Parth's 75 Gallon Reef Savvy Build

[reefpanda8]

Hello all, my name is Parth and I've been in the hobby on and off for about the past 15-20 years. I started out with a 55 gallon aquarium with 5 plump goldfish and a pleco in the 7th grade and now almost 2 decades later fully immersed into the world of saltwater fish and reef aquariums. Despite being in the hobby for so long this will be the largest tank I've owned personally which I know for some of you might not be that large .

As for the build background:
Where to begin, this build is probably around 8 years in the making with plenty of pauses and stoppages in between but now finally determined to get it cycled and stocked within the next couple of weeks. This journey started in 2015 when I was watching BRS and MACNA videos on my computer and found out about reef savvy tanks, rimless aquariums were starting to become all the rage and after graduating from undergrad I thought it was finally time to get a new tank (I was still using my scratched up decades old 55 gallon to house a few clowns and some Kenya trees ). I was mesmerized by Reef Savvy's build quality and I wanted something reliable. I went ahead and got in touch with Felix from reef savvy and decided on a 75 gallon rimless aquarium with the normal rectangular dimensions (48" x 18" x 21"), paid for it and then waited. Admittedly I knew the turn around time for Felix and Reef Savvy was long and I was in no rush so over time I gradually forgot I even had an aquarium being made lol.

One thing led to another and I decided to live overseas for a year and half, and everything was on hold. I came back and remembered that I had an aquarium waiting for me and I got in touch with Reef Savvy. That conversation was particularly hilarious because Felix thought I was in jail since I went MIA , and my tank was ready and shelved at his shop for over a year. Long story short I knew I wanted a custom stand for my aquarium and I was keen on building my own (huge undertaking), I quickly screwed together some 2 by 4s and picked up my tank on November 2017 (over 2 years since the initial deposit lol). Here are a couple of pics from that time:

Now to be completely honest, I'm a huge novice with carpentry, hardware, plumbing, or general hardware use. The stand I used above was a straight copy off of Joey's stands from the King of DIY on youtube and more or less this was the framework used by most people making DIY stands. Sturdy as hell and luckily after it was all put together it was level (thank God). As for my aquarium I had their trademark ghost overflow fitted and opted for a regular bottom instead of their patented "phantom bottom." With regular bottom they recommended a 1 inch foam padding underneath which I went ahead and placed.

Now with the tank home and on its skeleton stand, I left to galavant across the US to finish up my graduate degree for 2 years and then 3 years of residency training in D.C. finally graduating this year and starting a job next month. So now it feels like the right time to set this baby up while i'm home for the foreseeable future .

 

[Uncle99]

Best wishes!
Life can’t be just work….
Enjoy

 

[Cichlid Dad]

Looks like a reefer built stand to me, meaning great job. You have support where it's supposed to be and obvious you did your research.

 

[reefpanda8]

First step was to create my ideal stand. I was obsessed with idea of a travertine tiled stone stand but since Im not skilled enough to cut stone tile, apply cement/grout, or any of that stuff really I found the next best thing, stick and peel vinyl tiling . I bought some 1/8" PVC boards and created 3 panels for the sides and front, cutting them to the appropriate sizes with a circular saw I borrowed from a friend. The vinyl tiling was then placed on the pvc boards, sized and cut with a blade, and the pvc boards were glued on to the wood with liquid nail construction glue.

The above pictures were the boards placed against the side of the tank without it being glued. I realized I completely forgot I had to install a bottom board and I had to cut the wooden panel for it, which is what I did next.

After all the cutting and measuring, I decided to paint the entire inside black with about 3-4 coats and using primer beforehand to help with water "proofing." After painting inside and gluing on the pvc board cutouts, I was left with this:

Next I obviously needed to add some moulding to clean up the sides and I decided to place larger moulding hugging the base of the aquarium itself.

I was actually pretty impressed with how far I came in a week with this stand. The cabinet doors are something I have to tackle next and its giving me nightmares trying to figure how to make it flush and level with the other door lol. Also I have a couple of LED strips placed underneath the hood for light and a waterproof surge protector with 8 outlets placed inside.

 

[Cichlid Dad]

First step was to create my ideal stand. I was obsessed with idea of a travertine tiled stone stand but since Im not skilled enough to cut stone tile, apply cement/grout, or any of that stuff really I found the next best thing, stick and peel vinyl tiling . I bought some 1/8" PVC boards and created 3 panels for the sides and front, cutting them to the appropriate sizes with a circular saw I borrowed from a friend. The vinyl tiling was then placed on the pvc boards, sized and cut with a blade, and the pvc boards were glued on to the wood with liquid nail construction glue.

The above pictures were the boards placed against the side of the tank without it being glued. I realized I completely forgot I had to install a bottom board and I had to cut the wooden panel for it, which is what I did next.

After all the cutting and measuring, I decided to paint the entire inside black with about 3-4 coats and using primer beforehand to help with water "proofing." After painting inside and gluing on the pvc board cutouts, I was left with this:

Next I obviously needed to add some moulding to clean up the sides and I decided to place larger moulding hugging the base of the aquarium itself.

I was actually pretty impressed with how far I came in a week with this stand. The cabinet doors are something I have to tackle next and its giving me nightmares trying to figure how to make it flush and level with the other door lol. Also I have a couple of LED strips placed underneath the hood for light and a waterproof surge protector with 8 outlets placed inside.

For the foam under the tank, you can get hard foam insulation for home Depot or Lowe's. Might be worth it to look into.

