Custom 40 gallon mixed reef

lukegroundrunner · Aug 29, 2026

I'm starting a new thread because I've changed my plans yet again, but now it's set in stone because the tank has arrived and it's time to build this thing.
The tank is 16x36x16 custom bottom drilled 4 side viewable made by advanced acrylics. 20 gallon high for a sump. All built on an 4040 extruded aluminum frame.

lukegroundrunner · Aug 29, 2026

After ordering the tank I started ordering all the parts for the stand. It went together very easily and seems very sturdy. Still waiting for the PVC "plywood" to make the cubby for the electronics and ato, as well as use as a base for the sump and tank to sit on.

lukegroundrunner · Aug 29, 2026

I purchased a sump kit from eBay for around $100. I got the tank from PetSmart for $38. So all together I think I made out great on the sump. I've never actually used filter socks in the past because it was too hard to take them out with the pipes going into them so I love that this one collects the water and then it runs into the sock area. I suppose it might collect some detritus in the section with the return pipes but I'll just periodically syphon it out. Just recently siliconed the pieces into the tank so time will tell if I did a good job or not. I tested it and it's just big enough for my skimmer, new in sump UV, and return pump. No room for a refugium but I'll live.

lukegroundrunner · Aug 29, 2026

The tank!!! I was worried about many reviews of John from advanced acrylics being very late with delivering purchases. It made me put the purchase on a card instead of saving a little with an electronic payment. I have to say he was very responsive during the design phase and had what I thought was a very reasonable price. He told me 2 weeks and I think he was about right. It took almost a week for ups to deliver it, but that's not his fault. The craftsmanship is amazing and I can't wait to fill it with water. He drilled the holes for spears bulkheads which I told him was fine but when I looked into buying them I was not willing to pay $100 per bulkhead. Instead I purchased Hayward bulkheads which are still fairly pricey but seem to be nice and beefy and will make me feel better than basic bulkheads since it is a bottom drilled tank. The problem is that the holes were now too small "which I suppose is better than too big". So I used a rabbeting router bit and made the holes just a tiny bit bigger. Then followed that up with a flush router bit to finish up the holes. Now everything fits perfect.

lukegroundrunner · 2026-09-07T11:56:06-0400

Just a bit of a progress report. Decorative panels are hanging from the aluminum stand. I also have the PVC sheets lining the stand. I wasn't going to discuss electrical so I didn't really take pictures but have decided maybe I should.

Ideally you want your entire aquarium to be protected by a GFCI circuit. There are two easy ways of doing this but they can be a little scary for those who haven't worked with home electrical circuits. The best way is to change your wall outlet the tank will plug into a GFCI outlet. When doing this, make sure the breaker is shut off for the outlet. Remove the old outlet and install the new GFCI one. You can hook the wires up to the screws labeled for line voltage. No need to wire anything to the load because we really only care about that outlet being protected.

The second way, and the way I did it for this aquarium, is to wire a GFCI outlet to an extension cord. Get an appliance cord that is 12awg wire and connect it to the line connectors on the GFCI. You can then use regular 12/2 romex home wire to connect more outlets from the GFCI. In this case wire the next outlet to the load side of the GFCI. Now every outlet wired after will be protected by the GFCI. This time I actually used a surge outlet as well so help protect items like my backup battery and apex aquarium controller. I also wired an outlet to it's own extension cord which will be used for the two lights I am installing above the aquarium. I can plug this cord into the apex of I want the lights controlled by it, or plug it into the battery, or plug it into the outlet bank I created seen in the picture below. I like that this gives me many options and doesn't eat up two outlets in the apex. You could wire 2 outlets and get 4 lights on one apex outlet. Just make sure you don't go over the maximum load for the apex outlet. The best part of wiring in this manner is that you don't have any worries of getting shocked or having to deal with your homes breaker panel. The only flaw is that the main outlet that you plug into is not protected. In my mind the likelihood of water getting to that outlet is very slim and not much of a risk but it is worth mentioning.

As always do at your own risk. If you are not comfortable then it may not be a project for you.