Wife approved 75G upgrade

[FireUnderwater]

My two year old and I finally convinced my wife to let me upgrade our 32G BioCube that’s been running for about 6-7 months to a 75G! Now, I just have quite a few questions.

Tank will be a full reef with the following (hopefully) stocking depending on sourcing/personalities.

Yellow Eye Kole Tang
One Spot Fox Face
*******Regal Tang/Hippo Tang (Read Questions portion)
Flame Angel or Coral Beauty Angel
Melanarus Wrasse
2 Snowflake or other Occellaris
Diamond Goby
Royal Gramma or Spingeri Dottyback (If I could do both, someone let me know)
Exquisite Fairy Wrasse
Orange Back Fairy Wrasse
Red Head Solon Fairy Wrasse
Also various shrimps, some hermits, a tuxedo urchin or two, and snail galore

Tank is going to be a 75G (48x18x21) Marineland from PetCo. I’m planning on drilling and plumbing it for a 20G Long with a and going for a Herbie/Bean style Eshopps overflow (Still undecided, tank loudness is a major factor since it will be going in my living room). Planning on doing the sump with the Fiji Cube Baffle kit.

Filtration: Current plans are either running an AF-1 or ReefMat 500 filter roller. I’ve found out I can get a bit lazy with changing filter floss every 3 days, or I just simply forget sometimes in the 32G. Curve 5 Elite for a skimmer, and a small Refugium down the road as well to help with a copepod population.

Powerheads/Pumps: Planning on doing two Jebao SLW-30s, and a Jebao MDP-5000.

Lighting- Noopsyche K7 Pro III with tank mount (x2)

Heater- Dual Eheim Jager 250W with INKBIRD

Tank Stand- I’ll be following Rocket Engineers BP for the frame, Pine sheathing around, with some doors. Overall pretty basic. Just gotta make sure it blends in with the rest of the furniture in our living room. If I did the math right dimensions of the stand should be around 54x22x40.

My current questions now are:
Has anyone used both the RF-1 and ReefMat, and if so what’s your thoughts on them compared? Additionally, it seems either one could fit into a 20G Long, but I’ve seen very conflicting responses.

Hard or soft plumbing?

Would this filtration be too overkill?

Do I need to have the protein skimmer hooked up while the tank is cycling? Or would I be fine to set everything up, and add it whenever I feel I need the additional “oomph”.

How does the potential stocking list look? I’m aware of angels/fox faces occasionally getting a taste for coral, but I have a backup plan if I ever need to remove a fish.

For the Regal Tang/Hippo Tang, my local LFS has a 600G that they will gladly accept trade-ins for fish that have outgrown your aquarium, and will provide credit enough to get a new smaller one. Would it be realistic to get one, and then swap whenever the Tang gets to 4-5 inches? Or would it simply be not worth the hassle.

Are there any pieces of the tank that could be extra loud? Tempted to sound proof the sump to help reduce noise as well.

Unsure of what to use for return back into the tank from the sump. I was looking at the “1/2 Inch Siphon Stopper” kit on CustomAquariums but I don’t see a review section so I’m on the fence.

Final question I guess would be in relation to setup. Currently I’m thinking of purchasing/building the tank, stand, sump, pump/wave makers, sand, rock, etc and starting the initial cycle since it will sit empty for a month or more. Then purchase the lights, filter roller, skimmer, whenever the cycle slowly seems to be getting to that “Ready for fish” point. Primary thoughts behind it for me were “Why purchase something if it’s going to sit for several weeks unused.” Any thoughts on this and the reasoning behind them?

 

[Crimsonphoenix]

My two year old and I finally convinced my wife to let me upgrade our 32G BioCube that’s been running for about 6-7 months to a 75G! Now, I just have quite a few questions.

Tank will be a full reef with the following (hopefully) stocking depending on sourcing/personalities.

Yellow Eye Kole Tang
One Spot Fox Face
*******Regal Tang/Hippo Tang (Read Questions portion)
Flame Angel or Coral Beauty Angel
Melanarus Wrasse
2 Snowflake or other Occellaris
Diamond Goby
Royal Gramma or Spingeri Dottyback (If I could do both, someone let me know)
Exquisite Fairy Wrasse
Orange Back Fairy Wrasse
Red Head Solon Fairy Wrasse
Also various shrimps, some hermits, a tuxedo urchin or two, and snail galore

Tank is going to be a 75G (48x18x21) Marineland from PetCo. I’m planning on drilling and plumbing it for a 20G Long with a and going for a Herbie/Bean style Eshopps overflow (Still undecided, tank loudness is a major factor since it will be going in my living room). Planning on doing the sump with the Fiji Cube Baffle kit.

