Scotts 75gallon Build***MAY 25 New pics finally with fish

[catchandrelease]

Well after planted tanks got boring I decided to cross over to the dark side. :twised:
So after lurking through canreef and reefcentral I finally decided to pull the trigger on a tank.
Im still waiting on the stand, I build it all out of maple, its at my cabinet guys shop beind stained and laquered, hopefully Ill have it by the end of the week...hopefully...

I had Kevin at Red Coral set me up with a tank and everything else that I havent gotten used. Kevin has been more than helpful in getting me set up with everything I have needed, he has even set aside my lack of knowledge in reefing and given me a great hand. Nothing but good things to say in his direction.
I picked up the tank today, the back is limo-tinted with an external overflow, looks great. It is 48long x 18 wide x 20 high

http://i902.photobucket.com/albums/ac222/catchandreleas/DSCN0510.jpg?t=1272423182
http://i902.photobucket.com/albums/ac222/catchandreleas/DSCN0505.jpg?t=1272423251

I had the pleasure of putting the tank against the wall to a mechanical room, so all of my mechanical will be ran through a cold air return and into the mech room.
I put in a new 15A circuit to the area where the tank is and set up a few outlets to supply power to the equipment. The RO unit I got from kijiji and plumbed in so that it will fill a holding/mixing tank that will house a pump to fill the sump at WC's. I Tee'd off of the return pump and ran a hose directly to a drain so i can drain water with the turn of a valve. No more carrying buckets :biggrin:
My sump and refugium are two seperate tanks, the sump is an old 20g that will hold a skimmer and phosban reactor, the fuge is a 10g. The tank will drain herbie style into the fuge and sump, the fuge will then drain down into the sump. with a simple 1/2" stanpipe.
Front area where the tank will go, good distance from the pool table :wink:
http://i902.photobucket.com/albums/ac222/catchandreleas/DSCN0492.jpg
http://i902.photobucket.com/albums/ac222/catchandreleas/DSCN0494.jpg

Where the overflow and return go through the wall.
http://i902.photobucket.com/albums/ac222/catchandreleas/DSCN0495.jpg

Full shot of setup
http://i902.photobucket.com/albums/ac222/catchandreleas/DSCN0499.jpg

Sump with vertex in80 skimmer external 500gph return pump, and TLF150 phosban reactor. Then fuge with two 40watt cfl lights.
http://i902.photobucket.com/albums/ac222/catchandreleas/DSCN0498.jpg
http://i902.photobucket.com/albums/ac222/catchandreleas/DSCN0496.jpg

Hopefully ill have an update later this week regarding the stand, like i said im still waiting on the stain, and im just going to pick up the glass for the doors tomorrow.

Let me know what you think :wink:

Scott.

[JDigital]

Really sweet so far.. Love the trimless tank.

Always been a fan of 75G systems. :biggrin:

[catchandrelease]

I have always been a fan of the simple look a rimless tank has, so it was a no-brainer for me to do it that way.

[Red Coral Aquariums]

I'll be tagging along.

Looks great.

Can't wait to see the tank on your new stand.

Kevin

[catchandrelease]

laquer is drying right now but its all done, get it in the basement tomorrow, get the tank on it and get some pics. Start gluing up the plumbing tomorrow as well. More pictures will be coming tomorrow.

[bauder1986]

tagging along...looking good

[Ryan]

Looks like a great start. Tagging along as I am setting up a 75 as well.

Also your right about Kevin, great guy to deal with and more than willing to help. All of them at Red Coral are really good and it keep us going back.... every 2 weeks it seems. See ya sunday Doug LOL.

[catchandrelease]

So i finally went and got the stand and the glass for the doors today. Put in the glass but one of the pieces was cut a half inch too big, dont know how that happened.
Got the tank levelled, glued up the plumbing returns, and started filling it up.
The stand i made out of 3/4" maple plywood, the top is a double layer of 3/4", its sitting on a toekick made of 3/4" plywood. Base is wrapped in maple solid stock 1x4. The doors are made out of 1x4 solid stock that i milled a profile onto and put some glass into a rabbit cut i put in the back.
The false drawer fronts I made out of 1x6 solid stock and milled a profile to match the doors. It is finished with a stain, then glaze, then laquer, lots of work but maple is tough to stain evenly and this process works great.

http://i902.photobucket.com/albums/ac222/catchandreleas/DSCN0532.jpg
http://i902.photobucket.com/albums/ac222/catchandreleas/DSCN0528.jpg
http://i902.photobucket.com/albums/ac222/catchandreleas/DSCN0525.jpg
http://i902.photobucket.com/albums/ac222/catchandreleas/DSCN0523.jpg

So now Im just going to let the tank settle for the night and hopefully by this weekend get it drained and fill it with RO water with a little salt in it.

Any feedback is welcome.

