Brandon42's 50 gallon build.

[Brandon42]

So i guess ill start this with a little bit about my self. Im 30 and cant really remember a time in my life with out some sort of aquarium/terrarium in my life. I kept fresh water fish of some sort for the majority of my childhood, ranging from fish bowls to a 55 gallon Oscar tank. Around 16 i started seeing pictures of beautiful reefs and decided i wanted one. This ended in utter failure as being young and dumb i did little to no research on the subject. So needless to say my tank never made it past the cycle i knew nothing about. After this my interest kinda shifted, that same 55 gallon tank housed scorpions for some time and then a python for years. But the itch for a reef never really went away. Fast forward some years get married, have a son. My wife was not to keen on keeping a python in the house any longer with a baby in the house. A couple years go by, the longest time in my life without some sort of glass box in my home and the reefing itch comes back hard. i start skimming through craigs list and come across a 125 gallon, drilled with a nice overflow box built by a reputable local tank builder for only $200. The guy i bought it from had bought it for him self, only to have his wife shut the whole idea down. He needed it out of his garage quickly so i got one heck of a deal. I knew it would be awhile before i was ready to set the tank up and this time i knew i needed to do my research. so for about 6 months the tank sat in a spare bed room while i scoured the internet learning. i found this site and the Brs 52 weeks of reefing had new episodes each week at that time, so i started my build. I wont get too deep into that build if you want to read the journey, i have a build thread for that as well. That tank was up for about 4 years. I thought i knew so much going into filling that tank only to find out how little i actually knew. before long i had met some amazing friends, found local reef groups, gotten what at times feels like a marine biology degree from the internet, turned a closet into a full fledged phyto and copepod farm and had a thriving reef. But all things must come to an end. after dealing with just about anything a reef can throw at you over the years aptasia is what finally did me in. no matter how much money and different approaches i tried i could not seem to beat it. after struggling with it for months and getting ready to move a few towns over i decided to drain and sell the setup. Fast forward to this week. I've been out of the hobby about 9 months established in my new place and wont be moving anytime in the near future. My hot water tank had a leak in one of the hoses so im looking around for some plumbers tape to try and seal the leak and find a box in my shed full of some random odds and ends from my old tank and a fresh roll of plumbers tape! so now im fixing the leak with that good old reefing bug in the back of my head and being the current state of the world and me being a chef i have A LOT of time on my hands. I was still in quite a few local reef groups on FB so started thumbing through what was out there and thats when i came across another killer deal. 50 gallon rimless plumbed with a stand that only needed minor repairs $250. After bugging my wife half the day i was on my way to get the tank. The reefing bug was back in full force.

The tank needs some cleaning and the stand some interior work but all in all i was happy with what its coming out like.
Before:

After Some sanding, Sealing, and Painting:

Still needs A little more of a touch up which ill do in the coming days while i wait for the rest of the equipment to start showing up. Luckily i saved some of my lighting from my old setup in case this ever happened lol. Tank still needs some cleaning but nothing some vinegar wont solve and lighting all still works.

By the time the rest of my equipment starts to show up it should all look as good as new

Equipment on the way:

Trigger Systems CRYSTAL SUMP 30
Tunze OSMOLATOR NANO
2K GYRE FLOW PUMP WITH DUAL PUMP WIFI CONTROLLER
Reef Octopus CLASSIC 150INT 6” INTERNAL PROTEIN SKIMMER
Bulk Reef Supply GFO & CARBON REACTOR
150W EHEIM JAGER AQUARIUM HEATER
Reef Octopus VARIOS-2 CONTROLLABLE DC PUMP (792 GPH)
Aqua Ultraviolet 15 WATT ADVANTAGE 2000+ UV STERILIZER
Replacement filters for entire RO/Di unit
30# carribsea special grade reef sand
40# marcos reef saver rock
dr.tims bacteria

Already owned:
SB reef lights 32 inch
Reef Keeper Controller W/ 2 powerblocks, PH, Temp, probes. (ph probe will need replacing)
BRS 5 stage water saver RO/DI unit
SB Reef fuge Light

Still need to get:
pvc pipe to re do the plumbing to the new sump
interior stand lighting for maintenance
fresh water tote for the auto top off
Hanging Hardware for lighting
screen top kit


Ill keep the updates moving as the parts start arriving, if there is one thing i learned in my previous experience is doing it right from the beginning is beyond important. its going to be a fun journey having a much larger knowledge base going into it although my wallet has not been feeling the same way going into it lol. But on a plus with a smaller tank now, NO more standing on a chair to reach the back!

 

[Arricefe]

Looks good so far, good luck!

 

[S.Pepper]

Nice start. Looking forward to seeing what you do with this.

 

[ShepherdReefer]

Keep up the good work. Can't wait to see it complete.

 

[Brandon42]

Thanks everyone! Started to receive most of my equipment today but ran into a bit of a snag, the skimmer i bought does not fit in the sump even though i was told it would. well technically i can get it in there but if it ever overflowed it would go over the back of the sump. Not to mention not being able to put anything at all in that chamber. So back to BRS itll go to get the next step down which i know will fit much better. will also be down sizing my heater and going with two smaller ones to open up some more room as well, this one being my own fault for buying a heater and then the next day going with a new sump.

With the exception of the skimmer and heaters most of my order showed up perfect. Still waiting on the return pump, uv sterilizer and pump for that. Got decent rocks although i may get more with the extra credit from the downgrade on the skimmer. I didnt realize i needed a converter to attach the reactors to the pump so thatll be on its way soon as well.

Plan for the reactors:
these reactors are pretty big and will not fit well in the stand, my plan is to mount them to the side of the stand and drill two holes for the tubing to feed through to the sump. One problem i ran into with my 125 gallon was the reactors were mounted behind the sump on the wall. which made them annoying to get off and on and usually resulted in water on the ground. So i figure although less visually pleasing having them mounted on the side of the stand will make it far easier to deal with changing the media and we all know the easier it is to do the more likely we are to do it. I could have went with the smaller reactors but like the idea of being able to run double the media. Still trying to figure out a way to hide this better. I could try to extend the stand a little but im already well over budget (as per usual with these lol) and not great with wood work so i dont know about that. any ideas are welcome.


Hopefully ill have the rest of the equipment by the end of the week to early next week. the biggest wait will be for the return to go through and the skimmer i need to be in stock. although this is not a make or break to starting the tank up.


Tip to anyone who ever goes through the "I'M DONE WITH REEFING" phase. save more stuff than you think youll ever need. you may wished you had saved all those odds and ends later in life lol.

 

[Brandon42]

Managed to get a good amount done this weekend, tank is finally in place, plumbing is done. still have a lot of wiring to do. haven't really been able to decide where i want to mount all of the controllers, i don't think inside the stand is an option, could be but i would like all of that out of the way. also found a cool container to house all of the extra gear that doesnt need to be in the tank. would of liked a fish room but not gonna happen lol.

other side of the room.

 

[Brandon42]

so its been a little while sense my last update. had some unforeseen issues with the overflow sounding like a toilet running endlessly. ended up having to drain the tank and replacing the entire plumbing/ overflow. im pretty happy with the new overflow.

this was the original set up. it was honestly the loudest overflow ive ever seen. quick ship, hardware store run and i got it solved.

new setup quite as can be took a bit of work to really dial in but i think i have it just right now.

bad picture but added the first two fish, found a paired set for a deal i couldnt walk past. clean up crew is in the mail as we speak to start getting rid of the little bit of diatoms i have starting, will be happy to get out of the ugly stage lol.