New 75gal Reef Tank Step-By-Step Setup DIY

[PowerManJ316]

Hey all,
I am just starting a 75gal reef tank. Never had a SW tank before, but have had a FW tank for several years. I have been doing a lot of research and will hopefully be able to start putting this to work soon. I plan on doing nearly everything as a DIY project, and I will be needing lots of help I am sure. I will try to post pics for everything I do so I can get feedback before I actually build anything. Thanks in advance for all your help.
Jeff

[gwen_o_lyn]

to TRT !!

Look forward to seeing you build your tank. There are lots of good people here who will help you out.

[ChrisPrusha]

Welcome aboard!!! w0000000000000t!!!

And we love pics, too!!!

[Geoff]

Welcome to TRT!!!



what exactly are your plans? what DIY projects are you planning? have you thought about drilling your tank? what do you want to keep in there?

ha, and you thought you would be asking the questions.

ohh, pics, we want pics, even if it is the carpet that the tank may be sitting on. we are pic junkies. heck we even had a thread about tank pics. ohh, and you think this thread was about fish tanks, wrong!!!!

G~

[dobejazz]

Welcome to TRT!!!

[PowerManJ316]

Thanks for the warm welcome all, even though Im a noob, I already feel at home
While I have no real definite plans, I know I eventually want a nice variety of corals, and lots of little critters (shrimps, crabs, etc). I really want at least one Clam, perhaps a couple. I like anenomes also, though I dont want to sacrifice other coral space if the anenome will consume too much space. I have been reading that they can be troublesome with other corals. Oh yeah, and maybe a fish eventually. I have always been a big fan of the Lionfish, though I have been finding out that this may not be the most reef friendly or critter friendly fish.

As for the DIY projects, I hope to build my own...
Sump
Protein skimmer
Overflow
CLS
Top-Off System

Jeff

[wharyat]

Welcome to TRT!

Do some searching for the "Geoff skimmer," cheap and highly efficient.

Here is some great info on sumps and general reef tank setup.

[three90s&125sump]

Welcome to TRT.

When I first joined this forum I thought I would be asking all the questions but as Geoff put it "ha, and you thought you would be asking the questions. ".


You will be asked a barrage of questions from many of the members here. It is "our" way of getting the necessary info that "we" need to give you the most informed answers that "we" can supply you with.

This is an extremely rewarding hobby. The best piece of advise anyone here will give you is... be patient and research, research, research. I do a lot of research but I'm not so good at the patience part of it.

The geoff skimmer is the way to go for DIY skimmers. I'm not sure how many models there are for it, but, there is a standered venturi, down draft, recirculation, double and triple pass and I'm sure more.

DIY closed loops systems.

We can help you with a retro light kit.

I beleive I ran across a DIY calcium reactor design somewhere here.

There is a DIY sump, which is really simple but above your standard rubbermaid tub.

I once designed a DIY HOT overflow that worked but was very loud and flowed way to much water. I don't recomend it though.

I think there is even a DIY live rock recipe here some where.

Good luck!

[PowerManJ316]

Anyone have any recommendations for a cheap RO/DI unit. I have found this one on EBAY that looks decent and is reasonably priced.
http://cgi.ebay.com/Reef-Aquarium-RO...QQcmdZViewItem

Let me know what you think or if you have any other recommendations for decent RO/DI units at a good price.
Jeff

[Geoff]

RO/DI filters are an interesting discussion. i have heard that the life of the membranes has more to do with the inlet pressure than anything else. if you have low house pressure you will have problems getting a good supply of water. there are booster pumps to help those with low inlet pressures. the lower the inlet pressure the lower the good to bad water ratio is. this just gets even worse as time goes by. one with a flushing function is a good thing also for houses with low house pressure. i think i read low as being below 50 psi. it may have even been 60 i can not remember.

G~

[btang]

Welcome to TRT. We do love projects and pic's.

[traip93]

[welcome]

[three90s&125sump]

Geoff, I think average Home water pressure is aroung 40-45 PSI I think 60 is considered good water pressure. I think if membrane makers are claiming that 60 PSI is low they are just trying to cover up their faults by blaming someone else. I think (don't quote me on this one) that the max water pressure you can get physically off 3/4 inch non-assisted mains water is 80#.

Now with that being said, I have fairly good water pressure here. I have never measured it but I can have every faucet on, flush every toilet, washer, and have the roman bath spigot on downstairs and still not notice it when I'm in the shower up stairs. But, after only about 120 gallons out of my RO it has gone from 40 gallons a day to (last I checked it) 30 gallons per day. Thats with flushing it quite often, which, by the way, doesn't seem to make a differance.

I think pretty much every membrane is made the same (save for HI-S type), so, .....


Oh you know I just thought of this. I used one of the water maker kits to splice it into water line . It only pierces a very small hole in the line. I wonder if I would be better off getting a hose spigot and adapter and splicing the line with that?

Ok, OK I think I'm gonna try that. I bet I have one around here somewhere. I prolly shouldn't post this till I check that out.

[motorslave]

Welcome to TRT!!!! Youll find help and ideas for everything here!
Before you spend a dime, do research and decide on what type of coral you want. It is very possible and frequently done to have multiple types in a system but this can raise problems just from the nature of each type. Decide what you want and build the system around that type corals requirements. This will save you money and headaches down the line. Many people want to be the exception and thopugh it can be done, ask yourself this, how much moneu to you have to toss away and how much time do you want to spend dealing with issues that could have been avoided?
Also, dont buy any equipment or livestock without doing very extensive research first, this will also save you money! Ask here too, someone will have experiance with what you are asking about.
And, probably most important and most difficult is to be patient. Once you get water in the tank , wait, dont add any animals for at least a couple months. many do, then yoiu see posts like "Hair alagae, help!" and such. patientce will also save you alot of money and a huge amount of needless work and effort. A tank needs time to mature and stabilize. You cant tell visually. Time is your friend, the longer you wait the better! When you do styart to add livestock, do it slowly so that the bacteria have timew to ramp up and adjust to the new demands on them! HTH

Robert

[three90s&125sump]

I agree with you about all of it Robert but mostly the part about the patience.