Aquarium setup

[mrcote1]

Setting up a 75 gallon display in my living room as a mixed reef, then plumbing it to the basement to a 40 gallon sump/refugium. I will be building all the stands myself. First thing I did was build myself a permanent 20 gallon long quarantine tank and stand.

 

[Chris A.]

Nice woodwork

 

[gurumasta]

Looking forward to seeing the setup. That’s an impressive quarantine!

 

[mrcote1]

Thanks!
And for plumbing your display to the basement do you drill a hole through the floor or the wall? Im planning on drilling through the floor but thats sort of more permanent than a hole in the wall

 

[gurumasta]

I have three holes right through my living room floor lol...

If it’s hardwood it’s an easy fix. I think.

 

[mrcote1]

Ill just do it when the wifes not home and cover it with the stand right away haha, and why three? You need one for the return and one for the drain but whats the third for

 

[aresangel]

Probably a herbie drain. Two drains (one back up) and one return. I have a bean animal drain. 3 drains, 1 return. Redundancy and silence is the goal with those two types of set ups.

Also if you get a larger pre-drilled tank they have durso style drains but will have two of them.


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[mrcote1]

The sump and sump stand are now complete. I tried everything in my power to silicone the glass panels in the baffles but nothing I did succeeded. I guess 3/4" was not enough room for me to work in! So only one side of 2 panels are siliconed.
There was a major pause in building for a while since I had to leave town for a bit. But now im back at it. The quarantine tank is fully cycled and I will be buying three fish tomorrow and setting up a fluval edge as a holding tank for coral and inverts. Im hoping by the end of next week ill have the display tank up and running and then its just a waiting game.

 

[mrcote1]

Also I supported the living room floor with extra joists and jacked up the floor with a lolly column and threw a 4x4 under where the tank will sit. You can see the new 4x4 in the above pics. Filling large aquariums the first time scares me.

 

[Chris A.]

Nice job on the sump. If it were me I would go with under /over /under. Easier to clean if you can get under the first and last baffle.

 

[mrcote1]

Thanks, and yea there are a few things I would change if I did it again. I also wish i had made the baffles higher and just put the skimmer on a stand for more water volume

 

[gurumasta]

Do you have space in the basement for additional / larger tanks? If you are thinking larger refugium or frag tank in the future then now is a good time to plan for exapansion. IMO I would try an increase that water volume if I was doing a basement sump.

Everything looks great!

 

[mrcote1]

Thanks! And thats a 40 gallon sump for a 75 gallon display. I originally wanted a 120 but it woukd have looked too crowded in my living room. And yes I always want larger tanks but money is always a factor. Im setting this one up so it will be easy to expand in the basement. Id like to have a frag tank and possibly set up another seahorse tank one day.

 

[mrcote1]

Im hoping to have the stand done tomorrow, just finished buying all the trime for it. This stand has 10 2x4's and roughly 1 sheet of plywood. This thing could hold a truck! Hopefully ill start my canopy tomorrow as well.

 

[Chris A.]

Nice stand. Is that shelf removable?

 

[mrcote1]

Yes it is, i plan on building multiple small ones too so i can arrange everything how I like. But im just trying to finish it for now and get the cabinet doors built

 

[mrcote1]

Finally done with the stand. Came out pretty good!

 

[mrcote1]

Also have 2 gladiator clowns and a starry blenny in QT

 

[CAPSLOCK]

Man, your stand sure did come out really nice.

 

[mrcote1]

Man, your stand sure did come out really nice.

Thank you very much I appreciate it