- Joined
- Nov 14, 2019
- Messages
- 195
- Reaction score
- 202
Alrighty then, here we go, my first build from the ground up. Had 3 tanks in the last 2 years, all bought of craigslist, fixed up and resold. Mainly for the giggles, but also to acquire some experience and fund the hobby. I want(ed) everything, but don't have the means to pay for it, so all my hobbies have been a mix of trading up and some extra effort. I have been gathering equipment for a while now and building my house so im starting to think about the right tank for me, not to trade or sell. This is going to take a while.. havent finished my house, dont have the tank yet, not even sure on the size to be honest, so this will be more like a diary then a build thread
The plan is to build a shallow reef style tank that sits on the kitchen island. About 4 feet wide, 2 feet deep, and 1 feet high. I would like something thats visable from all 4 sides, with low iron glass and no wires in the tank (that should be easy ). Im a service engineer by trade, installing systems for the healthcare industry, so half the fun for me is automating everything.
But first there is a space issue. Its my first house, tiny and old (1930's). So i dont have room and for all the equipment im planning to run, a sump in a stand is just not going to cut it. So the only option is the basement. Only problem is i live in the Netherlands, so far below sealevel im starting to develop gills. That means no houses on our block have usable basements. I have a space about 4 feet high, 4 feet wide, and 15 feet long. So not even enough room to stand in, and crazy humidity. The plan is to make a big hatch, hidden in the living room floor, and use that space to create a workstation where i can do my tests, frag etc without ruining the floors.
The 'basement', not in the best condition, only used to hide the heating installation at the moment.
Refinished the walls, painted the beams, and put in some led lighting with sensors and some power sockets.
Leveled the floor and needed 20kg epoxy to get it waterproof. Could order it in the right color, but would cost me €300, found the same amount on craigslist for €60, but its bright green. Not my first choice but i like the €240 in my pocket more then the color ;Happy
Its like Kermit exploded in there! I like it tbh, dont have any grazy colors in my interior so to have something like this hidden away is kinda fun.
And just some of the equipment ive gathered so far; Theiling Rollermat, Tunze algae reactor, Cloud9 skimmer and a big UV light.
The Theiling/Tunze combi should take care of most of the nutrients, skimmer is mainly to raise PH, distribute Ozone and anything it picks up is a plus. Its to big for my water volume but its DC so maybe it can be run at lower power and still do what i need it for. Got it cheap and if i add anything to the system later i can just turn it up if needed. I would like to run the tank without any media reactors. The rollermat and algae reactor can be mounted externally so i will try and keep the sump as clean as possible to ad some frag racks later.
Picking up some water tanks that should fit in there easier than barrels next week, and working on some Giesemann fixtures that came without the power adapters so thats a big unknown. They were apparently used on the Giesemann stands around the word for demo purposes, they even have 'not for sale' etched into the glass
Hopefully i can get them working, could never afford a new one so this would be nice way to get some quality equipment right from the get go!
The plan is to build a shallow reef style tank that sits on the kitchen island. About 4 feet wide, 2 feet deep, and 1 feet high. I would like something thats visable from all 4 sides, with low iron glass and no wires in the tank (that should be easy ). Im a service engineer by trade, installing systems for the healthcare industry, so half the fun for me is automating everything.
But first there is a space issue. Its my first house, tiny and old (1930's). So i dont have room and for all the equipment im planning to run, a sump in a stand is just not going to cut it. So the only option is the basement. Only problem is i live in the Netherlands, so far below sealevel im starting to develop gills. That means no houses on our block have usable basements. I have a space about 4 feet high, 4 feet wide, and 15 feet long. So not even enough room to stand in, and crazy humidity. The plan is to make a big hatch, hidden in the living room floor, and use that space to create a workstation where i can do my tests, frag etc without ruining the floors.
The 'basement', not in the best condition, only used to hide the heating installation at the moment.
Refinished the walls, painted the beams, and put in some led lighting with sensors and some power sockets.
Leveled the floor and needed 20kg epoxy to get it waterproof. Could order it in the right color, but would cost me €300, found the same amount on craigslist for €60, but its bright green. Not my first choice but i like the €240 in my pocket more then the color ;Happy
Its like Kermit exploded in there! I like it tbh, dont have any grazy colors in my interior so to have something like this hidden away is kinda fun.
And just some of the equipment ive gathered so far; Theiling Rollermat, Tunze algae reactor, Cloud9 skimmer and a big UV light.
The Theiling/Tunze combi should take care of most of the nutrients, skimmer is mainly to raise PH, distribute Ozone and anything it picks up is a plus. Its to big for my water volume but its DC so maybe it can be run at lower power and still do what i need it for. Got it cheap and if i add anything to the system later i can just turn it up if needed. I would like to run the tank without any media reactors. The rollermat and algae reactor can be mounted externally so i will try and keep the sump as clean as possible to ad some frag racks later.
Picking up some water tanks that should fit in there easier than barrels next week, and working on some Giesemann fixtures that came without the power adapters so thats a big unknown. They were apparently used on the Giesemann stands around the word for demo purposes, they even have 'not for sale' etched into the glass
Hopefully i can get them working, could never afford a new one so this would be nice way to get some quality equipment right from the get go!