CGAubuchon 80 rimless shallow

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Hey everyone, long time lurker and tank owner but decided to upgrade to a Deep Blue 80 Gallon Edge rimless tank. Build is in its very early stages but the plan currently is to make the switch over the first week of April.

Equipment:
Deep Blue Edge 80 Gallon Rimless tank 48"x24"x16"
ATI Sunpower 8x39 T5 ( 4 Blue+, 1 Purple+, 3 Coral+)
Reef Angel Controller
Jebao WP-25 wavemaker (need another)
Jebao DCT4000 return pump
BRS Dual Reactor (GFO & Carbon)
Jebao Dosing pumps (Calcium & Alk)

Livestock:
Platinum clowns (2)
Tomini Tank
6 Line Wrasse
Clown goby
Neon Dottyback
Coral Beauty

To-dos:
DIY Stand
More Photos
Hang new T5 fixture
Plumb new tank
Purchase new sand

Photos to come of old and new setups.
 
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So got my ATI fixture, bulbs, and stocked up on more kalk/calc/mag/alk. Planned out the stand and wood/cuts I need so need to get started on that still. Pictures still need to happen.

Also, is post editing not possible? Seems like these threads will get really long without being able to simply edit the main post...Mods?
 

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So got my ATI fixture, bulbs, and stocked up on more kalk/calc/mag/alk. Planned out the stand and wood/cuts I need so need to get started on that still. Pictures still need to happen.

Also, is post editing not possible? Seems like these threads will get really long without being able to simply edit the main post...Mods?

There is only a short window to edit for regular members. However, supporting members can edit their posts at any time.

Good luck with your build! :)
 

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Keep us updated!
 
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Things are coming along. Went and picked up the wood for the stand. 6 2x4's and two sheets of 1/4x4x8 plywood. My current 55 stand is about the same size this tank will need and I am running low on space. I am hoping to have a wet and dry side this time around to stop the corrosion on my ReefAngel components.

Still need to think about flow. Currently running a Jebao and a Hydor powerhead but probably going to just switch to two newer Jebaos so I can link them for random flow. Also need to pick up a new sandbed once the transition gets closer.

Turns out it's difficult to run a power saw after 5pm in a small city apartment. Neighbors are great but already have a complaint after trying to finish up the cuts on the stand 2x4s. Oops :crossedlips:

Still on track to make the transfer the first week of April.
 
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Well, had a productive night. Built up the stand and began the shell. Based the design on RocketEnginner's design over on RC. Turned out pretty well I think, going to need to pick up some trim pieces still, top trim will hide the bottom black trim on the tank. Ideally want to do magnetic doors and keep them simple but we will see as they will likely come after the tank is in place.

Next steps this weekend/week are to finish up the front paneling and trim, add some waterproofing/primer to the inner shell, and paint the outside (likely going white). Transfer will be interesting since the tank is going in the same place as the 55gallon.

Some progress images:

oeYZYsLl.jpg

Wood cuts in the bedroom

YxSokHIl.jpg

Top+bottom frames together

UenjRgZl.jpg

Everything put together


4D43Q1El.jpg

Adding the shell. Left one side open for now, want to maybe make that side removable. Added more 2x4 support for the sump below the shell. Also need to figure out spacing to see if I can get away with a dry side.

014BKsul.jpg

New stand, replacing 55 gallon, 80 gallon on the floor. Yay for small city apartments!

That's all for now.
 
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Been sick with a cold the last few days, which meant no family dinner (bummer) but also gave me some time to finish up the stand at home. Paneling done, painted everything (need more paint for the inside). The door has a pretty sizable warp to it which sucks so need to try to figure that out, might try to wet and unwarp it. Magnets seem to work well but hopefully will be better after I flatted the wood more. Some photos below.

Next up for Monday/Tuesday is some plumbing and light hanging. Wednesday/Thursday is the planned transfer since I have to plan it around a trash day (#cityStruggles).

EOVGDNHl.jpg


RU3GjSbl.jpg


tcGVdcGl.jpg


UdukZt3l.jpg

Here you can see how warped the door is. Coming up with a fix now. Going to wet it first and add some weight. More framing might be in order.
 
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It's Tuesday for transfer week so made so more progress before the sun went down after work.

- Got the ATI Sunpower hung from the ceiling. This thing is real pretty :)
- Got two new Jebao RW-15s in today. They are bigger than I expected so might be a little overkill.
- Picked up some plumbing parts. Going to dry fit everything tonight (pictures to come)

Overall, still hoping to make the transfer Thursday night and think I am on track. So excited to have a sexy tank :lol:


sAVr4rnl.jpg


IDiWK8ql.jpg


p67PkOql.jpg
 
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So after two long nights after work, things are going pretty well as you can see from the shots below.