Filtration: Current plans are either running an AF-1 or ReefMat 500 filter roller. I’ve found out I can get a bit lazy with changing filter floss every 3 days, or I just simply forget sometimes in the 32G. Curve 5 Elite for a skimmer, and a small Refugium down the road as well to help with a copepod population.

Powerheads/Pumps: Planning on doing two Jebao SLW-30s, and a Jebao MDP-5000.

Lighting- Noopsyche K7 Pro III with tank mount (x2)

Heater- Dual Eheim Jager 250W with INKBIRD

Tank Stand- I’ll be following Rocket Engineers BP for the frame, Pine sheathing around, with some doors. Overall pretty basic. Just gotta make sure it blends in with the rest of the furniture in our living room. If I did the math right dimensions of the stand should be around 54x22x40.

My current questions now are:
Has anyone used both the RF-1 and ReefMat, and if so what’s your thoughts on them compared? Additionally, it seems either one could fit into a 20G Long, but I’ve seen very conflicting responses.

Hard or soft plumbing?

Would this filtration be too overkill?

Do I need to have the protein skimmer hooked up while the tank is cycling? Or would I be fine to set everything up, and add it whenever I feel I need the additional “oomph”.

How does the potential stocking list look? I’m aware of angels/fox faces occasionally getting a taste for coral, but I have a backup plan if I ever need to remove a fish.

For the Regal Tang/Hippo Tang, my local LFS has a 600G that they will gladly accept trade-ins for fish that have outgrown your aquarium, and will provide credit enough to get a new smaller one. Would it be realistic to get one, and then swap whenever the Tang gets to 4-5 inches? Or would it simply be not worth the hassle.

Are there any pieces of the tank that could be extra loud? Tempted to sound proof the sump to help reduce noise as well.

Unsure of what to use for return back into the tank from the sump. I was looking at the “1/2 Inch Siphon Stopper” kit on CustomAquariums but I don’t see a review section so I’m on the fence.

Final question I guess would be in relation to setup. Currently I’m thinking of purchasing/building the tank, stand, sump, pump/wave makers, sand, rock, etc and starting the initial cycle since it will sit empty for a month or more. Then purchase the lights, filter roller, skimmer, whenever the cycle slowly seems to be getting to that “Ready for fish” point. Primary thoughts behind it for me were “Why purchase something if it’s going to sit for several weeks unused.” Any thoughts on this and the reasoning behind them?

I have a similar tank with 2 clowns, melanarus wrasse, purple tang, flame tang, and a blue chromis. I think a blue hippo, fox face, and coral beauty is too much. I have had coral beauties and they all have caused problems with corals sooner or later. The hippo will get too big. Less is better in my experience.

 

[FireUnderwater]

I have a similar tank with 2 clowns, melanarus wrasse, purple tang, flame tang, and a blue chromis. I think a blue hippo, fox face, and coral beauty is too much. I have had coral beauties and they all have caused problems with corals sooner or later. The hippo will get too big. Less is better in my experience.

I’m personally fine with leaving out a Hippo. My wife really wants a Dory but when I showed her the price of my dream 180 for one, I briefly saw murderous intent in her eyes. Just wasn’t sure if the tank could temporarily handle a juvenile for 7-8 months or so if I got a 1-2 inch one.

 

[GatorGreg]

Overstocked. Bump it to 125g and you’ll be riding the line even then with that list. But it’ll be better

 

[bluemon]

My two year old and I finally convinced my wife to let me upgrade our 32G BioCube that’s been running for about 6-7 months to a 75G! Now, I just have quite a few questions.

Tank will be a full reef with the following (hopefully) stocking depending on sourcing/personalities.

Yellow Eye Kole Tang
One Spot Fox Face
*******Regal Tang/Hippo Tang (Read Questions portion)
Flame Angel or Coral Beauty Angel
Melanarus Wrasse
2 Snowflake or other Occellaris
Diamond Goby
Royal Gramma or Spingeri Dottyback (If I could do both, someone let me know)
Exquisite Fairy Wrasse
Orange Back Fairy Wrasse
Red Head Solon Fairy Wrasse
Also various shrimps, some hermits, a tuxedo urchin or two, and snail galore

Tank is going to be a 75G (48x18x21) Marineland from PetCo. I’m planning on drilling and plumbing it for a 20G Long with a and going for a Herbie/Bean style Eshopps overflow (Still undecided, tank loudness is a major factor since it will be going in my living room). Planning on doing the sump with the Fiji Cube Baffle kit.

