CR's Frag Shack

Coastie Reefer · Nov 18, 2018

Dsnakes said:
This is awesome! Great work.

Thanks. It’s been a lot of work but I think that just adds to sense of accomplishment. Hope that hard work translates into the tanks once I get to that stage.

Coastie Reefer · Nov 28, 2018

Well, I have a stand nearly finished. Nothing fancy, just a 2x4 stand wrapped with 1/2 mdf on the outside and 1/2" ply on the inside. Think I'm going to run a router around the top edge to give it a more finished look. Other than that a little sanding, caulk/putty, and paint; and I should be ready to go. I should be able to pick up my lowboy frag tank from the LFS this afternoon so I can start working on getting that setup too.

SneakyTortuga · Nov 28, 2018

This is awesome! You my friend are a true reefer! You don’t have room in your house so you built a shack to scratch your itch for a tank.

Following along

Coastie Reefer · Nov 28, 2018

SneakyTortuga said:
This is awesome! You my friend are a true reefer! You don’t have room in your house so you built a shack to scratch your itch for a tank.

Following along

And the kicker is it's all with wife approval! LOL

Coastie Reefer · Nov 30, 2018

Well the 50g lowboy came in but it was shattered on one end. Looks like a forklift may have hit the box. LFS is ordering a replacement but I may have to wait a couple weeks to get it. In the meantime I’ve got my RODI mounted and ready to go.

TMB · Nov 30, 2018

Nice work!!! Makes me want a new “shed”!
Following this one.

Coastie Reefer · Dec 3, 2018

Stand is coming along. I got a nice even coat of primer on it last night. I'll sand it with some 220 and put another coat of primer on it tonight. Haven't fully decided on what color to use for the finish coat, but will either be a bright white or an antique white (the color of my current 40B stand below). Love my sump, but man that thing is huge 36x16x16. I got it used for 80 bucks so I can't complain, but it were 30" I'd be able able to fit an ATO container under the stand too. As of now I only have about 4" on both sides of the sump.

TMB · Dec 3, 2018

I bet you can find a place for an ATO tank in that palatial he-shed fish room!! Nice work!

Coastie Reefer · Dec 3, 2018

TMB said:
I bet you can find a place for an ATO tank in that palatial he-shed fish room!! Nice work!

Thanks! I'm actually considering a 16g RV freshwater tank, placing it in the corner between the wall and the stand. It would only need about 9" and should be hidden well enough, or worst case scenario I build a little case out of mdf to hide it.

https://www.amazon.com/Class-Custom...0&sr=8-10&keywords=rv+freshwater+holding+tank

TMB · Dec 3, 2018

Man, I have a GREAT idea for you!!! Leave the tank in the RV and do an addition like this!

Just kidding, I couldn't help myself!

Coastie Reefer · Dec 3, 2018

LOL, now that's ingenuity right there!!!

Coastie Reefer · Dec 3, 2018

Well the Mrs likes antique white, so I guess that was an easy decision...

NY_Caveman · Dec 3, 2018

TMB said:

LOL!!!

C-Reefer · Dec 4, 2018

Super cool build thread! I love reading through builds and getting to fast forward through the waiting

Can't wait to see this come together!

LetItReef · Dec 4, 2018

If you can build that shack , tank and other misc must be a piece of cake for you- great work!!

RichtheReefer21 · Dec 4, 2018

;Wideyed

Unbelievable transition. Well done man. Here for the ride!

Coastie Reefer · Dec 4, 2018

C-Reefer said:
Super cool build thread! I love reading through builds and getting to fast forward through the waiting

Can't wait to see this come together!

Thanks, I'm hoping I can move forward on some tank builds sooner rather than later.

LetItReef said:
If you can build that shack , tank and other misc must be a piece of cake for you- great work!!

LOL, Thanks! We'll see how my plumbing job goes. Never plumbed a sump, much less multiple tanks into a single sump!

RichtheReefer21 said:
;Wideyed

Unbelievable transition. Well done man. Here for the ride!

Glad to have you!

Coastie Reefer · Dec 5, 2018

We have a tank in place! I have the aquatic life hybrid fixture sitting on top just to see how it looks. I’ll be adding my Hydra 26HDs when I transfer my 40B.

Coastie Reefer · Dec 7, 2018

Low boy came in... shattered again. Completely busted this time. Actually looked like a tank that was previously returned because of damage. The bottom of the box had already been opened and the tank was set in upside down... LFS is doing everything to make it right and the tank should be here next Wed. He's going to see if he can get the supplier to discount the tank because of all the delay and hassle, so that's a plus... but since I've already paid for the tank it just means I'll get store credit.

While I was cleaning the tank I noticed a small scratch... I filled the tank to see if it would disappear as they often do, but unfortunately it didn't. The scratch is completely invisible sitting in front of it, but as soon as I stand I see it. Granted the tank is empty and there's nothing drawing my eye away from the scratch, but as of right now it's kinda driving me nuts.

Due to space constraints and not wanting to be overly crowded I had basically decided I would only setup 1 one of the 75s and the lowboy (real life compared to scale drawings doesn't always translate very well) . I was considering selling the new 75, but now I may keep it. The only issue with that is I'll need to buy an overflow and drill the sucker. Not afraid to drill it, but a decent overflow is going to run me nearly 200 bucks... sigh.

Here's where I plan to stare at my tank and sip on cold adult beverages. Ignore the mess of wires I need some extension cords/power strips.