I started this build in February as an upgrade for my 11 year old daughter. She'd been taking care of my 5 gallon pico reef for the better part of a year so I felt it was time to really get her feet wet. It's a 40 gallon breeder with a 20 gallon long sump. I built the sump with an ebay baffle kit, the overflow is from marine depot and the stand is diy. I used a no-name dc return pump off amazon, jebao gyre wave maker, and icecap protein skimmer. The refugium light is another amazon special, cheap outdoor grow light. Im using a hydor smart level ATO with a Tom's aqualifter. The lights are orbit ic pros. Because we're not running any kind of aquarium controller, I built a DJ power bar into the back of the stand so each outlet is individually switched.
This tank will be predominantly softies with a couple lps.
All in all, I'm extremely happy with the build. I took it on as a personal challenge to do a budget build that doesn't look like a budget build. Overall, I'm $650 in. We'll be building the aquascape and cycling the tank next month.
This tank will be predominantly softies with a couple lps.
All in all, I'm extremely happy with the build. I took it on as a personal challenge to do a budget build that doesn't look like a budget build. Overall, I'm $650 in. We'll be building the aquascape and cycling the tank next month.