Filtration: Current plans are either running an AF-1 or ReefMat 500 filter roller. I’ve found out I can get a bit lazy with changing filter floss every 3 days, or I just simply forget sometimes in the 32G. Curve 5 Elite for a skimmer, and a small Refugium down the road as well to help with a copepod population.

Powerheads/Pumps: Planning on doing two Jebao SLW-30s, and a Jebao MDP-5000.

Lighting- Noopsyche K7 Pro III with tank mount (x2)

Heater- Dual Eheim Jager 250W with INKBIRD

Tank Stand- I’ll be following Rocket Engineers BP for the frame, Pine sheathing around, with some doors. Overall pretty basic. Just gotta make sure it blends in with the rest of the furniture in our living room. If I did the math right dimensions of the stand should be around 54x22x40.

My current questions now are:
Has anyone used both the RF-1 and ReefMat, and if so what’s your thoughts on them compared? Additionally, it seems either one could fit into a 20G Long, but I’ve seen very conflicting responses.

Hard or soft plumbing?

Would this filtration be too overkill?

Do I need to have the protein skimmer hooked up while the tank is cycling? Or would I be fine to set everything up, and add it whenever I feel I need the additional “oomph”.

How does the potential stocking list look? I’m aware of angels/fox faces occasionally getting a taste for coral, but I have a backup plan if I ever need to remove a fish.

For the Regal Tang/Hippo Tang, my local LFS has a 600G that they will gladly accept trade-ins for fish that have outgrown your aquarium, and will provide credit enough to get a new smaller one. Would it be realistic to get one, and then swap whenever the Tang gets to 4-5 inches? Or would it simply be not worth the hassle.

Are there any pieces of the tank that could be extra loud? Tempted to sound proof the sump to help reduce noise as well.

Unsure of what to use for return back into the tank from the sump. I was looking at the “1/2 Inch Siphon Stopper” kit on CustomAquariums but I don’t see a review section so I’m on the fence.

Final question I guess would be in relation to setup. Currently I’m thinking of purchasing/building the tank, stand, sump, pump/wave makers, sand, rock, etc and starting the initial cycle since it will sit empty for a month or more. Then purchase the lights, filter roller, skimmer, whenever the cycle slowly seems to be getting to that “Ready for fish” point. Primary thoughts behind it for me were “Why purchase something if it’s going to sit for several weeks unused.” Any thoughts on this and the reasoning behind them?

Definitely skip the Hippo Tang and the Foxface.

Even without the two your stock list is QUITE overstocked, so you probably will struggle if you introduce them all at the beginning.

Unless you are ready to QT your “new” Tang every year or so whenever it gets too big, and deal with aggression issues again, definitely don’t do it

 

[bluemon]

personally, here is a more reasonable list:

Yellow Eye Kole Tang
2 Snowflake or other Occellaris
Diamond Goby
Royal Gramma
Exquisite Fairy Wrasse
Orange Back Fairy Wrasse
Red Head Solon Fairy Wrasse

And don’t forget to QT if you don’t want all your fish dead!

 

[GatorGreg]

Also be very careful assuming you can drill those petco tanks. Some you can some you can’t.

 

[FireUnderwater]

Definitely skip the Hippo Tang and the Foxface.

Even without the two your stock list is QUITE overstocked, so you probably will struggle if you introduce them all at the beginning.

Unless you are ready to QT your “new” Tang every year or so whenever it gets too big, and deal with aggression issues again, definitely don’t do it

Any specific reason for no on a One Spot Fox Face? Seems to be one of the most common “prize fishes” for 75G due to them not being particular active swimmers and sticking to rock work.

 

[FireUnderwater]

Also be very careful assuming you can drill those petco tanks. Some you can some you can’t.

I was worried about that, it seems like for Marineland tanks, only the bottom is tempered so in theory I should be okay? I’ve seen quite a few videos so far of people drilling the same tank I’m looking at.

 

[bluemon]

Any specific reason for no on a One Spot Fox Face? Seems to be one of the most common “prize fishes” for 75G due to them not being particular active swimmers and sticking to rock work.

