I am about 90% of the way through the my dream build, so I thought it would be a good time to document it all. I have a lot left to do: Calcium Reactor, Algae Scrubber, cabinetry etc. I will try to keep this updated as I go, but for now, here is my first build thread.
Backstory
I've been reef keeping since the 90s. Over the years I've had tanks ranging from my first 20 Gallon Long, to a 35 hex seahorse tank to my 120 Gallon in wall and many tanks in between. My wife has always been supportive of my tanks, but never really got into the hobby. I could put a sea turtle in the tank and she probably wouldn't notice for a couple weeks. When we were planning to build a new home I went back and forth on whether or not to even have an aquarium. I knew it would add a lot of work and expense to an already difficult and expensive process. I had also been very busy and maintenance had slipped on my 120 gallon mixed reef. It was still presentable but I lost a couple of my nicer corals and I was feeling bored with the upkeep.
I was strongly leaning towards abandoning the hobby when I added an Aiptaisa Eating Filefish to the tank to take care of the aiptasia I had been neglecting. When my kids came home, 4 and 8 at the time, they walked right over to the tank and starting talking amongst themselves. I asked them what they were discussing and they said they were trying to come up with a name for the new fish. I was surprised they had noticed it that quickly. We talked about the tank and it's inhabitants for while. It turned out they paid more attention to the tank than I realized. I decided right then that the new house was gonna have a reef tank.
That filefish hasn't eaten the first aiptasia in 2 years, but it made me want to build a tank with my kids. They have been greatly involved in the process, especially my son, who is now 6. We build things for the tank together, enjoy feeding time(called the fish party), and do fish tank science(water testing, dosing etc.) They ended up naming the filefish "Flow", cause she just flows around the top of the tank. "Flow", the Aiptasia Eating Filefish who doesn't eat aiptasia is still one of my favorite fish.
Stand and Infrastructure
I decided to build the tank as a room divider. Being able to see the tank from 2 sides is awesome. After going back and forth with my wife and Architect over the best location, we decided that the wall separating the office and the foyer would work best. I had the plumber put a drain under where the tank would be, and I added a shower pan to catch any spills or leaks that would happen under the stand. There are 3 dedicated 20 amp circuits to provide power, and a conduit with four 1/4 lines running to the garage so I could automate water changes and top off from reservoirs in the garage. There is also a small duct in the ceiling above if I ever feel the need to add ventilation.
The stand was constructed out of untreated lumber. The top stringers were 2 x 8, with the legs made from 2x6 and 2x4. I painted the whole thing with some leftover house paint. I struggled with the height. I wanted it to look like a picture on the wall when you walked into the front door. I ended up making the top of the stand 44" tall. It looks nice but maintenance is hard and it's a little high for the kids. If I had it to do all over I would lower it 4"-6". Maybe after the cabinetry is in it will grow on me but right now I wish it was lower.
The Tank
I wanted the tank to feel like it fit in the space, but also be as large as possible(cause of course). After a few sketches I settled on 7' Long, 30" High and 30" Deep. I knew that going 7' would make lighting a little weird, but going to 8' didn't seem to work and 6' was just too small(cause of course). I also wanted to go at least 36" front to back, but it just didn't fit, so 30" it was. The height was a tough a decision. The room it was going in would have 10' ceilings, and I wanted it to feel large. 24" high just seemed to short. I knew that a 30" high tank was tricky to light, and a pain to work on, but I went with aesthetics over practicality.
I knew that I wanted glass. I would never again use acrylic after the great acrylic tank scratching incident of 2008(some kids, a magnetic algae scraper, and a sandbed, use your imagination). I got a few quotes and settled on CustomAquariums.com. The price was right, and my sales guy, Bob Pontow, was responsive. I have no regrets and would use them again. Since this would be a room divider I went with low iron glass on the front and back. I also like their overflows, very low profile and completely protected against fish getting in. Been quiet too.
Getting this thing onto the stand was harder than I imagined. I had tons of suction cups and plenty of people since the home was still under construction. The height I put the stand and the way it was in the wall just made it awkward and difficult. Thankfully I had a tractor with forks on site. It was still hairy and nerve racking sliding it off the pallet and onto the stand though. I was glad when it was over.
