May be getting my tank sooner than later.. some Q's

[DracoKat]

Hi all,

I was planning on getting my 75 gal tank in september/october.. but my LFS gave me a heads up that the Reef-Ready tanks will be on sale July 4th. if the deal is good, I will buy it sooner! I can't wait to upgrade out of my nano tank, lol.

And, Petco will be having their $1 per gallon sale, so I want to get a tank for the sump.

Before I go crazy with the money saving deals, I have some questions to help me prepare. I want to do things right, and smoothly without setbacks.

1. I am planning on building my own sump- I want to go large as possible. Anyone know if the 40 gal breeder will fit under the 75 gal tank stand (Stand Dimensions: 20"L x 50"W 29"H). I want to try to get the sump done before I get the tank.. and I don't want to buy and find later it won't fit.

2. I am hearing mixed things about baffles.. glass or acrylic (1/4 inch) baffle? Acrylic would be easier for me to cut with limited tools I have, but if glass is better, I can try to find someone to help me cut glass.

3. What return pump is best for me? I am confused on how much flow rate I'd need. If it helps, I think the drilled holes are at the bottom corner of the tank.

4. I trust my LFS will tell me all I need to get the tank set up. I believe it does come with the overflow system- but I am not sure if it comes with extra plumbing and all else I need. Can someone tell me what else I'd need when I purchase the tank? It will most likely be the Deep Blue 75 gal reef-ready (unless the LFS has a sale on something I like more in my price range)

I am sure I will have more questions as I go on. I feel like a total reef newb when it comes to larger tanks, lol.

 

[Lionfish Lair]

If you're getting the tank at the Petco dollar sale, then it's the Aqueon brand and they list the breeder as being 36.5" x 19.25"x17.125". Are you sure you stand isn't 50 long?

I use acrylic baffles. By only suggestion is you use thick acrylic or put two pieces of thin stuff together. I used a particlar weather striping matieral to seal them in there, but have also used silicone. They do NOT come out very easily. The problems are if the acrylic bows.... it's just got to be thick enough not to bow and it'll be perfection.\

We'll absolutely help you figure out what you need when you get your tank.

I don't have a suggestions on pumps. Suggestions from others will be more researched in that arena.

 

[DracoKat]

If you're getting the tank at the Petco dollar sale, then it's the Aqueon brand and they list the breeder as being 36.5" x 19.25"x17.125". Are you sure you stand isn't 50 long?

Thanks for the helpful response!! The stand is 50" left to right, and 20" front to back. I copied and pasted the dimension from the website (it seemed a bit odd to me too, lol). Looks like it may just fit depth wise.. the back of the stand is open, so I may need to put a piece of plywood down if it hangs off a bit.

 

[thewbell]

A 40B would be very tight under a 75 in my opinion. I had a a 29 gallon under mine and barely had enough room for a decent sized ATO reservoir (5ish gallons) and food. I now have a 40B under a 5' 120 gallon and the fit is much better. Do you have another location planned for an ATO and any other tank gear? If so, it may not be a big deal and the 40B may work well if it fits but if not, I would look at a smaller footprint tank.

 

[DracoKat]

A 40B would be very tight under a 75 in my opinion. I had a a 29 gallon under mine and barely had enough room for a decent sized ATO reservoir (5ish gallons) and food. I now have a 40B under a 5' 120 gallon and the fit is much better. Do you have another location planned for an ATO and any other tank gear? If so, it may not be a big deal and the 40B may work well if it fits but if not, I would look at a smaller footprint tank.

that is a very good point, and one I did not think about. I probably won't have room for an ATO if that's the case.. food and supplements can go elsewhere, but the ATO and other equipment probably not.

 

[Lionfish Lair]

I've always put my ATO outside of the stand, because I pour water into my container. It would be too hard to do that with the container inside.

 

[DracoKat]

I guess I need to look at ATO's and decide which I want to do.. inside, or outside.

 

[thewbell]

I've always put my ATO outside of the stand, because I pour water into my container. It would be too hard to do that with the container inside.

