Rookie 750 Gallon Build Thread

Mareshow

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Well I took the plunge into salt water, should have probably started smaller, but hey if you can't beat em, join em.

The tank is a used acrylic tank I got off a local keeper here. It measures 10 ft x 4 ft x 2.5 ft tall it was built by tenecor out of Arizona. It has an overflow on each end. Originally he had a gravel filtration system that fed off the bottom, but I'm going to be doing sand so that didn't bother me (I'm just plugging the holes)

IMG_3888.jpg


The Plan is to do a mixed reef tank with some of every coral, I've drawn out some aqua scapes and now its time for reality to build them and figure out what they are going to look like. I picked up about 500 lbs of live sand and about 700 lbs of dry rock so I'll start the aquascape soon :)

The Sump is a 180 gallons (6ftx2ftx2ft) and will be located behind the tank in my garage. The advantage of having it in there will be ease of maintenance as well as keeping any noise in the garage rather than in the house :)

I went with a duplex return pump system because of the dual overflows. It adds a little security to the system. I'm going to put some heaters in the sump as well, but being acrylic and because its infloor heat where the tank is (and garage) it shouldn't be an issue of heat.

Protein skimmers I went with dual RSK 900s, again for ease of maintenance as well as reliability.
I'm adding a refugium to the sump as well as this build I'm going for more of "ecosystem" rather than "controlled area".
Flow through the sump will be approx 6000 GPH and the flow in the tank will be approx 30,750 GPH coming 3 powerheads and 2 wave pumps. I'd like to use MP60s but based on the end overflows I don't think thats possible.

Now lights are something that required a bit of research. I'm going with 5x Kessil AP700s to start. I chose the kessils because I like their control method as well as the spread they offer. I looked at hydras and radeons but given the depth of the tank, kessils seem to have a bit more ability to reach imo. I may need to add more in the future but for now the light pattern off five of these should given a nice spread that will allow me to put different types of corals at different depths without worrying about being too bright.

As far as dosing is concerned, I haven't gotten that far but that sounds like a problem to figure out after the tank is set up. As far as initial set up goes, is it better to mix the salt directly in the tank or premix and then put it in the tank? Directly in the tank would be easier but I can do either.

if any one has any recommendations or ideas, I'd be glad to hear them as this is my first time doing salt and I'd rather learn the easy way than the hard way :)
 

mikeintoronto

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Good size. Good luck! Btw, reaching across 4’ to get to the back is going to be TOUGH :)

I’d mix the salt water outside. Put your rock work together, add your sand, then add the salt water. Aquascaping underwater isn’t fun and it’s hard to see what you’re doing.
 
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Mareshow

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Good size. Good luck! Btw, reaching across 4’ to get to the back is going to be TOUGH :)

I’d mix the salt water outside. Put your rock work together, add your sand, then add the salt water. Aquascaping underwater isn’t fun and it’s hard to see what you’re doing.

Thanks I thought of that, the openings in the top are such that reaching across shouldn't be too bad, I have long arms so I have a feeling I'll be laying on top if I have to reach anything. The design of the aquascape is also going to keep that in mind :). While putting the rocks in I'll probably be in the tank so its going to be dry lol
 

azbigjohn

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That is going to be a beautiful tank! I cannot wait to follow this build!

How much RODI water can you make a day? How much water storage do you have available?

Those questions might affect how you are going to mix the salt water and where. Personally, with live sand, it needs to stay in mixed salt water to maintain the bacteria, so mixing outside and bringing in is probably your best bet...
 
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Mareshow

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That is going to be a beautiful tank! I cannot wait to follow this build!

How much RODI water can you make a day? How much water storage do you have available?

Those questions might affect how you are going to mix the salt water and where. Personally, with live sand, it needs to stay in mixed salt water to maintain the bacteria, so mixing outside and bringing in is probably your best bet...

So I currently have storage for about 250 gallons of water. My RO DI will make 300 Gallons per day. So it'll take a couple days to fill the tank but shouldn't be bad.

My storage tanks are food grade barrels that had vinegar in them, I washed them out with hot soapy water several times and rinsed them but they still have a bit of an odour (very minor my guess is it'll dissipate with a bit more time), I have access to other tanks, would it be worth switching them out or you think its fine?
 

azbigjohn

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So I currently have storage for about 250 gallons of water. My RO DI will make 300 Gallons per day. So it'll take a couple days to fill the tank but shouldn't be bad.

My storage tanks are food grade barrels that had vinegar in them, I washed them out with hot soapy water several times and rinsed them but they still have a bit of an odour (very minor my guess is it'll dissipate with a bit more time), I have access to other tanks, would it be worth switching them out or you think its fine?

Vinegar is a carbon source, but I would think if they aired out for a week or so, you should dissipate most of it...
 

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Sounds like a nice setup. Depending on how you plug the bottom holes you might want to consider having the option to install closed loop plumbing as a future option. For mixing the water in the tank I would aquascape the tank first with the dry rock then test fill with RO/DI water without salt. Then you can test the overflows, plumbing, ect to ensure you don't have leaks as a worst case scenario you would need to drain the tank. From experience I needed to drain my 720 gallon tank after a test fill and I was happy I just had to throw away some RO/DI water over saltwater. Once you are sure everything is working right then you can mix the salt and add the live sand in after the tank is at the right temp and salinity. Welcome to R2R.
 
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Mareshow

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Thanks for the suggestions guys!

On that aquascape topic would love to hear some opinions, we're going with two islands one large one small, I think I need to elevate the second island (the small one on the right) and make it taller. The tank water line is essentially the base of the actual tank in the picture and the black bags on the floor are the foot print. Basically I left 1 ft on each of the sides and 6" behind the rocks for water flow. there's lots of cracks and holes in-between the rocks, is it good to fill some of those in with smaller rocks? or leave them for the fish to hide?

the front small islands will be for the more aggressive corals to isolate them. I am a bit concerned about light that deep but thats something to figure out later I think. The front right corner is left open intentionally for some negative space.

on the large island would it be better to grade the front down slower for more spots for corals? or is steep ok?

any suggestions are very much welcome and appreciated :)

IMG_3895.jpg IMG_3896.jpg IMG_3897.jpg IMG_3898.jpg IMG_3899.jpg IMG_3900.jpg
 
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Mareshow

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That's awesome!

Just out of curiosity. Did you consider using the holes for closed loop flow? If so what made you decide against it?

I have considered that, the tank came with all the piping to do that and what I could do is pipe it through the rocks for some additional flow. Come to think of it, that could potentially work to the tanks benefit

I'm starting the piping tomorrow, so that could very well be a very easy change to make. That way I could have flow towards the front and back of the tank as well, instead of all coming from just the sides.
 

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I have considered that, the tank came with all the piping to do that and what I could do is pipe it through the rocks for some additional flow. Come to think of it, that could potentially work to the tanks benefit

I'm starting the piping tomorrow, so that could very well be a very easy change to make. That way I could have flow towards the front and back of the tank as well, instead of all coming from just the sides.

I think that's the way to go. Ita a bit extra work up front, but in the end it will be more anesthetic, and functionality would be better.

I think it's especially good in large tanks like this because it's really difficult to get enough flow with pumps simply pushing water in one direction. With closed loops get pull water from one region and push in another creating a proper current flow.
 

ScottR

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Nice build. I’d leave some holes in the big part of the scape for fish to swim in and out of. Also will let you see through to the back behind the rock. Sometimes weird things happen and it’s always nice to see back there. Maybe make some cliffs as well. Once you add corals, it will have a more natural look to it. But as you have it, it looks good.
 

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