MoMo's Upgrade from a 45g tall to 75g....scratch that it broke... ok 125g

[MoMoTheMonster]

So my 45g tall reef tank has been running for a few years now and going really good. I hate to take it down because everything is happy, but I want more room for fish and corals so I decided to upgrade to a standard 75 gallon. I already got the tank from Petco during a recent 50% off sale and plan to utilize as much of my existing equipment as possible.

Existing Equipment that will be moved over:

2 - 165W Viparspectra lights with custom stand
2 - MP10's
existing rock
HOB Aquamaxx 1.5 protein skimmer - can be used with light bioload, if needed
ATO
doser


Equipment needed:

New Sand
higher watt heater
more rock
upgraded protein skimmer
new screen top
cabinet


We've been thinking about adding a sump to this build. My 45g is sumpless and maintenance is pretty minimal: water changes, cleaning protein skimmer, and cleaning the HOB filter I have on, (it only runs filter floss to catch floaties) is easy. But my husband is extremely interested in the customizing the plumbing for a sump. I admit the thought of maintaining everything inside the tank's cabinet and not having everything so visible on the back of the tank is appealing. So I think we might be going that direction including possibly drilling the tank (after we check if the glass is tempered glass or not). If we do the sump then much more equipment will be needed to complete the build.


For the transition:

I'm going to borrow a 40g breeder from my sister to help with the tank move when things get closer. That way I can take down my existing 45g and move everything to the 40g breeder as we set up the 75g in the same spot the 45g is in now. My hope is to be able to take my time getting the 75g up and settled with sand, rock, and water before adding my fish and coral to their new home.

I'll try to keep this thread updated as I continue with my upgrade journey wish me luck!

 

[Zach B]

Sounds like an awesome upgrade! I would highly recommend qn upgrade to a sump if possible. Best of luck

 

[Gumbies R Us]

Can't wait to see the upgrade when it's done!!!

 

[kloverguy]

I went from a 32g FijiCube to a 75g myself. I would 100% recommend getting an overflow and running it into a sump. A 40 breeder or 20 tall would be great for a sump, I used a 29g tall and hate it due to clearance issues in my stand. The eshopps overflows are pretty good. Drilling can be scary, but what I've learned is to use a lot of water, go really slow, and use a drill guide that holds your drill in a cradle with guide rails. This will keep your bit completely straight as you drill. BRS has a good video that goes over drilling the tank.

 

[kevgib67]

Following.

 

[MoMoTheMonster]

Build update:

We're moving forward with a sump and we have scored some awesome FB Marketplace deals the past few weeks and got a bunch of new equipment. Literally, new equipment and not just new to us.

New Equipment:
BRS 300w Titanium heater
Helio heater controller
Eshopps S-120 Protein Skimmer
Current USA Eflux 6009 DC pump

Bashsea Bio-Fuge Sump 24"X10"X14
2 - 55lb boxes of mixed real reef rock
1 - 55 lb box of shelf real reef rock
Eshopps Eclipse L Overflow box


We've been researching plumbing and sketching out plumbing designs for the tank. We've also been trying to figure out if the 75 gallon Aqueon tank we got from Petco has tempered glass. We've tried the led screen and polarized sunglasses but we're not convinced it's regular glass so we're going to order a new reasonable pair of polarized sunglasses to double check before attempting to drill the tank.

We also still have to get the cabinet and start working on it but things are coming together nicely so far.

 

[kloverguy]

Build update:

We're moving forward with a sump and we have scored some awesome FB Marketplace deals the past few weeks and got a bunch of new equipment. Literally, new equipment and not just new to us.

New Equipment:
BRS 300w Titanium heater
Helio heater controller
Eshopps S-120 Protein Skimmer
Current USA Eflux 6009 DC pump

Bashsea Bio-Fuge Sump 24"X10"X14
2 - 55lb boxes of mixed real reef rock
1 - 55 lb box of shelf real reef rock
Eshopps Eclipse L Overflow box


We've been researching plumbing and sketching out plumbing designs for the tank. We've also been trying to figure out if the 75 gallon Aqueon tank we got from Petco has tempered glass. We've tried the led screen and polarized sunglasses but we're not convinced it's regular glass so we're going to order a new reasonable pair of polarized sunglasses to double check before attempting to drill the tank.

We also still have to get the cabinet and start working on it but things are coming together nicely so far.

One thing I’ve found really helpful is to look and see if your car(s) have any glass that’s labeled tempered and test your glasses/screen on that. Also, glass shower enclosures are more than likely going to be tempered as well. If your glasses are polarized, you should very clearly see the temper markings/colors. I’ve seen this as large dots, lines, or waves depending on what I assume is differences in tempering technique. Once you’re familiar with what tempered glass looks like, check out your tanks glass again. One thing I noticed when checking my aqueon tank was that the screen on my phone would completely black out when I’d rotate it 90 degrees, but thats not indicating the glass is tempered, it just means the the light waves from the phone are off axis from the polarization in the glasses.

FWIW, I looked at the glass on probably 40 different tanks when buying my 75 at Petco because I was unsure and ended up holding off purchasing. Once I was able to confirm on a known piece of tempered glass, I went back to Petco and was entirely confident that the glasses trick was working and that none of the tanks I was looking at had tempered glass.

