Custom stand for 75 Gallon

[CoasterCyrus]

So earlier this year I started working on building a better tank and stand than what I had in the past. A friend really helped me out and what we have coming along I am really liking so I thought I would share here. It is a 75 Gallon tank with sump. I've currently got 8 angels and a discus in there with 5 more discus in qt at the moment.

Here is what the stand looked like when we first started constructing it:

https://i.imgur.com/paQyA9Q.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/HJfQXgj.jpg

Here is what it looked like with the addition of fish a couple months ago:

https://i.imgur.com/SaRE50v.jpg

And a close up of the sump:

https://i.imgur.com/KAskySv.jpg



Now we have been working on framing it. Pinterest has some really great ideas, let me tell you lol.
We saw this cool idea that used corrugated metal in framing and this is what we decided to go with.
We cut and stained the wood and cut the pieces of corrugated metal to fit within the framing.
There will be framing around the top of the tank as well that matches the bottom.

https://i.imgur.com/o7h5QAD.jpg


And tonight we are going to be building some shelving on the far left side for all of my fish stuff(test kits, foods, meds, and chemicals for water treatment)
You can also see that the doors are being worked on in this last picture.

https://i.imgur.com/pUmlWOE.jpg

That is everything that we have worked on so far. I really wanted to create a thread here to share what we have done as well as create a timeline of it all for myself.

Let me know what you think!

[Ryan925]

Nice man. I am trying to go through the same process. I have sump built but my stand is in limbo due to lack of free time. I too have a 75

Look forward to following your journal.

[CoasterCyrus]

It is so hard these days to find the time. We are usually giving up sleep to work on the tank lol.


As a couple members here know, a couple days ago I received fish from Chicago Discus(excellent) and Discus Madness(also excellent), five total. I have set up two quarantines for these guys to monitor them until they can be introduced into my main tank. They are doing really great! All swimming around the displays for the most part, perked up fins, and all five are eating! All of their colors are looking fantastic, no clamped fins, and not very skittish either! Here are a couple pictures of the five discus I received the other day. These were taken just after they were placed into the qt.

https://i.imgur.com/QqXS83Q.jpg
The red has definitely brightened up tremendously since this picture was taken. I will take more soon to show how they look now in comparison.

https://i.imgur.com/7yILlY0.jpg

I am very happy with all of the fish, I must say!

[Adam S]

Didn't think I'd like the corrugated metal panels as much as I do, but that looks really nice.

[CoasterCyrus]

Thank you Adam!

So today I took a picture of the new fish and how they’ve colored up!

https://i.imgur.com/17TXNPU.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/j7bnZik.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/OTsyTEY.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/htlpRZT.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/BBamBqT.jpg

They’ve definitely gotten much brighter. They’ve also already started swimming up to the glass when I come into the room. All is looking very good. Staying on top of those water changes too!

[CoasterCyrus]

This morning I have some very unfortunate news. One of my discus, the red, jumped from the tank last night. I found him this morning. I am very disappointed that this happened. Will be covering the tanks from here on out. I knew it was possible for them to jump, but these guys have never been jumpy at all.

Today however I have been saving for a massive 90% water change in the main tank. I had added some driftwood about a week ago and forgot it needed soaked first so it leeched into the water making it very brown. So I’m going to finish the water change and run carbon just for a few hours until any remaining tint comes out. Then I’ll remove the carbon.

Here are a couple pictures from today’s water change and sump cleaning...

https://i.imgur.com/q0rpPSu.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/X0sxdAa.jpg

[Ryan925]

This morning I have some very unfortunate news. One of my discus, the red, jumped from the tank last night. I found him this morning. I am very disappointed that this happened. Will be covering the tanks from here on out. I knew it was possible for them to jump, but these guys have never been jumpy at all.

Today however I have been saving for a massive 90% water change in the main tank. I had added some driftwood about a week ago and forgot it needed soaked first so it leeched into the water making it very brown. So I’m going to finish the water change and run carbon just for a few hours until any remaining tint comes out. Then I’ll remove the carbon.

Here are a couple pictures from today’s water change and sump cleaning...

https://i.imgur.com/q0rpPSu.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/X0sxdAa.jpg

You can throw a bag of purigen in your filter and will remove the tannins quickly.

