Newbie tank build. Am I doing this right?

[FishyFish]

I got a new 75g tank for my birthday and have spent the last several days tearing through the internet trying to decide what I want to put in it. I think I've finally decided on all of the major equipment and I'm ready to start spending money.

The tank will be FOWLR at first since I'm still new but I want to plan for having SPS in there and probably a heavy bioload with a lot of fish. I definitely want at least one dragonet too so a big refugium is important. This will be my first big tank with a sump so I'd love some feedback!

Tank/stand: Marineland 75g
Sump: Trigger Sapphire 34
Return pump: Eheim Compacton 3000
Skimmer: RO Classic 150INT
Heaters: 2 Eheim Jager 150w (hooking these up to 2 Bayite temp controllers)
Powerheads: 2 MaxSpect Gyre XF330 2350 GPH
ATO: Tunze Osmolator 3155
Lights: Noopsyche K7. I have one now, probably need to add another 2 but I'll wait until I'm ready for corals to do so.

I haven't figured out the plumbing yet. I plan on drilling the tank but I still need to research that whole process and the best way to lay out the pipes and whatnot. As far as I can tell all of the equipment that I picked out will work for my tank size and will fit nicely in my sump. What do you guys think?

 

[Jon Fishman]

First thing I would do is make sure the tank is able to be drilled.

 

[FishyFish]

First thing I would do is make sure the tank is able to be drilled.

They say on their website that only the bottom panel is tempered so I should be able to drill the back. I'm definitely going to double check for myself before I go buying any drilling equipment though.

 

[FishyFish]

Anyone else have an opinion? I'm really worried that I could be overlooking something here with my choices.

 

[virtual reality]

I would have another return pump on hand. Just in case...

 

[FishyFish]

I would have another return pump on hand. Just in case...

Thanks! A second pump is definitely on my list. I'll probably wait until at least a month after the new tank is up to let my wallet recover some but after that I'll be grabbing one for sure.

 

[virtual reality]

Do you have a R.O. system?

 

[resortez]

I would be considering on adding a UV & settings up a simple QT system.

 

[FishyFish]

Do you have a R.O. system?

I do, it's a small unit and pretty slow (takes about 3h to fill a 5g bucket) but it seems to work well. I think I'll want to upgrade it at some point but it should work for now.

 

[virtual reality]

Cool. Just checking.

 

[FishyFish]

I would be considering on adding a UV & settings up a simple QT system.

I have a 10g QT setup but I'll probably get rid of it and convert my current 28g DT into a QT. That way I can safely QT bigger/more fish. Already got a good stock of meds on hand too so I think I'm good to go for QT.

I don't know much about UV sterilizers but a lot of reefers that I really respect swear on them. I'll have to do some more research on those, thanks!

 

[Vahanyos]

Equipment list looks good - looks like you did a lot of research

As far as the plumbing, look up some manifold idea's to give you more room for things you might need/want in the future. Always good to have the space for something versus wishing you did... it'll be less headache switching everything around in the long run. I've seen some cool manifold idea's that give the reefer so much flexibility with reactors, etc...

Good luck with the tank!

 

[Hemmdog]

Equipment list looks great! I’m not familiar with that return pump but if it has 4.5+ stars go for it ! Haha. Excited to see this build. I just drilled and plumbed a 40b on my build thread w/ trigger sump if you want to see some progression and details on how to do all that. Either way excited to see this build!

 

[FishyFish]

Equipment list looks good - looks like you did a lot of research !

Why thank you! I spent a TON of time researching it, feels good to have an internet stranger notice. Your post made me smile more than it probably should have!

Planning for tech that I might want to add later is a great idea that I hadn't considered. I'm still a beginner so I'm happy to keep it simple for a while but like I said, I do eventually want to add SPS and turn this into a really serious reef tank. I'll go look through some build threads and see what else is out there that I might want in the future. Thanks for the suggestion!

Equipment list looks great! I’m not familiar with that return pump but if it has 4.5+ stars go for it ! Haha. Excited to see this build. I just drilled and plumbed a 40b on my build thread w/ trigger sump if you want to see some progression and details on how to do all that. Either way excited to see this build!

Thanks! From what I read, Eheim is one of the more reliable brands for return pumps. I think their Compacton line is newer but I picked it because it's small enough to fix in the return section of my sump. I might change my mind if I can find one of their older more well known pumps that will fit, but I do want to go with an Eheim return for sure.

Thanks again for the advice on the sump, it shipped today. I'm secretly glad that it was recommended, I was looking for an excuse to pay extra for that sump anyway because let's be honest, those colorful Trigger sumps look AWESOME! I'll definitely go check out your build thread after this too!

 

[Hemmdog]

Why thank you! I spent a TON of time researching it, feels good to have an internet stranger notice. Your post made me smile more than it probably should have!

Planning for tech that I might want to add later is a great idea that I hadn't considered. I'm still a beginner so I'm happy to keep it simple for a while but like I said, I do eventually want to add SPS and turn this into a really serious reef tank. I'll go look through some build threads and see what else is out there that I might want in the future. Thanks for the suggestion!



Thanks! From what I read, Eheim is one of the more reliable brands for return pumps. I think their Compacton line is newer but I picked it because it's small enough to fix in the return section of my sump. I might change my mind if I can find one of their older more well known pumps that will fit, but I do want to go with an Eheim return for sure.

Thanks again for the advice on the sump, it shipped today. I'm secretly glad that it was recommended, I was looking for an excuse to pay extra for that sump anyway because let's be honest, those colorful Trigger sumps look AWESOME! I'll definitely go check out your build thread after this too!

Nice nice haha, yea the colored trigger sumps are super pretty haha, I love them.

 

[Vahanyos]

I forgot to comment on the gyres. I prefer a more natural looking tank so I tried to limit any equipment clutter as much as possible in the display tank. I didn’t like how bulky the gyre looked, and I had the 1k. I only have a 30” tank but I didn’t end up liking it in the long run. I get great results with a smaller power head with similar functions and looked much better overall.

So, don’t forget to consider that as well you can get crafty and hide them behind rocks, etc too