[Edmonton newbie]

great looking stand i always love maple

[Red Coral Aquariums]

Really nice!!!!

With the extra length on the stand I see room for an upgrade.

A couple questions though.

So your overflow is coming down through the air duct and then coming back up into the sump?

If so what is the height the overflow water has to come back up.

I am concerned that you could be restricting your output flow.

You might want to try 45 degree piping instead of the 90's

But then again it just might be me.

Also where is your emergency overflow run to?

Kevin

[catchandrelease]

Hey kevin,
The water has to come up only 18" into the sump for the main overflow. The emergency runs to the sump as well (same 18"rise), i just finished playing around with the locline to break siphon before the sump overflows.
The output flow is actually quite good, i was concerned with the 90's as well, im going to play around with it a little more and get things set up a little closer to where i want them, then i will have to see about changing the return plumbing.

Thanks for the responses.

[catchandrelease]

and also the stand is quite tall (36") so it is creating good siphon for the overflows with the hieght it has.

[Red Coral Aquariums]

Good to hear
Kevin

[catchandrelease]

The rock is all in, all the equipment is going and working well so far, all the plumbing was good except for one joint but is now fixed.
Pics will come tomorrow.

[rjengen]

Looks like you have taken your time and planned the build out way ahead of time man! I'll be tagging along on this one...and it's nice to see another one of Kevin's tanks being built on here, he sure does do great work!

[catchandrelease]

So i have had the rock in since saturday, but I havent had the chance to get any pics.
Last night I went and got some sand from Kevin at red coral, got it in the tank last night as well.
So I have never arranged rock before and was not sure what kinds of things look good and bad, but this is my attempt and I think it worked out pretty well, there are lots of openings and arches for flow and fish.
I did not use any zip ties or glue, I simply placed the rocks in positions where I thought they looked good and wouldnt be all packed together.
Let me know what you think about the set up so far.
I also got a few inches of live sand in my fuge with some rubble rock I had left from arranging, Ill take some picks of the mechanical room later.

http://i902.photobucket.com/albums/ac222/catchandreleas/DSCN0539.jpg
http://i902.photobucket.com/albums/ac222/catchandreleas/DSCN0540.jpg
http://i902.photobucket.com/albums/ac222/catchandreleas/DSCN0547.jpg
http://i902.photobucket.com/albums/ac222/catchandreleas/DSCN0550.jpg
http://i902.photobucket.com/albums/ac222/catchandreleas/DSCN0552.jpg
http://i902.photobucket.com/albums/ac222/catchandreleas/DSCN0555.jpg


One other thing, I havent noticed a hint of ammonia yet, how long does this generally take to start seeing, I want to get this baby cycled so I can spend more credit. :mrgreen:

[JDigital]

That water line is pretty high... Gonna make any maintenance in the tank a bit "sloshy" and messing..:wink: I had 1.5" on my 105G and I still have to take my time, as to avoid splashing water over the lip of the tank.


Very clean looking build though. Is that the only powerhead you are going to run? What are your plans?

I'd recommend minimum 2-3weeks to allow the tank to cycle. And then take it slow with your additions (if you can. haha)

[lastlight]

Some really nice tanks coming out of the RC corral lately I dig! If I ever build a custom tank again it will be rimless I am also loving it (on a smaller scale). How thick is your glass?

Stand looks boss too. I wish I had those skills!

Scape is nice too I especially like the right side. Lots of room for growth so get on it!

[catchandrelease]

That water line is pretty high... Gonna make any maintenance in the tank a bit "sloshy" and messing..:wink: I had 1.5" on my 105G and I still have to take my time, as to avoid splashing water over the lip of the tank.


Very clean looking build though. Is that the only powerhead you are going to run? What are your plans?

I'd recommend minimum 2-3weeks to allow the tank to cycle. And then take it slow with your additions (if you can. haha)


I cut the power to the pumps and powerheads for maintenance, drops the water line to a safe level and fills the sump. I cant resist though, i love a rimless with high water lines.

I had that powerhead given to me when i bought the rock, I am thinking of getting either another koralia2 and running side by side, or upgrading to two better powerheads, either way im going to have two on the back glass. In other words WTF should I do??

Im not going to add anything to the tank until my nitrites hit 0. That is why im wondering what is taking so long for my ammonia to show up.

[catchandrelease]

Some really nice tanks coming out of the RC corral lately I dig! If I ever build a custom tank again it will be rimless I am also loving it (on a smaller scale). How thick is your glass?

Stand looks boss too. I wish I had those skills!

Scape is nice too I especially like the right side. Lots of room for growth so get on it!

My bank account doesnt appreciate your pressure.:wink:

The glass is 3/8, should be 1/2 inch though, but i could care less about a slight bow. Where that tank is sitting they are standing in the wrong spot of they see the bow. Also, the bow is so small that if anyone notices I will just poke them in the eye...

