907 Tank & Stand Build - 55 Gallon

907_Reefer · Apr 13, 2022

Welcome to our little build thread for this Alaskan 55 gallon tank! I'll be using this first post to house photos of tank stages, equipment listing, livestock & coral statuses, links, etc. In this thread we'll focus on the tank (our second 55 gal), with a slice of Alaskan scenery and shenanigans sprinkled throughout. Thanks for tagging along!

---------- Tank Photo Updates ----------

October 12, 2024

July 8, 2024

December 12, 2023 - tank settling after a disease situation in October

September 9, 2023 - Fully setup after move #2:

August 29, 2023 - last photo before tank move #2, eek!

April 10, 2023 (Electric Toothbrush > GHA!)

March 29, 2023 (GHA outbreak)

Feb 22, 2023 (1 month after moving)

January 3, 2023 (before move)

August 17, 2022

May 1, 2022 (initial setup)

Color Legend: Currently installed/alive in tank, under watch/having issues, no longer in play

Equipment	Date Installed
55 Gallon Long Tank (no sump)	April 21, 2022
Eshopps PSK-100H HOB Protein Skimmer (developed leak, and pump noise)	April 21, 2022
Radion XR15 Blue w/diffusers (x2)	April 21, 2022
Vortech MP10 QD Pumps (x2)	April 21, 2022
Eheim 150w Heaters x2	April 21, 2022
BRS 4 Stage RODI	April 21, 2022
Jebao OW-10 Wavemaker 132-1057 GPH	June 15, 2022
Inkbird ITC-308 Temp Controller	June 15, 2022
Tunze Osmolator 3155 ATO	December 20, 2022
Reefing Art Frag Racks	January 24, 2023
Avast Marine Plank Auto Feeder w/Cannonball	February 1, 2023
Flipper Deep See Magnetic Viewer	March 4, 2023
Reef Octopus Classic 90 HOB Protein Skimmer	March 6, 2023
Light Shades from Projects with Sam!	May, 2023
DIY egg crate lid	September 7, 2023

Rock/Sand Bed	Date Added
Live Rock, 93 lbs	April 21, 2022
Live Sand, 120 lbs	April 21, 2022
Live Rock, 85 lbs (reused and reduced during move)	January 18, 2023
Live Sand, 80 lbs (new with tank move, reduced)	January 18, 2023
Live Rock, 85 lbs (reused all on move #2)	August 31, 2023
Live Sand, 70 lbs (new with tank move, Arag-Alive Special Grade)	August 31, 2023

Livestock	Date Added
Pistol Shrimp	May 15, 2022
Yellow Watchman Goby	January 30, 2023
Ocellaris Clown #1	January 10, 2024
Starry Blenny	February 25, 2024
Ocellaris Clown #2	October 12, 2024
Bangaii Cardinal x2	October 12, 2024
Fire Shrimp	October 12, 2024

-------------------- In-Thread Links --------------------

First Livestock & Corals (May 8, 2022)
Tank move, new house! (Jan 18, 2023)
Operation Asterina Lavista Baby (Feb 26, 2023) Run 1 / Run 2 / Run 3
Northern Lights Show (Feb 27, 2023)
Project E-TAP (Electric-Toothbrush Algae Patrol) (April-ish, 2023) Run 1 / Run 2 / Run 3
Tank move #2 (August 30, 2023)
Disease outbreak (October 22, 2023)
Throwback Thursday - our old/first SPS tank (2012-2013)
Northern Lights Show (Oct 10, 2024)

-------------------- Original Intro ---------------------

April 13, 2022

Hey All, well it's FINALLY time to get back into saltwater. This will be the wife and my second tank, we had to sell our first and only 55 gallon back in 2013 when moving to Alaska. We've traveled around this state a bit, and finally settled about an hour from one of the only saltwater stores that I know of in the state. Game on!!!

I enjoy any opportunity to get my tools out, so I'm building a custom stand. It's my second stand - first was for a freshwater 46 gal acrylic (still have it in storage). Since the new tank stand is almost completed, I figured it's a good time to get registered on the forum and start the build thread!

