[JoeDizzleMPLS]

I had been trying to work out a trade with an LFS for a few weeks to get a new 75 gallon tank for a complete 45 gallon tall setup I had been trying to get rid of for awhile... after working out all the details, we finally made the trade on Wednesday.

Since this is the first time in a LONG time where I am getting a new tank because I wanted one rather than being a spur of the moment purchase, I was actually able to put all of my ideas down on paper and plan everything out in advance. I will be selling my old 75 gallon setup once I am done putting this one together, so the only thing that is going to be switched over from the old setup is the wet/dry, overflow box, and the rhom.

The plan (so far) is to build a stand and light fixture/canopy, install black background, move my old setup, put the new tank and stand in it's final spot, put together the hardscape, plant the tank a bit, and then I should be able to fill the tank and transfer the filter and rhom over to the new tank. There are a few little DIY projects that I will be doing along the way, I will just have to see how much patience I have before I decide which ones.

I will be documenting the process as much as I can here, so questions, comments, and suggestions are always welcome. Anyways, I will be starting the stand tonight or tomorrow morning, here is a pic of the new tank to get things started...

 IMG_2839.JPG (629.87K)
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[T-wag]

cant wait to see it done joe! u always do a rly good job scaping ur tanks

[JoeDizzleMPLS]

thanks man, i appreciate that... i always get excited when i get to scape a new tank, they just look so nice when the glass is free from scratches and there is no algae to be found anywhere.

[jp80911]

I'd love to get a new tank but my wife would kill me for that. I was lucky enough to pick up my 180g for $200 which is free of any scratch on the glass, even the old resident was an alligator. was very surprised about it myself.

can't wait to see more pictures of the new tank as you set it up.

will it be totally different from what your old 75g setup looks like? still going to be a black water tank?

This post has been edited by jp80911: 13 November 2009 - 11:32 PM

[FEEFA]

Good luck joe and I'm looking forward to seeing your progress so be sure to take lots of pics

[JoeDizzleMPLS]

jp80911, on Nov 13 2009, 10:30 PM, said:

I'd love to get a new tank but my wife would kill me for that. I was lucky enough to pick up my 180g for $200 which is free of any scratch on the glass, even the old resident was an alligator. was very surprised about it myself.

can't wait to see more pictures of the new tank as you set it up.

will it be totally different from what your old 75g setup looks like? still going to be a black water tank?

the boss tells me that i can get tanks as long as i'm not spending a bunch of money on them. if i can work out trades for new stuff or find CRAZY deals on used stuff, it's all good... with the money that i get from the old 75 gallon setup, i'll get a 125 or 180 setup after we move.

this tank is going to be different, i did the blackwater setup because i was tired of waiting on plants... just wanted to do something a little different with what i had available at the time. this one will probably still be heavy on the driftwood, high current, and lower light, but i will have root plants in the new scape.

Feefa, on Nov 13 2009, 11:22 PM, said:

Good luck joe and I'm looking forward to seeing your progress so be sure to take lots of pics

thanks man, i'll take plenty of pics... i want to document the whole process for everyone and i'll go a bit more in depth with the DIY stuff

i got a bunch of prep work done tonight, so i should be ready to cruise right along with the stand starting in the morning

[jp80911]

joedizzlempls, on Nov 14 2009, 12:34 AM, said:

the boss tells me that i can get tanks as long as i'm not spending a bunch of money on them. if i can work out trades for new stuff or find CRAZY deals on used stuff, it's all good... with the money that i get from the old 75 gallon setup, i'll get a 125 or 180 setup after we move.

this tank is going to be different, i did the blackwater setup because i was tired of waiting on plants... just wanted to do something a little different with what i had available at the time. this one will probably still be heavy on the driftwood, high current, and lower light, but i will have root plants in the new scape.

my boss is more key on the cost of operating a tank then the cost of getting one cuz she knows that I wouldn't spend too much on a tank setup myself.
anyway, how does the rhom react to all these change done to the tank in such short period of time? does it get stressed out? my big rhom was pissed off after I divided its tank and tried to bite through the divider (almost did, a big chuck of the egg crate was found floating around on the gravel) so I had to take it down and move the smaller rhom to my pygo tank. after which my big rhom stopped eating for 2 weeks after I put everything back to how it was, it's eating now but not as aggressive as before I guess it is still pissed at me messing with his property.

