coralreefer's 75 gallon build

[coralreefer]

so,
when i was driving yesterday my friend called me. and she offered me a 75 gallon standard tank for FREE

the only thing she had in it was water, because she never got around to put fish or anything in it.
here is my plan:
i currently have a 75 gallon reef set up right now. i am going to drill this new tank with a built in overflow. then, fill it half way up with saltwater and cycle it with some live rock and sand from my current DT. after the cycle is done, i am going to transfer all of my live rock, live sand, livestock, and water to the new tank. once that is done, i will work on the plumbing for the new tank BEFORE the water level reaches that on the overflow. the old display tank will be the sump for the new DT.
I'm picking the tank up today at about noon, so ill post some pics of it when i get it

 

[coralreefer]

i also need some help with gph, plumbing, and such. i dont need that many gph for return because i have a vortech pump which is more than adequate flow for my tank

 

[thehorndaddy]

Sounds like a great plan. That will be one nice, big sump setup. It's always nice to get free tanks or accessories!!!

 

[coralreefer]

ah, i picked it up and it was a 55 not a 75

so, im gonna try to find a cheap pre-drilled online. do you know of any stores online where i can get those?

 

[coralreefer]

also, could i transfer my rock, water and sand to the new tank without problems or would it cause a mini cycle?

 

[coralreefer]

also, could i get an all glass aquarium to drill it or do i have to get a special kind?

 

[cmaxwell39]

I am not sure if all glass aquariums have tempered glass on the bottom or not. If it does you will have to drill the back instead of the bottom.

 

[coralreefer]

ok thanks thats not a problem. also, can i transfer all of my water and livestock to the new tank in one day without causing a mini cycle?

 

[cmaxwell39]

I would think that you could move everything in a day. The only thing that I would be worried about is stirring up the sand too much. Other than that if you move all the rock, water and livestock over it shouldn't cause a cycle.

 

[coralreefer]

i would put the sand in first and then put the rock and water in

 

[thehorndaddy]

That's how I did mine. Transfered from 40 to 75 in one day without cycling. Took the original water and added more. Did the sand first, rocks, then more water. Just like a 40-50% water change. Shouldn't cause a mini-cycle.

 

[coralreefer]

awesome. i think im going to include the turf algae filter on the boards in my sump.

 

[coralreefer]

i also need a lot of help with the stand. it looks like im getting a 90 gallon acrylic tank w/ built in overflow. the sump is going to be a 55 gallon, so im definetely going to have to build a custom stand. i dont know anything about weight distribution or anything, all i know is the stand will be wood. so, any help is appreciated.
thanks

 

[coralreefer]

here is my sump design. the red stands for pvc, the gray it where water comes out, and the green thing in the sump is a sprayer filter. tell me what you think and please correct all of my errors

 

[coralreefer]

also, the tank im getting has an overflow that is rated for 600-900 gph. i dont know much about return pumps, so could you guys give me some budget happy pump recommendations?
thanks

 

[coralreefer]

im getting the tank for $95

 

[coralreefer]

here are some pics of the tank. the dimensions are 48"L, 18"D, 24"H. these pics are from the store im buying it from, so it hasn't been cleaned out yet

also, because it's 24" tall, should i upgrade to MH? i have a nova extreme pro right now and i was wondering if that would be better, but i don't want to spend extra money if i don't have to.

 

[posiden]

I am not trying to be rude but, you should ask them to clean it for you and then send you a better pic all cleaned up. Then you will see if, and how badly scratched the tank is or might be.

 

[coralreefer]

it doesn't look that badly scratched up, and im getting it for $95 so its kinda a good deal. but the overflow is rated for 600-900 gph. would a mag 9.5 or mag 10 suffice for 4 foot head loss?

 

[posiden]

How many feet of horizontal run will you have in addition to the 4 feet vertical?
How many 90's?
How many 45's?
How many returns? Will it split at the end?
How many unions?
What size pipe?
Any ball valves on the return?