They get a bit too big for a 75g imo.

I would say at least a 100-120g for one.

Especially if you are staying on the “overstocked” side of things

 

[Biokabe]

Some feedback for you:

First, your stocking plan is, IMO, a little overboard. I have a Reefer 350, which is almost exactly the same dimensions as your tank. Based on that:

Kole tang or similar bristletooth tang is fine. I have a blue lip in my tank and it feels right. I've had a tomini in there in the past as well, for about 7 years (technically he started off in the 55g predecessor to this tank).

I'd say no on the fox face. Other people have had them in similar sized tanks with no issue, and I was sorely tempted by one before I picked up my blue lip. But when I actually went to pick it up from the LFS... it was just too big. I didn't feel comfortable putting it in there. Others feel differently. If you do pick up the fox face, skip the tang. Their diets and habits are too similar for a 75g to support both.

Definite no on the hippo tang. I will never advocate or support bringing something in that you know you will need to rehome, and you will definitely need to rehome it. The sole exception is if you own the rehoming tank - which you don't.

Dwarf angels are always a risk in a reef tank with LPS corals. I'm always tempted by one myself, and if I got a shot at a cheap Potter's angel I'd probably end up pulling the trigger... but regardless, a dwarf angel is a risk. Flame, Coral Beauty, and Pygmy Cherub are probably the lowest risk of the genus, but it's always going to be a roll of the dice.

Melanarus is fine, but with caution. I have one, and while I like him I don't think I'd get a replacement after he's gone. Despite appearances, they can and will attack and eat a wide range of invertebrates, some bigger than you might think they'd be capable of. Shrimps, crabs and some snails would be at constant risk from him, along with potentially berghia nudibranches.

Clowns are fine. No issue there. Resist the urge to get them a bubble tip anemone. If you get Ocellaris clowns they might not host in them anyhow, and you can check my tank thread if you want to see why I don't recommend a bubble tip.

Diamond goby... they're fine, personally I'd skip. There's no issue with the tank size, but their sand-sifting habits will prevent the establishment of a microbiome in your sand, and will also cover anything in the lower third of your tank in sand. Plenty of other people choose otherwise, so I'm not going to say a diamond goby is a mistake. Just that I wouldn't do it myself.

Royal Gramma and Springeri dottyback - this can work in a bigger tank, but it's pushing it in a 75g. Both occupy the same "space" as territorial rockdwellers, and both get very aggressive in defending their territory against close competitors. The usual trick here is to introduce both at the same time late in your stocking plan, but I'm not sure that I would push it.

For the last three wrasses - no real problems with them individually, but if you get the melanarus, skip the solon fairy. I've heard from multiple people about aggression between melanarus and red heads specifically. While I can't personally confirm it, I can confirm that a solon I purchased was dead within a day of putting him in my tank, after surviving just fine in the LFS' tank for at least a week. I never saw the melanarus attack him, which is why I say that I can't personally confirm aggression between the two.

Also on the wrasses... check the wrasse compatibility chart. No problem with the exquisite, but the orange back and the solon are in the same group, and you usually don't want to mix wrasses within the same group. If you haven't seen it before, just google "wrasse compatibility chart" and it should come right up.

So if it were me, my stocking list would be:

Kole tang
Pair of Clowns
Royal Gramma
Exquisite Fairy
Orange Back Fairy

To that I would add the following:
Springeri damsel
Copperband butterfly (preferably pre-QTed and weaned onto captive preparations by someone like Dr. Reef)
Some type of blenny

That leaves you with 9 fish in your 75g, which is a little more reasonable.

For comparison, my own stocking is:

Pyramid butterflyfish
Melanarus wrasse
Lyretail anthias
Pink skunk clown
Blue lip tang
Springeri damsel x2
Midas blenny
Yellow-sided fairy wrasse
Blue/green mandarin

Others have already mentioned checking that whatever glass you drill isn't tempered. If you don't know about it, read up on the polarized sunglasses check to confirm whether glass is tempered.

No issues with your filtration. Two things to plan for now would be an algae turf scrubber and a UV sterilizer. You don't need to actually buy either of them yet, and honestly you probably shouldn't. But if you plan to accommodate them now, you'll have a much easier time adding them in later. For purposes of brevity (too late, I know) I won't describe what you need to do for that. But it's much easier to plan for it now and not need it later, than it is to attempt to find a solution after your tank is already running.

