Burgers 75 Gallon Custom Tank build.

[Bburger]

Hi everyone,

I am a sorta new reefer, about 1 year and some change in this realm. I am doing a custom cabinet and aqueon/marineland 75 gallon reef ready tank build.

The goals for this tank are to run it for a year or two years while I wait to see if I have to move for work or not. If I do not have to move, then I will upgrade to something bigger like a 5 or 6 foot tank. The stand and canopy is being build currently and I am ordering / picking up the tank towards the end of this week.

Equipment I plan on buying -

Lighting
2 x Orphek OR4 blue plus
1 x Orphek OR4 blue sky

Sump -
custom aqueon 20 gallon long with Fiji cube sump baffle kit

Filtration
Reef Matt 500
Bubble king curve 5 protein skimmer
Ice cap bio bricks
Filterfloss

Pumps / Flow
2 x AI Nero 3
Return pump - undecided / need suggestion
ATO duetto 2 system or tunze osmiolator 3

Automation
Apex 3 with trident or aquawiz KH and PH auto tester

Salt
Tropic marine pro salt mix

Questions for the Community-

So How do you hard plumb your system and what are the necessities when it comes to plumbing a system?
Is there anything I missed on here that you would recommend ?
Is there a straight forward way to mounting the orphek light bars to the top of the canopy ?
Can you 3 d print the baffles for a aqueon 20 gallon long ?

Any pictures of your personal custom tanks / sumps will be appreciated!

 

[shanepike]

Welcome, Burger! Looking forward to seeing this come together!

2 x Orphek OR4 blue plus
1 x Orphek OR4 blue sky

I just got 2 Blue Plus and 1 Reef Day for a grow-out tank I'm putting together. I'm trying to mimic as much as possible what I do with the Orphek iCon on my main tank. I start and end the day with blues ramping up and then down. In the middle of the day, I ramp up to a white spectrum and then back down. I'll let you know how it goes.

Filtration
Reef Matt 500
Bubble king curve 5 protein skimmer
Ice cap bio bricks
Filterfloss

I've never run anything but some rock in the sump and filter socks. Everybody has their own preference, but if you don't have a strong opinion on those things you may want to wait until you're up and running and decide what you need as things settle in.

2 x AI Nero 3

I went with the Jebao version of the Neros and really like how they work.

Return pump - undecided / need suggestion

I feel like I never hear anyone say anything bad about a return pump. Everything else someone has had a bad experience with, but it feels like any name brand (or Jebao) DC pump works fine. I use Jebao on my small tank and a Neptune COR-20 on my main tank. (It's super overpowered, but I got it used as part of a package deal so ) Haven't had any issues with either one.

Salt
Tropic marine pro salt mix

That was what I was going to go with, but Pure Reef sells a salt called Salinity from Seachem/Aquavitro that I decided to try. I don't know about trace elements because I haven't done an ICP in a while, but I do know that once I got my pH dialed in, my SPS took off. I bought it because it was super cheap and I didn't need a high-end salt yet, but I'm running with it now. I'll do an ICP in a few more months once my SPS have grown for a while to see if it's lacking in trace elements, but so far so good!

So How do you hard plumb your system and what are the necessities when it comes to plumbing a system?

It looks like your tank has a single overflow. Different people have different opinions on plumbing, but I would use soft vinyl tubing for the drain line and the return line. It's just so much easier. I hard-plumbed my main drain because I needed a gate valve on my Herbie overflow, but my other two lines are vinyl.

Is there anything I missed on here that you would recommend ?

I didn't see a heater. I believe in having dual heaters (in case one fails) on their own controller, with the Apex as a backup (not the primary controller). Many say (and it sounds reasonable to me) that you don't want your Apex outlet cutting on and off all day long, that it will cause the outlet to eventually wear out. Much cheaper to get a separate heater controller.

I use the Helio PTC Smart Heaters from Innovative Marine, but I feel like everyone else in the world uses an Inkbird

Is there a straight forward way to mounting the orphek light bars to the top of the canopy ?

Orphek sells a few different mounting options, but there are a few threads on R2R with creative mounting ideas. This thread is a good place to start, and it has links to other threads within it:

How did you mount your lights?