That can be a challenge for sure with a short stand if you have a large container for sure. I was able to pour with a 5 gallon bucket in my 120 stand and a 3ish gallon plastic cheese ball (or some other snack) container with my 75.

I guess I need to look at ATO's and decide which I want to do.. inside, or outside.

After a few years of topping off the container manually I finally ran some RO line from my RO storage container to the back of my tank. I use a peristaltic pump to pull water to the tank and it is controlled by an Osmolator. If possible, I highly recommend a similar setup as it makes life a lot easier and I never have to haul buckets or take up space under/around the stand. You can also use as big of an ATO reservoir as you want at that point. I went from topping off my ATO every 3 days to just turning on my RODI unit every other week. Just be sure you have fail safes in place (too many options to list) if you decide to go this route.

 

[Lionfish Lair]

I have more than one tank. I also have some stands that just don't fit an ATO. I chose to go outside verses reducing the sump size.

 

[mmaattppllaayy]

that is a very good point, and one I did not think about. I probably won't have room for an ATO if that's the case.. food and supplements can go elsewhere, but the ATO and other equipment probably not.

I have a 40b under my 90 gal stand. It fits with about 9-10in left for an ato reservoir. I use a clear Rubbermaid wrapping paper container. It is much taller than the sump and I fill it to the top. It holds about 10 gallons. Just drill a hole in the hose angled down right before it leaves the ato reservoir and it won't siphon water into the sump.

 

[rvlcf]

This is a post I remember seeing on Reefcentral. I've copied and pasted it below. It is not mine, but maybe it will help.

"Acrylic expands as it absorbs water. If you have tightly fitting baffles they expand in the water and put outward pressure on the tank walls causing strain and ultimately failure. The mass produced 40b tanks have fairly thin glass to begin with, so it doesn't take a ton of pressure to cause them to fail.

You can reduce this by cutting your baffles sorter and allowing ~⅛" of expansion room on either end. The problem is this space ends up getting filled with silicone which, though compressible, still ends up transmitting much of the pressure to the tank walls. If you have to use acrylic, this is the safest way, but I still recommend using glass baffles instead as the safest route.

If you do use glass, use ¼", not the ⅛" sold at hardware stores."

 

[DracoKat]

thanks for locating that for me, rvlcf.. I knew there was a reason why acrylic wasn't recommended by some.

 

[mmaattppllaayy]

thanks for locating that for me, rvlcf.. I knew there was a reason why acrylic wasn't recommended by some.

I would recommend acrylic panels over glass as long as you leave a gap on either side and use the appropriate thickness so it doesn't bow. Just think about trying to get a skimmer body out of there. Sometimes it can get banged against the sump panels. I have seen many broken sump panels when glass is used unless you use very thick glass. Plus acrylic is easier to work with at home.

 

[DracoKat]

hmm.. I will have to see how thick of a glass I can get. I hear if it's too thin, it could crack. but thicker, the better.

I will be picking up my 75 gal tank today or tomorrow! LFS said it comes with the overflow plumbing kit, so I hope it's all I need.

 

[mmaattppllaayy]

thanks for locating that for me, rvlcf.. I knew there was a reason why acrylic wasn't recommended by some.

I would recommend acrylic panels over glass as long as you leave a gap on either side and use the appropriate thickness so it doesn't bow. Just think about trying to get a skimmer body out of there. Sometimes it can get banged against the sump panels. I have seen many broken sump panels when glass is used unless you use very thick glass. Plus acrylic is easier to work with at home.

hmm.. I will have to see how thick of a glass I can get. I hear if it's too thin, it could crack. but thicker, the better.

I will be picking up my 75 gal tank today or tomorrow! LFS said it comes with the overflow plumbing kit, so I hope it's all I need.

A local glass shop should be able to cut what you need for fairly cheap as said before. If your set on glass go with 1/4 or 3/8 in thick. And have them bevel the edges.

 

[DracoKat]

I am so confused! lol. the pros and cons of both!