First big tank, let's do it right this time (75g)

Recently retired my 29g tank that had a 10g sump. It was my first reef tank and made some mistakes along the way, mainly due to poor planning. My numerous modifications were primarily jerry rigged due to learning things the hard and and also working with a stand not designed for sumps, and also have incredibly limited space.

I just picked up this used reef ready Marineland 75g and am ready to start this journey and do things RIGHT!

Here's the tank as it was when I picked it up from the previous owner.



The inside of the stand was in pretty rough shape due to salt splash and creep. I cleaned it reall well and laid down a layer of Rustoleum glossy protective enamel paint. The goal is to be able to take a damp cloth and clean up any messes easily. The oil based paint will also help protect the wood from moisture.

Here is the inside of the stand before:







Here it is after:





I'm going to do one more layer just to ensure a good seal and get a even coat.

 

Did another coat of the enamel paint and it's looking good. Now I have some peace of mind that the occasional splash or spill won't immediately soak in to the wood and damage it. It will also make cleaning up dust and salt creep a simple wipe with a damp cloth.

Now on to the frustrating stuff. Doing a preliminary wet test in my garage, I noticed a slow leak from the overflow bulkhead fitting. It was about 1-2 drops a minute. I hand tightened it best I could and got it to where it's just barely oozing out, almost unnoticeable. Experience has taught me that even though it's not dripping, this could potentially be a salt creep nightmare. On my next day off I'm going to drain everything, remove the bulkhead, clean everything, then put it back. That will at least eliminate the possibility of a bad seal. Will update what happens!

 

Well, I came home after being at work for 36 hours and the entire bulkhead is dry. Maybe the wetness I was feeling was leftover from the previous dripping / leak. I will keep an eye on it and see what happens. Going to let it continue to run w/ freshwater in my garage while I am working on the sump!

 

After many conversions with people here and in person, I decided that the existing stand was not structurally sound enough to continue the build. There's no way that I could put 800 pounds on that flimsy stand and sleep well at night. Fortunately there are enough build threads on here for endless inspiration and I went to work. I only have mediocre carpentry skills and I'm impressed with how this came out.

If you're interested in the build I copied, check out this thread: http://alturl.com/bcpu6

 

Bought some nice crown molding for the top trim, also added some 1x3 on top to hide some of the plastic trim of the tank. Also threw on the first coat of Waverly chalk paint, next will be a satin polyurethane to protect the wood from spills and splashes.

Really excited over how this is turning out considering I have little to no carpentry skills!

 

Just plopped in a block of frozen mysis shrimp and did my first dose of AquaVitro Seed. Let's get this tank cycling!

 

How about some pics with the tank sitting on the new stand and running. Pictures say a thousand words. Nice job on the stand!

 

Thanks! Here's some pics of the setup:

 

Looking good. Nice scape job. What do you have under the hood?
What is that tube at top dead center, picture kinda fuzzy on my phone, return? With that so far down in the water do you have enough storage for water when power goes out?

 

All I have under the hood is a SCA-301 protein skimmer and a refugium. I'll post better pics once I have all the wiring and everything the way I like it!

Also @scajeo I see you're from Kitsap County - be sure to check out the Kitsap County Aquarium Club if you're not a member already! Link: https://www.facebook.com/groups/KitsapCountyAquariumClub/