying to picture how that works from descriptions I've read.
--I haven't fully grasped the many terms surrounding lights like PAR(s?) values and "450nm" etc. I understand basic physics terms like wavelength, amplitude and frequency but the graphs of lights at different depths and the specific needs of specific corals I've just not had enough time to devote to grasping yet. Terms like "actinic" and such are interesting but why do certain corals "need" that particular type of light? Aren't reefs in the ocean at much greater depths than our aquariums? So why does a full-spectrum bulb not work completely for just a few feet of water?
--I've don't have the differences in corals down yet, at all! But I just got two books in the mail this week, recommended by someone here, that will help solve that problem, I hope! I got Vol 1 & 2 of The Reef Aquarium: A Comprehensive Guide to the Identification and Care of Tropical Marine Invertebrates by Delbeek and Sprung. Though this may be TMI for me at this beginning point in the hobby, lol!
--I'm also coming to terms with how a coral is an "animal" instead of a plant. I knew this, of course, but never really thought about it a lot. I think before seeing actual corals at the LFS years ago I pictured little tiny animals (like tiny crabs and shrimp and such) building coral reefs, lol.

Anyway, I'm going out of town this weekend to a place with very sporadic Internet and little to no cell phone service, gasp! No, not the moon, just Eastern KY, to visit family. I'll take my Reef books and find answers and probably a lot more questions.

Hope you all have a very happy weekend!

 

[Scrappy RN]

Question: How much more expensive would it be to run a 90 gal vs the 75 gal I have on layaway? The tank itself is not that much more and the stand I bought fits both the 75 and the 90. I was going to make the largest sump that would fit in the cabinet anyway...so how much more light/skimmer/pump/etc. would I need. It doesn't seem like 15 more gallons should make that big of a difference.
Any other pros/cons of 15 gal more??

 

[cmcoker]

Question: How much more expensive would it be to run a 90 gal vs the 75 gal I have on layaway? The tank itself is not that much more and the stand I bought fits both the 75 and the 90. I was going to make the largest sump that would fit in the cabinet anyway...so how much more light/skimmer/pump/etc. would I need. It doesn't seem like 15 more gallons should make that big of a difference.
Any other pros/cons of 15 gal more??

The main difference is going to be comparing it to your arms length.
That extra 4 inches of height can stop you from reaching the bottom of the tank, if your short like me, especially if you add a canopy.
I've got a 120g that's 48x24x 24in deep, with the extra couple inches from canopy I can't reach the back 8 inches or so of the sandbed without removing lights, taking canopy off (at least a 2 person job, both of them not me). I have a plastic claw that I can grab stuff with but that is limited by maneuvering around the rockwork.
Next tank won't be more than 20 deep.

Other than that it's really just what is aesthetically appealing to you.

 

[Chriscrna]

Question: How much more expensive would it be to run a 90 gal vs the 75 gal I have on layaway? The tank itself is not that much more and the stand I bought fits both the 75 and the 90. I was going to make the largest sump that would fit in the cabinet anyway...so how much more light/skimmer/pump/etc. would I need. It doesn't seem like 15 more gallons should make that big of a difference.
Any other pros/cons of 15 gal more??

Wouldn't be that much more expensive. But in the end....as with everything in this hobby......it comes down to what you're comfortable spending.

Personally, I like the dimensions of your particular 75. I don't think a 90 will give you any more or less pleasure out of the hobby. Particularly since you're just starting.....you don't know any better at this point [emoji12]

But opinions are like, well you know.

 

[Scrappy RN]

Ok, thanks The LFS had both side by side and my 75g looked a little homely beside the 90g and wasn't really that much more so I thought about switching....again....lol. But I think I'm just going to stick with the 75 gal. Easier to reach the bottom sounds good!

 

[Fin]

I vote for the 75. I have had a tank that was too tall for me (140) for 10 years now and have always regretted getting the deeper tank. My next tank will be a 125, which will be 4" shorter in height, with the same footprint. You can have a nice 75 gallon tank. This was mine.

 

[Scrappy RN]

@Fin - That's beautiful!!! I only hope mine can be as nice one day!!

