The stand is the same one that the 40 was set up on that I refurbished awhile ago, adding more support and a top for the stand. I also added a nice dark mahogany stain and new hinges on the doors.
This setup started with a 75 gallon tank that I got from a garage sale for $15. Damn good price for a tank that needed a little work and I was going to do a few other things to it as well. I got it all cleaned up and the first step was to get all the silicone out and put a new seal on the tank since I didn't trust it and had no idea how old it was.
I also wanted to replace the trim for the same reason. I ordered 2 new trim pieces and took the top trim off the tank. Unfortunately the new trim was about 1/4 of an inch to short. After staring at the tank for a little while and surfing the web to see if I could find a work around, I decided I would cut it in half since I was already going to take out the center brace and replace it with an acrylic one. I would then add another strip of acrylic to either side of the frame with some epoxy to hold it in place and reinforce it.
Next was the overflow since I was adding a sump to it. I looked all over the internet for an overflow design that was easy to maintain and that I wouldn't have to worry about if the power went out and I wasn't home to restart it. That's when I came across the Beananimal overflow design. It's a little different then the Herbie design and exactly what I was looking for and it's already proved itself as an easy and safe overflow to use since one of my clowns decided to pull a "nemo" and go for a ride down the drain and got stuck. RIP clownfish....
In deciding to do this I needed to drill 3 holes in the back of the tank where the drain was going to be. I had never drilled glass and I would be lying if I said I wasn't nervous about it. Sure, the tank was only $15, but I didn't want to have to buy a new one if I didn't have to. Following directions of Youtube videos, it was actually pretty easy to do.
I also wanted a black background on the tank. I picked up some black Krylon Fusion paint from Amazon and used it to paint the overflow and the back of the tank after I cut out the holes as well as the wood that I used to mount my Kessil 360W to the wall above the tank.
I waited until I had the overflow in and the top frame on (minus the side supports) to do a leak test. I know my work is good, but I wanted to test just in case. I didn't want 75+ gallons of water all over my apartment floor and I'm pretty sure the neighbors don't want a soaking wet wall. I let it sit almost full for 24 hrs with no leaks so I called it good, emptied it and brought it back inside to start installing the drains. I put them together with the back facing out so I could access it easy and, when they were done, turned the tank around and installed them. The pieces going into the bulkheads are threaded and sealed with silicone instead of plumbers tape. This was a suggestion from a guy online who does this with his tanks and he's never had a leak. Now neither have I haha.
During the process of switching from the 40 gallon to the 75 all the fish, inverts and coral were moved to a tote with the heater and a small powerhead to keep them going for a week. I lost a few of the more sensitive pieces of coral I had, but that was it. The remaining rock, sand, and majority of the water from the 40 went into buckets to be put back in the 75 once it was set up.
With new sand and rock added in with the old stuff, I let the tank settle for a few days and let the water get up to temp. Once I was satisfied, I started adding everything in after a couple hour drip acclimation to the new water starting with the coral and adding the fish in last. The light got mounted to the back of the tank for a few weeks while I tried to figure out what I was going to do with it, either mount it to the wall or hang it from the ceiling.
While that was going on, I decided I wanted to open up the tank a bit more and create some columns from the rock. I pulled all the rock out and began the process of designing the scape. I used thick plastic hangers as rods to go through the rock. The result was 2 columns and a small mound in the middle. Both columns have some ledges that I'll be putting SPS on later.
I realized that the light would probably look better mounted on the wall and using the goose neck mount that I was using, I could position the light however I wanted. I grabbed some 2"x3" wood, cut a notch for the bottom of the goose neck to fit in snuggly and painted it black. I've now added a small blue led to the goose neck for a moon light, but I still need to put it on a timer.
All in all, this build turned out exactly how I wanted it to. There are a few things I would change now that it's up and running. I should have used 1.5" PVC for the drains and return and welded the acrylic for the overflow together instead of gluing. I should have also ran PVC into the filter sock instead of going to nylon tubing. I'm still pleased with the outcome though. Things that will be added later on when I get the time will be a couple DIY reactors, a DIY skimmer and an ATO that will be connected through a ReefKeeper Lite when I get a chance to get it. I'll add another post soon with the updated livestock and a few current tank photos.
Stand Refurbish
http://darkwrymsreef.blogspot.com/2015/02/tank-upgrade-stand-refinishing.html
Overflow Design and Threads
http://www.beananimal.com/projects/silent-and-fail-safe-aquarium-overflow-system.aspx
Filter Sock Design
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2570205&page=2
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