Jays 75 gallon reef build

[JayVIP]

Hey all. I've been lurking around here for awhile now just getting my mind together and planning out my setup. I currently have a 47 gallon reef setup with a few corals and a diamond goby, aside from the standard CUC. I was originally going to convert my un-adultered freshwater 100 gallon truvu into a full reef setup but ended up picking up a 75 gallon plexi with a built in overflow for really cheap. So, in the middle of planning my 100 gallon conversion, i ended up ditching that project and immediately got started on my new 75 gallon reef system. So, without further ado, my project!

Equipment:

4 x 36" t5 HO's retrofits on timers
24" euro reef skimmer
30 gallon refugium
eheim 1060 return pump
2 x flow accelerators
2 koralia evo 1050's
a phosban reactor powered by a maxijet 1200
small 12" light for refugium
lots of chaeto algae

Livestock so far:

neon green candy cane coral
devils paly zoa's
pulsing xenia
neon green birdsnest
purple birdsnest
assorted mushrooms and something that i dont quite know what it is
gsp's
green and purple frogspawn
1 diamond goby
4 peppermint shrimps
couple nass and mexican turbo snails

thats all that i can think of for now!

 

[JayVIP]

I went up to my in-laws for a two day stint to construct my stand and canopy. My grandfather-in-law is very handy with wood and has a ton of tools. None of the stands I saw for sale really had what I wanted to i decided to construct my own. After about 12 hours of actual work time, we now have the canopy and stand ready for paint.

The dimensions of the tank are 48L x 15D x 24T

My stand measures 50L x 17D x 36T

I had to have plenty of room underneath for my plumbing, my 30 gallon sump/refugium, and a little storage for test kits and supplements.

Here's the sump/refugium that's going in.

And finally, my tank with the canopy.

Over the next couple days, we'll be waterproofing and painting the setup to come however my wife is full term 9 months pregnant so my project could come to a halt any day now =) Wish me luck!

 

[NaTe R]

looks good. i did the same this had to build a way over sized stand to get all the crap i wanted under it.

I have one question. how does that sump refugium work? i see two inlet drop in the middle just wondering how water goes flows through it?

Good luck with the baby.

 

[JayVIP]

Hey thanks for the luck! the inlet has two pipes if needed such for tanks with two overflows. I'm only going to use one. The flow in the sump is sort of a circular flow. Looking at the picture, the inlet flows in and then to the left is my skimmer compartment. the euro reef requires a big foot print so i had no choice here. I'm going to throw some extra live rock in here as well. maybe some crushed coral as a a ph buffer. Then it flows right towards the refugium. the refugium is half the width of the sump and about 14" long. i'll throw some mud and chaeto in there. easier to light a small section rather than the whole sump. then it'll flow right some more into the return section where my return pump will sit.

 

[JayVIP]

Stand is being water sealed at the moment and soon it'll be ready to bring home. Finished up some of the trim along the canopy and the stand plus had the edges rounded with a router.

On a side note, I wasn't happy with the washable filter socks so i had my wife sew me some new socks out of 100% nylon.

 

[tat2z_21]

Looks good, and it looks like you have everything needed for a good system.

 

[khaosinc]

Looks like a nice start. Nothing better than a custom built stand built to last. I can never bring myself to trust the storebought ones.

 

[psb]

Tagging along.

 

[JayVIP]

Here's a pic of my current tank as the livestock awaits its new home.

I went all of the lfs's within a 20 mile radius and couldn't find live aragonite for my new sand bed so I ended up just ordering 40 lbs online so now I'll have to wait for that.

I originally intended on using pvc for the intake and return but when I went to purchase the materials, i decided to go with flexible vinyl tubing instead for a couple reasons.

* On the return side, the path the water will travel will be shorter.
* I'll have less pressure loss compared to pvc due to the smooth bends in the vinyl tubing rather than 45 deg or 90 deg elbows.
* obviously easier to run vinyl tubing than pvc.

Only downside I could see was the cost. 6 feet of 1" vinyl tubing cost about 12 bucks compared to 12 feet of 1" pvc which cost a little over 2 bucks.

I discovered that my plans to build a standpipe weren't going to work anymore because the measurements of the stand pipe wouldn't fit in my overflow. Does anyone have the DIY on building a standpipe of this style for compact spaces?

 

[JayVIP]

nevermind! I found that it is called a stockman standpipe!

 

[JayVIP]

Here are some pics of the stockman stand pipe I just built. Took me all but ten minutes to construct it. Pretty simple design and great if space is an issue. Not sure how it's going to perform yet but we'll see!

 

[JayVIP]

i put my hose on 3/4's of the way and the stand pipe was able to handle it. if you're interested in making this pipe, let me know and i'll show you what i cut out under the slip reducer bushing.

 

[JayVIP]

painted the bottom of the tank today just in case i wanted to go sand less in the future. =) stand is finished and being driven over to my house as i type. I can't wait! Once the stand is in i can start the plumbing and wiring.

 

[JayVIP]

Well, got the stand and canopy finished. Here's a pic

I dont have all the plumbing parts yet but I started a little.

 

[SpecialTang]

Nice start keep it up.

 

[JayVIP]

finished up plumbing the return this morning. almost ready for water! painted the pvc with the krylon fusion i used on the bottom.

 

[JayVIP]

Finished the transition to the new tank. It took awhile since I was reusing some stuff. (The skimmer, lights, return pump, and phosphate reactor) I originally intended on purchasing another t5 ho retro kit but i must say, t5's with a good ballast and nice individual reflectors such as the miro's, tek II's, or ice caps, WOW! lit up the tank great and all of the coral are living it up. Granted the only two sps' that i have in there are birdsnest, they are both responding well. Here are the pics.

Stand tank and sump

Some of the live stock. The others i couldn't get a pic of because the glare is too much.

 

[mal1099]

looking good.