For your pumps: Personally I'm not a fan of Jebao, but again this is an area where other people disagree with me. Using the wavemakers is fine, I wouldn't trust my return pump to them. But that's me, and there is a SIGNIFICANT price savings to using Jebao equipment.

Lighting - I'll skip on commenting here as I'm not familar with Noopsyche's lineup. I know plenty of people use them and have great results with their lights, but I can't comment on those specific lights.

Heater: You have two heaters. That's good. They're both oversized for your tank. That's bad. The reason to use two heaters instead of one is to ensure that a thermostat failure on one heater + your controller won't cook your tank. Downsize to one 150w and one 200w. Personally I run with three layers of redundancy on my heaters - the thermostat on the heater, the heater controller, and then the whole thing is plugged into my Apex for the final layer of redundancy. Heater failure (either burning out or failing thermostats) is the #1 cause of tank crash. My first tank completely died when my thermostat failed and cooked everything inside the tank while I was on vacation. Heaters kill tanks. Minimize your risks here.

To answer your additional questions:

Use a mix of hard and soft plumbing. Direct connections to your pump should be soft. Plumbing coming down from your tank should be hard. Soft plumbing can rotate and flex, which can put strain on your glass. It's not much strain, but over time it can be enough to damage the seams on your tank (ask me how I know). So ideally: Hard plumbing on your overflow. Hard plumbing on your return line, terminating in a hose barb in your sump. Soft plumbing from your pump up to the hose barb. The soft plumbing is there to minimize vibrations from your pump, which dramatically cuts down on noise. The hard plumbing is sturdier and imparts less consistent strain on the glass.

Protein skimmer doesn't really have anything to skim while the tank is cycling, and can pull out DOC that are needed for nitrating bacteria. Keep it off while the tank is cycling. Once the cycle is complete and you have regular input of organic compounds you can turn it on and get it broken in.

For sound - the usual sources of sound are pumps and skimmers. Pump sound can be minimized with the use of soft plumbing and silicone mats - basically, you're trying to avoid vibrations interacting with rigid materials. You usually don't get much noise from the skimmer pump (the way they're set up tends to isolate them from vibrating against other materials), but you will get a constant bubbling/fizzing noise from them. This is usually quiet if your stand has doors that can close, but it is worth thinking about. The other noise sources are drains and powerhead. Drain noise can be minimized with a proper drain and valve set up - Bean Animal and Herbie are the two main styles). Powerheads usually only make a noise when a snail is climbing up them.

Finally, for your setup procedure: There's no real problem with it, the only thing I will say there is that reefing equipment is pretty stable in price, especially if you're buying new. Consequently - if you see a good sale going on, it can be worth it to buy the thing and stash it for whenever you're ready. Lights, pumps, skimmers - it's not like they're going to go bad while sitting in the box waiting, so if you can save $100-$200 on something you were going to buy anyhow, why not?

 

[chapter7]

Some feedback for you:

First, your stocking plan is, IMO, a little overboard. I have a Reefer 350, which is almost exactly the same dimensions as your tank. Based on that:

Kole tang or similar bristletooth tang is fine. I have a blue lip in my tank and it feels right. I've had a tomini in there in the past as well, for about 7 years (technically he started off in the 55g predecessor to this tank).

I'd say no on the fox face. Other people have had them in similar sized tanks with no issue, and I was sorely tempted by one before I picked up my blue lip. But when I actually went to pick it up from the LFS... it was just too big. I didn't feel comfortable putting it in there. Others feel differently. If you do pick up the fox face, skip the tang. Their diets and habits are too similar for a 75g to support both.

Definite no on the hippo tang. I will never advocate or support bringing something in that you know you will need to rehome, and you will definitely need to rehome it. The sole exception is if you own the rehoming tank - which you don't.

Dwarf angels are always a risk in a reef tank with LPS corals. I'm always tempted by one myself, and if I got a shot at a cheap Potter's angel I'd probably end up pulling the trigger... but regardless, a dwarf angel is a risk. Flame, Coral Beauty, and Pygmy Cherub are probably the lowest risk of the genus, but it's always going to be a roll of the dice.

Melanarus is fine, but with caution. I have one, and while I like him I don't think I'd get a replacement after he's gone. Despite appearances, they can and will attack and eat a wide range of invertebrates, some bigger than you might think they'd be capable of. Shrimps, crabs and some snails would be at constant risk from him, along with potentially berghia nudibranches.

