Some of you may know that i currently have a 30 gallon drilled tank with a sump and auto top off. Read More Here.. (http://www.talkingreef.com/forums/member-tank-projects/2505-29-gal-drilled-tank.html) Well I have always wanted to go with a bigger tank but nothing over 100 gallons.

For my birthday this year my wonderful girlfriend bought me a 75 gallon tank. :D I love her so much :cool:

Here are my objects. They might not be completed in order but at one point they will be completed.

1. Design and build the Stand. I will be copying and improving this design (http://www.arbreptiles.com/cages/75g_stand/index.shtml)
2. Design and build the Hood.
3. Stain The stand and hood.
4. Drill the tank & setup overflow and return.
5. Buy New Skimmer. (http://www.talkingreef.com/forums/member-tank-projects/4405-wwests-75-gallon.html#post53047)
6. Put lights in new hood.
7. Setup the Sump/fuge.
8. Setup the Auto Top-off.
9. Plumb everything.
10. Create the cooling system for the DT and the Sump area.
11. Figure out the flow.
12. Add sand, live rock and water.
13. Let the tank cycle.
14. Add macro algae.
15. Tear down 29 gallon tank.

I will try and update this page with the link of every completed objective.

I hope that everyone jumps in with either questions or comments.

A friend of mine has a Nautilus Protein Skimmer from Kent (http://www.pet-dog-cat-supply-store.com/shop/index.php?page=shop/flypage&product_id=4695) I love this skimmer. It skims very well and he empties the cup about once every 3-4 days. I believe i will be going with this one.

Has anyone else ever used one?

This skimmer is around $150 dollars for the in-sump version, if anyone has another brand that works well for around the same price feel free to let me know. I'm always open to new equipment

Hey Wes, that's great! I'll look forward to seeing your tank build.

WOW:wow: sounds nice:D

Thanks guys.

I hope to start working on it soon. I have the tank but we are building a house, the house is almost done. Trust me as soon as the house is done i will start building this thing. I can't wait to get it up and going :)

Here is what i have so far for the sump. Hopefully i will start on it this weekend but who knows lol.

This sump is a 2 peace sump. I went with this design so if i need to remove the refugium i can. Also i always hate loose room. I don't like sticking anything above open water so this way i can put supplies and stuff under the refugium. This is the beginning design so stuff might change as i build or get advice.

http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s194/iReef/sumpcopy.jpg

Hmm, that's pretty ingenious, actualy.

Any thought to having the raw tank water going into the fuge? I'd think having raw water would be better for the fuge, but the skimmer might slice & dice the critters comming out of the fuge. I don't know what's better, but it's a pretty slick design :up:

Yea i thought about that. I was going to make another design with the return splitting, one into the sump and the other into the refugium.

What i was planning on doing was placing the overflow from the refugium all the way against the back of the sump and placing the skimmers pump in the front of the sump. Not sure if it would help or not. I guess i could always switch the return area with the skimmer area. actually either way i would have a 600GPH pump near it. lol I don't know. Ill have to sleep on that. Maybe this will give me a reason to get the external nautilus skimmer :) lol

Wes your idea of removing the refugium is a great idea, if only you had posted this design 3 months ago I would of been able to correct my over flow teeth :)

I feed my refugium directly from my main tank (slower circulation) and I manage to keep all my extra critters behind the drilled overflow holes, most of them never climb that high apart from the odd snail.

Excellent birthday gift :)

Here are some images of the stand before i start cutting so i know what it will look like, Its to scale if anyone is wondering :)

This is the frame, uprights are made out of treated 4X4's notched for the 2X4's
http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s194/iReef/frame.jpg

Here is a picture of the notch, All the weight sits in the 4X4. I did this on the top and bottom,
http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s194/iReef/notch.jpg

Here is a picture of it more put together.
http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s194/iReef/tanksump2.jpg
More to come soon, I should start the build this weekend

Okay, that's it!!I must have that software. Where do I sign up.

Love the plan Wes. This will be a great thread.

Thank ya!

the program is google sketchup, its free! :)

Nice design. FWIW The only thing I suggest is to remove the center brace in the front. Beef up the front cross support if you need to, but I love having full easy access in my stand. I was going to build a stand until I found one without a center support. It might be fine even without as is. Most DIY stands are overbuilt (and I certainly would too), but the AGA one I got I woundt even think about putting 1000 lbs on it without knowing it came form a good source. But it seems to do the job.

i agree with fanatic, having an open front to your stand is very handy (for me different than wes i bet, as i use it as a shortcut to get back to my fish room XD)

but that centre brace will only give you difficulties where you don't need them to be

of course, maybe thats just the design u want. Its your system, so you have fun with it *thumbs up*

I don't have any problem with front support. I like it, i can hide nets or whatever with it. The sump and refuge can be pulled out at any point, they are not attached to each other other than the plumbing. In which case both can slide out clearing the center support. :)