A Newcomer's 75g In-Wall Build (1 Viewer)

[cliner]

I think the mega overflows are what is in my tank.

 

[cliner]

Yup, standpipe, overflow, identical to mine.

 

[evolution159th]

Gotta get some bulkheads asap. Drilling the tank tomorrow. Got the bit today... I made my diy sink for my fish room out of a small rubbermaid tote... It works but its not fancy for sure. I will be running a drain and tying my rodi waste line into it too... I am taking my time with the part of the build to make sure I think everything out. Im sure cliner can chime in when I say that I am anal about some particular things. minor details kill me if I dont figure them out before hand. In a few days I will be up and running... Hopefully =)

 

[evolution159th]

This is a link that describes the multi level intake however this is a corner design. Mine is designed to sit flat against the back wall, but I couldn't find a link for it.

http://www.fosterandsmithaquatics.c...ubref=AA&ci_src=14110944&ci_sku=0018699000000

Yeah that is a pretty sweet package... I would definitely have to modify it some but the problem I am having now is that I am drilling the back of the tank in the corners so I have to have enough room to get my fittings out of the bulkhead which is proving to be a real pain. The way I have it planned the baffles will have to be about 12" and would meet the back wall and the side wall at about 8 inches from the corners. That is barely enough room for me to be able to put my hand in there and fit a elbow in the bulkhead... I plan to put the flanged side of the bulkhead on the inside of the tank for what its worth.

 

[evolution159th]

It is possible that the kit would make it a little easier if I was just going to have my one overflow pipe in there because its rounded a little but it looks like its fairly small and that elbow needs atleast 3.25 inches without my hands in the way so it will be very tricky. I wonder if jamie could bend them to make them like that but custom....? have to call him tomorrow

 

[evolution159th]

Okay, decided to go with square corner overflows. I've got the tank drilled and will be getting the acrylic to make the overflows and the plumbing early this week. Finished the a/c vent today and the room is cooling off well. I need to insulate and sheetrock the rest of the inside and tape and float. The progress may be a little slower due to higher priorities, but I will post pics of the progress...

 

[Llama]

I think you made the right choice. Dual corners will take less useful space in the tank which will be great for the 75. The rear corners are the hardest to get surface skimmed in my tank.

Keep up the good work!

 

[evolution159th]

Okay a little update while I have time in between spending every penny I have on this crazy endeavor and working my ********* off trying to support my family at the same time... Lmao... Wow I was not prepared for the financial part of this what so ever...


Anyways, I have my acrylic for the overflows and a router to start working on the teeth etc. I have 90% of my plumbing for the tank and today went and picked up a coralife 48" fixture with 2 250w halides and a couple PCs for actinic. Cant beat $200.00 for the set up. Ill throw up pics when I can of the progress. Still trying to figure out what I am going to do about a door for the fish room but I think I am going to use a 32" door that I have laying around and just build a frame for it. I will be priming and painting the room today and hopefully getting the overflows done sometime this weekend or next week.

The water in my sump has been equalizing with the house a/c ever since I connected the ducting to the fish room and I have a couple trash bags blocking the door so most of the air stays inside... Once I get a door it may stay a couple degrees cooler in there... Until i put my lights in there atleast.. lol The fixture has places for 2 fans but only has one so I will probably upgrade the one and throw another one in to help move the hot air around some. I will also run a fan across the top of the tank and sump for additional air flow in the room.

I am still pulling for "no chiller" but we will see how everything likes it before Ill really know if I pulled it off or not.

I made a couple orders and found some good deals so I have test kits, fish food, refractometer, powerheads, bulkheads, loc line, timers, and a couple other various things headed here as we speak... As soon as I get everything I can start throwing it together and see how it works out.


Keep checking this thread b/c the good part is still to come. If im not jumping the gun again I should have everything up in atleast 2 weeks if not sooner.


As for livestock....

AAAhaAHAHAahahaAHhahaa!!! I can't afford it... so

If anyone would like to donate frags or anything super generous, just let me know... My PM box awaits you!

 

[Llama]

Reefing on a budget very possible if you stay alert, know what you need (or can research quickly), and have a bit of patience.

You can always sell or trade the fixture for a nice 4-6 bulb T-5 retro kit IF you end up with overheating. They work well in keeping down

 

[evolution159th]

So far I have managed my budget pretty well... The cost for the project so far could have easily surpassed $2000.00. Luckily I have only spent MAYBE half of that if not less.

I do still have to buy sand, a couple powerheads, salt, and a RO/DI set up though... Ill say no more than $300.00 for all of that when im through.

 

[Llama]

With my latest equipment purchase I have crashed through the $2000 limit I had originally planned to spend on my tank. If you got a fish room out of that you should be very pleased.

I still don't have an RO/DI. Water gives me an excuse to go to the LFS.

 

[evolution159th]

LOL! yeah that would be bad news for me. All the LFS does to me is make me want to gouge out my eyes so I cant see the ridiculous pricing of everything... lol I will try to get as much from fellow members and trades as possible without dishing out crazy cash at the fish store.