We will be using:

Custom Stand
55 Gallon Long Tank
BRS 4 Stage RODI
PSK-100H Skimmer
Radion XR15 Blue Lighting (x2)
Vortech MP10 QD Pumps (x2 or more if needed)
etc..

We'll be doing live rock with mostly coral, but some fish also - learned on the last tank to keep it simple with fish! Really hoping we can find a mated pistol shrimp and goby, that was our fav from tank #1! And of course there will be a few clown fish and anemones..

Stand progress, I love 2x4s. I'm no architect but if a single 2x4 can hold 1000 lbs vertically, 20 of 'em plus cross bracing should put me over 25,000(?) lbs. I think that will cover my needs lol:

Added a little trim and moulding, why not lol - just wingin' it here!

Great excuse to buy a new router for the doors

. Kreg Jig drilling used to secure the 1/3 pine, 5/8" brad nails for the 1/4" plywood backing:

RODI installed yesterday and ready to start pumping:

That's where I'm at currently, finishing paint on the doors, hanging 'em, and bringing her inside. Looking to grab our live sand/rock next week and get this party started!

More to come!

blaxsun · Apr 13, 2022

Great work on the stand!

Wasabiroot · Apr 14, 2022

Following along! Agree about stand

907_Reefer · Apr 14, 2022

Thanks! Doors are primed, hopefully finishing with high gloss today. We've been delayed slightly by birch sap processing, it's that time of year, have 4 trees tapped and more sap than we can figure out what to do with

907_Reefer · Apr 15, 2022

Painted tank stand doors yesterday and hit the LFS for a second Vortech MP10 pump, first time using those but assuming I'll have pretty good flow in a 55 gallon with 2 of em.. Also picked up 120 lbs live sand, might use all of it for a good bed, as we'll 100% be putting a pistol shrimp and goby back in the mix!

Next week we'll be ready for go-time, picking up live rock (~80 lbs?) and getting everything installed!

As a hold over, here's a pic from our old tank with the 6-line wrasse and mandarin goby living in harmony! (since I'm digging out some more old pics today

)

907_Reefer · Apr 19, 2022

Quick update for today, I'm calling the stand DONE! Minus hanging the doors quick

. Finished painting yesterday, after I decided I couldn't live with the tooling marks my table saw left on the front of the top (definitely was the saw's fault, definitely) - sanded that down and re-painted. Much better.

On schedule for hauling her in the house tomorrow, run to town for live rock Thurs, up and running by Friday AM. Ready to stop fussing with the stand and get down to business here!

907_Reefer · Apr 28, 2022

Well I realized I added the last few updates in my Hello/Welcome thread instead of in here, oops! Will move the updates over here

Thurs 4/21 - picked up 78 lbs live rock and got the tank running and up to temp! Ended for the evening with 2 heaters, thermometer and 1 power head running, sand and rock all in place. We made a last minute change to location in the house as well, relocating 2 shelves and 1 piece of art, but glad we did! Wanted an area we can keep darker mostly, with ~22 hours of daylight just around the corner..

Ended up using the full 120 lbs live sand for extra room for future sand sifters, and it helps hold the rock in place nicely. May putty a few but should not need to do many. Likely will add 2 more rocks as well to fill it out. The water volume is reduced to just under 40 gallons, as a down side. So far I'm calling it my big nano tank

Did some juggling with the salinity, but sitting at 1.023 now. The suggested mix for Instant Ocean salt (1/2 cup per gal) was giving me 1.026 with 2.5 cups in 5 gal RO water, which is supposed to yield 1.022. I had to cut out 1/2 cup per 5 gal to get that output. I have a brand new Vee Gee Scientific STX-3 refractometer calibrated with room temp RO water ~64 degrees. Either way, all good now!

Today we'll get the lights setup, second powerhead installed and skimmer fired up. Have some Dr. Tim's on hand for setup boost, likely will use that today and let her cycle for a few weeks.

And now, we wait! My wife is calling it "Tank Denali" so far, since "it's always cloudy"

(like the mountain). Looks to have settled more this morning however after 12 hrs! (pic from yesterday during setup)

907_Reefer · Apr 28, 2022

Sat 4/23 - I Installed dual XR15 lights, a second MP10 pump, protein Skimmer, and she is clearing up nicely. This equipment is so much nicer than 10 years ago!