 

[CoachRichardson]

Not sure your BRS heater will work with Helios controller. Helios has their own heaters with a special connector Im think. I use the Helios system but have never checked for compatibility with other heaters.

 

[Idech]

I would recommend 2 x 200 watt heaters hooked up to an Inkbird controller (for saltwater tanks) instead of a single, bigger one. This will give you redundancy and peace of mind. Failure is a lot less likely.

 

[MoMoTheMonster]

Not sure your BRS heater will work with Helios controller. Helios has their own heaters with a special connector Im think. I use the Helios system but have never checked for compatibility with other heaters.

BRS sells them as a bundle together. But I'll definitely check it out and make sure.

 

[MoMoTheMonster]

I would recommend 2 x 200 watt heaters hooked up to an Inkbird controller (for saltwater tanks) instead of a single, bigger one. This will give you redundancy and peace of mind. Failure is a lot less likely.

I currently run an Inkbird in my 45 and that's the path I was going to go but I bought the heater and Helio controller as a bundle with the protein skimmer and return pump from FB marketplace couldn't pass it up for $120 total . So I thought maybe that would work out. I know its smart to run multiple heaters since we don't know when one will decide to crap out so I might make some adjustments to make sure I run 2.

I see your running a 75g sumpless system. That was my original plan also as my current 45g sumpless has been very good to me. And truthfully its still not completely out of the question yet. Especially after finding out how expensive plumping parts can be

 

[MoMoTheMonster]

One thing I’ve found really helpful is to look and see if your car(s) have any glass that’s labeled tempered and test your glasses/screen on that. Also, glass shower enclosures are more than likely going to be tempered as well. If your glasses are polarized, you should very clearly see the temper markings/colors. I’ve seen this as large dots, lines, or waves depending on what I assume is differences in tempering technique. Once you’re familiar with what tempered glass looks like, check out your tanks glass again. One thing I noticed when checking my aqueon tank was that the screen on my phone would completely black out when I’d rotate it 90 degrees, but thats not indicating the glass is tempered, it just means the the light waves from the phone are off axis from the polarization in the glasses.

FWIW, I looked at the glass on probably 40 different tanks when buying my 75 at Petco because I was unsure and ended up holding off purchasing. Once I was able to confirm on a known piece of tempered glass, I went back to Petco and was entirely confident that the glasses trick was working and that none of the tanks I was looking at had tempered glass.

Thank you for this information! We tried to find tempered on the vehicles but we also have tinted windows on everything so figured that wouldn't help determine the difference. But I'll definitely check out the shower door!

 

[Idech]

I see your running a 75g sumpless system. That was my original plan also as my current 45g sumpless has been very good to me. And truthfully its still not completely out of the question yet. Especially after finding out how expensive plumping parts can be

I wanted a sump so much at first but already had a brand new tank with a stand and didn’t want to waste it. Most of the time I’m very happy with it; less maintenance, less risk of a leak, etc.

Sometimes I wish I had one for the convenience of hiding equipment in it. But that’s they only reason and that feeling doesn’t last long, lol !

I use a Tunze internal filter and Tunze DC skimmer and I’m very happy with both of them. Good quality equipment, good performance

 

[MoMoTheMonster]

Well we did the polarized tests and felt confident that the tank was not tempered glass. My husband was about halfway through drilling and we found out it was tempered....

Now we are trying to figure out what to do next. Attempt another 75 from Petco since they have them for 50% off again or see if we can get something else...

 

[MoMoTheMonster]

So we are leaning towards a Marineland 125gallon tank now. The stand we've been building will accommodate it after we get an additional piece and reinforce it like we've done with the main structure. And the top we have is already 72" long so it will work out well for the 125g tank dimensions.

We are getting creative with some sump design options because we are hoping to utilize the Bashsea sump we currently have. I'll keep the thread updated as we continue with our upgrade ideas. And I'll post some pictures of the stand we've been working on.

 

[MoMoTheMonster]

Here is the broken 75

Here is the stand we're working on, its fully reinforced and coated with Kilz mold & mildew primer. We plan to "waterproof" the inside as much as possible.

Here is the front of the cabinet doors. I'm using a grey stain. I really like how it is turning out.

I will post more pictures of the stand, as it was being built too, when I get the pictures from my husband.

 

[SaltyT]

So will you be renaming this thread "MoMos upgrade from a 45g tall to a 125g"

 

[MoMoTheMonster]

So will you be renaming this thread "MoMos upgrade from a 45g tall to a 125g"

I think so!

The current plan is to order a Marineland reef ready 125 gallon next week.

 

[SaltyT]

I think so!

The current plan is to order a Marineland reef ready 125 gallon next week.

 

[MoMoTheMonster]

Well we went to pick up the new tank tonight at our LFS but we found small scratches on the front glass so they are going to order us a new one. Not sure how long it will take but it gives us time to continue working on the stand and sump.

We picked up a 40 breeder this weekend to make a DYI sump. Going to have some glass pieces cut to create the baffles soon. We're planning a 3 section sump design that will work with the dual corner overflows on the tank. So left side filter sock/skimmer, middle section return pumps, and right section will be a refugium.