Dakoda's 75G Reef Tank

[Dakoda]

Introduction & Tank History:

I started my obsession for the reefing hobby back in March of 2019, which I was pushed towards by my partner who really wanted a clownfish with an anemone! Classic start to the hobby.

Before I dabbled with the salt water side of the hobby I had been keeping fresh water for well over a decade, so keeping fish wasn't a massive concern to me. Coming from the fresh water to salt I could not believe the amount of learning required to successfully keep these little ecosystems running smoothly. It was definitely a bit of a learning curve for me, and I did loose a few guys through the journey but I took each hit as a learning lesson.

We started the tank off as a 46 gallon Aqueon bow front.

At first, I didn't have a sump or canister set up for this tank; I relied solely on a Reef Octopus Classic 1000 HOB for my filtration needs. I thought it was doing the job, but in reality my tank was just brand new and I hadn't yet encountered the "uglies" or the pests.

The tank remained like this until June 2019, when I landed my hands on a small 15 gallon sump. Comically, the sump did not fit under the stand. So, being that we live in a rental and I didn't feel like blasting holes in the wall, I ran the PVC around my wall and into a closet where I had placed the sump.

That set up right there was my very first every sump configuration, and it still looks just as bad as I remember it looking. I had moved the skimmer down off the display, added a filter sock, and tossed a small light over top of some Chaeto for nutrient export. This hobby is quite pricey, so I was trying to do everything the cheapest way possible. The very last addition I made to this set up was a Tunze auto top off unit as I was getting quite tired of grabbing the Python to fill up the sump every day after work.

That tank went through around 3-4 iterations of set-ups as I was learning more and more from forums and BRStv (thank god these guys exist), until I decided that I wanted the largest aquarium I could possibly keep in my office. After measurements, I ultimately ended up deciding a 75 gallon foot print would fit my space best while also giving me enough room for corals; I was clearly very naive.

 

[Dakoda]

New Tank Construction:

So, after making the decision on what size I wanted the tank to be I went out searching for the right aquarium. By right, I mean a good bargain from someone who just wants theirs gone.

Mid September 2019 I came across a decent condition tank from someone who had housed Oscars in it prior. The tank was absolutely disgusting, but I did want the bargain. I stripped all the old silicone out and resealed the whole tank in my garage.

While I had the tank stripped down like that I also took the time to drill the overflow holes through the glass as I did not want to repeat my prior set up with a hang on the back overflow box! During this process, I spent quite a bit of time, again, watching YouTube tutorials on plumbing tanks and some of the build threads here on R2R.

I decided on a Bean Animal overflow system for my needs and mock plumbed the whole thing in my garage. This is what I came up with.

As you can see there are definitely some scratches on the glass from its prior home, and in the future I am thinking of buying a brand new 90 gallon tank to re-drill and replace this one with (I may have a problem). Also, I painted the back of the tank black with Plastidip as I wanted a nice solid background behind my tank.

Then began the process of dragging everything upstairs.

 

[Dakoda]

75 Gallon Tank Initial Set Up:

A pattern is emerging here where I set things up half-done and I redo them in the way that I wanted to the first time; this is no different here.

After dragging the tank and stand upstairs the 8 hour process of tearing down the 46 gallon tank, transferring it's occupants to buckets, filling the new tank up, and transferring the occupants into the new tank began; it was a long day.

I decided to reuse the sugar sand that I had used in the 46 gallon in the new tank, which at the time I did not realize was going to be an issue until I increased the flow in my tank and realized I probably wanted crushed coral instead... that's later though.

Please ignore the poorly designed manifold, I realized pretty quickly that it was a no no. I did add a second filter sock, and for a while things were working alright here. The hang on back skimmer no longer fit due to the plumbing from the overflow box.

In March 2020 I had decided that I was not happy with my current lighting, so I went for the Viparspectra 165W black boxes and hung two of them over my tank. It has really done me well!

Bonus photo of the clownfish and anemone the partner wanted that started this whole thing off:

 

[Dakoda]

75 Gallon Reef Set Up:

A little over a year later from the initial set up of the 75 gallon tank, I have made a lot of changes, again. I did warn it's a bit of a pattern!

Firstly, here is a current shot of the tank.

I have spent quite a bit on coral and fish stocking, as well as gotten some great growth. I left the sugar sand in the tank for around 6 months before I finally got tired of it and removed the entirety of all the substrate with all the livestock in my tank. If I had one good message to you all, it would be to decide on what you want the first time and just do it right!

The real big changes happened in my sump area. I picked up an Eshopps R200 3rd gen sump to replace my old sump. I absolutely love the thing because of all the extra room.

Down from the overflow I have the water running through a 7" filter sock. The water is then split between the refugium and the equipment sections. My refugium is powered by a cheap $40 COB LED light from Amazon that has done wonderfully.

For equipment:
- Hagen Marina 300W heater
- 2 Two Little Fishies reactors (GFO, carbon)
- Reef Octopus Classic 110-INT skimmer
- Jebao DP-4 dosing pump (Reef Code A & B, Reef Energy AB+)
- Tunze Osmolator 3155 with a Trigger Systems 5 Gallon ATO Reservoir

I feed the tank a variety of food: mysis shrimp, spirulina brine shrimp, krill, prawns (for eel), PolypLabs Reef Roids, phyto plankton, Nori, and New Life Spectrum pellets.

Here's a couple bonus shots of my corals!

 

[SMSREEF]

Really sweet looking tank @Dakoda
Your new sump looks awesome too.

 

[Dakoda]

Really sweet looking tank @Dakoda
Your new sump looks awesome too.

Thanks! I got it for a pretty sweet deal that I couldn't turn down, so I had to do the upgrade; at least that's what I told my SO.

 

[SMSREEF]

Thanks! I got it for a pretty sweet deal that I couldn't turn down, so I had to do the upgrade; at least that's what I told my SO.

That the trick, hype all the money you are saving, not what you actually paid.

How do you like the Jebao dosing pump?

 

[Dakoda]

That the trick, hype all the money you are saving, not what you actually paid.

How do you like the Jebao dosing pump?

I honestly have no qualms with it. Once you calibrate it, it remains accurate and consistent. The only negative I have is it has reset the schedule once or twice after a long power outage.

Great unit for a decent price.