And thanks for the advice. That was kind of what I was thinking about that extra height.

 

[Chriscrna]

Fin posted a picture of my last tank. Poser! [emoji39]

 

[Fin]

Fin posted a picture of my last tank. Poser! [emoji39]

Ha! Yeah, I am bad about that.

 

[Pagerone]

Greetings from beautiful East Tennessee!

This thread will be a journal of sorts tracking my upcoming 75 gal reef tank that I have on layaway at my LFS. I apologize ahead of time that it will be months before I have an actual tank in hand...er....on floor?? But I really am very new to saltwater (other than a biocube that didn't last long because we had to move after I had it set up for only 2 months) and VERY, very new to reefs/corals.

I've had lots of freshwater experience, had a brackish setup for an adorable Green Spotted Puffer, and a 29 gal Biocube FOWLR setup several years back. I still have a betta (named Alpha) and a little Dwarf African Frog (no name yet )hanging out together in a 10 gal tank but after years away from the hobby I'm really excited about getting back into it.

This go round all started with the betta. I missed having fish so got him as a Mother's Day present for myself. I thought, "I'll take this little guy and give him a good home." I did a full setup and was happy with him. Then I made the mistake of going to get bloodworms for Alpha from the big LFS. This was the first time I'd been there in years and I couldn't find a parking spot. Turns out it was their annual customer appreciation sale where almost everything was 40-60% off!! An hour or two later I walked out with an entire 55 gal setup, complete with stand, filter, heater, lights, etc. on layaway. And forgot the darn bloodworms!!

So then the adventure of deciding what kind of tank I wanted to do this time. I started reading up on African cichlids. Thought about puffers again. Thought about one of those incredible planted aquascape/landscape tanks that the Japanese started. Then I took the family back to the LFS to show them our tank and see the fishy possibilities! That's when the, "Mom--I want saltwater!" started and the, "If I were doing it I'd get saltwater--the fish are cooler." comment from my DH, Joel. At first I told them no--it was too much work. (Even though I secretly agreed with them )

After much soul searching and reading, ha, ha, I finally gave in to the pull of the REEF! I thought, if I'm going to do saltwater I might as well go ahead and get what I really want--which are the corals and inverts and a few compatible fish.

So then I realized the 55 gal setup was going to be a problem. I had already decided I'd have to get a sump and trade in the HOB filter that came with the 55 gal. Then I'd have to swap out the lights, then....well you get the picture.

Then, thank goodness, I found R2R and got the best advice ever.....that I should just ask them to swap out for a what I wanted instead--a reef ready tank setup. And that's just what I did today (er...yesterday now since it's 1:30 in the morning!)--and I'm SO excited!!!

So this is it! I did get a different stand and lights though. This stand has a middle section brace in the inside front that would make it hard to get to the sump so I upgraded to one without it. I also opted for a Fluval Marine and Reef 2.0 LED light 48"-60" because I love that LED's have so little heat output, the electricity cost is so low and that they don't have to be changed anywhere near as often as others.

I'll post pics of the sump and other stuff tomorrow.
I suppose I should probably go to sleep. I'll have visions of fish swimming in my head all night! I can't wait to pay this stuff off and get started. Gonna have to get a second job to pay it off early, lol!

Have a great day!

Well congrats I'm happy for you and I'm sure it will look great

 

[Scrappy RN]

@Pagerone - Thank you and I hope so!!

 

[Scrappy RN]

I met some great folks today at the ETRC July meeting and came away with questions answered and lots of impatience to get going on this tank! My daughter and I also stopped by PetCo on the way home and they were having their $1 per gallon tank sale!!!! I went ahead and bought one tank for my sump and 1 for my QT! Then I stopped by Lowes and bought some PVC to make a few sponge filters for the QT and eggcrate ceiling stuff and misc. hardware for some temporary lids (so our kittens don't go fishing!!).

Getting closer all the time! Though I may have to take a 2nd job so I can get it out of layaway sooner!!

We also visited The Coral Reef in Jefferson City, TN on Friday, just to torture ourselves some more They were super friendly and very helpful with ideas about setting up our reef tank on a modest budget! We also got some ideas on a few fish we may want and how RODI systems work.