 

[evolution159th]

Room is almost prepped for paint.. Did some patching and skimming of the walls to make everything somewhat neat in there... I will sand and reapply joint compound when I get off work tomorrow and hopefully be able to paint tuesday. Should get all my orders in by the end of the week!! THEN... Plumbing.

Oh wait... Forgot I need to hang the lights first... THEN... Plumbing.


I guess I will go take some pics right quick so noone gets antsy...

 

[evolution159th]

Tank room taped and floated.

This wall had all kinds of flaky paint and holes. I skimmed the whole wall and patched a few holes... Another coat of drywall compound and It will be good as new. If you didnt notice I am by no means a sheetrocker, but I have had my fair share of experiences with sheetrock in the home remodel.

Ceiling almost ready for paint and light hangers.

Sump still chillin from 77 to 80 degrees skimmers is pulling out nasty thick skimmate even with hardly any load at all.

I did have a quite a few hitch hikers on my LR it seems. I noticed a good amount of little spongy black balls on the rocks that after in the new water and having salinity and pH right for a few days started to pop up little zoa like dudes. Not sure if they are bad or good but I figure with the crappy light I had they are so small I couldnt get pictures. I did however get pictures of some kind of coral or anemone that is growing out of what looks to be a coral skeleton. If anyone could ID it that would be cool. Cliner said maybe a duncan coral... In these pics it was somewhat "retracted?" but most of the time the polyps or "fingers?" are longer and have a white dot on the tip of each one. Of course they are clear but I suppose that is because there is no light on the sump right now? Someone help me out here. I tried to get good pics but they all suck.

 

[evolution159th]

Pic of the DIY durso standpipe that I built. Pretty ghetto fabulous if you ask me... Haha! It will function the same way, and doesnt look half bad. I may cut the strainer length down some though. The main function is the noise reduction because I couldnt find anything to fit tightly over the 1" overflow pipe to make it adjustable like the dursos. I dont really care about that though because when I find the right height I will make them both the same size and not really have to worry about it again.

This is one of the overflow boxes I am making cut to size and the teeth cut. I tried to use a router but without a table or a bunch of jigs it wasnt happening... Resorted to a rednecks best friend. My chop saw. Made a little jig to stop the piece of acrylic so the teeth would be the same depth and locked my saw into the down position. Then I tied the trigger so the saw would stay on and used it sort of like a table saw. lol It damn sure did the trick. Dimensions are 9"x5". I will be using a torch to heat the acrylic and bend it for corner overflow boxes. Once I get the loc line fittings I will figure out what size notch to cut in the side of the boxes for the return line.

Excuse the ridiculous mess in my garage...

 

[flexrac]

nothing ghetto about your durso, in fact it looks really good. question about the strainer, aren't you afraid it wil clog from algae and slow your drainage?
what's the benefit to the length you are using?

 

[evolution159th]

nothing ghetto about your durso, in fact it looks really good. question about the strainer, aren't you afraid it wil clog from algae and slow your drainage?
what's the benefit to the length you are using?

I will be cutting down the length... I didnt know if I was going to get the flow I wanted from the DIY strainers so I decided to make them longer thinking it might help with that. Now that I have it all put together I am almost sure I will cut a few inches off of them.


Went by City Pets today and picked up salt and sand. BTW they have boxes of ReefCrystals for $55 there right now... I am using Caribsea Seaflor special grade aragonite sand and ReefCrystals salt. Using Caribsea Aragamax Oolitic for the RDSB but I have yet to find anyone locally that has it in stock.

My little girl had to pitch in hers too! Funny look on her face.

Today I finished the sheetrock work and primered the stand and walls inside. 3 coats of KILZ2 latex stainblocker does the trick. Hoping that will somewhat protect my wood from water damage and everyday spills. Also mounted the bracing for the lights and hung them above the tank location. As I was testing the lights I noticed that I got one 10000k bulb and one 14000k from the guy I bought it from. Lucky me. Now I get to try and find someone who wants to swap a 10k for a 14k. lol LMK if you wanna swap. Will be finishing up on the overflow boxes tomorrow and hopefully getting them siliconed in place so I can run tests wednesday. Got my bulkheads today and expecting 2 more orders tomorrow with the rest of the plumbing parts. I will also be starting on the false rock background as soon as I can get around to it and find some aquarium foam. I dont imagine it will be much longer until this thing is blazing through the wall into my dining room for all to enjoy. Im getting antsy now.

 

[Llama]

Lookin good!!!!!!

 

[r_jay]

Very Nice indeed, I am working on a stand right now, fun stuff. I have a 14K 250W Double-ended MH if you are interested in a trade, it is about 3 months old but I only used it 4-6 hours a day max

 

[evolution159th]

Almost have to overflows done. I heated and bent the boxes today with a handy little micro torch from harbor frieght for 10.00. I have to trim them up and make my cut out for the return lines tomorrow, then I will silicone them in and run tests 24 hrs later. Tank should be in the wall this weekend if I dont decide that I want to do anything else last minute. I may poly coat the top of the stand though. Not sure yet.

Ill post pics of the overflow install tomorrow im tired. Going to bed.