My Official 75gal Build Thread...

[tpayne6]

I just joined and introduced myself about a two weeks ago and now I am starting to put together my tank. I just picked up my 75gal AGA RR tank from my LFS. The stand was also bought from them. I got the glass 30gal aquarium sump used from a friend. I have 50 pounds of base rock cooking right now from one or our local fish stores. I plan on buying another 25-50 pounds fairly soon. The mag 7 return pump is bought and I am using it for flow in my cooking process for the time being. Things left to get is as follows.

Already Purchased
-------------------------
-Stand
-Tank
-Digital thermometer
-Base rock
-200w heater
-Mag 7 return pump

Need to Purchase
-------------------------
-Octopus NW-150 skimmer
-2 Hydor Korila 4's
-Tek T-5 6x54w light kit(plus brackets to hold to the tank)
-More live rock
-Plumbing for sump
-Make bubble traps for sump
-Timer for lights
-Sand
-Rock lifts

Here is an album with all of the pictures of my tank.

http://tylerpayne.org/media/thumbnails.php?album=12

Please leave me some feedback or suggestions as this is my first large tank. I can't wait till I can start aquascaping, this initial cost with nothing to really look at is killing me!

[ChrisPrusha]

Looks good so far! Kudos to you for buying a RR tank!

[dobejazz]

Looks great ! I can't wait to see water in it

[Loverotties]

Looking good so far!

[tpayne6]

Not to much of an update, but I did get my megaflow overflow accessory kit today. I modified it and changed the bulkheads out. They were designed to have flexible pvc on the bottoms and I wanted a threaded end. I also had to add a threaded male to smooth female connector in order to reuse the rest of the kit. I have some water in it now to test out the bulkheads, so far I have no leaks!

http://tylerpayne.org/media/albums/u...7_11140002.JPG
http://tylerpayne.org/media/albums/u...7_11140005.JPG
http://tylerpayne.org/media/albums/u...7_11140007.JPG
http://tylerpayne.org/media/albums/u...7_11140008.JPG

As soon as I get my next paycheck, FlyGuy will be starting on my rock lifts.

[tpayne6]

I was finally able to add another 25 pound of live rock to my cooking batch. I received my octopus skimmer and was able to finally run the plumbing. The area at the bottom is for the mag 7 that I am currently using. I have sand ready to go in, along with water, I am just waiting on my rocklifts at the first of the year. January 2nd is student loan check time

Then I will be able to afford my lighting. Here are some pictures of how it sits currently.

http://tylerpayne.org/media/albums/u...icture_013.jpg
http://tylerpayne.org/media/albums/u...icture_014.jpg

[Fat Tony]

i see you got the NW 200 as well.. you will be pleased by that skimmer from all the reviews i have read. i just set mine up tonight so i have to wait for it to break in and my new 75 will be read to rock!

[Doug1]

Hopefully you have access to RO/DI water
Looks good, take your time and talk stuff out , as you can see from the number of build threads going we have a lot of people who have been there done that and have notes and pics. Ask the guys who are on the 3 rd rebuild how critical and cheaper a good plan is.
So ask away and post pics, have fun with it

[aquawolf]

Looks good and all of your patience will definitely pay off in the long term.

[Ratpack]

Any updates? I am working on a 75g with the same light fixture. Once I have the equipement, I will start my thread.

[tpayne6]

Sorry, I haven't posted in a while. I have added much over the holidays. I purchased my sand from a local fish store. I will be adding water when my rocklifts get here from flyguy in the beginning of next week. I purchased the Typhoon Stage III from airwaterandice. It should be here next Wednesday. All my plumbing is complete and the Octopus NW200 is in place.

Over much debate about the lights, I finally made my decision.
Many will be disappointed with my choice, but after looking at a friends fixture and examining its fit and finish, I decided to go with the

AquaTraders
2 250w MH
4 65w PC antinic supplement
w/ 6 built in moonlight LED's

There is a 4" fan in between the MH's. The bulbs state 15k on them, but look closer to 10k's. The LED's, Fan, MH's, and each strip of PC's are on different cords.

For $379 shipped, I could not beat the price. Even if I decide to change out the bulbs for XM 10k's, I will still be under the $500 mark. Even if I replace the ballasts with some IceCap or ARO ballasts, it will still be under other name brand fixtures.

http://tylerpayne.org/media/albums/u...re_001%7E0.jpg
http://tylerpayne.org/media/albums/u...re_002%7E0.jpg
http://tylerpayne.org/media/albums/u...re_003%7E0.jpg
http://tylerpayne.org/media/albums/u...icture_004.jpg
http://tylerpayne.org/media/albums/u...icture_005.jpg
http://tylerpayne.org/media/albums/u...icture_006.jpg


Here are some pics of the MH fully warmed up. The ballasts are electronic and get warm, but not scorching hot.

[tpayne6]

I forgot to add that I also bought 2 maxijet 1200's with the sureflow mod and have the larger impellers on them.

I tested these out in my cooking tub. Holy Cow do these ever move the water! I hope that I will not be blowing sand everywhere once everything is up and running.

I plan on running these on a red sea wavemaker or the JBJ OceanPulse.
Please feel free to leave any comments or criticizes.

[Sndwave80]

Nice! Keep us posted

[tpayne6]

I finally got my rock lifts from flyguy. They turned out pretty good.
Here sore some pictures of them.

http://tylerpayne.org/media/albums/u...re_003%7E2.jpg
http://tylerpayne.org/media/albums/u...re_002%7E2.jpg
http://tylerpayne.org/media/albums/u...re_001%7E2.jpg
http://tylerpayne.org/media/albums/u...re_004%7E1.jpg

Right after that, I started adding sand and water to the tank. Here are those pictures, it is a milkshake right now. I am working the overflow to the max. I have the mag 7 full throttle. I have a ball valve if I need to bring it down some. The skimmer is working very well. I can't turn my two maxijet 1200s with mods on at the same time, I get a sandstorm. I am pretty happy with my aquascaping. I have lots of little nooks and crannies in the rocks. I am super pleased with the way it turned out.

http://tylerpayne.org/media/albums/u...re_006%7E1.jpg
http://tylerpayne.org/media/albums/u...re_008%7E2.jpg
http://tylerpayne.org/media/albums/u...re_009%7E0.jpg
http://tylerpayne.org/media/albums/u...icture_010.jpg
http://tylerpayne.org/media/albums/u...re_011%7E0.jpg
http://tylerpayne.org/media/albums/u...re_012%7E1.jpg

[aquawolf]

Looking very good so far. It is going to take some very creative positioning of those power heads to keep from creating a sand storm. You may also want to wait a little before putting them in the tank so the sand can get some bacteria on it and settle more first.

Good luck!