However, one of my MP10 pumps doesn't have the "W" lit for wireless capability and won't connect to the Mobius app. I confirmed both are the wireless models, one suggestion I've seen is to open the controller and see if the wireless card is loose in there. Will try that today.

Otherwise the things you can do with the app for lighting, schedules, flow, is crazy!

907_Reefer · Apr 28, 2022

Update for today 4/28, we had set the lights on about a 12 hour schedule, have simmer running 24/7 for break-in and pumps ~60%. Left this as-is and headed out for about 48 hours travel - back now and have diatoms! Also found one Asterina (I believe) hitchhiker, will leave it alone for now..

Also since the LFS was coincidentally on our way home, we brought back 13 lbs more live rock (up to 91 lbs now, that will be plenty lol), to fill a few gaps in our original aquascape. Installed, and will have pics in a few days after the first 48 hours of Dr. Tim's One and Only work through, when we can turn the lights and skimmer back on. We also threw in 132 drops Ammonium Chloride with the dose (day 1 was yesterday) per the instructions (4 drops/gal, approx 33-34 gallons of water in this tank after rock and sand).

I added putty to the center rock in the pic above to stabilize it, but haven't had to putty any others yet - prefer to stack where I can make them stable naturally.

Prior to our trip I also investigated the wireless issue on one pump a bit further, posted a thread on it here...

Vortech MP10 - Wireless Issue

Hey all, I recently bought and installed 2 new Vortech MP-10 pumps from my LFS for my new 55 gal build. One of them connects to WiFi and to the Mobius app no problem, however the second does not have the WiFi "W" indicator lit and thus does not connect to the Mobius app. The related issues...

www.reef2reef.com

Projects with Sam · Apr 28, 2022

Looking great! Cant wait to watch your build!

907_Reefer · May 1, 2022

Day 5 of Dr. Tim's cycling today! Everything looking fine as far as I can tell, Ammonia ~2, Nitrites up slightly, all equipment back running. 48 hrs without lights was annoying

Per one of Dr. Tim's speeches on YouTube, we have the temp up slightly (81 F) and salinity down slightly (1.018) to help kick start the bacteria. We'll see how it goes!

There's a pair of mocha storm clowns at the LFS who are getting impatient. I told them to relax lol.

While we wait we're just fidgeting with the room since we can't with the tank yet!

907_Reefer · May 2, 2022

Day 6 of Dr. Tim's today, so far have just been measuring pH, Ammonia and Nitrites per their directions (aside from salinity and temp).

pH: 8.0
Ammonia/NH3: 1.5-2.0
Nitrite/NO2: 0.2

Hope those mocha storms stick around the LFS for a few! We should be ready for some fish in 3 days, per the chart, if both ammonia and nitrite are close to 0. More Ammonium Chloride drops go in today, then 2 days of monitoring.

Monitoring for hitchhikers as well, besides the one Asterina we have moseying around, we found 2 feather dusters:

And I'm not sure what this is, could just be an empty shell that was stuck in one of the rocks?

Otherwise did a light re-org of the upper rocks, wasn't feeling the peak-type setup which would require more putty, so we evened things out a bit, should have more room for corals this way I think. Wife wants to add a BTA (Bubble Tip Anemone) in there at some point also.. Otherwise the plan is to start with a frag, 2 clowns, and if the yellow watchman goby and pistol shrimp pair are still at the LFS also, I don't think we will be able to contain ourselves

Happy Monday!

jmatt · May 2, 2022

Your tank stand is a brick @*^%house. Wow!

Btw I'm stealing this corner design. I love the 2x4s joined together... but with the shorter outer vertical piece to accommodate the horizontal beam. Nice!

907_Reefer · May 3, 2022

jmatt said:
Your tank stand is a brick @*^%house. Wow!

Btw I'm stealing this corner design. I love the 2x4s joined together... but with the shorter outer vertical piece to accommodate the horizontal beam. Nice!

Thanks! And yep, bit of an over-builder here! Feel free to steal the design, I stole it from somewhere else anyway ha!

jmatt · May 3, 2022

So, I need a stand with a four foot length for a 1,000 pound tank and I wanna do it without a supporting pillar at the halfway point.

