If I'm moving the tank i'm upgrading it too!

rawhideshaba · Jun 23, 2022

57 Gallon rimless Deep blue 3' to 225 Gallon 6' in wall

Ok so I have a waterproofing company coming to my basement soon and this means I need to tear down my current reef tank and move it to an area away from the outer wall of my basement. I see no reason in moving something I'm not 100% happy with so the wife gets a trip to Disney in a few years and I get my tank now.

Since my tank is currently running and I am not starting from scratch then this should go relatively fast....not!!!!! I don't really have a budget so to say but I know I can get by with a brute can and a light so keeping it simple works for me. By being simple I do mean in the most complicated way possible to achieve the same goals as someone else of course! So here's a list of my current gear that I have transferring from the small tank to the large one. A few items will be upgraded just simply due to GPH truthfully and I will slap a (u) on those.

(u) 40 gallon breeder sump (having one made locally so this will do until thats made)
Apex El
ORP module for a ozone reactor
Poseidon ozone reactor with Milwaukee ozone controller
Recirculating skimmer (skimz, out of business but skimmer is a BEAST!, ozone fed into non ozone skimmer haha, ac feed pump as DC was not cutting it.
Kessil h180 fuge light, have supplement lights available but never needed so far
Theiling compact rollermat (we will see how she does with such a size upgrade at that low flow, may need another)
heaters, inkbird and such
miracle mud in trays with mangroves rooted in them
Jebao dc return pump
(u) maxspect jump gyres x2 ( may need upgrade due to glass thickness but I will try them on the dual overflows in tank first to see if I like it
(u) neptune wav (need a second one) I love and hate how wide the flow is on these
(u) Ati hybrid 36" , Radion xr15 G5 Blue, Spatfarm G5 (need another 36" hybrid, another Spatfarm, and possibly the G6 motherboard)
The spat farms lights really are not bad so I plan to run the radion center and split the difference each way with the spat farms. Minor fabricating to the rail and I should be fine. then maybe I will finally turn my lights up from 40%. If I need more then it is what it is but I plan on going softies and LPS only with semi aggressive fish. If there is a stick in there then it was won at a raffle.
I am sure I am missing some stuff but you get the picture. And if you don't then here is my build thread lol. out dated but still covers a bunch.

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/anemone-57-deep-blue-edge-tank.775326/

Here is the 57 a few months back when I was playing with the pumps locations. Quite a few anemones and corals since then as well.

I have spent stupid amounts of cash on this hobby and I know where I can cut costs and where I cant. So in the stand build and sump I know I can cut costs so I am cutting costs on the stand in the most expensive way that I can.

So as you will see below I am doing cinderblock legs on a "header". So basically butcher block with legs, this is made of i believe 16 2 x 6's and the block is poured solid on the 2 ends. All thread was locked into the cement and then the butcher block was bolted into that all thread locking the unit together. Plan to rubber coat the blocks on the outside so that I don't bust my knees in the fish room and because it looks great. Epoxy with mica powder and all that will cover the top for its self leveling reasons more than anything else. It is surprisingly level as is but I want to be 100% with a 1/2" to 1" layer of epoxy to level her out.

Once I get the tank on and all that good stuff I will toss one support on the front side under the stand but there will be no rear support at all. This will built into a wall and I want to put my sump on rollers in the rear as that room is becoming a fish room.

To be continued since I am at work still haha!

blaxsun · Jun 23, 2022

I don't think you used enough wood in the base.

rawhideshaba · Dec 7, 2023

Well, after a serious delay of game with health issues and finances I'm back at it on this build and I would say a month or 2 from getting half the system wet if not all. But the plans & equipment have changed a ton though so lets start there.
(u) 40 gallon breeder sump (having one made locally so this will do until thats made)
Found a 120 gallon frag tank brand new for 300 bucks so I have my sump
Apex El
Poseidon ozone reactor with Milwaukee ozone controller (replacing corona soon)
Recirculating skimmer (skimz), out of business but the skimmer is a BEAST!, ozone fed into non ozone skimmer haha, ac feed pump as DC was not cutting it.
Got rid of the kessil H180 light as it wont be needed in this setup.
Theiling compact roller mat will be on one overflow pipe and the other will go straight to the skimmer with an overflow pipe
3 X 300 watt heaters and various smaller ones available if needed. If these are on too much I will grab a big boy , inkbird and apex for monitoring
Miracle mud will now be in my cryptic zone in the sump.......more about that below
Jebao dc return pump x 3 (they just work, have backup power on the house so save a dollar!)
(u) maxspect jump gyres x2 ( may need upgrade due to glass thickness but I will try them on the dual overflows in tank first to see if I like it
(u) neptune wav (need a second one) I love and hate how wide the flow is on these
(u) Ati hybrid 36" x 2, Radion XR15 G5 Blue x 2, Smatfarm G5 x 1, so the Smatfarm will be in the middle with the 2 G5's on the outsides. I have 2 other lights laying around that may support it if its not enough par but i think that this will be plenty for quite a while.

Epoxy top on the "Stand" is almost cured so i can release molds and start sanding the edges. Then Rubber spray the blocks and final coats of sealant on the exposed wood.

Looks good enough that if my sand is blown away there's extra background down there lol.

So yea as I said the plans have changed!

57 Gallon aquarium is now becoming a display refugium. Still debating on what to grow but I have quite a few full spectrum and grow lights laying around from my planted tank days and greenhouse in the basement stuff. Shouldn't be much i cant grow with those.

The Sumps dimensions i forget off hand but I think it's 72" x 24" x 16" and this will not be going under the stand. Its a fish room so I'm doing it with long pipe and increased head but I want the sump 100% exposed for maintenance. So the sump an tank will form a "L" in the room with the 57 gallon refugium closing it to make a "U" Shape in the room. Making removable baffles so that I don't ruin a perfectly nice frag tank, but here is the planned layout below.

So Roller mat & skimmer then heaters and baffle. Plenty of rock and an acrylic box with Miracle mud and some bio home media and Reef Rocks in it. Blacking out a large section of the sump so that some of it an go cryptic with the other half being semi cryptic. There will be random junk in this area as well like PVC pipes and some 3D printed pod hotel things I made. Should make for a nasty detritus trap of course but its not like i wont clean the bad areas.

I plan to seed the sump with some sponges and life so we will see how that turns out. One of my 5 or 6 tanks laying around filthy in the basement will become a quarantine tank as well. Got 10 gallons to 40b's so why not.

Oh also I am going to pipe the skimmers cup drain over to the pump feeding my display refugium. If i get to the point where i need to dose nitrates and phosphates then i may start letting the skimmer slowly drip into the refugium. 2 tanks so far i have had to turn the skimmer off from no longer needing it, but i like my ozone so that's not happening this time.
I'm still at work so I will end this portion of the update here. Cant wait to finally get this set up.