I have thought about that. My one concern with that I have with that is I have 2 stupid and curious cats that seem to take a increased interest in all the fish stuff. They would definitely eat or chew up the mangroves.

I have thought about trying to make a separate cabinet to hold any electronic stuff and controllers I would need.

You could probably find a tower or small shelving unit from ikea that you could make work. Just an idea as most of their decor will match most homes.

Actually that is a pretty good idea. I could put all the equipment outside the main stand...

I should look into that!

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:biggrin: best of luck!

Ok, your budget is reasonable (provided that is equipment only), so if you stick with the 75-gallon you're planning on you can get all the bells and whistles as long as you don't spend too much on a stand. By bells and whistles I mean a freshwater auto top off system, a good quality protein skimmer, etc. However, that is not enough budget to get good quality LED lights if that's what your heart is set on. Personally, I don't like LED as the main light source anyway, so I don't see this as a drawback. I highly recommend the ATI brand T5 fixtures. They are the best ones on the market and will grow any coral you want. Your budget is also not big enough for a custom cube tank with stand and custom sump.

Also, I think the 75-gallon tank is a great size to start with. The dimensions are really nice. I like the more "square from the side" dimensions because the tank is easier to aquascape. Tanks that are taller than they are wide, such as 90-gallon tanks, are more difficult to aquascape, and usually allow less swimming room for the fish between the front glass and the rocks. I like to see the fish a lot, so I like there to be lots of space between the rocks and the front glass.

Random comments on your fish choices...there are some reef-safe Angelfish (such as Watanabei), but they all get too large for a 75-gallon tank. Any of the Dwarf Angelfish (such as the Flame Angel) would be suitable for your tank size, however they are not 100% reef-safe. There are some individuals that are totally reef-safe, but most of them will bite corals causing various amounts of damage. Sometimes they only bother one type of coral, sometimes they bite everything. Lots of people say they are 50/50 reef-safe, but in my experiences it is more like 80/20 that they will bite corals.

Also, there are few fish that actually "school" in a home-sized aquarium. The reason they shoal in the wild is that there is danger being alone, so they shoal up - safety in numbers. At home they realize nothing will hurt them, so they stop shoaling. There are a few that have strong shoaling behavior though, and tend to mainly stick together. These are some of the Cardinalfish such as the Blue Eye Cardinals and Red Spot Cardinals.

I started with an Aqueon 75g Reef Ready. I didn’t like the internal overflow as it took up too much real estate and made getting good surface flow difficult as the box is offset to one side. It also interfered with my MP10s.
I now have a 75g which I drilled and installed a ghost overflow. Very happy with it.
I would have preferred a coast to coast overflow, but that’s too pricey for me

I love those ghost-style overflows. I currently have a false back wall on my tank creating a built-in coast to coast overflow, and I think my next tank will have a ghost-style overflow instead since they are so clean looking on the inside of the tank. The only drawback that I don't like is that the piping runs down the back of the tank, and what I do like about my built-in overflow is that the bulkheads are on the bottom of the tank, and the piping is all under the stand. I wish there was a best of both worlds. Haha

Aww man. I was definitely hoping to get a LED light. That may have to be a future purchase I guess. For the ATI lights, how many bulbs should I be looking at? I see they have 4,6 and 8 bulb versions. I am kinda realizing that the cube tank will just be too expensive. The wife will be so sad!

I thought the 75 gallon would be best to start with. Not too big or too small. I think it should give me enough room to have a wide variety of fish to choose from. Unlike the current 10 gallon.

Good to know about the flame angels. I had read that they can be hit and miss, but they look so cool! I will have to do more research on the fish. I'm more focused on just getting the tank setup and not screwing up that part!

Where did you get the 75 gallon reef ready from?

I do like the look of those ghost overflows. They take up much less room. Are they easy to install? Keeping in mind I have never drilled a tank before.

I'm going to look into these ghost overflows more. Seems like it would be a good space saver inside the tank.

Is there a reason for not liking the piping going down the back of the tank or is it just how it looks?

If you're really wanting a cube tank, you may be able to get something smaller like 24 x 24 x 20" tall or something (this is 50 gallons), and use an AI Prime HD to light it (that's a good-quality LED fixture) which are only $249.99. Honestly though, 24" for the Prime is really stretching it. I'd be more inclined to put it over 18 x 18". Even on 18 x 18" you'll get a spotlight look to the tank where the middle has a lot more light than the edges. I actually kinda dig that look, and you can get really creative with using that spotlight to great effect.

If you want to stick with the 75-gallon then you'd want to use (3) AI Prime HD (or a different fixture altogether). There just isn't a way to light a 75-gallon tank with good quality LED for less than about $800. That's a big chunk out of your budget.

For the ATI, for a 75-gallon tank you would probably not need more than 4 bulbs. 6 bulbs would end up being more light than you need for LPS corals. If you were doing an SPS tank I'd suggest 6 bulbs. The ATI fixtures are high-end and provide the corals with more usable light than other fixtures (especially when combined with ATI bulbs), so you can use less bulbs than a cheap fixture.

If I were you I would buy a cheap 5-gallon tank from PetSmart or something and practice drilling it - one hole in each pane. A 5-gallon tank is tough to drill because the glass is very thin and it breaks easily. For this reason, it is great to practice on. I think they are $20 to buy or so. If you can drill a 5-gallon you can EASILY drill a 75-gallon.

I don't like to see the piping which is why I don't like the piping running down the back. I don't care what color the piping is, I just don't want to see it.

I think I am going to stick with the regular 75 gallon tank. I don't feel like the cube tank is worth the extra money for me.

$800 just on lights might be a little much for me.. at least right now. Depends on how the rest of the build goes. Might wait to buy lights last.

For corals I would like some SPS and LPS. So maybe I should go with the 6 bulb version. I don't want to be limited in the corals I can keep like I am now with my 10 gallon.

Buying a 5 gallon and practicing on that is a good idea. Then I can get some confidence for trying it on the big tank.

2 questions

What should I be looking for when buying a stand? For freshwater it's will the stand hold the tank and can the filter fit underneath. I am sure there is more to think about with reef tanks.

What should I be looking for in the external overflows? I am guessing longer is better?