I am not new to reefing and this is not a new build, but I am new to R2R so this will be my tank journal. I actually built this tank a little over a year ago and it has undergone several changes in that time. Let me start from the beginning.
I have had aquariums for almost as long as I can remember, but since moving states a few years back, I had been without for a while. I decided that it was time to get a tank going and I wanted to do it on a bit of a budget. The $1/gallon was the answer. I decided to pick up a 40b for the DT and a 20L for a sump. I prefer to have a sump and so decided to drill the 40 and use an Eshopps Eclipse M overflow. The overflow was placed in the center of the tank and I drilled a hole for returns on either side of the tank.
It is pretty difficult to find a decent, affordable stand for 40b tanks, so I decided to use a shelving unit for garages. I turns out that they are a PERFECT fit for the tank. I left ALL of the crossbars to keep as much strength as possible, and also kept one shelf under the tank to hold all of the controllers and power supplies.
I started the tank with 40lbs of special grade live sand and 40lbs of dry rock. To light the tank, I had a CBB and was happy with it for a short time, but quickly upgraded to 2 x AI Prime HD and later to 2 x Hydra 26 HD. Because this was meant to be a budget build, i decided I would keep a mixed reef with LPS, softies, shrooms, and zoas. I also found some nice nems in town, so added them to the system.
Now for pictures up to this point in the journey:
20180512_121242_resized_1 by Lyle Southard, on Flickr
20180512_131652_resized_1 by Lyle Southard, on Flickr
20180519_202605_resized_1 by Lyle Southard, on Flickr
20180811_112532 by Lyle Southard, on Flickr
20181104_152150 by Lyle Southard, on Flickr
I have had aquariums for almost as long as I can remember, but since moving states a few years back, I had been without for a while. I decided that it was time to get a tank going and I wanted to do it on a bit of a budget. The $1/gallon was the answer. I decided to pick up a 40b for the DT and a 20L for a sump. I prefer to have a sump and so decided to drill the 40 and use an Eshopps Eclipse M overflow. The overflow was placed in the center of the tank and I drilled a hole for returns on either side of the tank.
It is pretty difficult to find a decent, affordable stand for 40b tanks, so I decided to use a shelving unit for garages. I turns out that they are a PERFECT fit for the tank. I left ALL of the crossbars to keep as much strength as possible, and also kept one shelf under the tank to hold all of the controllers and power supplies.
I started the tank with 40lbs of special grade live sand and 40lbs of dry rock. To light the tank, I had a CBB and was happy with it for a short time, but quickly upgraded to 2 x AI Prime HD and later to 2 x Hydra 26 HD. Because this was meant to be a budget build, i decided I would keep a mixed reef with LPS, softies, shrooms, and zoas. I also found some nice nems in town, so added them to the system.
Now for pictures up to this point in the journey:
20180512_121242_resized_1 by Lyle Southard, on Flickr
20180512_131652_resized_1 by Lyle Southard, on Flickr
20180519_202605_resized_1 by Lyle Southard, on Flickr
20180811_112532 by Lyle Southard, on Flickr
20181104_152150 by Lyle Southard, on Flickr