40 Breeder DIY w Fiji cube box. Downsizing from 150G

[Pedal Dangit]

So this will be my 3rd build thread from the last 10 years. Gone full circle. Started with a 40 breeder, moved to a 150G. Now going back to a 40 breeder. The big tank is just...well, too big. We have a small house, the tank completely overwhelmed the small room it was in. Not to mention the flat worms which almost ended the hobby for me. The 150 has been completely neglected for many months. More than a year actually. Automation isn't always a good thing. The top off and auto feeders just barely keep it alive. The skimmer stopped working like 3-4 months ago? I lost so many fish trying to eliminate flat worms, I just kinda, gave up. It is embarrassing. I wasn't even cleaning the glass or looking at the tank at all anymore. But then that dang light bulb keeps illuminating in my head...those poor clownfish that are still alive and we have had for so long, you can't get rid of them. How about we just keep the clowns and a few of the favorite hardy coral survivors in a small tank in corner of the family room? Sigh. So here we go again. Starting with quick basic 2x4 stand. I did gymnastics routines on it and it is getting bolted to the half wall behind it. It is rock solid. The 40 breeder I'm using is actually a spare sump for the 150.

 

[Gumbies R Us]

Following along!

 

[Pedal Dangit]

Alright,

Alright. Got water in there for a test run. I gotta get some pics of the 150 or some links. Trying a Hygger vert pump 390 GPH and it seems good.

 

[Pedal Dangit]

 

[Pedal Dangit]

Oh man, that feeling of it will never be this clean ever again. So satisfying to throw all this together quickly and have it come out better than expected. This was a really simple, low cost project, and would be perfect for someone just starting the hobby. 40 gallon breeder can be had cheap used or on sale $75? (It was a spare used sump) Fiji cube AIO box was $150 on sale, the hygger pump was only $60, 2x4 stand was about $100 in materials (not sure, I used some wood and screws on hand) The first water test went so well, the stand is solid and level, the pump seems just right with a random flow nozzle. Sure makes my tap water looks nice. Get to sit and stare at an empty tank thinking "it will never be as clean again as it is at this moment "

 

[Pedal Dangit]

The 150 G

 

[overhead]

A friend gave me his Marineland 40 gallon breeder, the AIO I ordered from Fiji just arrived yesterday. I have not decided what to do with it yet, I have just about everything I need to start it other than a stand and some rock. Still trying to decided if I am going to just start another tank or if I am going to transfer everything out of one of the 15 gallon tanks I have and take it down. I may just start fresh and leave the 15 up, it is not like it takes a bunch of my time (knock on wood). Edit: Almost forgot an expensive piece I am missing, the lights. No idea what I am going to do about that yet.

Looking forward to seeing what you do with yours.

 

[Pedal Dangit]

A friend gave me his Marineland 40 gallon breeder, the AIO I ordered from Fiji just arrived yesterday. I have not decided what to do with it yet, I have just about everything I need to start it other than a stand and some rock. Still trying to decided if I am going to just start another tank or if I am going to transfer everything out of one of the 15 gallon tanks I have and take it down. I may just start fresh and leave the 15 up, it is not like it takes a bunch of my time (knock on wood). Edit: Almost forgot an expensive piece I am missing, the lights. No idea what I am going to do about that yet.

Looking forward to seeing what you do with yours.

I have 3 Ai hydra 32 lights that I'm taking from the 150 and hanging them on a diy cable and rail. I have this weird open floor plan half wall thing that kinda works well for a peninsula. I just set this up and plugged it in

 

[Pedal Dangit]

A friend gave me his Marineland 40 gallon breeder, the AIO I ordered from Fiji just arrived yesterday. I have not decided what to do with it yet, I have just about everything I need to start it other than a stand and some rock. Still trying to decided if I am going to just start another tank or if I am going to transfer everything out of one of the 15 gallon tanks I have and take it down. I may just start fresh and leave the 15 up, it is not like it takes a bunch of my time (knock on wood). Edit: Almost forgot an expensive piece I am missing, the lights. No idea what I am going to do about that yet.

Looking forward to seeing what you do with yours.

