It's about time - 72g Reef build

[neilanh]

So I've been talking about it for probably 6 months now, maybe even a year. I guess it finally got real today.

I'm sure most of you know, Ziggy upgraded to a 120 (by way of a 150), and wanted to sell his 72g bowfront tank. Well, since I'm local and have MTS, it seemed only natural that I buy that from him. What better way to start my first reef tank, right?

Ziggy's been a ton of help, I think i've filled up my PM box with questions and answers back and forth to him. Thanks Allen for all your help!

So here's the plan. Right now, I'm running a 125g planted, 46g bowfront community (now the wife's tank), 29g planted and a 20g RCS tank. The 29g and the 20g will be sacrificed, making room for the 72g and to provide sump and fuge for the new tank. All the RCS from the 20 will move into the 125, and all the endlers in the 29 will move to.... well, we won't talk about that.

So here's where I am. I'll get the tank from Ziggy later this week and I guess I'll try to build a stand and canopy for it. That should be ... we'll say fun. Today, I ordered a bunch of equipment (man this stuff ain't cheap). Here's what I ordered:

2x175W IceCap Retro kits (used off of RC, comes with slightly used Ushio 10K bulbs to get me started)
2x54W TEK T5HO Retro Kit (plan to order Geissman Super Actinic bulbs)
Octopus NW-150 Skimmer
6 stage 100gpd RO/DI unit
Mag 9.5 for return pump
Mag 7 for Closed Loop
2 Koralia 2 pumps
Timers

Once the RO/DI gets here, I'll set it up and start getting some SW mixed up in a garbage can. Then, I plan on ordering a bulk of my LR from F&S and let that sit and cure while I progress on everything else. Gonna start with 90 pounds, and it appears F&S has it on sale right now for around $2/pound for fiji premium, so that'll be the plan. Once the base gets in I'll start cherry picking the rest of the rock from LFSs or something. For sand, I'll pick up some general stuff and Ziggy's offered up some seeded live sand for me to add, so that'll work out well.

Quick question on curing the LR. Can it sit in my garage at 90 degree temps and be okay? Don't want to stink up the house with all the dieoff from the shipment.

That just leaves misc stuff. Test kits, salt mix, heaters, ATO, refractometer, and I can't think of anything else, but I'm sure there's more in my head somewhere.

Think I'm gonna drill the 72 with 5 holes. 3 for a closed loop, run by a Mag 7 and an SCWD, and 2 for the sump return off of the Mag 9.5. Overflow will be another generous donation from Ziggy of a HOB 1200gph overflow with dual outputs, one of each of which will go to the sump and fuge respectively. One of the outputs has a valve on it already, so that just makes it even easier on me.

The 29g tank will be converted into a Sump, making room for the skimmer, heaters, LR Rubble, and whatever else needs to go in there. The 20g will become a fuge for macros, DSB and pods, etc. The 20g will be drilled and plumbed to dump into the 29g sump for return to the display. I'm not sure how in the world I'm going to fit both of them in the stand yet, but I'm working on those details. Sparky has generously offered to cut me up some acrylic to "sump-ify" the 29.

We'll see how things go from here. The wife's excited, and I'm nervous (lol).

Reef reef reef. I honestly have barely thought about fish yet. Corals is my big thing, although i hope to eventually have the system mature enough to host a mandarin. But, I imagine by the time that happens I will have really caught the bug and gotten a bigger system too. I want brightly colored fish that catch your eye as they swim by, and no doubt my children will insist on "nemo". Won't even worry about fish though until the system is up and running and through it's new tank syndrome.

Thoughts? Advice? Donations(LOL!)?

[melosu58]

That`s really impressive Neilan. I cant wait to see the pics

[austinsdad]

And when you come up this way, I've got some coral for you. Shrooms, pom pom xenia??, star polyps, and maybe a piece of torch that's needing to split.

Not sure about that temp for the rock. Plan on a powerhead in there? Maybe pwc and do the curing there?

We finally gotcha, huh? Hee hee!!

[Ziggy953]

Sounds like a great plan! I especially like the part about you taking this tank off my hands!!!

The only thing that has me a bit confused is the 5 holes you plan to drill in the tank. 3 of them make sense for the closed loop the other 2 have me a bit baffled. If you are going to use the Overflow box what do you need the other 2 holes for? If you are going to drill the other 2 holes as drain lines what do you need to use the overflow box for? It is 7am and I've been up for nearly 24 hours so my brain isn't working at it's best...Other then that everything sounds great! I expect to see this thread go for many pages!!! I'm excited, your wife being excited about this is a very good thing! BTW my wife wants to meet your wife, we need to work on that!

Oh and don't be scared, there's nothing to it wink.

[ccCapt]

Looks like you have a pretty good plan.
I would suggest 2 K-3's tho instead of the K-2's.
90 is pretty hot, even just to cure the rock. I think if you can keep it in the mid 80's you would be OK.

On the 2 extra holes you are drilling for your returns, this might be a little risky. I'm assuming these 2 holes will be drilled 1/2 to 3/4 of the way up the tank on the back?
If so...what happens if power goes out and your not home? The tank will drain all the way down to these holes. Just something to think about.

[roka64]

As I recall, you have a nice 125.....

[neilanh]

Thanks everyone.

Alright, yeah - the 2 extra holes I was thinking to use as the returns from the sump. Split the output of the mag9.5 and put them through the back wall of the tank, rather than over the lip. I hadn't thought about the drain when the pump shuts off, so thank you for pointing this out to me. I'll pass on this one and just set it up as a normal return over the lip, then split it with locline to push 2 directions.

I haven't figured out where yet I want the CL holes to be drilled. Any suggestions? I dunno if I want them up in the top corners, or mid way up the tank in the center-ish.

I'd already ordered the K2s, so I'll start with them. If I turn out to need more, I can always upgrade to the K3s later on, that's no big deal.

Ziggy we'll definately have to get the wife and kids together. I forget how old your son is, but I have a 2 year old Zachary myself.

[neilanh]

Alright, bought some more stuff.

Refractometer
160g Reef Crystals Salt Mix
2x 200W Heaters
Master SW Test Kit (pH, ammo, NO2, NO3)
Reef Test Kit (Ca, Alk, PO4)
Dual inline TDS meter
Prime
Algae Wafers

If I'm thinking clearly, I'm down to just needing Sand, LR, plumbing, and an ATO.

[pat8you]

Off to a really good start. Glad you took over with another build thread now that ziggy's is nearing an end. I just have a little tank so i have to watch other people put together their tanks till i have the room and money to upgrade : )

[Ziggy953]

Originally Posted by neilanh

Alright, bought some more stuff.

Refractometer
160g Reef Crystals Salt Mix
2x 200W Heaters
Master SW Test Kit (pH, ammo, NO2, NO3)
Reef Test Kit (Ca, Alk, PO4)
Dual inline TDS meter
Prime
Algae Wafers

If I'm thinking clearly, I'm down to just needing Sand, LR, plumbing, and an ATO.

Algae wafers?