CreamCity's 120 Eurobraced Tank + High end Coral and Lots of DIY

CreamCityCorals

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Hey guys and gals!

Things in life have changed a bit and I have decided to downsize and keep everything to one smaller, more manageable system.

This has given me the opportunity to put together a build with all the little things that I have wanted to do for awhile as well as hopefully help people learn how to do some of the DIY things that are not often talked about.

Plan is 120 Eurobraced tank with custom stand built by me, and plywood sump also built by me.

This tank will have predominately torches and SPS but I suppose you could call it mixed. As many of you have seen my torches I post, I have compiled a fairly large collection that I want to finally display.

I travel a ton for work so making this as close to automated as possible is going to be a key here...As well as build this thinking of failure points that become a lot more challenging if I am not home

Anyway....This should be fun. I will be documenting progress here, on Instagram @creamcitycorals and likely youtube as well.


Equipment list as of now.....

LIGHTS

Radion XR30 G4 Pros x3
T5 Hybrid fixture 48"
Sump lagoon T5??

FLOW

2x Sea swirl with random flow nozzles
1x Ecotech mp40
2x Ecotech mp10
Return pump unsure

FILTRATION

Reef Octo 150INT space saver
Avast Kalk stirrer V2

MONITORS

Apex El
Alkatronic
Dosetronic
 
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CreamCityCorals

CreamCityCorals

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Finally got a good amount of work done today on the stand...most of plywood and basics done. Have to finish up tomorrow. Inside will be coated in pond shield and siliconed. Outside will be painted, still debating with what. The tank in the picture is a 80 gallon deep blue I will not be using, but the footprint works!

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CreamCityCorals

CreamCityCorals

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Got a good amount done today! Worked on the stand and was able to get the top plywood sheet done and some trim. The plywood was a little tricky as I wanted a 4.5ish" lip around the tank, however with the overflow this makes the Iip in front bigger than the sides. Also decided to build a small shelf inside the stand for the ATO container...Still have to do the "Ceiling" inside the sump so won't be exposed as it is in the pic. Hoping to just run this gravity fed directly down to the sump. Got a little bored/anxious and decided to start putting rocks together! :p

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CreamCityCorals

CreamCityCorals

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Also....Tank is ordered and should be here fairly quickly. Goal for the week is to get the stand and sump completely done. We shall see if life allows that....

But I did get a head start on the sump. I am likely going to start a DIY for these plywood sumps. But until then here is the start of it.

This sump is 3/4" plywood and measures 30" by 23"..The idea of this sump is to have the equipment and filter socks in the back half. The front half will be a lagoon style section that will be home to my mushroom collection and some macro algae etc. The front of the sump will be a glass panel looking right into the mushroom lagoon. I haven't gotten to the front panel yet but hoping for tomorrow.

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CreamCityCorals

CreamCityCorals

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Alright y'all. Little update..... haven't had a ton of time with the holidays, but was able to make some progress today.

Tank

Had a Local reefer post a tank very similar to what I was looking for. Decided to grab it and go that direction instead of buying brand new. Plus receiving the tank sooner is always a bonus :) Likely going to eurobrace this tank. I like the look, the reduced splashing and the extra strength. Continued the aquascape as well

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Sump...Got the front panel done and ended up using the mill to cut a groove where the glass will lay. The front section will be a lagoon with some ornamental macros I like and my mushroom/zoa collection.


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The L Shaped baffle in the middle will partition the back filtration section from the lagoon. Water will flow through 2 filter socks before entering the lagoon. Then will go through filtration in the back. I have done sumps with only plywood baffles and its difficult to make sure everything is sealed. The rest of the baffles will be glass once the entire sump is coated. The L shaped baffle is easy to finish and coat. The intricate stuff will be glass.

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Getting everything to fit under the tank is going to be tough. I am planning to run the basics. Skimmer, carbon reactor on and off, and an algae scrubber. The algae scrubber is my biggest issue right now. Want an oversized scrubber and this isn't conducive for a tight fitting sump. HA! but should be able to make it work. Believe the CW200 is what I am looking at. The 100 model is likely fine but for my main nutrient removal I like the idea of having room to push the scrubber if I need to. However, dosetronic, Alkatronic, Co2 scrubber etc will present a challenge. I have some ideas but we will see....