Clowns are fine. No issue there. Resist the urge to get them a bubble tip anemone. If you get Ocellaris clowns they might not host in them anyhow, and you can check my tank thread if you want to see why I don't recommend a bubble tip.

Diamond goby... they're fine, personally I'd skip. There's no issue with the tank size, but their sand-sifting habits will prevent the establishment of a microbiome in your sand, and will also cover anything in the lower third of your tank in sand. Plenty of other people choose otherwise, so I'm not going to say a diamond goby is a mistake. Just that I wouldn't do it myself.

Royal Gramma and Springeri dottyback - this can work in a bigger tank, but it's pushing it in a 75g. Both occupy the same "space" as territorial rockdwellers, and both get very aggressive in defending their territory against close competitors. The usual trick here is to introduce both at the same time late in your stocking plan, but I'm not sure that I would push it.

For the last three wrasses - no real problems with them individually, but if you get the melanarus, skip the solon fairy. I've heard from multiple people about aggression between melanarus and red heads specifically. While I can't personally confirm it, I can confirm that a solon I purchased was dead within a day of putting him in my tank, after surviving just fine in the LFS' tank for at least a week. I never saw the melanarus attack him, which is why I say that I can't personally confirm aggression between the two.

Also on the wrasses... check the wrasse compatibility chart. No problem with the exquisite, but the orange back and the solon are in the same group, and you usually don't want to mix wrasses within the same group. If you haven't seen it before, just google "wrasse compatibility chart" and it should come right up.

So if it were me, my stocking list would be:

Kole tang
Pair of Clowns
Royal Gramma
Exquisite Fairy
Orange Back Fairy

To that I would add the following:
Springeri damsel
Copperband butterfly (preferably pre-QTed and weaned onto captive preparations by someone like Dr. Reef)
Some type of blenny

That leaves you with 9 fish in your 75g, which is a little more reasonable.

For comparison, my own stocking is:

Pyramid butterflyfish
Melanarus wrasse
Lyretail anthias
Pink skunk clown
Blue lip tang
Springeri damsel x2
Midas blenny
Yellow-sided fairy wrasse
Blue/green mandarin

Others have already mentioned checking that whatever glass you drill isn't tempered. If you don't know about it, read up on the polarized sunglasses check to confirm whether glass is tempered.

No issues with your filtration. Two things to plan for now would be an algae turf scrubber and a UV sterilizer. You don't need to actually buy either of them yet, and honestly you probably shouldn't. But if you plan to accommodate them now, you'll have a much easier time adding them in later. For purposes of brevity (too late, I know) I won't describe what you need to do for that. But it's much easier to plan for it now and not need it later, than it is to attempt to find a solution after your tank is already running.

For your pumps: Personally I'm not a fan of Jebao, but again this is an area where other people disagree with me. Using the wavemakers is fine, I wouldn't trust my return pump to them. But that's me, and there is a SIGNIFICANT price savings to using Jebao equipment.

Lighting - I'll skip on commenting here as I'm not familar with Noopsyche's lineup. I know plenty of people use them and have great results with their lights, but I can't comment on those specific lights.

Heater: You have two heaters. That's good. They're both oversized for your tank. That's bad. The reason to use two heaters instead of one is to ensure that a thermostat failure on one heater + your controller won't cook your tank. Downsize to one 150w and one 200w. Personally I run with three layers of redundancy on my heaters - the thermostat on the heater, the heater controller, and then the whole thing is plugged into my Apex for the final layer of redundancy. Heater failure (either burning out or failing thermostats) is the #1 cause of tank crash. My first tank completely died when my thermostat failed and cooked everything inside the tank while I was on vacation. Heaters kill tanks. Minimize your risks here.

To answer your additional questions:

Use a mix of hard and soft plumbing. Direct connections to your pump should be soft. Plumbing coming down from your tank should be hard. Soft plumbing can rotate and flex, which can put strain on your glass. It's not much strain, but over time it can be enough to damage the seams on your tank (ask me how I know). So ideally: Hard plumbing on your overflow. Hard plumbing on your return line, terminating in a hose barb in your sump. Soft plumbing from your pump up to the hose barb. The soft plumbing is there to minimize vibrations from your pump, which dramatically cuts down on noise. The hard plumbing is sturdier and imparts less consistent strain on the glass.