I see some people on here who mount their lights in the most clever ways. I have my mounted using the metal light mount that came with the tank/ light. I want to know how you are mounting your tank's lights. Did you go the DIY more complicated route, or did you stick with something simple. Photo...

www.reef2reef.com

The bars come with mounting brackets and wires. I'm planning to attach the mounting brackets to this bracket and mount it right to the wall:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09NLZRRLQ

The holes in the bracket seem like they might be the perfect spacing for the bars (we'll see very soon), and they are the perfect diameter to go with the mounting brackets.

Can you 3 d print the baffles for a aqueon 20 gallon long ?

I don't know anything about 3D printing (others here certainly do), but I know this guy sells pre-built kits for a 20L and does outstanding work:

Security Measure

www.ebay.com

Any pictures of your personal custom tanks / sumps will be appreciated!

Here are my two:

Thread 'Fiji Cube 57g Shallow'

Aug 6, 2024

I got into reefing at the beginning of 2012. Started with a 5.5g bowfront that we had been using as a hermit crab enclosure, quickly moved to an 11.4g Mr Aqua, then to a full 90g. Eventually broke that down because of the work involved and ended up with a 30g shallow from Deep Blue. I also had some kind of small AIO by my desk at one point.

I ended up having an issue with the 30g that started killing off everything in it. I never did figure out what it was, and with all the work and stress of the past several years, I decided to take a break for a while. I almost got back in at...

• shanepike
• Replies: 4
• Forum: Mid-Sized Tanks

• 

https://humble.fish/community/threads/shanes-20g-long-windowsill-tank.22488/

(This one uses an AIO kit built by the eBay seller linked above.)

 

[Bburger]

Welcome, Burger! Looking forward to seeing this come together!


I just got 2 Blue Plus and 1 Reef Day for a grow-out tank I'm putting together. I'm trying to mimic as much as possible what I do with the Orphek iCon on my main tank. I start and end the day with blues ramping up and then down. In the middle of the day, I ramp up to a white spectrum and then back down. I'll let you know how it goes.


I've never run anything but some rock in the sump and filter socks. Everybody has their own preference, but if you don't have a strong opinion on those things you may want to wait until you're up and running and decide what you need as things settle in.


I went with the Jebao version of the Neros and really like how they work.


I feel like I never hear anyone say anything bad about a return pump. Everything else someone has had a bad experience with, but it feels like any name brand (or Jebao) DC pump works fine. I use Jebao on my small tank and a Neptune COR-20 on my main tank. (It's super overpowered, but I got it used as part of a package deal so ) Haven't had any issues with either one.


That was what I was going to go with, but Pure Reef sells a salt called Salinity from Seachem/Aquavitro that I decided to try. I don't know about trace elements because I haven't done an ICP in a while, but I do know that once I got my pH dialed in, my SPS took off. I bought it because it was super cheap and I didn't need a high-end salt yet, but I'm running with it now. I'll do an ICP in a few more months once my SPS have grown for a while to see if it's lacking in trace elements, but so far so good!


It looks like your tank has a single overflow. Different people have different opinions on plumbing, but I would use soft vinyl tubing for the drain line and the return line. It's just so much easier. I hard-plumbed my main drain because I needed a gate valve on my Herbie overflow, but my other two lines are vinyl.


I didn't see a heater. I believe in having dual heaters (in case one fails) on their own controller, with the Apex as a backup (not the primary controller). Many say (and it sounds reasonable to me) that you don't want your Apex outlet cutting on and off all day long, that it will cause the outlet to eventually wear out. Much cheaper to get a separate heater controller.

I use the Helio PTC Smart Heaters from Innovative Marine, but I feel like everyone else in the world uses an Inkbird


Orphek sells a few different mounting options, but there are a few threads on R2R with creative mounting ideas. This thread is a good place to start, and it has links to other threads within it:

How did you mount your lights?

I see some people on here who mount their lights in the most clever ways. I have my mounted using the metal light mount that came with the tank/ light. I want to know how you are mounting your tank's lights. Did you go the DIY more complicated route, or did you stick with something simple. Photo...

www.reef2reef.com

The bars come with mounting brackets and wires. I'm planning to attach the mounting brackets to this bracket and mount it right to the wall:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09NLZRRLQ

The holes in the bracket seem like they might be the perfect spacing for the bars (we'll see very soon), and they are the perfect diameter to go with the mounting brackets.


