finished converting my 75
- Thread starter banshee
- Start date
fishman830
Active Member
sweet man!nice pics!!
banshee
Member
It is a 210 drilled on both sides. 3 250 watt 10,000K Ushio halides and 2 140 watt actinic VHOs built into a custom box that sits on top of the canopy. I don't know how many gallons the sump is because it is just the wet/dry that came with it (minus the bio balls and filters). I think it's holding about 20 gallons of water. Oh yeah, and a Little Giant pump. 3 Maxijet 900 powerheads hooked up to a Red Sea Wavemaker. I think it is 800 GPH. I added a lot of base rock and then just put everything I had from my 75 in it. Here is a pic of the wet/dry (converted to just a sump) with the pump.
clarkiiboi
Active Member
Looks great! I keep kicking around the idea to upgrade my 75 to a 150 I have sitting empty, but the move is just freaking me out. (all the what if's). How did you go about the switch, details would be much appreciated. Again, tank looks wonderful!
banshee
Member
Dugan.....the box that sits on the canopy is DIY. A friend of mine made the fixture and cut a hole in the top of the canopy....it just sits right on top.
ClarkiiBoi....it was not too difficult to do. But it took a couple of weeks. I set up the tank and added about 60 pounds of dry new, dry sand (mistake). Then I placed alot of base rock on the sand. Then I put fresh (non salt) water in. At this point it looked like I had a 210 gallon jug of milk. Rinsing of the rocks and sand would have been a good idea in hindsight. That's what took the most time....clearing up the tank. I put some filters in the wet/dry, but it really wasn't clearing up. After about a week it still wasn't really clearing up, so I added salt, a couple of more filters, and a 20 pound bag of live sand. The tank cleared up after a couple of days. Then I drained the water out of the old tank and sump into 5 gallon buckets and put the corals and rocks into them....drained about 85 gallons from the new tank....then placed the rocks in the new tank, then the corals. The transfer took only about 3 hours. I know I wasted 85 gallons of salt water, but I thought that would be the easiest, less time consuming way. Anyway, I am glad I am done!
:cheer: :cheer:
ClarkiiBoi....it was not too difficult to do. But it took a couple of weeks. I set up the tank and added about 60 pounds of dry new, dry sand (mistake). Then I placed alot of base rock on the sand. Then I put fresh (non salt) water in. At this point it looked like I had a 210 gallon jug of milk. Rinsing of the rocks and sand would have been a good idea in hindsight. That's what took the most time....clearing up the tank. I put some filters in the wet/dry, but it really wasn't clearing up. After about a week it still wasn't really clearing up, so I added salt, a couple of more filters, and a 20 pound bag of live sand. The tank cleared up after a couple of days. Then I drained the water out of the old tank and sump into 5 gallon buckets and put the corals and rocks into them....drained about 85 gallons from the new tank....then placed the rocks in the new tank, then the corals. The transfer took only about 3 hours. I know I wasted 85 gallons of salt water, but I thought that would be the easiest, less time consuming way. Anyway, I am glad I am done!
:cheer: :cheer:
fishman622
Member
looks really good:joy: :jumping:
clarkiiboi
Active Member
Thanks Banshee, thats about how I figured it. 2 questions if you dont mind....why did you wait to add the salt? I didnt on my 75gall. 2 years ago, but I was new then and did what the LFS said, is there a reason not to? Also, did you use anything to get the cycle started besides just the dry sand and base rock? thanks.
banshee
Member
I waited to add the salt because I just wasn't sure which direction I was going to go. I thought I could drain 95 (old 75 gallon tank and sump) gallons of fresh water, then add the salt and not waste the salt. I decided it would just be easier to add all of the salt then drain it. If I drained it first then added the salt, there would not be enough water in the tank for it to run and for it to circulate. I think I ended up doing the easier thing, but wasted salt. Deciding if I was ok with wasting all of that salt was the only reason.
So....after adding all of the salt I waited a couple of days for it to mix, then added the 20 lb bag of live sand and waited a couple more days...I know not long enough for a cycle, but to just start the process. I think this also helped clear the milkiness (sp?) from the tank faster because it cleared up pretty fast after that. I know there will be a cycle, but I don't think it will be that bad. It's been up a couple of weeks now (using my old PC lights at first, and the new lights for about a week), and everything is doing great so far (knocking on some wood right now).
So....after adding all of the salt I waited a couple of days for it to mix, then added the 20 lb bag of live sand and waited a couple more days...I know not long enough for a cycle, but to just start the process. I think this also helped clear the milkiness (sp?) from the tank faster because it cleared up pretty fast after that. I know there will be a cycle, but I don't think it will be that bad. It's been up a couple of weeks now (using my old PC lights at first, and the new lights for about a week), and everything is doing great so far (knocking on some wood right now).
clarkiiboi
Active Member
Hope all goes well in the next few weeks. Thanks for the info.
cliffrouse11bas
Active Member
Looks sweet good luck. Hope you dont have a algae bloom...