My First Reef Tank! 75 gal Build

[Scrappy RN]

Greetings from beautiful East Tennessee!

This thread will be a journal of sorts tracking my upcoming 75 gal reef tank that I have on layaway at my LFS. I apologize ahead of time that it will be months before I have an actual tank in hand...er....on floor?? But I really am very new to saltwater (other than a biocube that didn't last long because we had to move after I had it set up for only 2 months) and VERY, very new to reefs/corals.

I've had lots of freshwater experience, had a brackish setup for an adorable Green Spotted Puffer, and a 29 gal Biocube FOWLR setup several years back. I still have a betta (named Alpha) and a little Dwarf African Frog (no name yet )hanging out together in a 10 gal tank but after years away from the hobby I'm really excited about getting back into it.

This go round all started with the betta. I missed having fish so got him as a Mother's Day present for myself. I thought, "I'll take this little guy and give him a good home." I did a full setup and was happy with him. Then I made the mistake of going to get bloodworms for Alpha from the big LFS. This was the first time I'd been there in years and I couldn't find a parking spot. Turns out it was their annual customer appreciation sale where almost everything was 40-60% off!! An hour or two later I walked out with an entire 55 gal setup, complete with stand, filter, heater, lights, etc. on layaway. And forgot the darn bloodworms!!

So then the adventure of deciding what kind of tank I wanted to do this time. I started reading up on African cichlids. Thought about puffers again. Thought about one of those incredible planted aquascape/landscape tanks that the Japanese started. Then I took the family back to the LFS to show them our tank and see the fishy possibilities! That's when the, "Mom--I want saltwater!" started and the, "If I were doing it I'd get saltwater--the fish are cooler." comment from my DH, Joel. At first I told them no--it was too much work. (Even though I secretly agreed with them )

After much soul searching and reading, ha, ha, I finally gave in to the pull of the REEF! I thought, if I'm going to do saltwater I might as well go ahead and get what I really want--which are the corals and inverts and a few compatible fish.

So then I realized the 55 gal setup was going to be a problem. I had already decided I'd have to get a sump and trade in the HOB filter that came with the 55 gal. Then I'd have to swap out the lights, then....well you get the picture.

Then, thank goodness, I found R2R and got the best advice ever.....that I should just ask them to swap out for a what I wanted instead--a reef ready tank setup. And that's just what I did today (er...yesterday now since it's 1:30 in the morning!)--and I'm SO excited!!!

So this is it! I did get a different stand and lights though. This stand has a middle section brace in the inside front that would make it hard to get to the sump so I upgraded to one without it. I also opted for a Fluval Marine and Reef 2.0 LED light 48"-60" because I love that LED's have so little heat output, the electricity cost is so low and that they don't have to be changed anywhere near as often as others.

I'll post pics of the sump and other stuff tomorrow.
I suppose I should probably go to sleep. I'll have visions of fish swimming in my head all night! I can't wait to pay this stuff off and get started. Gonna have to get a second job to pay it off early, lol!

Have a great day!

 

[BlueDevil]

That's quite the journey you have there! Looking forward to seeing this setup come together! I know you are doing it already but I would take this time you have to read, read, read! And ask lots of questions. While a reef tank is really not that difficult to maintain, it has a lot of intricacies involved and the more you know about them beforehand, the more success you will have once you have everything ready to go.

 

[shollis2814]

If you haven't gotten in touch with the East Tennessee Reef Club either on here in the local forums or in person, do so. They are very active and very helpful.

 

[Fin]

That's a pretty good start! It's a good thing that you opted for the 75 reef ready! I will look forward to following along to see this one come together. There are plenty of knowledgeable reefers here that will be happy to offer you advice. Post your plans for the tank here - especially before you buy equipment - to get other opinions

 

[jsker]

Looking forward to the progression of the build.

 

[Daniel@R2R Verified Admin]

The 75g is a great choice! I love the dimensions on those tanks, and the reef-ready option is the best way to go for sure!

