itsdeej
New Member
Hey everyone,
I wanted to share the start of my 60-gallon breeder reef build—it’s finally coming together!
I added a couple pics of the stand progress, hoping to have the framing and plywood finished tomorrow. Trying to paint it this weekend and then move in the house to test it out.
I wanted to share the start of my 60-gallon breeder reef build—it’s finally coming together!
What’s on the Way:
- 900 GPH Eshopps Prodigy Overflow – Hoping this keeps the flow smooth and quiet, decided to go this route over the modular marine, as I thought the 1" plumbing would do better for me over the 3/4", as i didn't want to add a bunch of conversion fittings
- Reef Octopus 110-INT Protein Skimmer – Heard good things about it, so I’m excited to give it a go, got it off coralvue for 50% off on Blackfriday.
- A mountain of plumbing parts – I’ll be piecing it all together soon.
- Custom Lid- I ended up finding a guy on etsy that'll be custom fabricating a lid to my specs. It was just shy of $180, so i'm excited to get that in.
- Heaters- I'm thinking two 150w Eheim Jager heaters, that should be sufficient but they are awfully large and I don't know if they"ll fit properly in my sump. I'm open to suggestions if anyone has a different, perhaps more compact solution. I do have an INKBIRD temp controller, and I plan on connecting both heaters to it
- Return Pump(s)- I think I'm pretty set on the Jebao 2500 return pumps, as I'll have the ability to control the flow rate.
- ROCK- Okay, here's where I'm a little lost. I like the idea of dry rock, as far as aquascaping, but it sounds like the ugly stage is quite extensive and tank stability is not as great compared to live rock. I've tossed around the idea of using dry rock in the display tank and then live rock in the sump to help seed. I should also mention, I live in the Greater Tampa Area, so I have access to quite a bit of live rock within a 20 minute drive or so. Gulf live rock and TBS are relatively close and I could easily pick either up and avoid shipping costs.
- Sand- Planning on using LIVE sand, but I'm not worried about that until I get closer to finishing the build.
What’s Already Here:
Got my two NP K7 Pro V3 lights in the mail yesterday. Huge shoutout to @Zach B —they showed up in less than six days, probably straight out of Wisconsin. Appreciate it, man!Cool Neighbor Story:
I was driving through the neighborhood and noticed one of my neighbors had a garage full of fish tanks and even a coral pond. I’ve never met them before, but I decided to knock on the door and introduce myself. Turns out, he was super cool and even gave me a Tsunami Aquarium Sump he wasn't using! It’s the perfect size for my system, and honestly, I’m still pumped about it. Saul, if you're on here, thank you again. I was planning on a whole RO/DI unit with mixing station, but after a good conversation with my neighbor, he offered to sell me ro/di and saltwater as needed for a much better price than a lfs.DIY Stand Progress:
I’m also in the middle of building a DIY stand for the tank. Still need to grab a couple more 2x4s and some screws to finish the framing. I probably went overkill with the screws, but I’d rather play it safe since this thing will likely never move. Once the frame is done, I’m planning to surround it with plywood and add a door for easy access.I added a couple pics of the stand progress, hoping to have the framing and plywood finished tomorrow. Trying to paint it this weekend and then move in the house to test it out.