Aquascaping
I struggled with this quite a bit. I considered ditching all of the established rock in my old tank and starting over with all dry rock. Mainly to get rid of the Aiptasia I had for over 10 years. My rock was a mix of stuff from the Keys, Fiji and Tongan Branch; most over 15 years old and I decided not to part with it. The diversity on the rock was worth the aggravation of the Aiptasia. I had been dealing with it for this long, I could deal with it in the new tank.
I love the Negative Space stuff I have been seeing on the forums, but I couldn't see how to do it with the established rock. I wanted to use my old rock and another hundred pounds or so of dry rock. I saved this one picture a while back cause I just liked the way it looked. I figured I could make the overhang out of dry rock before filling the tank, and the other island just by piling up my established rock. If any one recognizes that photo please let me know, I would like to give proper credit for it and thank the owner for the inspiration. I am pretty happy with the way it came out, tons of hiding spots, maybe too many(more on that when I talk about livestock).
Image I Modeled My Aquascape After
I have always used fish tanks as my sumps, cause they are cheap to pick up on the dollar per gallon sales, and I think there are better places to put the money. I had been keeping an eye out for a 75 gallon to come up for sale but one never did. Then on Black Friday BRS had the Icecap 48XL for a price too good to pass up. Boy, is thing fancy, makes my last 40 breeder sump look like trash. Filter socks(never used them before, kind of a pain the butt tbh), probe holders, thingies to put dosing lines in, etc. Unfortunately I couldn't get it under the stand with the center brace. I had to remove the brace while the tank was empty to get it in there. Hopefully I never have to remove it.
For a skimmer I went with a Bubble Magus Curve 9 Elite. Good price/performace ratio and I am happy with it so far.
I had used gyres in the past and loved how they move water, but they are a pain to clean and they didn't seem to last that long for me and my very lax maintenance routines. I went with 2 MP 60s, mounted on opposite ends, one in front and the other at the back. Water flow is good, but not very turbulent, kind of just flows around the tank. I put the MP 40 from my old tank facing one of the MP 60s and it really makes the flow random and turbulent. Unfortunately when I moved it something happened to the dry side and it makes an annoying noise now. Eventually I will get it fixed and add it back. Until then flow is barely sufficient with 2 MP 60s, turned all the way up, in the arrangement I have. I need to experiment with placement I think.
Return pump is a Sicce Syncra 5.0, with head pressure it is probably just short of 3x tank turnover per hour. I plan on adding a second return for redundancy, and I could probably use more turnover. I have a bunch of old Danner Mag 5s laying around, so I will probably use one of those since I already spent too much money on this project.
Lighting - Should Have Just Gone with Metal Halides
I had an Orphek Atlantik on my 120, so I figured I would use that and add 2 more to light the 7 foot tank. I knew I would probably need more light so I added 4 36" slimline T5 retrofits from Reefbrite. I also am superstitious and believe there is some magical piece of the light spectrum that T5s have that is missing from LEDs. I like the looks, and spread is very even, but I am not getting the par numbers I wanted on the bottom. At the sand I am getting around 150 par with everything turned up. I am not going to change it now, too much money invested, I will just have to put lower light corals at the bottom. For a 30" deep tank I should have just gone with Metal Halides. They are proven to grow corals, have better penetration and are less expensive. I was worried about the heat and energy usage so I went LEDs, but for a tank this big it was a mistake.
Water Changes, Top Off, Dosing etc. - Not Toting Buckets Through My New House
I hate water changes, and maintenance is hard to keep up with as the years go by. I have 2 Neptune DOS pumps in my garage. I ran a 100' aquabus cable and 4 x 100' 1/4" lines inside a conduit from the fish tank to the garage. There I have a garbage can with kalkwasser, and another with fresh saltwater. Dosing and water changes are automatic and controlled by my good ole Neptune Classic.
I addition to the Kalk dosing I have a GEO calcium reactor. I haven't hooked it up yet, still on my to do list. I will post photos when I get it installed.
More to Come Later
I will post my stocking list and plans and the rest of the build as time goes on. Thanks for reading, hope it wasn't too long!
