New 75g Reef Tank

[snakeblitz33]

Anyways, I just bought plumbing supplies and hopefully I can get a few things going this afternoon. I also bought wood for the stand and another ten gallon tank. The 5g ato tank I wanted to buy was $6 more than a ten gallon. Lol

 

[snakeblitz33]

I decided against using styrofoam and instead I'm just going to level it up from the base. Should be fine.

 

[snakeblitz33]

Just prepped the ato reservoir and the water change reservoir. Drilled a hole in the water change reservoir and installed the bulkhead.

Next I'm building the side stand and painting it and the ato and salt mixing tank sides black. I might make a small window to see the levels.

I also drilled a hole through the wall and ran a 1/4" line from the RO unit to the other side of the kitchen. Now when I get my stand set up, I just have to hook it up and I'll have water.

Hopefully I'll get some pictures up soon.

 

[snakeblitz33]

Just finished drilling two holes in my refugium.

Going to build a stand for the side tanks tomorrow morning.

The glass shop should be open on Monday and my RTV adhesive silicone should be here by Tuesday.

I'm going to probably drill my 75g tanks return tomorrow and leave it on the table. I still have four more 1" holes to drill and two more 1 1/2" holes to drill. (I'm talking about the bulkhead size, not the actual hole size).

I need to rub some vinegar inside the tank to get rid of some streaks and calcium buildup.

Oh, there is still a lot to do. A lot. But now the only three things that are keeping me from getting it wet is the adhesive silicone, the glass and the side stand.

Tonight I'm thinking about working on the electrical and setting up the apex.

 

[snakeblitz33]

I got the ten gallon tanks stacked and ready for a stand. They aren't in any certain order right now.

The top tank will be the fuge, which is the one with the two holes in the back. The middle tank is the one I needed to be filled quite a bit for water changes and the bottom tank is the one for the ATO. I'm thinking that the kalkwasser reactor will be put inside the ato reservoir if that's possible.

Whew, this is all coming together!!! I might be getting a tank up and running again this weekend!!

 

[aduvall]

Looking good!!

 

[eric b 125]

Could you tell me anything else about it besides "improved skimmer efficiency",... I read through the c2c thread on the other forum already.

Well, the surface skimming of a C2C was leagues above that of the G-holes kits I was using. I built mine so the side profile of it was triangular, rather than square or rectangular. That way the water would run down it, rather than falling into it. That also helped keep the shadowing to a minimum. The top of the box only stuck out about 1.5 inches from the back wall of the aquarium. I used smoked glass and smeared the inside of it with black silicone to blend it in with the back glass of the tank and hide the plumbing from the external B.A. Aside from it's better performance and silent operation, I think it had better aesthetics, too.

 

[snakeblitz33]

Watched American Sniper this afternoon. I feel more patriotic already. Great movie- go and see it.


I got the stand built and the tanks painted. Gonna stick them in the corner and set up the RO system.

 

[snakeblitz33]

I halfway considered using the old glass holes overflow and setting up the tank today- but I resisted.

The only thing in my way right now is having the glass cut for the bean animal overflow AND I'm going to have to buy some styro for the ten gallon tanks and considering doing the same for the acrylic sump.

Oh well, it will all come together really soon. I'm just glad I've gotten it done this far.

Affordable aquatic has yet to email me back. I'll email and call them again in the morning. I hope they didn't just steal my money.

 

[Dflo]

Hey Snake this might be a stupid question but the "egg crates" are they just lighting panels you can get at Home Depot,etc or are they something different

 

[snakeblitz33]

Yeah, they are lighting diffusers.

 

[Dflo]

Ok thanks just wanted to make sure

 

[trigger40]

looking good!

 

[eric b 125]

Yeah buddy! It's coming together nicely!

 

[snakeblitz33]

My glass will be ready at lunch. ;

 

[snakeblitz33]

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[snakeblitz33]

Fits together pretty well. I'm pleased. 1/4" thick glass should be fairly strong and last a long time. Using it in conjunction with momentum RTV silicone adhesive- I don't think it's going anywhere. I even had two triangles cut for extra support.

 

[snakeblitz33]

I'm putting holes in the bottom panel tonight and putting the tank on its side on the table and possibly drilling it this evening if I can hunt up some cardboard and putty. I got to cut the return hole this evening.

I didn't realize it, but I cut through tempered glass on one of the ten gallon tanks and it still didn't crack. I guess I just got really lucky.

So after this I can set the plumbing up, get some styrofoam for the water change station and level it up. I'm gonna cut some levels today at work.

Jeez, I wonder if I can get this tank filled this weekend. I hope so!! Gotta buy some instant ocean next.

 

[snakeblitz33]

I just drilled my return hole. I feel like it is seated way too far down and will drain too much water into the sump as it is. I think I'm going to add part of a locline to the vertex spinner and get it closer to the surfice so that I can drill a hole and not have to worry about the siphon so much.

I'm glad that I have a return hole cut in this new tank. That was one of the things that I really did not like about my last 75g.

Next is fitting and cutting the plumbing for the bean animal drain box and then drilling the holes in the bottom glass and installing everything. The silicone will be here tomorrow so that I can get the drain box siliconed up.

I still have to cut some wedges to level up everything before I can add water.

Anyways, it's all coming together rather quickly now.

I'm also going to try to hook up the RO unit to the sink and get the water tank hooked up by next week.

 

[eric b 125]

When I did the B.A. on my last tank, I drilled the glass before siliconing it together. Since it's a big hole in a relatively narrow piece of glass I didn't want it to crack and have to replace all of the glass pieces. I cracked the first one I tried to drill so I'm glad I did it that way. Man, I hate drilling glass. It's so unnerving.