I also encourage you to get in touch with the ETRC. That's an awesome bunch of reefers to get to know! @Rob.D is a staff member here on R2R and one of the leaders of that local club.

 

[jsker]

First pump, get a Gyre 130 for the top.

I am with @mdbannister and really like the 75 gal range tanks. I have a 72gal

 

[Scrappy RN]

Thank you all for the encouragement. I can tell this is a great place to be!

I did post in the ETRC and hope to be able to go to their next meeting. I'm looking forward to meeting everyone.

Ok, you asked for it, my first questions....

1) Is an RO system a MUST have or just a really nice to have?? I have well water that I've tested with my freshwater test kit. It has zero NH3 99% of the time, zero NO2 100% of the time and 20 ppm or less NO3 99% of the time. pH is usually in the 7.8-8.0 range. I've not tested for other things but, like most East TN water it is very hard water. I also have thought about setting up a rainwater collection system in barrels.

2) If the RO system is a must, then what kind do you guys recommend I get? I know next to nothing about them.

3) On the freshwater side of the hobby it was usually recommended to not use 100% RO water because you are taking out many things that are good to have such as trace minerals. Is that the same in saltwater?? I always mixed my RO water with my well water to get perfect results. (Some of the fish I used to have couldn't tolerate the high pH/ hard water here!)

4) What kind of protein skimmer do you recommend??

That's it for now....I'm sure I'll have more soon!

 

[Scrappy RN]

First pump, get a Gyre 130 for the top.

I am with @mdbannister and really like the 75 gal range tanks. I have a 72gal

I love the bow fronts!

So newbie question here....why a pump for the top?? I thought your pump went down in the sump?

 

[jsker]

The sump has a return pump yes.

back in the day all the pumps for the water movement in the tank used to be all called power heads. The Gyre are great for agitating the top of the water to add air, movement and get whatever is on top of the water circulating in the tank. Here is a video of the 130 in action. I also like the movement on top with my LED's and I have a shimmer effect.

 

[Fin]

RO/DI, to me, is a must have. It all starts with water quality. Well water could have heavy metals, traces of insecticides, fertilizer or other undesirable stuff. As far as which one to get, I would get at least a 4 stage unit - 0.5 micron Sediment filter, carbon block RO membrane, and DI. I use a Spectrapure 5 stage, but I have chloramines in my water supply. Look on Bulk Reef Supply, they have good filters and free shipping. Your higher rejection rates of the membranes (like 95%-97%) means more contaminates are being removed by the membrane, before getting to the DI resin. That means the resin will last longer.

 

[Scrappy RN]

Ok, here's a pic of the sump

It's a P1000RR that comes with the filter media. Made by Aquarium Life Support. The product info is here: http://www.aqualifesupport.com/detail.php?ID=78
There's also a cool video that has it in there at The video shows an add on refugium too. Now to go research what a refugium is!!

The pump that came with this setup is a Syncra 2.0 submersible with a 7.9 Head and 568 gph.
Should I have gone bigger for more gph? I don't plan on doing anything too complicated with corals yet. Just some beginner, easy to grow type things until I know what I'm doing a little bit more. Then I may step up to harder species. I figured that at that point I could either start a whole new bigger tank OR upgrade the lights and pump for this one, depending on my preference at that time. (And the space in the house, ha, ha!)

 

[cale0721]

Thank you all for the encouragement. I can tell this is a great place to be!

I did post in the ETRC and hope to be able to go to their next meeting. I'm looking forward to meeting everyone.

Ok, you asked for it, my first questions....

1) Is an RO system a MUST have or just a really nice to have?? I have well water that I've tested with my freshwater test kit. It has zero NH3 99% of the time, zero NO2 100% of the time and 20 ppm or less NO3 99% of the time. pH is usually in the 7.8-8.0 range. I've not tested for other things but, like most East TN water it is very hard water. I also have thought about setting up a rainwater collection system in barrels.

