Alright alright I'll do my build thread.
It only took almost 4 years to get this done, but like everything else in this hobby, nothing good happens fast. I'll split this into three segments, 1st build, rebuild, and upgrades.
So for the build like i mentioned in my meet & greet forum I started researching and watching YouTube for months before I decided to finally dive in.
Build:
I bought a marineland 75 gallon from a petstore that had a killer sale, and a friend upgraded to a bow front from her 30L so she donated the 30L for my sump build. I knew I wanted to do a bean animal drain and a coast to coast overflow. So I ordered some bits and drilled my brand new aquarium, my wife thought I was nuts. I went with 1" piping because it would support the flow I heard was the best (10x display volume).
I got my ugly diy coast to coast installed, i used two pieces of 1/4 acrylic and some acrylic glue (weld on 4 I think). Well never having any experience working with acrylic so it turned out pretty ugly and consumed lots of space in the display, but it was cheap and it worked. Looking back now I wasted more money messing with the acrylic than had I just bought an overflow.
Got my Pukani in from BRS, a Red Sea reef mature pro kit and did an intank cycle. Went through uglies like everyone does, and had my first fish at right around a month. Levels measured good so I slowly added a few more fish.
I wish I had photos for all of the build and the uglies ect, however i procrastinated my build, broke my phone and lost all my photos.
Rebuild:
9 months in I started noticing salt creep in the front right corner, thought it was just splash up from my powerheads being aimed too much towards the surface but there was no water marks on the glass. So long story short the bottom seal had a small leak and was getting salt creep in the frame.
I went out and purchased a new tank 75 gallon aqueon with a really nice professionally made wood/ply wood stand. However this was the perfect chance to drill the tank and get an Eshopps L overflow installed so I did.
Drilled the tank, added the overflow and started draining my 75 into a 40 brute.
I caught my fish as I lowered the water level and added them to the brute where i had carefully place the rock with the few softies I had growing on them. The few frags i had went into a few 5 gallon buckets and the swap began.
Took me all night to redo the plumbing on the new tank and replace my sicce with a dc from current usa, so the fish waited while the glue set. The next day I transfered the sand after I rinsed it, added the rock and fresh salt, let everything settle and tested my water. Water was good so in went the fishes!
Within a day they all showed signs of ich I had just spend the last bit of money I had swapping tanks so i didnt have money to put up a QT so I fell for the "reef safe" ich treatment. (Hindsight there is no such thing!).
Needless to say everyone perrished. Itnwas around this time thay injoined reef2reef and began learning about ICH so I let the tank sit fishless for 80 days before I started stocking it again.
All added weeks apart of course and not in that order.
One clown bullied the other so i took him back and got a small maroon.
The maroon was bullied to death by the six line so the six line went back and I got a new maroon on trade.
A couple months later when the mandarin who was eating frozen and pods passed I got 3 lyretail anthias. 2 of which I still have one that passed after about 18 months in the tank.
While away apparently my starry blenny decided to go for a ride down the overflow, through the sump and to the return where my wife found him in his final resting place.
Sorry for the long post but here we are in the present...
Upgrade:
I plan on going mixed LPS and SPS, so while I'm still away I've been doing some shopping.
Rescape of the rock on the left. Going half sand half "bare" so I'll be putting a large flat piece on the bottom left as a false floor, and some tonga/ reef saver/ pukani bits on the there for more astetics and fish hiding places.
As soon as the wife sends me a new FTS I'll post that here. Thanks for reading, and happy reefing.
It only took almost 4 years to get this done, but like everything else in this hobby, nothing good happens fast. I'll split this into three segments, 1st build, rebuild, and upgrades.
So for the build like i mentioned in my meet & greet forum I started researching and watching YouTube for months before I decided to finally dive in.
Build:
I bought a marineland 75 gallon from a petstore that had a killer sale, and a friend upgraded to a bow front from her 30L so she donated the 30L for my sump build. I knew I wanted to do a bean animal drain and a coast to coast overflow. So I ordered some bits and drilled my brand new aquarium, my wife thought I was nuts. I went with 1" piping because it would support the flow I heard was the best (10x display volume).
I got my ugly diy coast to coast installed, i used two pieces of 1/4 acrylic and some acrylic glue (weld on 4 I think). Well never having any experience working with acrylic so it turned out pretty ugly and consumed lots of space in the display, but it was cheap and it worked. Looking back now I wasted more money messing with the acrylic than had I just bought an overflow.
