build thread

This thread is for the general discussion of the Item Swarley's Reef Tank. Please add to the discussion here.

Hey guys, I made a post already about this 135 gallon acrylic that my mom found at goodwill for $180 that I went in and bought! Some replies on that post told me to start a build thread so here it is. It holds water and is in very good shape but I have never built a tank myself or owned an...

After more than a decade away from the hobby, I’m beyond excited to be diving back into the world of reef tanks! I’ve always loved the beauty and complexity of saltwater aquariums, and now, with my two-year-old daughter absolutely obsessed with fish and corals, I have the perfect excuse to start...

Hello everyone. I just created a R2R account today, but been reading and learning from this community for 9 years. I have an 8-9 year old Red Sea Reefer 1st gen that I started in 2017. LOTS of problem solving, lessons learned, trial & error, wrong decisions along the way. Fortunately, also...

Been lurking here for a few week, asking some questions and commenting on a few, learning as I go along. Today was delivery day on my first tank. IM Nuvo 200 INT Josh & Matt from World Wide Corals delivered and helped set things up. Ordered it through the store, and can’t explain how glad I...

I am making a low cost high effort conversion. I am attempting to transform a JBJ65 AIO tank into a Sump based tank. I do realize that not a lot of people do this regularly. sometimes its cheaper to buy. I researched trying to find a good thread on how to convert JBJ65. but I didn't find a good...

Hello reefers, I've decided to do a little build thread of my Waterbox Peninsula 25 tank which I started in December 2024. I have always kept freshwater fish and never looked at Marine due to the high costs but after doing some research I realised it shouldn't be too expensive compared to my...

New dream tank, Nyos Opus 440 G2...and new Instagram channel: Redneck Reefer Please give me a follow to get me started!

👆🏻FTS JUNE 25 2026 👆🏻FTS-8-18-25 Ive run a Fluval Flex 15g for 2 years now and was starting to become interested in a new tank. The old stand that I have is falling apart and it’s close to its last days anytime now. So I started looking for a new setup. I bought this current setup off FB...

Custom Shallow Peninsula - An Ocean Canvas - Day 1 Imagine a canvas where every detail of your ocean dream is a brushstroke of vibrant life—each element a living organism, together forming a breathtaking reef of innovation and passion. In this journey, I'm crafting a custom-made All in One...

I decided I wanted a mantis shrimp tank this year as a birthday treat for myself , build includes as follows: Icecap 20gal cube Kessil A80 Tuna Sicce 100w heater Nero 3 Bubble Magus Mini-Q I originally set the rank up with just live rock as shown, and then after some research I...

Good morning everyone, I am starting a brand new build to upgrade from my measly 50g tank. Will be mostly SPS. So far I have ordered the below. -Tank from Glass Cages. 72x26x26 eurobraced with a shadow overflow, and 2 1 inch returns. Low iron front and sides. -Stand from Alufab. 3x3...

Thought I'd go ahead and make a tank build thread, so anyone new, can see WHAT NOT TO DO. :face-with-tears-of-joy: Is my tank even considered a tank?? I'm definitely a glutton for punishment (but it's working so far). Please enjoy this wonderful step-by-step diary guide of 'Things Not to Do"...

Hi, I started this build thread mainly to document this build for my future reference, this is a tank on a very tight budget, but I don´t believe expensive expensive tech is the key to reefing. I did this build as an upgrade to what was going to be my 3.5 gallon old school SPS. That tank started...

Hi fellow reefers, I'm using this space to document my progress with setting up my 300 gal aquarium and fish room. The tank will go in a corner of my unfinished basement. It will be located next to a seating area where there will be a TV so I want it to look good and not be too loud. Below, I...

Hello everyone! Today I wanted to start sharing a tank im working on! This will be my first saltwater tank and of course me being me I had to choose an interesting but difficult animal, dwarf seahorses. I have done all my research and have experience caring for complicated animals! Currently the...

Hello everyone, I am posting this build to keep track of progress with my Waterbox Marine X 110.4 and for anyone else building a similar tank that may want information on how someone else has done it. I've been slowly collecting the equipmment for about 2.5 years for a tank like this...

Hi All, I'm late to the tank build party as I set this system up just over a year ago. I've been documenting my journey on socials and will dump all here soon. I've def seen some ups and downs over the past year and its no joke on how unstable and demanding tanks are in their infancy!

So this is a long story. I have in the last few years had 2 separate saltwater tanks one that ran for nearly 2 years that I shut down in 2022 when my son was born and I got too busy and one I started in January of 2024 when things started to calm down or maybe I just got used to the chaos that...

I told myself I was going to wait a little bit longer before getting back in the hobby.. and then I scored the Facebook Marketplace deal of the century. For $500 I took home: - Red Sea Reefer 170 with sump/stand - Neptune Apex, ATO, and Feeder - RSK 600 skimmer - AI Hydra 32 - 50+ lbs of rock -...

So someone poisoned my tanks! I lost everything! So I am finally re-starting the 4 foot 75 gal. I'm still sick. But planning on doing some rock work to try to get some help on my new build if anyone is interested in custome caves for some help getting the tank back going ill build any requests.

I didn’t do a build thread on my nano because I had most of it setup before I started regularly using this website, but I’m setting up a 65g as an upgrade so here’s what I got: Tank: Marineland 65g w/ drilled corner overflow Stand: I bought a VERY used kind of beat up 6ft stand from a guy on...

Hello reef2reef forum! I want to contribute and show my aquarium that I am setting up in my kitchen. About me: 40 years old have been tinkering with saltwater and reef aquariums since 2014 with a break of a couple of years. Lives just north of Stockholm in Sweden. former aquarium: fresh water...

Hey folks , I’m one of the people who couldn’t resist the waterbox labor day sale and purchased a new Infinia 230.6 tank. It’s a 180 gallon tank with internal overflow and a 50 gallon sump. This will be my third addition to my reef family. I also have a 100 gallon IM ext 100 and a waterbox...

Hey everyone! I wanted to post my tank build and journey, now that it's coming to the 2 year mark this Nov! I'll list down the design, equipment, thought process, dosing and livestock when we get to it! But until then, here's a Full-Tank-Shot ~ Also found a really cool way to get the...