40 Breeder Build Thread--My First Posts

[Florida Justin]

I've never posted before, but I've been using Reef2Reef as a reference for as long as I've been in the hobby (6+ Months). Up to this point I've got two tanks that were up and running and made them mine, but we all know that with an existing setup comes existing problems...

Here I will document my first build from the ground-up. I've taken all of the mistakes I've made and hopefully this tank runs great. It's our bedroom tank and I broke down a 29g tank to upgrade to this one. Most of the tank has been put together using craigslist/secondhand equipment--I'm a garage sale reefer.

Here are the meager beginnings, an undrilled 40b with stand on craigslist for $50 bucks and a used Chinese LED for $50...Next up, paint the stand, paint the tank, drilling, and much more, stay tuned!

 

[kschweer]

Welcome!!! Looks like you're off to a great start. Can't wait to see more.

 

[Florida Justin]

Thanks! I'm at work, so I can't go crazy posting pics, but it is up and running now...

 

[tonizzy22]

Looks real good. I was thinking of doing another setup similar to yours. I am curious on how the spread of the led light is on a 40b. What lens are on the led? How high will you have to have the light from the surface of the water?

 

[Florida Justin]

Looks real good. I was thinking of doing another setup similar to yours. I am curious on how the spread of the led light is on a 40b. What lens are on the led? How high will you have to have the light from the surface of the water?

Thanks! My wife and I are calling it the "Sexy Tank"

The LED is good, about 12" from the water and covers completely. It seems bright enough to do whatever I want (planning on SPS dominant.) It's a 165W unit that was originally bought on amazon and I suspended it from the ceiling on pulleys, so I can raise and lower as needed...

I'd like everyone's opinion on the stocking list:
Flame Angel (Already Have from the 29g)
Yellow Longnose Butterfly (Already Have from the 29g)
A Pair of Wyoming White Clowns with a Rose Bubbletip (In about 6 Mos)
A Pair of Mandarin Dragonets (Male and Female, in about 6 mos--the tank has a fuge for a copepod/amphipod source)

The "Theme" of the tank is a "Couples" Tank--the Flame is my wife, the butterfly is me, and the clowns/dragonets will be mates too (I hope)

 

[rhino56]

Hob filter or what? Sump? That's always my first stage of laying out a tank, the filtration. I have a 40 breeder right now that i drilled for 2 corner overflows and it works great. I have a 104 gallons of sump water under it for its filtration. It may be overkill but man it has a great capacity for filtering and stability.

 

[Florida Justin]

Hob filter or what? Sump? That's always my first stage of laying out a tank, the filtration. I have a 40 breeder right now that i drilled for 2 corner overflows and it works great. I have a 104 gallons of sump water under it for its filtration. It may be overkill but man it has a great capacity for filtering and stability.

It has a 20 tall as a sump, I need to put more pictures up. I had the tank drilled at a local glass shop...

 

[Florida Justin]

Here's the stand, tank with new paint, and beginning of the plumbing:

 

[Florida Justin]

Sorry about the double pics. I'm trying to figure out how to do all of this on my iPhone, and I just downloaded the reef2reef app...

The sump is built (20 tall glass with acrylic dividers)

 

[rhino56]

It has a 20 tall as a sump, I need to put more pictures up. I had the tank drilled at a local glass shop...

awesome, you're doing it right. Bigger the sump volume the better, if you have any room even for a 5 gallon containor plumb it in for that extra 5 gallons

 

[Florida Justin]

Here's a few more...

Dual 1 1/2" overflows (main and emergency/surface skimmer), mag 7 return pump (rated 700gph I think) and room for a 10x12 fuge, aquaC remora skimmer (saves in-sump space), and a 6" filter sock

I really tried to go overkill on all of the filtration...set up/running pics coming soon...

 

[rhino56]

Having a fuge is going to make a huge difference on algae growth within the tank. If you start getting algae in the DT just lessen the light cycle and increase the light cycle on the fuge.

 

[Florida Justin]

The tank is up and running now, I'll post some more pictures soon...I have a phosphate reactor to add to the system, and I have chaeto/grape/red Marco sp, and mangrove