Got my Pukani in from BRS, a Red Sea reef mature pro kit and did an intank cycle. Went through uglies like everyone does, and had my first fish at right around a month. Levels measured good so I slowly added a few more fish.
2x clowns
1x yellow eyed kole
5x blue green chomis
1x malanarus wrasse
1x yellow watchman (jumped out :x)
1x yellow eyed kole
5x blue green chomis
1x malanarus wrasse
1x yellow watchman (jumped out :x)
DIY 30L sump
Reef octopus 110int skimmer
2x ehiem jager 250 watt heater
Sicce syncra silent 900gph return pump
Reef keeper controller
2x current USA orbit marine 48" LED
1x kessil H80 fuge light
2x korillia 950s (cant remember exactly)
Reef octopus 110int skimmer
2x ehiem jager 250 watt heater
Sicce syncra silent 900gph return pump
Reef keeper controller
2x current USA orbit marine 48" LED
1x kessil H80 fuge light
2x korillia 950s (cant remember exactly)
I wish I had photos for all of the build and the uglies ect, however i procrastinated my build, broke my phone and lost all my photos.
Rebuild:
9 months in I started noticing salt creep in the front right corner, thought it was just splash up from my powerheads being aimed too much towards the surface but there was no water marks on the glass. So long story short the bottom seal had a small leak and was getting salt creep in the frame.
I went out and purchased a new tank 75 gallon aqueon with a really nice professionally made wood/ply wood stand. However this was the perfect chance to drill the tank and get an Eshopps L overflow installed so I did.
Drilled the tank, added the overflow and started draining my 75 into a 40 brute.
I caught my fish as I lowered the water level and added them to the brute where i had carefully place the rock with the few softies I had growing on them. The few frags i had went into a few 5 gallon buckets and the swap began.
Took me all night to redo the plumbing on the new tank and replace my sicce with a dc from current usa, so the fish waited while the glue set. The next day I transfered the sand after I rinsed it, added the rock and fresh salt, let everything settle and tested my water. Water was good so in went the fishes!
Within a day they all showed signs of ich I had just spend the last bit of money I had swapping tanks so i didnt have money to put up a QT so I fell for the "reef safe" ich treatment. (Hindsight there is no such thing!).
Needless to say everyone perrished. Itnwas around this time thay injoined reef2reef and began learning about ICH so I let the tank sit fishless for 80 days before I started stocking it again.
2x black and white clowns
1x Kole tang
1x green mandarin (80 days fishless, my glass, sand and rock was peppered with pods)
1x starry blenny
1x 6 line
1x Kole tang
1x green mandarin (80 days fishless, my glass, sand and rock was peppered with pods)
1x starry blenny
1x 6 line
All added weeks apart of course and not in that order.
One clown bullied the other so i took him back and got a small maroon.
The maroon was bullied to death by the six line so the six line went back and I got a new maroon on trade.
A couple months later when the mandarin who was eating frozen and pods passed I got 3 lyretail anthias. 2 of which I still have one that passed after about 18 months in the tank.
While away apparently my starry blenny decided to go for a ride down the overflow, through the sump and to the return where my wife found him in his final resting place.
Sorry for the long post but here we are in the present...
Upgrade:
I plan on going mixed LPS and SPS, so while I'm still away I've been doing some shopping.
Aquatic Life T5 hybrid
W/ 4 A360s
BashSea SMS 36/ Geo
BashSea 5 gallon ATO/ Geo
Calcium reactor Geo or Korallin
MAXSPECT gyre XF280
Apex controller with ATO, DOS for AWC, leak detection ect. and just added security while I'm away next time
W/ 4 A360s
BashSea SMS 36/ Geo
BashSea 5 gallon ATO/ Geo
Calcium reactor Geo or Korallin
MAXSPECT gyre XF280
Apex controller with ATO, DOS for AWC, leak detection ect. and just added security while I'm away next time
Rescape of the rock on the left. Going half sand half "bare" so I'll be putting a large flat piece on the bottom left as a false floor, and some tonga/ reef saver/ pukani bits on the there for more astetics and fish hiding places.
As soon as the wife sends me a new FTS I'll post that here. Thanks for reading, and happy reefing.
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