Backstory
I've been reef keeping since the 90s. Over the years I've had tanks ranging from my first 20 Gallon Long, to a 35 hex seahorse tank to my 120 Gallon in wall and many tanks in between. My wife has always been supportive of my tanks, but never really got into the hobby. I could put a sea turtle in the tank and she probably wouldn't notice for a couple weeks. When we were planning to build a new home I went back and forth on whether or not to even have an aquarium. I knew it would add a lot of work and expense to an already difficult and expensive process. I had also been very busy and maintenance had slipped on my 120 gallon mixed reef. It was still presentable but I lost a couple of my nicer corals and I was feeling bored with the upkeep.
Ole Neglected 120 In Wall
I was strongly leaning towards abandoning the hobby when I added an Aiptaisa Eating Filefish to the tank to take care of the aiptasia I had been neglecting. When my kids came home, 4 and 8 at the time, they walked right over to the tank and starting talking amongst themselves. I asked them what they were discussing and they said they were trying to come up with a name for the new fish. I was surprised they had noticed it that quickly. We talked about the tank and it's inhabitants for while. It turned out they paid more attention to the tank than I realized. I decided right then that the new house was gonna have a reef tank.
That filefish hasn't eaten the first aiptasia in 2 years, but it made me want to build a tank with my kids. They have been greatly involved in the process, especially my son, who is now 6. We build things for the tank together, enjoy feeding time(called the fish party), and do fish tank science(water testing, dosing etc.) They ended up naming the filefish "Flow", cause she just flows around the top of the tank. "Flow", the Aiptasia Eating Filefish who doesn't eat aiptasia is still one of my favorite fish.
Stand and Infrastructure
I decided to build the tank as a room divider. Being able to see the tank from 2 sides is awesome. After going back and forth with my wife and Architect over the best location, we decided that the wall separating the office and the foyer would work best. I had the plumber put a drain under where the tank would be, and I added a shower pan to catch any spills or leaks that would happen under the stand. There are 3 dedicated 20 amp circuits to provide power, and a conduit with four 1/4 lines running to the garage so I could automate water changes and top off from reservoirs in the garage. There is also a small duct in the ceiling above if I ever feel the need to add ventilation.
Opening For Tank
The stand was constructed out of untreated lumber. The top stringers were 2 x 8, with the legs made from 2x6 and 2x4. I painted the whole thing with some leftover house paint. I struggled with the height. I wanted it to look like a picture on the wall when you walked into the front door. I ended up making the top of the stand 44" tall. It looks nice but maintenance is hard and it's a little high for the kids. If I had it to do all over I would lower it 4"-6". Maybe after the cabinetry is in it will grow on me but right now I wish it was lower.
The Tank
I wanted the tank to feel like it fit in the space, but also be as large as possible(cause of course). After a few sketches I settled on 7' Long, 30" High and 30" Deep. I knew that going 7' would make lighting a little weird, but going to 8' didn't seem to work and 6' was just too small(cause of course). I also wanted to go at least 36" front to back, but it just didn't fit, so 30" it was. The height was a tough a decision. The room it was going in would have 10' ceilings, and I wanted it to feel large. 24" high just seemed to short. I knew that a 30" high tank was tricky to light, and a pain to work on, but I went with aesthetics over practicality.
Fresh Outta the Crate
I knew that I wanted glass. I would never again use acrylic after the great acrylic tank scratching incident of 2008(some kids, a magnetic algae scraper, and a sandbed, use your imagination). I got a few quotes and settled on CustomAquariums.com. The price was right, and my sales guy, Bob Pontow, was responsive. I have no regrets and would use them again. Since this would be a room divider I went with low iron glass on the front and back. I also like their overflows, very low profile and completely protected against fish getting in. Been quiet too.
Getting this thing onto the stand was harder than I imagined. I had tons of suction cups and plenty of people since the home was still under construction. The height I put the stand and the way it was in the wall just made it awkward and difficult. Thankfully I had a tractor with forks on site. It was still hairy and nerve racking sliding it off the pallet and onto the stand though. I was glad when it was over.
In Place and In One Piece
Aquascaping
I struggled with this quite a bit. I considered ditching all of the established rock in my old tank and starting over with all dry rock. Mainly to get rid of the Aiptasia I had for over 10 years. My rock was a mix of stuff from the Keys, Fiji and Tongan Branch; most over 15 years old and I decided not to part with it. The diversity on the rock was worth the aggravation of the Aiptasia. I had been dealing with it for this long, I could deal with it in the new tank.