Hey did you double check the tank measurements against the fiji cube box? I had to return a Petco imaginarium tank because it was not tall enough. It was an inch shorter. Make sure you get the right size box and tank matched up. "40 breeder " dimensions are different among various tank manufacturers.

 

[overhead]

I have 3 Ai hydra 32 lights that I'm taking from the 150 and hanging them on a diy cable and rail. I have this weird open floor plan half wall thing that kinda works well for a peninsula. I just set this up and plugged it in

That looks good. I am really not sure what I will be doing about lights, worst case I will get an AI blade that is long enough, I don't plan on having any coral that requires really intense lighting. Another option would be a couple of AI Prime 16's. Darn lights are so expensive. I have a cheap Amazon light I can use for a while, it came with a different tank I bought used. Probably have six months to figure it out....and to prepare my wallet.

 

[overhead]

Hey did you double check the tank measurements against the fiji cube box? I had to return a Petco imaginarium tank because it was not tall enough. It was an inch shorter. Make sure you get the right size box and tank matched up. "40 breeder " dimensions are different among various tank manufacturers.

I did, it fits the Marineland 40 breeder perfectly. I will be siliconing it in tomorrow, hopefully. Thanks for the tip, though. I had to search the internet for a while to verify it would fit the Marineland.

 

[Pedal Dangit]

Today is officially the start day!. Added warm saltwater about an hour ago. Got the light finished. Need to get a media rack but just using filter pads for now. Really enjoying this project.

 

[overhead]

I can't tell from the picture, did you leave the gaps open on the sides of the AIO? I initially shoved some egg crate in there and siliconed over it, and predictably it looked horrible and leaked. So I pull that out, scraped off all the silicone and just filled the gaps with some 30PPI filter material I had. Worked out okay, the material came shipped in vacuum bags, I could cut it to size and stick it in there before it expanded.

 

[Pedal Dangit]

I can't tell from the picture, did you leave the gaps open on the sides of the AIO? I initially shoved some egg crate in there and siliconed over it, and predictably it looked horrible and leaked. So I pull that out, scraped off all the silicone and just filled the gaps with some 30PPI filter material I had. Worked out okay, the material came shipped in vacuum bags, I could cut it to size and stick it in there before it expanded.

I left them wide open. You can see in one picture, I secured the box with a rectangle of silicone only on the one glass panel. I figured to just go with it, maybe the spaces will be good for tube worms and small creaturs like pods to reproduce. I may try some of that black Matala pond filter media if fish try to go in the sides. I will probably cover the outside of glass with thin abs sheet as removable panels with velcro. I can park my glass cleaner in there i just found out lol.

 

[overhead]

I left them wide open. You can see in one picture, I secured the box with a rectangle of silicone only on the one glass panel. I figured to just go with it, maybe the spaces will be good for tube worms and small creaturs like pods to reproduce. I may try some of that black Matala pond filter media if fish try to go in the sides. I will probably cover the outside of glass with thin abs sheet as removable panels with velcro. I can park my glass cleaner in there i just found out lol.

Cool. I had the filter material around because I keep it in my tanks to "seed" a hospital tank or QT tank. Honestly, it was just what I had on hand and knowing it would expand it seemed like a good idea. May not be, we will see. Might be a good home for bacteria (good and bad) and pods. My AIO is now only secured by the clamp from my light mount and a plastic clamp I picked up quickly at the local hardware store. I may order some strong magnets to hold it in place, but it is probably not needed.

 

[Pedal Dangit]

Dip treated some hairy mushroom test rocks in 2x dose flatworm exit buckets. I don't think I soaked them long enough as I observed quite a few still running around after I transferred them to the new tank which has 1x dose

 

[Pedal Dangit]

 

[Pedal Dangit]

Today's picture

 

[exnisstech]

That 40 makes a nice peninsula. Nice job on tye stand also, it looks great! I just replaced my reefer 300 with a marineland 40g breeder from PetSmart for $75 and added an $80 hob overflow. The 40 fits on the 300 stand and I plumbed it to the sump so I was able to use everything except the RS glass tank. Less than $200 and I'm up and running.

 

[Pedal Dangit]

Flatworm and mojano removal table / tank.