40 gallon breeder club

[Tokash23]

Picked up a 40gallon breeder from petco thanks to the $1/gallon sale a few weeks ago i couldnt help it. So on starts the long process of trying to save money and set this tank up better than my last one. This will be my second tank (the first was a standard 55gal mixed reef about 5yrs ago) I never really wanted to get rid of my 55 but we moved and didnt really have the space for it so out the door it went. I really want to try and do this right. So input is the reason for the build thread tell me if im doing something stupid lol. Going for a mixed reef.
Heres a list of things i will need to do
1. Build stand (I have been working on it however i am no bob vila so its taking me some time)
2. Drill and Paint tank with glassholes overflow and return kit (did this last night and am very pleased with it so far)
3. DIY sump (plan for a 20 long from petco). Need to figure out where to get the baffles cut and what i should use for them glass plexy acrylic??
4. Plumbing (going real simple with the plumbing straight down and straight up for the most part)
5. Return pump (need advice on this was considering a mag 7 as suggested by someone else on her, but i am open to other options. Like anyone else i would like it to be relatively quiet.
6. Skimmer (i have a reef octopus skimmer that i had bought for the 55 a few years ago and a buddy of mine has it now and he is open to me taking it back however he said he thinks the pump is giving off some voltage into the water. I havent looked at it myself yet but i will most likely replace the pump on it before i use it. I believe its the classic 110)
7. Powerheads/Wavemaker (this i have no idea on what i need or how many or what so input would be appreciated. I know these suckers can get expensive and i am not trying to spend alot on these if i can help it.)
8. Rock and sand (i am open to suggestions for rock and sand, i would like to start with all dry rock and add some bacteria to let it cycle instead of adding live rock. I had pretty fine sand in the 55g and it was a little bit of a hassle to get to stay put so maybe something a little coarser this time around idk yet.
9. Light ( i have been back and forth on what kind of light i want first it was an ai prime hd but i didnt thnk that would be enough so i went to a chinese black box and now i think i have landed on the Ocean Revive Arctic T247. The controllability looks like a great feature for a decent price.
10. Need an RO/DI unit still

Here are a few pics of what i have so far Let me know thoughts and suggestions on equipment thanks.

 

[Tokash23]

Nothin?

 

[GHsaltie]

I'm sorry I don't have anything to add as I'm a newb too, but I must say that your off to a great start! I have a 40b with a 20 long sump as well and I love my tank. I also have the reef octopus space saver 110 and it's an awesome skimmer. Aside from that all I have to offer is check out other people's 40b builds, there are a ton of them and maybe you can get some ideas from it.

 

[PaReeferJ]

I have a 40b with a 20 high sump.
Any questions let me know ill let you know what I've done.

 

[PaReeferJ]

I got my baffles for my sump off of eBay. They were all precut I just had to silicone them in. As far as a return pump I am using a mag 5. You can use the mag 7 just might have to put a ball valve in a dial it back. For water movement I am using 2 jabeo wp-10. I have them running off my reef keeper so they are very random flow. For lights I have 2 165w Chinese black boxes with the SB Reeflights retrofit kit.

 

[lion king]

Check out the eheim compact plus pumps, I have them on 3 of my tanks; they come in 3 sizes and are adjustable. You can't beat they head pressure and the price for performance.

I got a baffle kit from this guy and was very happy;http://www.ebay.com/itm/REFUGIUM-KI...276338?hash=item25c1dd00f2:g:ex4AAOSw5cNYZXOZ

I use caribsea life rock and caribsea agra alive sand in all my tanks, search around and you'll find the best prices. Here's a pic with life rock.

If you want to try cheap on the powers heads, you can try jabao, small footprint and controllable. I have 2 pairs and have had issues with 2 of the pumps, had to change motors, but the replacement motors were like $12. Personally I can't justify the expense of the others.

Looks awesome, I love 40 breeders.

 

[mdlc805]

Well come to the club. I have a 40 gallon breeder aswell. Firstly I would suggest drilling an extra hole as an emergency drain just in case your main gets clogged. I have a jaboe dct-4000 I've been running it for 7 months so for so I can't say much on longevity but it works great so far. I have 2 rossmont mover 1200 they are cheap and have a 3 year warranty you can gwt to for around 100 dollars. One plus on the power heads is for only 200 dollars you can also get a controller for them. I have a reef octopus classic 110 and it's awesome. I use aquatic life halo lights a master and a slave they work great. I recently started growing sps and they have been showing great growth under thes leds. an rodi is a must I suggest spectrapure refurbished 90 gpd in expensive and looks like new. You might want to add a controller to your list I use an apex jr with a pm1 with pH probe and eb8.

 

[mdlc805]

Forgot you can also get class cut at your local homedepot or lowes for baffles

 

[Tokash23]

Check out the eheim compact plus pumps, I have them on 3 of my tanks; they come in 3 sizes and are adjustable. You can't beat they head pressure and the price for performance.

I got a baffle kit from this guy and was very happy;http://www.ebay.com/itm/REFUGIUM-KI...276338?hash=item25c1dd00f2:g:ex4AAOSw5cNYZXOZ

I use caribsea life rock and caribsea agra alive sand in all my tanks, search around and you'll find the best prices. Here's a pic with life rock.

If you want to try cheap on the powers heads, you can try jabao, small footprint and controllable. I have 2 pairs and have had issues with 2 of the pumps, had to change motors, but the replacement motors were like $12. Personally I can't justify the expense of the others.

Looks awesome, I love 40 breeders.