I love the Negative Space stuff I have been seeing on the forums, but I couldn't see how to do it with the established rock. I wanted to use my old rock and another hundred pounds or so of dry rock. I saved this one picture a while back cause I just liked the way it looked. I figured I could make the overhang out of dry rock before filling the tank, and the other island just by piling up my established rock. If any one recognizes that photo please let me know, I would like to give proper credit for it and thank the owner for the inspiration. I am pretty happy with the way it came out, tons of hiding spots, maybe too many(more on that when I talk about livestock).
Image I Modeled My Aquascape After
Old Rock on the Left, Dry Rock on the Right
Filtration and My First Real SumpI have always used fish tanks as my sumps, cause they are cheap to pick up on the dollar per gallon sales, and I think there are better places to put the money. I had been keeping an eye out for a 75 gallon to come up for sale but one never did. Then on Black Friday BRS had the Icecap 48XL for a price too good to pass up. Boy, is thing fancy, makes my last 40 breeder sump look like trash. Filter socks(never used them before, kind of a pain the butt tbh), probe holders, thingies to put dosing lines in, etc. Unfortunately I couldn't get it under the stand with the center brace. I had to remove the brace while the tank was empty to get it in there. Hopefully I never have to remove it.
Oops
I haven't had a chance to do it yet, but I am moving my Icecap AGS-400 turf scrubber from my 120 to this tank. When they first got popular I ignored them, thinking my chaeto fuge was fine. But now, oh how I love this thing. I used to get a hair algae outbreak every year or two, but since I got that thing, I've barely had to clean the glass. I know some people don't like them, but it is probably the single biggest game for me personally in over 20 years of reefing.
For a skimmer I went with a Bubble Magus Curve 9 Elite. Good price/performace ratio and I am happy with it so far.
Bit messy, but I can't bring myself to clean up.
Water Flow - Never Enough I had used gyres in the past and loved how they move water, but they are a pain to clean and they didn't seem to last that long for me and my very lax maintenance routines. I went with 2 MP 60s, mounted on opposite ends, one in front and the other at the back. Water flow is good, but not very turbulent, kind of just flows around the tank. I put the MP 40 from my old tank facing one of the MP 60s and it really makes the flow random and turbulent. Unfortunately when I moved it something happened to the dry side and it makes an annoying noise now. Eventually I will get it fixed and add it back. Until then flow is barely sufficient with 2 MP 60s, turned all the way up, in the arrangement I have. I need to experiment with placement I think.
Return pump is a Sicce Syncra 5.0, with head pressure it is probably just short of 3x tank turnover per hour. I plan on adding a second return for redundancy, and I could probably use more turnover. I have a bunch of old Danner Mag 5s laying around, so I will probably use one of those since I already spent too much money on this project.
Lighting - Should Have Just Gone with Metal Halides
I had an Orphek Atlantik on my 120, so I figured I would use that and add 2 more to light the 7 foot tank. I knew I would probably need more light so I added 4 36" slimline T5 retrofits from Reefbrite. I also am superstitious and believe there is some magical piece of the light spectrum that T5s have that is missing from LEDs. I like the looks, and spread is very even, but I am not getting the par numbers I wanted on the bottom. At the sand I am getting around 150 par with everything turned up. I am not going to change it now, too much money invested, I will just have to put lower light corals at the bottom. For a 30" deep tank I should have just gone with Metal Halides. They are proven to grow corals, have better penetration and are less expensive. I was worried about the heat and energy usage so I went LEDs, but for a tank this big it was a mistake.
Lotta Lights, Not Enough PAR
Water Changes, Top Off, Dosing etc. - Not Toting Buckets Through My New House
I hate water changes, and maintenance is hard to keep up with as the years go by. I have 2 Neptune DOS pumps in my garage. I ran a 100' aquabus cable and 4 x 100' 1/4" lines inside a conduit from the fish tank to the garage. There I have a garbage can with kalkwasser, and another with fresh saltwater. Dosing and water changes are automatic and controlled by my good ole Neptune Classic.
I addition to the Kalk dosing I have a GEO calcium reactor. I haven't hooked it up yet, still on my to do list. I will post photos when I get it installed.
More to Come Later
I will post my stocking list and plans and the rest of the build as time goes on. Thanks for reading, hope it wasn't too long!