Tank has been transferred over to the new one. Fish and coral seem to be doing well with the exception of one of my platinum clowns seems to have bladder issues :pound:

Running without the sump currently since I broke one of the walls when taking it out of my old stand. It did give me more time to plan the plumbing though so, win? Anyways, the silicon is curing now and the plumbing is hopefully done. I am a little concerned about the chiller getting enough flow based on how I ran the line somewhat as a loop on the return line. Starting to think that will not really work out.

Gave everything a nice vinegar bath and scrubbed it all up pretty nicely overnight.

Also, got a refractometer and turns out my salinity is at 1.03 which shocked me big time. Working on getting that down as I add the needed water volume. Slow and steady. All my other params seem okay with only ammonia being a little high from the stir-up and the little bit of die off that happened in the transfer. Just keep an eye on it to keep everything alive.

TODOs:
1. Get the sump running again w/ skimmer
2. Hook up ReefAngel controller
2a. Reprogram the controller to work with the T5s instead of the LEDs
3. Dosing pump hookup for Cal/Alk/Mag
4. Decide if I want to run the dual reactors still (on the fence)
5. Wire management (Going to be a PITA, I hate wires)
6. Get the new Jebao's going on a good mode

All I need now is more time to work on it. Have a buddies bachelor party tonight and family in town this weekend so hoping I can cross most of these off the list by Sunday night.

Enough talk, pictures that I remembered to take. Thoughts/suggestions welcome as always.

6jNNFMEl.jpg

Sand!

A9d0aOll.jpg

Tanks moved to their transfer spots

bKqeL2tl.jpg

Water transfer, MacGyver style!

df8UM09l.jpg

3am on a work night, everything moved over to the new tank

SnDVFKvl.jpg

As it stands today. Loving the new ATI lights. Cooper is investigating the extra sump space for me. He approved and so do I. :)

JDBqAtul.jpg

Plumbing. Not sure about the two diagonal lines that run to the chiller. Hoping it will be able to run fine this way but might have to rework it. ​Thoughts?
 
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So it's been a while and I figured I would provide some updated FTSs. Re-worked the rock and have gradually lowered the lights closer the the tank.

Right now I am trying to get dosing Alk/Cal in check along with making all my coral happy in general. Jumped on the WWC eBay sale a few weeks back and picked up some SPS so a little worried about getting them too early in the tanks life. Ran some Phosban to kill any blooms before they happened but thinking of ditching it to prevent having an ULNS.

Thoughts? Shots below (potato)

29kBhZ3l.jpg


jVvxjlcl.jpg
 
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It's been a while so a little update and some new photos.

Recent things done:
1. Ditched the Jebao return for a Eheim 1260. Was on vacation and the Jebao jammed 3 times and was too much of pain for a tank caretaker to disassemble to fix each time. Cannot beat the Eheim for performance, quietness, and ease of cleaning.
2. Repositioned the Jebao powerheads to the same side of the tank and went with the W1 mode. Corals all seem much happier with the motion.
3. Got rid of the extra pump and hard-lined the BRS reactor to the return.
4. New RODI media
5. Had a algae bloom, did phosguard for a few weeks and a 3 day black-out. Everything is looking good now and switched back to GFO.

Photos:




Not much in terms of high end corals and have had a really tough time keeping the SPS tests alive. Params are solid and steady so not really sure what the problems are. Those Zoas are my longest living coral by far, started as a single head freeby, survived 2 complete tank crashes (old tank moves) and lived in dry air in a bucket for nearly 2 weeks. Today, it's over 100 heads and encrusted on a huge rock. Not the sexiest but that thing is a tank.

Just going to keep the tank riding for a while now and not do much in terms of spending a ton of money on it. We will see how long that lasts :)
 
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Havn't had an update since August, sorry R2R friends.

Some updates:

Changed Equipment:
Removed reactor
Updated plumbing/valves
Upgraded Ehiem pump w/ larger inlet for more flow
Trigger Systems Emerald Sump
BubbleMangus Curve 5 Skimmer

Livestock:
Tomini Tang
6-Line Wrasse
Neon Dottyback
Blue Damsel
Singapore Angel (In Sump due to coral eating, going back to LFS as I safely can bring it back)

Coral:
Nothing huge to note here, some things are doing poorly and some are doing really well. mostly have LPS and Softies still as some SPS tests have not gone well. Still cannot quite figure it out.

Struggles:
Having a hard time getting Nitrates low. Dosing of any carbon so far (Vodka or Vinegar) has caused either STN or RTN and more recently, a Dino outbreak. Might be going with biopellets at some point in the near future but time will tell. Also bummed I still have not been able to keep SPS as that was the eventual goal here. Going to give things a bit more time to settle out, get Nitrates low and stable and then give it another go.

More details and tank shots over at AquaticLog

Just for kicks, I also entered the R2R RedSea contest to see if I can get the GF to agree on her own little tank :p
 

A worm with high fashion and practical utility: Have you ever kept feather dusters in your reef aquarium?

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