That baffle kit looks pretty cool i think im sold on something like that verse trying to make my own and messin it up. I like the idea of being able to control the powerheads i have never messed with anything like that (the others that i had in my 55 were set and forget, not sure what brand they were i bought the whole setup used and they came with it).

 

[Tokash23]

Well come to the club. I have a 40 gallon breeder aswell. Firstly I would suggest drilling an extra hole as an emergency drain just in case your main gets clogged. I have a jaboe dct-4000 I've been running it for 7 months so for so I can't say much on longevity but it works great so far. I have 2 rossmont mover 1200 they are cheap and have a 3 year warranty you can gwt to for around 100 dollars. One plus on the power heads is for only 200 dollars you can also get a controller for them. I have a reef octopus classic 110 and it's awesome. I use aquatic life halo lights a master and a slave they work great. I recently started growing sps and they have been showing great growth under thes leds. an rodi is a must I suggest spectrapure refurbished 90 gpd in expensive and looks like new. You might want to add a controller to your list I use an apex jr with a pm1 with pH probe and eb8.

How would i go about adding an emergency drain to the glass holes setup? It has been in the back of my mind because everyother setup that i have read about has an emergency drain. Although this setup looks relatively fail safe with a lid and baffle inside the box to block the bulkhead off.

 

[mdlc805]

Doesn't look like there is enough room to add an emergency to the overflow. You would probably have to put it to the side but that won't look as good or you can get a replacement overflow that's bigger or make your own. I made my own overflow

 

[Tokash23]

Havent put anything on here for awhile as my build has come to a screeching halt lol but was able to get a few things done. Over the weekend

The baffles i ordered for my sump were too short and too wide so had to do some modifications to them to get the height i wanted in the sump but cut it down to 2 sections instead of 3 but thats ok in my book.

Here is the finished stand awaiting stain. As i said im no carpenter but im pretty pleased with how it came out. The front section is all one panel that will be held in by magnets.

Did a load test before staining everything checked out except for a leaky bulkhead[emoji21] .

Everything stained up just need to put a clear coat on it to give it a little added protection from spills n such.

Thats that for now. Next will be plumbing and ordering an ro/di which im looking for recommendations for im looking at the refurbished spectrpure 90gpd or the new aquatic life one with the twist off filters...thoughts anyone?

Anyways thanks for taking a look [emoji481]

 

[dragon99]

Looking good. I was pretty close to starting a 40B, but our petco didn't have them in stock last month. So maybe next the sale runs....

I'll second the rossmont movers, they look pretty good for the price.

Personally I'd stick with a standard RO setup like the Spectrapure because of the standard parts that you can buy anywhere even HD/Lowes.

 

[Tokash23]

Looking good. I was pretty close to starting a 40B, but our petco didn't have them in stock last month. So maybe next the sale runs....

I'll second the rossmont movers, they look pretty good for the price.

Personally I'd stick with a standard RO setup like the Spectrapure because of the standard parts that you can buy anywhere even HD/Lowes.

I went in for a 30g and that 40 was staring me in the face so i walked out with it lol.

 

[Atlantisdelux]

Tagging along for this build. I did the same thing. I walked in to get crickets and some premix salt water (don't judge me) for my 10 gallon frag tank I promised the wife I wouldn't go crazy on......and walked out with a 40 breeder and 2 little girls saying " well distract mom while you get it down stairs". Can't wait to see how yours goes.
Iv been up in the air over live rock for the goodies or dry rock so I can sculpt that bonsai look Iv always wanted.

 

[O'l Salty]

Just started a new 40 breeder after my last one had a kalk crash. I'm using one of the new Jabeo 6500 sine wave DC pumps. You can't even hear it running and it's right at $100. I liked it so much I bought a second one for the skimmer. Right now I'm running AI Prime HD's but I want to add an ATI Sunpower when I get the money.

 

[NanaReefer]

3yr old 40B/20L sump. Love it!

 

[Tokash23]

Wish i had more updates but this is how it stands today. The plumbing is dry fit in so far im still contemplating where to put my valves at and then i want to paint it all black to match the stand. Also have to alter the sock holder because the holes are to small for the plumbing or reduce the plumbing to an inch at the holder i havent decided yet (not even sure if im guna use socks yet). Next up is an ro/di so i can hopefully get it in place and filled by next month money got tight with some unexpected expenses so things have slowed [emoji21] but patience is key right?

 

[Tokash23]

Just started a new 40 breeder after my last one had a kalk crash. I'm using one of the new Jabeo 6500 sine wave DC pumps. You can't even hear it running and it's right at $100. I liked it so much I bought a second one for the skimmer. Right now I'm running AI Prime HD's but I want to add an ATI Sunpower when I get the money.

Like the ai primes? Was originally considering but i ditched the idea when i found out i had to get 2 for a 40. Im in between lights that i want...i would like to stay under $200 so im considering the mars aqua chinese black box but also like the arctic t247 i think it is. Have time to decide for the light though.

 

[Atlantisdelux]

Tokash23. I just looked up that t247 and want to thank you. Iv been so discouraged about putting LEDs on my 40B build, I know you get what you pay for but $800 of lights over a 40 gallon is just taking advantage of the hobby.
Seeing as I'm aiming more tward a softy/lps tank with maybe 1 or 2 sps which can be placed high in the middle, I'm really liking that option.
The reviews all seem great and photos of 1 fixture over a 40 only shows slight shadowing in corners, which is fine for me personally.

So thanks again for mentioning those lights.