Gary and Julia's Oceanic 75RR

[gas4544]

The time has come to finally get our Oceanic 75-gallon RR up and running. It has been sitting empty as a room divider behind the sectional in the living room.

I have grown weary of maintaining three small tanks. Its just too much work to maintain proper water chemistry in three tanks. Setting up the 75 and taking down at least two of our current tanks will make life easier. That has been the plan all along, and now it is time to execute that plan.

I have a long Christmas break coming up, so I will have plenty of time to start getting the 75 plumbed and lit. I have most of the tank configuration figured out, using equipment that I already have on hand.

One system that I have not yet determined is lighting. I have a variety of ballasts at my disposal including 175W, 250W and 400W. I also have a typical wooden canopy that will accomodate SE metal halide lamps.

We plan to keep a mixture of acros, monties, clams and LPS. It would be easy to install two 250W SE MH lamps plus two 3' or 4" VHO's. I have two unused Spiderlight reflectors that I could use, or I can upgrade to more efficient reflectors.

If you were setting up a 75-gallon tank, what lighting would you choose? Or if you have a 75-gallon tank, what is your current lighting set-up?

Thanks,

Gary

 

[Chichas01]

If you were setting up a 75-gallon tank, what lighting would you choose? Or if you have a 75-gallon tank, what is your current lighting set-up?

I'd do the 2 250w halides and maybe a couple of T5 or standard PC's for actinic supplementation. My tank is an 80 gallon and that is basically what I'm using now. Sounds like a great build!

 

[Skimmy]

mkay, you know what question I have....
what skimmer will you use??

for lighting, I'd easily choose a combination of T5's and LED's over MH.
and it sounds like you have a canopy, yes?
or are you looking at fixtures?

 

[gas4544]

For the skimmer, I have decided to abandon using a used Aerofoamer 824 that I picked up earlier this year. For this tank it is too big, takes up too much space in the stand, and requires a high head/flow pump to drive the Becket injector. I have some pumps that would work, but I think that I will invest in a newer technology skimmer that is smaller, quieter, and more efficient.

At this point, I am leaning toward one of the new SWC Xtreme 160 Cone Protein Skimmers:

http://saltwaterconnection.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1&products_id=116

This skimmer will fit in my sump and leave more room outside of the sump for other equipment. The price is right, too.

While the tank is cycling, I will likely just use a Remora Pro or a Bermuda Aquatics Rogue Hang-On skimmer. I may end up having four tanks running while the 75 cycles and I can then transfer coral and fish from the three existing tanks to the 75. Or I may be able to break down one of the current tanks sooner.

g

 

[gas4544]

Yes, I do have a canopy for this tank that matches the stand. It is a standard 12" canopy painted black with two hinged doors on the front.

I am thinking of mounting two Lumen Bright Mini reflectors in the canopy, but the canopy is not tall enough to optimize the benefits of the Lumen Bright Minis. I could cut two holes in the top of the canopy and have the Lumen Bright reflectors (or pendants) sit on top of the canopy. The Lumen Bright Mini Pendants are painted black and would blend in with the canopy. I would just have two black hills on top of my canopy.

At this point, I am open to teh myriad of lighting options that I have. I already have MH equipment, but I could go with T5's with or without MH.

 

[gas4544]

Here is a light fixture that I am considering:

http://www.premiumaquatics.com/Merc...800-K&Category_Code=Aquactinics&Store_Code=PA

Yeah, the cost is a bit high, but I know someone who is selling a used one.

I could modify my canopy so this would fit and allow cooling or I could go without a canopy altogether.

Having six 4' T5 lamps burning at 85W each would take care of my lighting needs. I might even be willing to sacrifice the glitter lines I would have with MH lighting.

This would be super nice, but I gotta decide if I can justify spending that kinda money.

g

 

[mfinn]

With some of the retro's available now, I say go with the mh lighting and save some bucks for a good skimmer, powerheads (tunze or vortec) and other equipment.


















just reread the first post and realize you do have the ballasts already.

 

[gas4544]

Well, I figured out my lighting. I am going to go with a prewired 48" Icecap T5 retrofit kit. This is it:

http://www.aquariumspecialty.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=28_124_203&products_id=2773

The price was right, so after much consideration, I went for it. I will also install two 48" T12 VHO lamps for actinic supplementation and dawn/dusk lighting. I already have the T12 equipment.

G

 

[Myteemouse]

good choice.. good brand and good price..

 

[gas4544]

For awhile now I have been keeping an eye out for a RR 90 gallon tank to use instead of the 75RR. I have not found one, but I did find an acrylic RR 48" X 18" X 36" tall tank for sale. That works out to 135 gallons.

I have a stock Oceanic stand and canopy. It was probably engineered and built to accomodate either a 75-gallon tank or a 90-gallon tank. Should the stand be able to safely support an extra 385 pounds (45 gallons @ approximately 8.55#/gallon) of water weight? :?: Or would you recommend that the stand be beefed up with extra structural support?

I would then possibly need to reconsider how to light a 36" deep tank. I suppose that I could just have my light-loving corals up higher and other like chalices down low. Reaching the bottom of a 36" deep tank would be a pain, though.

I think that I just talked myself out of going with the 135RR.

Thanx,

Gary

 

[Skimmy]

good, that size would be a nightmare to aquascape, clean and provide light for. 75g is plenty big for a cool reef, just not alot of big fish.

 

[gas4544]

Yep, that's what I was thinking. Intriguing, but an all around pain to set up and maintain. Besides, I have a 36" X 36" X 30 tall cube in dry dock waiting to be set up.

g

 

[reedman]

I would then possibly need to reconsider how to light a 36" deep tank. I suppose that I could just have my light-loving corals up higher and other like chalices down low. Reaching the bottom of a 36" deep tank would be a pain, though.

I used to think this too, but to be honest if I did another tank I think I would go deep. A couple of things it offers....different light levels for different corals, more room for grow out as a lot of the stags need to grow up more than they need out, and more space for fish. Plus you could keep sea fans and whips that you can't keep in shallow tanks. I guess it really comes down to what you want to keep. (plus I have scuba gear so I would just climb in )

 

[trido]

I would not recommend EVER getting a tank deeper than 30" tall unless you can physically climb in it to clean it. In other words, if your going to go deep, you better just go big, REAL BIG.

 

[IPisces]

I have an oceanic rr75 and I love it. I also have a 55 gal rr that is between 32 & 34 inches deep. I wish it was 6-8 inches shallower. You want to reach the bottom, you have to go in head first. There is no reaching the bottom without going swimming. Really hard to attach things to rocks low in the tank.

 

[TJL]

75 rr update ???

Hey Gary,

Just checking to see what you finally decided on. I set up a 75g over holidays and for lighting used 4 VHO's (2 actinics), 1 std 30w 10 K dawn/dusk and a couple LED's for night also added Mylar for reflection. I agree with Mark that you really don't need MH for proper intensity I usually have to slowly acclimate coral frags to increased intensity from MH sources. You can check out my build on 'Tank Designs' forum.

Todd