Coming along nicely

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Hoping to get all the screw holes filled and get the basic sanding done. Then we will start coating and getting everything ready for install.
 
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CreamCityCorals

CreamCityCorals

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Well....kind of a frustrating situation but I am happy with the results...The tank I ordered from SCA I tried to cancel a number of times before the ship date. No one responded or answered any of my calls or emails. Turns out the tank shipped 6 days before It was supposed to. So needless to say the fees and shipping back to SCA was almost the cost of the tank. Sooooo....Ended up selling the used tank and keeping the SCA.

Quality of the SCA is solid for the price. Some sloppy silicone and craftsmanship but all and all I am happy with the tank and it does look considerably better than the used tank. Smaller overflow and eurobracing is a huge plus.

Still working on the aquascape but making progress.

I did 1 coat of pond shield on the inside of the stand. I still need to finish up sump and coat that. Time has been a constraint but hoping to get this stuff done soon.

Also grabbed a clearwater CW200 Scrubber. This is certainly oversized for the system but it will give me some play room.

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CreamCityCorals

CreamCityCorals

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Looks great! What are the next steps for a sump? I have never seen someone put together a plywood sump. Stand looks great as well!
Thank you! Appreciate the comments. Coming together slowly but surely.

In terms of the sump I need to cut and add a rim to it. I am going to install a cover that has lips on it so that I can cover a few of the sections with glass. After that the entire sump needs to have the holes filled and sanded. When coating plywood its fairly simple, just have to do a light sanding and a couple of coats of pond shield. Once that is cured I sand the seams and silicone all seams where the plywood is screwed in. This really isn't needed but it gives me piece of mind haha

Once all of that is done then the final step is adding glass baffles and the front glass panel.

I will post on here step by step as I continue to build the sump. Debating doing a DIY on it if people would find it useful!

Austin
 
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CreamCityCorals

CreamCityCorals

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Brief Update today...

Finally got to the sump which is the last big thing on my list. I worked on the top framing with is 3/4" block, and began the sanding process, which will take awhile.

The top frame adds some structure to the sump but also gives me a place to allow glass covers to sit. In order to make this happen, the edges will be framed out with 1/4" wood block, and the scrubber will sit on that. Sanding plywood sumps is such a critical part of the process....If you get sloppy with this part the final product won't look good. My process for this is.....First, sand the entire outside and inside until you cannot feel seems to the touch, it should all feel like one piece of wood. Secondly, once initial sanding is done then all the screw holes and "unsandable" areas need to be filled in. Third, another sanding over screw holes and blemishes....This is why this takes so long!

So I got the outside initially sanded....Still have to hit the inside tomorrow or Saturday. But we are making progress.


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The furtherest left back section will be filter socks and drain area. Front area is the lagoon, then water will wrap around and enter the skimmer and reactor section then flow into the return pump area in the back right part of the sump. The back right and left sections will be covered as well as the lagoon. Middle section will be open

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Pre sanding....Forgot to grab post sandin pics....Whoops
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Hungrypede

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Keep going! Have seen your FS ads in the past, will be awesome to watch your corals grow out in the 120. Love the home made sump.

We have an SCA, 150, as well and loved the quality to price ratio. Pretty quick to see the difference in glass from the used tank to the new.
 
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CreamCityCorals

CreamCityCorals

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Keep going! Have seen your FS ads in the past, will be awesome to watch your corals grow out in the 120. Love the home made sump.

We have an SCA, 150, as well and loved the quality to price ratio. Pretty quick to see the difference in glass from the used tank to the new.
Thank you! Yeah, this was my first time buying an actual new tank, typically have bought lightly used or tanks off friends but the difference is amazing! Haha

the 150 is such a nice size too, considered it but already had the stand going
 

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I’m curious about the sump. Won’t the salt eat away at the plywood? I have seen all sorts of mold issues also from plywood being in a warm dark area. It is one of the prettiest set up’s I have seen you definitely payed attention in wood working class.
 

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I'm very interested to see how you finish the sump.
I made a wet/dry filter back in the middle 80's out of a wood box and a 5 gallon bucket.
 

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