Discus definitely are jumpers. Lids are a very good thing

[CoasterCyrus]

Well... I have an update for you guys. All of the discus are now in the 75 gallon and literally today, two of my angelfish laid eggs... and just hours later, two of my discus laid eggs. Everyone is breeding in that tank! lol. I am not really sure what I want to do next. I could take the eggs into two different tanks to try to raise them. There are just so many hundreds of eggs right now between the two pairs and there is clearly a lot of aggression going on. Assistance would be wonderful lol

[CoasterCyrus]

I guess I do have another question regarding my tank. I am noticing fairly cloudy water and what I believe to be excess slime coat on two of my discus, they are also dark. No cloudy eyes though. Appetites are still all present on all but one discus. I have done water changes yesterday and a smaller one today. The cloudiness in the water though I am unsure of how to fix. All my filters are clean and new. Haven't touched the biological media. I always replace filter floss and rinse out filter sponges when I do water changes. Any suggestions on all listed above would be great! Thanks so much guys. I know you'll share some great information with me. I should also share that all of my levels are a ok!
Here is an image of the cloudiness in the tank:
https://i.imgur.com/coe5ilg.jpg

Here is the Blue Diamond with this white coat
https://i.imgur.com/rYPGIxI.jpg

Here is my Blue Discus( I believe this is the type) with his white coat also guarding his eggs which can also be seen in the picture:
https://i.imgur.com/tEfQ9EL.jpg

As you can see the two blues are very dark as well. Not sure what this is all about.

[CoasterCyrus]

This morning we woke up to wriggles in the tank. The Discus had laid eggs a few days ago the first attempt they had ended in eating the eggs. This time they’ve at least got to this stage of development. I have a feeling they will end up eaten again at some point, but cool nonetheless.

https://i.imgur.com/Iz5HaDC.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/nxxM1B8.jpg

[jmf3460]

Hi Cyrus, congrats on the wrigglers. Are you sure that the blue diamond is part of the pair? The reason I ask is because from your pictures, the blue diamond does not look to be in good health. It appears his slime coat is shedding due to an irritant in the water, it also appears that he is emaciated to the point of near death.

[CoasterCyrus]

I know he isn’t part of the pair. I ran a treatment and he’s back to normal and eating now. I’ll update with his pictures soon. He looks good as new. I should have updated on the rest of the tank. Cloudiness is fine now. Everything is looking good again.

[jmf3460]

10 4 sounds good. I was just looking out for ya. stand looks awesome!

[CoasterCyrus]

Thanks so much. As expected the parents at the wrigglers. I am setting up my 20 gal to move them into. This is the second time they have laid eggs and I would like to see them be successful, so they are getting their own tank where they can raise fry in peace.

Here are some photos of how things look now. Cloudiness is gone, blue diamond is looking much better, and the other side of the stand is nearing completion. Plus you can see the handles we are using for the doors. Really cool ones we found at Lowe's.

https://i.imgur.com/345sUn6.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/89qesth.jpg
(I will be going back to BB shortly)

https://i.imgur.com/5G8cA7u.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/qHpvlEF.jpg

I will also add, The angelfish and plecos are all being taken to the LFS. I want just discus and tetras in this tank at this point.

[FischAutoTechGarten]

nice choice of stain. looking forward to seeing the finished canopy section soon. great to see a 3 sides viewable aquarium!

[CoasterCyrus]

Just wanted to update really quickly. The canopy is still unfinished but all discus are doing very well. I sold all of the Angelfish and just have the discus at this point. My goal always was to have just a discus tank. I'm excited that everything has been going so well with this tank. Eventually I will remove the sand bed I think. It just gets dirty too easily and bare bottom is much easier to clean. I just wish there was some sort of flooring I could use to keep the tank looking bright. It is so much darker looking running bare bottom. Any suggestions would be much appreciated!

[Pices]

Watching this is better than the book I’m reading and it’s a good book! Can’t wait to see more pics. I’m always impressed with these builds. I really like yours. Is the stain you used called, Driftwood? It looks very similar to mine.
Love your fish and wigglers. Exciting stuff!

[Adam S]

If you want to keep the sand look, I used Rustoleum American Accents on one of my L134 tanks. It was either Pebble or Travertine.
Crappy video, but it gives you an idea of what it looks like.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=utRoPwVVnTs

[CoasterCyrus]

Thank you all very much! I will get more pics up as soon as we get more done! I will also double check the stain. Its something with the word
grey in it. I'll also double check on that for ya!

[CoasterCyrus]

Hey Guys, been a bit since I have updated. I do have a question for you all though, the white sand in my tank is starting to turn black and I am unsure of what is causing this. I am sincerely considering removing the sand all together next time I do a large water change. The tank is really in need of a deep clean anyways. Still curious what the black coloration in the sand is though.

Thanks in advance for any replies!

[Pices]

Adam,
I really like that sand look on your bb tank. Can you do that after the tank is up and running? Not to hijack this thread, but I just went bb again and wonder if it’s possible? I thought of trying to paint the bottom from inside and covering up my sump with a plastic tarp. Is achieving this sand look messy?

Cyrus,
I got a dark green color to my sand that I think was algae because it stuck to the sand when I tried to vacuum it up. My fish are happier since I got rid of it, or at least I am, but I know what you mean about looking dark. Also, I just went to buy some wood stain for a cabinet to hold my water tanks (I’ve hired a friend to build) and the color used to be driftwood, but is called classic gray now. At least I hope, since i think it’s the same #271...Hope it matches my stand. Thanks