2) If the RO system is a must, then what kind do you guys recommend I get? I know next to nothing about them.

3) On the freshwater side of the hobby it was usually recommended to not use 100% RO water because you are taking out many things that are good to have such as trace minerals. Is that the same in saltwater?? I always mixed my RO water with my well water to get perfect results. (Some of the fish I used to have couldn't tolerate the high pH/ hard water here!)

4) What kind of protein skimmer do you recommend??

That's it for now....I'm sure I'll have more soon!

I think having an rodi unit is a must to a successful reef tank and to completely enjoy the hobby. Without it algae will be a daily head ache which causes people to give up on the hobby bc it's too much work to look at an ugly algae filled tank.

I bought my water from the Aquaruim for 2 years, that's Always an option but buying a rodi unit was my best investment.

I bought mine from bulk reef supply and I love it.

 

[Scrappy RN]

The sump has a return pump yes.

back in the day all the pumps for the water movement in the tank used to be all called power heads. The Gyre are great for agitating the top of the water to add air, movement and get whatever is on top of the water circulating in the tank. Here is a video of the 130 in action. I also like the movement on top with my LED's and I have a shimmer effect.

Very neat! And ok, I was familiar with the "powerhead" term. Must be a sign I'm getting old

I do like the shimmer effect. Do you have a fancy Radion LED? I wonder if the shimmer effect will happen with my Fluval?? I just can't afford the Radions or Kessils yet.....one day!

 

[cale0721]

Also, I have the exact same tank and I love it.

 

[Scrappy RN]

Ok, RO unit it is-- you have both convinced me!

And yes, I did get my RO water from Aquarium when I had my freshwater tanks. But the largest tank I had back then was 29 gal and since I mixed it with the well water I didn't have to lug as much back and forth. I used to get the 5 gal water jugs they have and refill them. For a 75 gal and no mixing that's going to be a LOT more water to haul back. How did you do it? Is there an easier way until I can get the RO unit??

I will definitely check out the Bulk supply place. Sounds great!

 

[ReefQueen]

Very good start, it's nice to see another Lady reefer here one thing I would recommend is to return the fluval light, from what I hear they are not very good. Then you won't have to spend extra on a new light when you decide you want to keep higher lighting corals

 

[cale0721]

Ok, RO unit it is-- you have both convinced me!

And yes, I did get my RO water from Aquarium when I had my freshwater tanks. But the largest tank I had back then was 29 gal and since I mixed it with the well water I didn't have to lug as much back and forth. I used to get the 5 gal water jugs they have and refill them. For a 75 gal and no mixing that's going to be a LOT more water to haul back. How did you do it? Is there an easier way until I can get the RO unit??

I will definitely check out the Bulk supply place. Sounds great!

Lol well honestly when I first setup up my reef tank years and years ago I used tap water to start then did my water changes with rodi from the Aquaruim.

But we have enough members in the club that we could all bring you water to start out with [emoji4] any it would be super easy. Benefit of being in a local reef club lol

 

[CastAway]

Tagging along. [emoji12]

 

[Scrappy RN]

Very good start, it's nice to see another Lady reefer here one thing I would recommend is to return the fluval light, from what I hear they are not very good. Then you won't have to spend extra on a new light when you decide you want to keep higher lighting corals

Well, I've never been accused of being a Lady but I am a female, ha, ha! JK! Seriously though, it is nice to meet you!

I was actually thinking about going ahead and putting the better lights on the layaway setup....at this rate it may be this time next year before I get the whole thing home but at least I'll have the best stuff and won't have to upgrade later. I know I could just get them separately but the advantage of keeping the whole setup on layaway is that I get 15% off of everything by getting it all together. Plus I support the local store--which I love.

So any advice between Radion and Kessil? I think those are the two high-end LED's that the store has. And I definitely want LED's.