If I had 2x6s as the horizontal beams, I wonder if that'd be enough. I could double it and have two 2x6 bolted together on each side if necessary, but that seems insane.

Any opinions? I tried to finding the load bearing capacity of a 2x6, but it depends on the span length etc and really couldn't find an answer.

907_Reefer · May 3, 2022

My stand is 50" OD wide (as framed) and I'm willing to say my center supports aren't necessary. With the tank corners directly over 2-2×4s, those hold a lot weight themselves. I just like to over build. I'm pegging this tank as around ~600 lbs filled.

If I went without the center supports I might have thrown in some angled bracing - might work to allow more access if it fits your plan?

Projects with Sam · May 3, 2022

I'm not sure I would trust the metal in a saltwater stand. It has a tendency to rust.
Typically, when you see DIY stands they are all built similarly, this isn't a coincidence, Its because its the best way todo it.
People all define 'best' differently though so I'll comment why a tried and true design is important to me.
Safety.
I personally would not trust a stand built as pictured. I would fear letting my children play near it.
When I built a stand for my 75 gallon I did quite a bit of research and settled upon a stand as detailed by the King of DIY; I recommend you look at a few of his videos. his earlier ones are better. imo.

907_Reefer · May 4, 2022

Yes, that's the one - King of DIY! You can see some his style in my stand above

Day 8 of Dr. Tim's here today, if levels look good this evening, the instructions tell my to take a ride to the LFS tomorrow

Yesterday's measurements tell me we have some nitrifying bacteria working! Ammonia is dropping, nitrates are up!

pH: 8.0
Ammonia/NH3: 0.8
Nitrite/NO2: 0.2
Nitrate/NO3: 20+

Only question I have now is that the Dr. Tim's cycle calls to add fish on Day 9 if both Ammonia and nitrites are near 0, but it doesn't indicate a water change until Day 14 - but my nitrates are 20+..

I think I'm going to have to be a little Agile and do a ~30% water change today anyway, since I did lower salinity to 1.018 during the Tim's cycle (and raised temp). Assuming I'm fine taking from the top of the water column and not disturbing any substrate. May sit on everything for a day, we'll see how it goes later

But the Mocha Storms are calling..

jmatt · May 4, 2022

Just watched his stand video. He states that design will support a 48" tank without center supports. 2x6 not necessary.

Rmckoy · May 4, 2022

907_Reefer said:
Hey All, well it's FINALLY time to get back into saltwater. This will be the wife and my second tank, we had to sell our first and only 55 gallon back in 2013 when moving to Alaska. We've traveled around this state a bit, and finally settled about an hour from one of the only saltwater stores that I know of in the state. Game on!!!

I enjoy any opportunity to get my tools out, so I'm building a custom stand. It's my second stand - first was for a freshwater 46 gal acrylic (still have it in storage). Since the new tank stand is almost completed, I figured it's a good time to get registered on the forum and start the build thread!

We will be using:

Custom Stand
55 Gallon Long Tank
BRS 4 Stage RODI
PSK-100H Skimmer
Radion XR15 Blue Lighting (x2)
Vortech MP10 QD Pumps (x2 or more if needed)
etc..

We'll be doing live rock with mostly coral, but some fish also - learned on the last tank to keep it simple with fish! Really hoping we can find a mated pistol shrimp and goby, that was our fav from tank #1! And of course there will be a few clown fish and anemones..

Stand progress, I love 2x4s. I'm no architect but if a single 2x4 can hold 1000 lbs vertically, 20 of 'em plus cross bracing should put me over 25,000(?) lbs. I think that will cover my needs lol:

Added a little trim and moulding, why not lol - just wingin' it here!

Great excuse to buy a new router for the doors . Kreg Jig drilling used to secure the 1/3 pine, 5/8" brad nails for the 1/4" plywood backing:

RODI installed yesterday and ready to start pumping:

That's where I'm at currently, finishing paint on the doors, hanging 'em, and bringing her inside. Looking to grab our live sand/rock next week and get this party started!

More to come!

Great job with the stand .
a solid foundation is the key ….,

that stand could possibly weigh as much as the tank sitting on it . But we know it’s solid .
Following along to see this build mature