Protein skimmer doesn't really have anything to skim while the tank is cycling, and can pull out DOC that are needed for nitrating bacteria. Keep it off while the tank is cycling. Once the cycle is complete and you have regular input of organic compounds you can turn it on and get it broken in.

For sound - the usual sources of sound are pumps and skimmers. Pump sound can be minimized with the use of soft plumbing and silicone mats - basically, you're trying to avoid vibrations interacting with rigid materials. You usually don't get much noise from the skimmer pump (the way they're set up tends to isolate them from vibrating against other materials), but you will get a constant bubbling/fizzing noise from them. This is usually quiet if your stand has doors that can close, but it is worth thinking about. The other noise sources are drains and powerhead. Drain noise can be minimized with a proper drain and valve set up - Bean Animal and Herbie are the two main styles). Powerheads usually only make a noise when a snail is climbing up them.

Finally, for your setup procedure: There's no real problem with it, the only thing I will say there is that reefing equipment is pretty stable in price, especially if you're buying new. Consequently - if you see a good sale going on, it can be worth it to buy the thing and stash it for whenever you're ready. Lights, pumps, skimmers - it's not like they're going to go bad while sitting in the box waiting, so if you can save $100-$200 on something you were going to buy anyhow, why not?

This is why I visit R2R! Kudos @Biokabe !

 

[fish_collector]

A foxface and hippo are both fine in a 75g for several years at least, perhaps a lot longer. And I'd go with something bigger than a 75g. A 4'x2'x2' 120g is a very good size. It's easier to ask for forgiveness than for permission lol.

A 20g sump isn't going to be big enough. With a 75g you will appreciate a 40 breeder as a sump, a 60 breeder would even better. It has to handle to volume of water that drains out when you shut the return pumps off, as well as all of the junk we put into the sump, 2 return pumps, 2 heaters, skimmer, carbon reactor, filter roller or a sock holder, some extra rock etc, they get small real fast.

Be careful siliconing in acrylic baffles into a glass tank, acrylic expands in water and it'll crack the side panes of glass if they're tight fitting. Polycarbonate is a better choice as it's stable in water.

Hang on back overflows work pretty good these days and can be made quiet, if you didn't want to drill the glass. If you do drill the glass make sure that it isn't tempered. Have fun with it.

 

[Fish Fan]

Tank is going to be a 75G (48x18x21) Marineland from PetCo. I’m planning on drilling and plumbing it for a 20G Long with a and going for a Herbie/Bean style Eshopps overflow (Still undecided, tank loudness is a major factor since it will be going in my living room). Planning on doing the sump with the Fiji Cube Baffle kit.

You need to make absolutely sure that the tank isn't tempered before trying to drill it. It's an easy test you can do in the store before you buy the tank, it just takes an LCD screen ad some polarized sunglasses. Here's a video:


I'd suggest a larger sump tank, I'd go with a 40 gallon for your 75. You need the sump to hold all the water that drains back when the power is shut off, plus you'll have more working room as well as room for gear.

I'd check out the baffle kits from MarineBiosystems on eBay, these are hands down the best value in a sump baffle kit, including Fiji Cube and Jax's Racks:

Security Measure | eBay

www.ebay.com

I'd also go with a Bean Animal (three drain) styled overflow. The overflows from Modular Marine are the best on the market currently:

Overflow Boxes

modularmarine.com

Tank Stand- I’ll be following Rocket Engineers BP for the frame, Pine sheathing around, with some doors. Overall pretty basic. Just gotta make sure it blends in with the rest of the furniture in our living room. If I did the math right dimensions of the stand should be around 54x22x40.

I don't follow your math here at all. If you have a standard 75 gallon, 48"x18" footprint, you add typically about a 1/4" on each side for the plastic frame (double check the dimensions of your tank to be sure), so your Rocket Engineer stand frame should about 48.5"x18.5". You want the 2x4 frame to fully support the plastic frame of the tank.

If you have questions about building a stand, Rocket Engineer is an active member here at R2R and usually available to help if you have questions. I'm pretty good at wood working, I've built a lot of stands, and can help you with your stand if you need it.

Hard or soft plumbing?

Would this filtration be too overkill?

Hard and no.

Do I need to have the protein skimmer hooked up while the tank is cycling? Or would I be fine to set everything up, and add it whenever I feel I need the additional “oomph”.

No need to run the skimmer while cycling, add the skimmer after the cycle and only if you feel that you need one. A skimmer is not a necessity, but often a popular tool.