 

[Gumbies R Us]

Love the stand for the tank!

 

[reefpanda8]

Love the stand for the tank!

Thanks! I wish it was real stone but honestly this looks ten times better already than seeing that empty wood crate holding up my tank lol

 

[Absolutekind]

That stand came out really nice! Good luck on the build.

 

[Absolutekind]

That stand came out really nice! Good luck on the build.

 

[reefpanda8]

Update for today is to get cabinet doors done and screwed in while I wait for a lot of the gear to get in tomorrow. Below is a list of the equipment I bought for the tank:

Tank Equipment:
- Lights: 2x Kessil A360x Tuna Blues w/ Wifi Dongle
- Powerhead: 2x Vortech MP40s
- Return Pump: Sicce Syncra Silent 3.0 (714 GPH)
- Skimmer: Vertex Omega 130
- Sump: Trigger System Ruby Sump 36

Waiting on around 50lbs of Reef Saver Dry Rock, 8lbs of Shelf Rock, and 40lbs of CaribSea Fiji Pink Sand.
Let me know if you have any questions or thoughts on the equipment.

 

[reefpanda8]

Finally done with the stand, doors placed. Still waiting on the shipment of equipment, delayed a day due to hurricane Idalia

 

[Cichlid Dad]

 

[reefpanda8]

Rock work and aquascaping done, lights placed, now just working on plumbing it today!

 

[reefpanda8]

plumbing done and filled with water, added some beneficial bacteria and cycling process begins! Im doing a fishless cycle with frtiz 900 and ammonia from algaebarn

 

[Devisissy]

Hello all, my name is Parth and I've been in the hobby on and off for about the past 15-20 years. I started out with a 55 gallon aquarium with 5 plump goldfish and a pleco in the 7th grade and now almost 2 decades later fully immersed into the world of saltwater fish and reef aquariums. Despite being in the hobby for so long this will be the largest tank I've owned personally which I know for some of you might not be that large .

As for the build background:
Where to begin, this build is probably around 8 years in the making with plenty of pauses and stoppages in between but now finally determined to get it cycled and stocked within the next couple of weeks. This journey started in 2015 when I was watching BRS and MACNA videos on my computer and found out about reef savvy tanks, rimless aquariums were starting to become all the rage and after graduating from undergrad I thought it was finally time to get a new tank (I was still using my scratched up decades old 55 gallon to house a few clowns and some Kenya trees ). I was mesmerized by Reef Savvy's build quality and I wanted something reliable. I went ahead and got in touch with Felix from reef savvy and decided on a 75 gallon rimless aquarium with the normal rectangular dimensions (48" x 18" x 21"), paid for it and then waited. Admittedly I knew the turn around time for Felix and Reef Savvy was long and I was in no rush so over time I gradually forgot I even had an aquarium being made lol.

One thing led to another and I decided to live overseas for a year and half, and everything was on hold. I came back and remembered that I had an aquarium waiting for me and I got in touch with Reef Savvy. That conversation was particularly hilarious because Felix thought I was in jail since I went MIA , and my tank was ready and shelved at his shop for over a year. Long story short I knew I wanted a custom stand for my aquarium and I was keen on building my own (huge undertaking), I quickly screwed together some 2 by 4s and picked up my tank on November 2017 (over 2 years since the initial deposit lol). Here are a couple of pics from that time:

Now to be completely honest, I'm a huge novice with carpentry, hardware, plumbing, or general hardware use. The stand I used above was a straight copy off of Joey's stands from the King of DIY on youtube and more or less this was the framework used by most people making DIY stands. Sturdy as hell and luckily after it was all put together it was level (thank God). As for my aquarium I had their trademark ghost overflow fitted and opted for a regular bottom instead of their patented "phantom bottom." With regular bottom they recommended a 1 inch foam padding underneath which I went ahead and placed.

Now with the tank home and on its skeleton stand, I left to galavant across the US to finish up my graduate degree for 2 years and then 3 years of residency training in D.C. finally graduating this year and starting a job next month. So now it feels like the right time to set this baby up while i'm home for the foreseeable future .

Can I ask how much you paid for this tank? I just got a quote from Felix and it was laughable. So I am curious if he just pulls numbers out of his behind or what. Since your tank is the exact same size it will give me a good idea.

 

[reefpanda8]

Can I ask how much you paid for this tank? I just got a quote from Felix and it was laughable. So I am curious if he just pulls numbers out of his behind or what. Since your tank is the exact same size it will give me a good idea.

Well considering I paid for this tank in 2015 I think there’s probably a huge difference in price now considering inflation and demand. Back then I paid a little over $1700, the only “perk” I added to my order was their ghost overflow the rest is stock glass (not low iron) and I didn’t choose to opt in to their phantom bottom.

 

[Devisissy]

I just got a quote. 4 grand. For a standard 90 gallon. Phantom bottom and braced. I would expect 1700-2500 and would easily pay that. When responded that was insane he explained everything went up in price. I understand that as a business owner. But no messing way. That is almost laughable.

 

[reefpanda8]

I just got a quote. 4 grand. For a standard 90 gallon. Phantom bottom and braced. I would expect 1700-2500 and would easily pay that. When responded that was insane he explained everything went up in price. I understand that as a business owner. But no messing way. That is almost laughable.

Definitely a lot, in hindsight if I was to do this project now I probably couldn’t afford RS lol. I can vouch for the build quality and expectations but that’s about it.

 

[kevgib67]

Following!

 

[CBonito]

That looks like a really well-made tank. I like it.