Starting a 75 Gallon Reef

[IndoorOcean]

Found a great deal on a 75 gallon tank the other day... FREE!!!! I haven't even seen the tank yet, so I don't really know too much about it other than it has no leaks and is not drilled. I'm supposed to pick it up next Wednesday, so we will see how it turns out then. But whatever the outcome, it's free, so I can't really complain about it.

I'm getting pretty excited because I've been wanting to get a bigger tank for a while, but just hadn't pulled the trigger. My 20 gallon just isn't doing it for me any more.

I need your help in planning this set up. I've got all kinds of ideas about what I want, and I hope you can help me decide on something. It will be 3-6 months before I can actually set it up and fill with water (doing some minor renovations to my house and looking to buy a new one) so we've got lots of time to talk about this. I think that's good, because otherwise I would have this baby set up within a few weeks and then have lots of regrets later about some of the choices I made.

So where do we start???? How about whether or not to drill the tank? I think the answer is that I definitely should. But I'm not sure if I should go with 1 or 2 overflows. And if I go with one, should it be corner or center? I'm not too confident that I can drill it myself... in fact, I'm just not going to even attempt it. So who do I go to about getting this done? And does anyone have a rough idea about how much it costs? I don't want to spend a lot because I can get a brand new AGA 75 RR for less than $300.

There's still lots to talk about, but I'll leave it at that for the first post. Hopefully I have some pics of the tank next Wednesday.

[pv1191]

I'm just starting a 50g and I drilled one in the top center of the tank. I want alot of flow for sps so I got a mag 12. My overflow is 1 1/4. If I had to do it again I would have gone with dual 1 in on the bottom. But it works fine. I just had to install a ball vlave to slow my return a bit.

[IndoorOcean]

If I go with two overflows how large shoud the drain and return be?

[davidryder]

1" drain and 3/4" return

[IndoorOcean]

Thanks. So what about the cost to get two 1" and two 3/4" holes drills and overflow boxes installed?

[TarheelFrag]

Just had a buddy drill out his tank. The LFS charged him 20 bucks to drill one 1 inch hole.

[davidryder]

the holes themselves shouldn't be more than $100 total, but if you have someone install the overflows you will probably get close to the cost of a new aquarium.

you could probably drill the holes yourself. just get a diamond glass bit, draw a circle with a sharpie, and "carve" the hole out. just make sure you keep water running over it to cool it. it doesn't have to be a perfect circle as the plumbing parts will create the seal on the surface of the glass, and not the inside of the hole.

you can also make your own overflows with black acrylic and black silicon. you can use a router to cut the slots in the top. you have time anyway, right?

[IndoorOcean]

You're right, I do have lots of time. I guess the worst case scenario is that I crack the glass on a free tank. What if the bottom of the tank is tempered glass? I've heard you can't drill that. I would prefer that my drain and return be in the bottom.

[davidryder]

ahhh... yeah the bottom will probably be tempered, which is very risky to drill. hmmm... i was thinking running the plumbing from the top... maybe someone else will have an idea about getting the pipes in from the bottom.

i have a corner overflow in my 90 then i ended up running a closed loop on the outside lol...

[IndoorOcean]

i am not completely opposed to drilling the back glass for a center overflow... that may be the best route if i decide to drill it myself.

[arkidean]

I actually just baught my 75 gallon tank its mde by all glass aquarium its very nice got it for a steal 196.00 brand new with overflow built it. I purchased all my equpiment from www.drfostersandsmith.com great site saved me 500.00 dollars. I purchased a megaflow model 3 sump 200.00, superskimmer by corallife 135.00, mag drive 9.5 950gph pump 85.00, current usa orbit lights and fixture 260watt with 24hr lighting 254.99, and I built my own stand for about 120.00 looks very nice made out off 4x4 and 2x4 withstand pressure of up to 1600lbs . baught 75lbs live rock and 75lbs of live sand. together at about 500.00 . no fish in this one yet

[IndoorOcean]

That is a great deal! Last time I looked at the LFS the AGA 75 RR cost $279.99... a little more than I want to spend since I have a free tank that just needs drilling. But if I found one for less than $200 I might be tempted just to sell this one and a buy a new one.

[arkidean]

I purchased my tank from aquariumadventure, they have everything.

[IndoorOcean]

arkidean,

have you set your tank up yet?

[arkidean]

I just assembled everything in the last 2 days all my live rock and live sand should be ariving this week. I had to order due to the fact that I'm trying to have a unique and life like look as possible to natrual environment. Why do you ask? I can actually post pics tonite. email me at dangarneata@hotmail.com if u need hlp with anything.

[IndoorOcean]

Yes, please post some pics if you have them.

[arkidean]

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[IndoorOcean]

Nice! Can't wait to start setting mine up.

Are you going to have to run your skimmer externally? Looks like the sump might be a little tight fitting. Also, you're going to remove those bio balls aren't you?

You should start a thread logging the build of your tank... I'd like to watch the progress and I'm sure others would as well.

[IndoorOcean]

Got the tank today!!! It had been sitting in the guy's garage for a few years so it's pretty dirty. As a bonus he gave me the stand for it as well! The sticker on the bottom of the tank says it's tempered glass... not sure if that means only the bottom or if the side panels are tempered as well. I'll have to post pics later because the wife took the camera with her to PA this weekend.

[Mariner]

Where are you in Alabama?
I ask because there are one or two guys in our REEF club (North Alabama Reef Club) that drill tanks. If you are in our area, I could probably put you in contact with one; he'd do it very cheap.
Mariner

[IndoorOcean]

I live in Pelham (just south of B'ham).

[Mariner]

Originally posted by IndoorOcean
I live in Pelham (just south of B'ham).

Ah, well, most of our club members come from the Huntsville/Athens area.
Mariner

[IndoorOcean]

Mariner, I see that you are an evangelist... are you associated with any particular denomination?

[Mariner]

Well, I work with churches of Christ...but RC doesn't allow religious discussions or even references to speak of, so that's probably all I can say about my occupation here
Mariner

[returnofsid]

I would recommend larger than 1" and 3/4". I would go with holes sized for either 1 1/4" or 1 1/2" bulkheads. You can always reduce down outside the tank if you want to. The larger holes will give you a lot more versatility!! Here in the Spokane, WA area, to get a tank drilled costs about $25.00-$30.00 per hole. If you plan to drill more than 2 or 3 holes, buy a hole saw on Ebay and drill them yourselves. You've got time so read up on drilling glass. It seems scary but really isn't all that bad. I think if you talk to a lot of people who have drilled their own tanks, you'll find very few, if any who had problems with it. Also keep in mind that a glass shop will drill your holes for you, but it'll be at your own risk. No guarantee involved.

What kind of lighting are you thinking about? I recently got the 6 bulb, 48" Tek 5 T5HO fixture from Reefgeeks. LOVE IT!!! I'd recommend it to anyone!! I feel confident that I can keep any SPS or clams in my tank and don't have to deal with the heat issues of MH lighting.