My 75 gal tank build. Lots of pics

rainbowcharmer

rainbowcharmer

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Jul 30, 2007
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East Coast, USA
Haven't even set it up and already have a lot of photos. We boxed the tank up at the seller's house to help protect it on the ride home. Gotta love working at a place that has lots of corrugated cardboard to throw away. :)

The stand is going to be nice once it's finished. Should be done by tomorrow. It had some minor water damage, and was a bit discolored, but otherwise in good shape. We sanded it down, stained it and put a sealant on it. Has to dry for 24 hours now before we can set it up.

1st pic - tank and stand still in the car
2nd pic - Stand bottom - looks like they spilled water on the floor and couldn't get it cleaned up, so it soaked into the stand around the edges.
3rd pic - Stand top, being sanded
4th pic - Stand front, minus the doors, already sanded
5th pic - Stand front, after staining
6th pic - Stand top, after staining
7th pic - Front, bottom and one of the sides after staining

Didn't take any pics after sealing it today - looks pretty much the same as far as I can tell, no color change, which is fine. :)

Hopefully we'll be setting it up tomorrow, though I don't have a filter yet - still need someone to point me in the direction of where to find a bigger Eheim. Biggest they sell locally is the 2236 ecco, which is a lower rating than what I want.

Or if someone can let me know if the current filter, still caked in salt residue that I can't get to budge, will work temporarily without causing water quality issues.

I've got a marineland heater that the seller says still works fine, so I'll see how that does. Need to get a thermometer and we've got to pick up the pool filter sand, but no point in having that at the house without the tank being set up anyhow, so we'll worry about that later this week probably.

Anyhow, that's about where I am at now. Will post more pics as the tank progresses. :)

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get a rena xp3 or 4 great easy to use filters, i have one on my 75 along with an emperor 400. keeps that tank sparkling
 
Great start!
 
I have to admit to a little bit of worry about spending that kind of $ on a filter on ebay. I've bought a lot of things off ebay in the past, but never something so expensive... Anyhow, if anyone has suggestions on something a little more reliable as far as return policies go in the event of a malfunctioning filter, that would be great. :)
 
So many opinions!! I just don't know what to do! LOL

The thing with the canister filters is that on top of being so expensive up front, most of them don't come with any filter media, and it's going to be what appears to be another $50-$100 in filter media alone. Unless it does not matter if I get filter media that is explicitly for the filter that I purchase. I mean, I'm assuming those ceramic rings and such do not have to be name brand, and if I can find filter pads and cut to size, that should be OK too, right?? Also, what order is best for filtration setup in a canister? In my biowheel filters, there is just a cartridge - nothing fancy to choose from. I've read a lot of opposing opinions on carbon as well. I have it in all my tanks simply because it comes in the filter cartridges for the filters that I own. But is it really necessary? If not, what should I be using? There are a gazillion different types of filter media it seems, and I'm sort of at a loss... This canister thing keeps getting more complex!!
 
Well, I ordered my Eheim 2217 filter - complete with all hoses, etc, and all media. Got it from Petsmart.com, which ended up being the cheapest place. Even the used ones on ebay would have been similar in price - may have saved $20-$30, but knowing that it's brand new and covered under warranty is worth that to me.

Anyhow - PetSmart was doing a deal on shipping, so it was only $6 to ship, $9 sales tax, so I paid just over $150 for it. :) I'm excited! It should be here within 10 days. This afternoon we're taking the tank outside and filling it to test to see if it will hold water. I'm also waiting for the silicone to dry on one of the glass covers for the tank - when we got it out, we reailzed it was broken - I think the seller stepped on it when we were loading things into the car... Anyhow - it was broken into a few big pieces, so I'm hoping the silicone will hold it together. Otherwise we'll have to shop for another cover - although if we do that, it will be a regular hood, not the glass. I'm not a big fan of the glass cover - have one on my 46 gal, and really don't like it much...

Well - off to run errands. Joy. :)
 
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