Final question I guess would be in relation to setup. Currently I’m thinking of purchasing/building the tank, stand, sump, pump/wave makers, sand, rock, etc and starting the initial cycle since it will sit empty for a month or more. Then purchase the lights, filter roller, skimmer, whenever the cycle slowly seems to be getting to that “Ready for fish” point. Primary thoughts behind it for me were “Why purchase something if it’s going to sit for several weeks unused.” Any thoughts on this and the reasoning behind them?

Good plan, but I would strongly encourage you to use some to all real, wet live rock from a quality Local Fish Store (LFS) or from a mariculture facility such as Tampa Bay Saltwater.

If you are going to use dry rock, consider getting something like a Brute trash can and cycling your rocks in the trashcan as you're planning and building your system. This way you can get a head start on the cycling, and your dry rocks will be that much more mature when you add them to your tank. You can them use the Brute can as a water changing station in the future.

I assume you'll be adding the rocks from your Biocube to the 75? If so, that will help to jump start the new 75 gallon. You can use your old Biocube tank as a quarantine tank would be a wise idea.

Current Quarantine Protocol

2024 Quarantine Procedures Jay Hemdal David Scarborough Protozoans (Cryptocaryon/ich, Amyloodinium/velvet) and Metazoan trematodes/flukes are by far the most common parasites found on newly acquired fish. A carefully managed, proactive quarantine process can effectively eliminate these...

www.reef2reef.com

Good luck with your build!

 

[KrisReef]

This is why I visit R2R! Kudos @Biokabe !

I didn’t read “War & Peace” by Tolstoy either, was going to be my comment but I got so distracted and distressed by the OP (Over stocking!) that I just couldn’t reply to that either.

The board handled it well, and I believe that the OP’s comment on tempered glass bottoms in Marineland tanks is correct! So
This marathon is going well!

 

[FireUnderwater]

I didn’t read “War & Peace” by Tolstoy either, was going to be my comment but I got so distracted and distressed by the OP (Over stocking!) that I just couldn’t reply to that either.

The board handled it well, and I believe that the OP’s comment on tempered glass bottoms in Marineland tanks is correct! So
This marathon is going well!

Actually I have an update on this process. Talked to the wife about how a lot of her lifestock choices wouldn’t really work in a 75G. She responded with “What else is there?” Coincidentally, a Red Sea Reefer 650 Peninsula turn key system with no seam damage, reinforced stand, and from a reputable reefer in my community showed up for sale less than an hour from me for over $1500 less than what I was planning on spending with the 75G.
So I’m pulling the plug on the 75G and going from a tank with a 32G total volume to a tank with 175G total volume.

 

[KrisReef]

Actually I have an update on this process. Talked to the wife about how a lot of her lifestock choices wouldn’t really work in a 75G. She responded with “What else is there?” Coincidentally, a Red Sea Reefer 650 Peninsula turn key system with no seam damage, reinforced stand, and from a reputable reefer in my community showed up for sale less than an hour from me for over $1500 less than what I was planning on spending with the 75G.
So I’m pulling the plug on the 75G and going from a tank with a 32G total volume to a tank with 175G total volume.

That was my other suggestion but I didn’t want to get between the two sides there at home- I also have a wife but the kids are older.

 

[FireUnderwater]

That was my other suggestion but I didn’t want to get between the two sides there at home- I also have a wife but the kids are older.

I have a 2 year old that I’ve gotten absolutely obsessed with saltwater fish.

 

[KrisReef]

I have a 2 year old that I’ve gotten absolutely obsessed with saltwater fish.

More expensive than college, that could be.

I can’t think of a better hobby to have for anyone at that age!

 

[bluemon]

Actually I have an update on this process. Talked to the wife about how a lot of her lifestock choices wouldn’t really work in a 75G. She responded with “What else is there?” Coincidentally, a Red Sea Reefer 650 Peninsula turn key system with no seam damage, reinforced stand, and from a reputable reefer in my community showed up for sale less than an hour from me for over $1500 less than what I was planning on spending with the 75G.
So I’m pulling the plug on the 75G and going from a tank with a 32G total volume to a tank with 175G total volume.

Nice one!

You can definitely fit all your originals plus a couple more I’d say. You can probably add a Zebrasoma tang in there for a tang trio and that would really be a nice stocking list. (If you do it slowly)

Also, how expensive was this 75g going to be if this setup is $1500 less??

That seems an absurd price for a Marineland 75g.