I don't know anything about 3D printing (others here certainly do), but I know this guy sells pre-built kits for a 20L and does outstanding work:

Security Measure

www.ebay.com

Here are my two:

Thread 'Fiji Cube 57g Shallow'

Aug 6, 2024

I got into reefing at the beginning of 2012. Started with a 5.5g bowfront that we had been using as a hermit crab enclosure, quickly moved to an 11.4g Mr Aqua, then to a full 90g. Eventually broke that down because of the work involved and ended up with a 30g shallow from Deep Blue. I also had some kind of small AIO by my desk at one point.

I ended up having an issue with the 30g that started killing off everything in it. I never did figure out what it was, and with all the work and stress of the past several years, I decided to take a break for a while. I almost got back in at...

• shanepike
• Replies: 4
• Forum: Mid-Sized Tanks

• 

https://humble.fish/community/threads/shanes-20g-long-windowsill-tank.22488/

(This one uses an AIO kit built by the eBay seller linked above.)

Hi Shane,

First of all, thank you for your input and advice! It is very much appreciated.

How do the Orphic icons compared to an XR 15 Pro in your opinion does it get wide enough for your liking because I still want to be able to have good colors on the fish while bringing out the pop and the corals at the same time. I love the bars though because it has a wider spread of light Almost like a blanket that I think the corals will appreciate.

Honestly, I want to push the limit on an LPS and softy tank with a couple Montera caps. Also want to put an emphasis on a lot of fish in there. That is why I would like the roller mat in the skimmer. I use filter floss currently to clear the water, but the reef Matt has always interest me and excite me.

Do you have a link for the J bow wave makers?

I have definitely thought about using soft final tubing, but whenever it comes to how I want to return the flow, I've got an interesting design using the innovative marine spin streams. I can link a photo in this thread if you're interested. I feel like the innovative, marine spin streams are unmatched whenever it comes to randomized flow

Also, I ordered one of those some immediately. Thank you very much for that link that save me a ton of time and headache that was coming.

Thank you for the recommendation for a heater. I didn't even think about that.

 

[shanepike]

How do the Orphic icons compared to an XR 15 Pro in your opinion does it get wide enough for your liking because I still want to be able to have good colors on the fish while bringing out the pop and the corals at the same time. I love the bars though because it has a wider spread of light Almost like a blanket that I think the corals will appreciate.

I haven't ever used an XR15 so I can't compare directly, but I'm very happy with it over my 36 x 24 tank. It grows SPS very well over a very large portion of the center of the tank and still sheds plenty of light well into the far corners. Here's a PAR map I did:



The bottom number is with channels 3 – 6 (blues/violets) at 90%, and channel 2 (11 whites and 2 cyans) at 33%. This is a rough average of where my lights are ~8 hours/day. (I start and end with blues, and channel 2 rises for 4.5 hours and then falls for 4.5 hours during the middle of the day.)

The top number is with all channels at 90%. Channel 1 (7 whites, 2 730nm, & 4 590nm) ramps up from zero to 90% and back down to zero over the course of an hour in the middle of the day.

What I realized in doing this is that 90% was more than I needed. I could raise the light higher above the water and make the PAR more consistent across the tank (BRS recommends 15" and I'm at 13"), but I'm fine with the variation right now and feel way more comfortable running the lights at 80% instead of 90%.

So I did some spot checks with channels 3 – 6 at 81% (because I never could get the app to land on 80%) and channel 2 at 33%. Those are the bottom numbers to the right of the other bottom numbers.

There were places at the top of the rocks where going from 90% to 80% dropped PAR about 25%. In most spots, though, it was way less of a difference. Most were just an 8% to 13% drop.

Based on the numbers at 80%, I can still do SPS across more than 70% of the width of the tank and that is plenty for me.

It also blankets the tank really well. I don't feel like I have any dark spots or unevenness, but the bars have 18 dual-chip LEDs in a 24" strip vs just 13 for the iCon. That would have to make a difference. Enough difference to make the significantly higher cost worth it? I don't know. Anxious to see what the bars look like over my new tank.

Do you have a link for the J bow wave makers?

You can get them cheaper if you order them directly from China via somewhere like AliExpress, but Amazon isn't that much more expensive and it's definitely way easier:

Amazon.com : jebao wavemaker

I've had good experiences with both AliExpress and Amazon.

I have definitely thought about using soft final tubing, but whenever it comes to how I want to return the flow, I've got an interesting design using the innovative marine spin streams. I can link a photo in this thread if you're interested. I feel like the innovative, marine spin streams are unmatched whenever it comes to randomized flow

Yeah, I've heard people talk about how much they like the Spin Stream.