Thanks for the stand compliment, the stand turned out quite well. I can thank my cabinetmaker for the amazing stain-job.

I agree with you on the scape, i think the right worked out much better than the left, I tried to make the left work as well but i couldnt quite get it. I dont quite have the touch some people have for making perfect scapes.

[catchandrelease]

I dont get it, my amonia levels are still zero. Either the rock that came from an established tank is eliminating the cycle, or there is nothing in the tank to bring up amonia levels.
What should I do?

[kevNnic]

it took my tank about 10 days to even notice any ammonia at all. But im not using all live rock, i do have some dry rock as well. My nitrates and nitrates have remained at zero though. I have heard upwords of two weeks for your ammonia to spike. Just give it a little more time and than test again.

[catchandrelease]

Does anybody have any suggestions on what to do for water movement in the tank, i need to do something more than the one powerhead eventually. Id love to do an MP20 or something like that for the clean look. But unfortunately between my tank and truck repairs im starting to keep my wallet in my pocket a little more.
Id like to hear some suggestions, and whatever i get has to be on the back glass, i cant put any powerheads on the side glass.
If it comes down to spending the cash on something like an mp10/20/40, could i do a mp10 on either side of the back pane?
give me your thoughts, thanks.
Scott

[rjengen]

Have you thought about running a couple of these in your tank? I know they are not the nicest looking things in the world...but it would get the job done, and if you decide to go with the MP10 down the road, they are fairly easy to sell and get some of you money back

http://www.jlaquatics.com/product/hy-kor03a/Hydor+Koralia+Evolution+Powerhead+%281050+GPH%29.h tml

[catchandrelease]

Ya that was some thing i had considered was to run two cheaper powerheads until i decide what i want for good. But if i can make up my mind right away it will save me the cost of the cheaper ones...I like to save money lol

[rjengen]

I might have missed it, what are you running for a return pump...and how are you running it? I split my return into two lines, and run lockline from the PVC plumbing with the 3" flare nozzles...it works pretty good as well...and I'm sure kevin has some kicking around :lol: I think if you're already looking at the MP line, then you're going to buy it down the line sometime. I was cheap when I started out on some stuff...and now 8 months later I am replacing it with the stuff I was looking at in the first place, and I'm starting to collect a bunch of stuff...food for thought I guess

[fishytime]

one thing about the koralias is the the magnet on the dry side is only 1/4" thick which means you can mount it pretty much anywhere(I have one mounted to the overflow box with the dry side submerged).....but if you want sheer water movement,adjust-ability and bling factor, then vortech

[catchandrelease]

I might have missed it, what are you running for a return pump...and how are you running it? I split my return into two lines, and run lockline from the PVC plumbing with the 3" flare nozzles...it works pretty good as well...and I'm sure kevin has some kicking around :lol: I think if you're already looking at the MP line, then you're going to buy it down the line sometime. I was cheap when I started out on some stuff...and now 8 months later I am replacing it with the stuff I was looking at in the first place, and I'm starting to collect a bunch of stuff...food for thought I guess


Im running a 700GPH return pump split into two lines as well. They go into the small 1" loc-line nozzles.

[catchandrelease]

Well its been a while since my last update, a few things have been added to the tank. Tank has finished cycling, the ammonia spike I had was very minimal followed by the same with nitrite and nitrate.

I found two very healthy looking clownfish at big als when i was in there for my FW tank and could not resist, they were brought in by someone who was shutting down their tank and were already paired up.

http://i902.photobucket.com/albums/ac222/catchandreleas/DSCN0590-Copy.jpg

Ive had two of these blue leg crabs in there from just after it was set up.

http://i902.photobucket.com/albums/ac222/catchandreleas/DSCN0595-Copy.jpg

I got this little guy a few days ago to get the sand moving around, it did a great job of making itself a cave in one of my rocks, and moving about one cup of sand on top of it in about 10 minutes. Since then i rarely see it out of there. Id like to see it moving around more often but unfortunately its quite shy, I hope it gets a little more comfortable and starts moving around the tank.

http://i902.photobucket.com/albums/ac222/catchandreleas/DSCN0572-Copy.jpg

While i was in buying the goby i decided i may as well try out a little coral and see what happens, so i picked up a ric about the size of my thumbnail, since putting it in my tank it has spread out a little and colored up nicely, I am quite suprised how well it settled in for my first ever coral. :biggrin:

http://i902.photobucket.com/albums/ac222/catchandreleas/DSCN0589-Copy.jpg

I also found this for sale from another member on canreef, couldnt help but buy it and the two controllable koralias from him. Unfortunately they are small koralias and Im now in the morket for a few bigger ones but i still think it was a good deal.



http://i902.photobucket.com/albums/ac222/catchandreleas/DSCN0597.jpg



So let me know what your guys think, feedback is greatly appreciated.