[JoeDizzleMPLS]

this rhom is tough and he's a trooper... i put him in a bucket when i did the substrate changes and he was attacking the glass immediately upon being put back into the tank both times. i have had him for about a year and a half now and he has always been in a planted tank, so things change quite a bit. this will hopefully be the last big change for quite awhile tho, besides adding plants and rearranging things, i think i have everything planned out so that i will be content to just leave things be.

[His Majesty]

Good luck joe im sure you will do a great job.

love tagging along to these tank build journals

[CyberGenetics]

Trigger lover, on Nov 14 2009, 04:22 AM, said:

Good luck joe im sure you will do a great job.

love tagging along to these tank build journals

Sweeeeet, im in desperate need of a new tank. Cant wait to see the end resault, keep us updated

[JoeDizzleMPLS]

Made some progress today... I didn't get to start til much later than I had anticipated, but things went pretty smoothly right up until the battery for my cordless drill/driver died on me. Normally, that wouldn't be a problem, but I forgot to charge my backup battery last night, so I had to quit early. I was able to get the base of the stand and the corner uprights put together, all except one piece, which is kinda hanging off in the pics.

The stand is pretty basic, I got the basic design from a few stands I have seen on the internet and then I beefed it up a little because I want this stand to last... the base and uprights are made of 2x4s, the top frame (which I will put together tomorrow) will be made of 2x6s. Everything is being held together by 2 1/2 coated deck screws. Here's a few pics of the progress so far...

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[jp80911]

looks good Joe.
any reason why the inner vertical beams are not touching the floor like the rest of the base? won't that provide better support if any load is being applied on them?

[JoeDizzleMPLS]

there is a lengthy explanation on a couple sites that i got the idea from, but the basic idea is that they are meant to help transfer the load to the bottom frame rather than the floor so that the load is distributed across a larger area rather than having those four pressure points alongside the frame... they also act as screw strips to help keep the corners square. the other plans that i have seen use support only in the corners, but i am adding two supports on the front side and two in the back, so there will be a total of 12 load bearing 2x4 uprights plus the 4 "screw strips".

[Trigga]

Cool Joe I'm gonna start building a stand for a new tank next weekend

good luck with your project

[FEEFA]

Holy crap joe that stand will hold alot more than the 75gal will weigh.
Great job so far and I cant wait to see it finished

[TJcali]

the stand is looking awsome I'm looking forward to seeing more pics

[JoeDizzleMPLS]

Feefa, on Nov 15 2009, 12:33 AM, said:

Holy crap joe that stand will hold alot more than the 75gal will weigh.
Great job so far and I cant wait to see it finished

yeah, this stand should be able to support a truck once it's done.... my girl keeps asking me if i'm sure this will be able to support the tank and i keep telling her to look at how flimsy the stand that has been holding up our 75 for the past 2 years is. the bottom box frame alone weighs as much as my current stand.

i know it's overkill, but the way i look at it is that the part of the stand that is actually supporting the weight of the tank is the frame, and the frame is made from 2x4s and 2x6s, which would have cost me about 12 bucks if i would have followed the original plan, so far, i have 16 bucks into the frame... at 2 bucks per 8 foot piece of lumber, it doesn't really hurt the wallet to make sure things are solid.

[His Majesty]

nice wood joe

some sturdy stuff for sure

[Mughal]

cool setup man, hope everything turn out ok.

[JoeDizzleMPLS]

Mughal, on Nov 15 2009, 01:06 PM, said:

cool setup man, hope everything turn out ok.

as long as it doesn't fall apart, i'll be happy, haha