Ford's 75 Gal. Reef Build: Up & Running PICS!

Well A few Weeks ago my 23 year old brother decided to move out. Now his room sits empty. Its the master bedroom of the house and my parents have offered it to me. Gladly, I accepted! I am taking the opportunity to renovate the empty room to my liking and also build a whole new reef center piece! This is going to be a slower build, just a warning, however i will post updates and pictures as I go along.

I Have decided to go with a marineland corner flo 75 gal tank. and a 40 gal b sump. I plan on using a Herbie overflow with 2 1" overflows and a mag 12 return pump over the side.

If anyone has this sort of set up with this tank can you please post pics so i can get ideas?


- Reef Octopus 150 6"
- Mag 12 Return
- 2 MP10es
- DSB
- 250 watt heater
- JBJ ATO
- 6 Bulb 48" T5HO
- GFO Reactor
- Waterfall Algae Scrubber

Demolition





Floor laid with engineered hickory wood. Ceiling and walls painted



Got some custom trim painted and installed, started moving in!







Here is where the tank is going, directly across from the bed for perfect viewing.



The 75 gal cornerflo



40 gal sump used for $25



Aquatic Life 6 Bulb T5HO fixture with moonlights and timer all for $250!



Mag Drive 12 For $70! For return pump



Reef Rock



Return Pump semi plumbed... i installed a gate valve with a hose barb connector to adjust flow rate and for easy water changes.



Reef Octopus 150 6"

 

Definitely interested to see your build! I just started working on a new 75 gallon and have the sand and 1/2 of the rock in now.

Piece of advice #1- take your time building it and definitely plan everything out (looks like you are off to a good start)

I've heard good things about Reef Octopus skimmers, but don't have any experience with them personally.

The other thing I would say is you may want a second power head, as 4ft. is a long distance for just one MP10. I just bought 2 MP10's for my 75I don't think you will need another MP10, but you might just want a standard PH for the opposite side to help eliminate any dead spots.

 

i plan on using the bulk reef supply reef saver rock and a few pieces of premium coralline covered rock to help with the cycle and coralline seeding. i also plan on using maybe a single bag of live sand. the rest i plan to buy 'dead'. where is the best, most reasonably priced place to buy ultra fine grained dead aragonite? i plan on a dsb around 4" deep maybe.

 

Looking great.

Subscribed.

 

looks great, same sump design as mine! only difference is the baffles are right after the skimmer in mine. I use a mag 9.5, it is nice. But it is pretty large. Hope you have enough room for all you plan to put in there. I used a 30 long for my sump.

 

Thanks for the interest man!

Yeah iam hoping that the standard 29 will work. i will have to drop the skimmer, return pump and other goodies in to dry test it before gluing in baffles. I might have to swap out for a 30 long. I also only used 1 baffle between the skimmer and fuge because i want all the detritus to settle in the fuge and no where else.

 

I made a quick sketch up of the stand and tank. The dimensions labeled are only approximate, not exact!

I'm getting a new Marineland 75 Gal Corner Flo for $180 next weekend when i get home from vacation!

I think a painted white stand with pretty blue lights will look great.

 

Stocking List:

Here is what I am considering:

- Clown (Already Have)
- Blue Yellow Tail Damsel (Already Have)
- Yellow Tang
- Six Line Wrasse
- Orchid Dotty-Back

Any opinions? Should I go with more fish?

I have also decided to go with a 40 breeder sump/fuge as this will improve the overall health of the system and allow me to upgrade to the 6" Reef Octopus Skimmer.

I am installing two of these fan units into the sides of the stand to create a cross flow of air as well.

 

New light fixture

I just got done a small bidding war for an Aquatic Life 48" T5HO 6 bulb fixture at 4 months old, and sealed the deal at $250! How'd I do? It retails for about $530

AquaticLife T5 HO 6-Lamp Light Fixture w/ Lunar LEDs

 

I like what you've done so far. Thats a very good fixture, I had one for about 18 months, never let me down.

Be aware that if you put a sixline wrasse in the tank, you will most likely not be able to add any other types of wrasses.

Glad to see a 40 gal sump. Bigger sump is always better! ;D

You will have a gate valve on one of your drains, and strainers on top of both the drains, correct?