Back in it....100G build, Island Style.

R-balljunkie · Mar 31, 2021

Yokwe and Aloha. After 25 years of aquarium keeping, i decided to take a break from reefkeeping after departing the Marshall Islands where I lived for five years.

wild SPS corals, Marshall Islands - Reef Central Online Community

wild SPS corals, Marshall Islands SPS Keepers

www.reefcentral.com

It was a great experience living there having the ability to collect both corals and fish for my aquarium over the span of five years. I have to say, you really learn a lot when the Ocean is your local fish store. But alas, all things must come to an end. I thought about starting a new tank when i moved to the Middle East but after perusing a couple of LFS in Doha Qatar, decided against doing so given the poor selections available. Fast forward to this year, decided to get back into the game since amiss from 2015. Anyways, here's my journey back into the reefkeeping foray after a 6 year absence.

Build overview:

36x24x24 Rimless Planet Aquarium
Exotic Marine 20" Overflow Kit
Philips CoralCare Gen2 LED Light Fixture
Bubble Magus Roller Filter medium
Maxspect JUMP Protein Skimmer
2x IceCap 2K Gyre Flow Pump With Dual Pump WiFi Controller
Coral Box DCA12000 return pump
Aqueon Standard Glass Aquarium Tank 40 Gallon Breeder Sump
Jacks Rax DIY baffle kit
Marine Magic - TURF ATS
DIY Electric light raising
Stenner AWC pump 170 DM5
HydroFill Water Reservoir 15G, for AWC
AQUATICLIFE RODIw/ booster pump
Profilux Level Sensor, float & Optical for ATO
ProfiLux 4 Controller
ProfiLux KH Director
GHL Doser 2.1 SA

When I purchased my new to me house in 2019....had some minimum criteria....room for my doggy and perhaps a nice spot for a new aquarium. Check and check, perfect house. The new tank will be going where a 'wet bar' was installed previously meaning there's running water and a drain underneath the cabinetry. Perfect Perfect Perfect.

My end goal is low maintenance, self contained. I don't want to see or touch a orange home depot bucket.

Fortunately for me, i work in building automation so i have a heads up on at least conceptualizing what i want to do as for being the ultimate lazy reefer.

Some demo pics to get this thread started.

I

R-balljunkie · Mar 31, 2021

Luckily, I found an old, unused 120V outlet buried behind a wall. Bingo! Don't have to hire an electrician to run a dedicated circuit. I decided to add a GFCI for more protection. Knowing this will be a heavy tank, decided to go with steel for the stand and supports for the existing corian top. I could have drilled the top but decided against it. It's easier to patch sheetrock than it is to patch hard counters. Thru the wall it is. For the stand, i wanted two sided access with one side 100% open. the front access supports match the door openings. The back access is fully open. To accomplish this, i decided to header the top support with a total of 4.5" of tubular steel.

There's 1-1/2" runners going across the short way of the tank for additional support.

My welding skills suck however I am an expert grinder.

I

R-balljunkie · Apr 1, 2021

Some fabrication shots, top header of and cabinet side supports. Had to make temporary supports while fabricating since this stand is in compression rather than welded to the interior members. two 1-1/2" rectangular tubes were welded together, along with the 1-1/2" runners provide the 4-1/2" of steel to support the open side. The cabinet side has more "legs" to distribute the weight. Although this tank should be up and running for years, wanted to have the option to convert back into a cabinet area, reclaim the drawers and doors.

R-balljunkie · Apr 1, 2021

I painted the interior with several coats of waterproofing paint.....hopefully, will avoid or contain anything minor mishaps.

Next on the list is how to mount this beast of a light...the Phillips Coralcare Gen 2. this thing is ungodly heavy...tipping the scales at 15 pounds. This light coming down and crashing into the tank is what nightmares are made of. I decided to try my hand at aluminum extrusion parts to mount the light. I wanted to have a light that could be moved up and down for maintenance as well as a 'hood' to deter all those who wanna taste the carpet. No fish jerky please. I purchased a single motor pedestal "raised desk" table to raise and lower the light. The canopy dimensions match the tanks dimensions perfectly, so when lowered, provide excellent coverage to keep all inhabitant inside the tank. I also made the panels removable in case i needed additional access inside the tank.

Next.....Tank pick up.......

R-balljunkie · Apr 2, 2021

yawn.......

R-balljunkie · May 1, 2021

New tank. Undrilled 36x24x24 Rimless Planet Aquarium with single side starphire.
Overall, impressed with the build quality. Not exactly reef saavy but then again a fifth the price and reasonable build time.

The tank will be positioned as a peninsula style tank. I've never setup a tank as such. Now realizing since viewed from both sides.....more 'scaping to fill.

I opted for a Exotic Marine 20" Overflow Kit.....unfortunately i didnt take any photo's while drilling the tank, but you seen one tank being drilled, you seen them all. I wanted to do something different with the tank by elevating the liverock off the bottom of the tank to allow for swim thru and a quiet area for the lower light species in the tank. Some of the fish in the tank are deeper water species.

Glass insert being installed, with live rock on the bottom

R-balljunkie · May 1, 2021

First pass, dry fitting. Opted for starting this tank with Caribsea Liferock and smaller dry rock pieces....after looking at arrangement options, decided to have two larger pieces on end and an open area in the middle with some branched extensions, It took awhile to find the right combination of flat pieces but overall, think i have good coverage. I pulled out all the LR after the dry fitting and added many holes to match the acrylic rod diameter to give options to insert pieces here and there. Some of this rock was hard to drill, especially the smaller pieces. took some patience but did end up with some rubble due to breakage.