Lionfish 90(ish) gallon peninsula build

[fermentedhiker]

I've had an idea for this in my head for a few years and I finally decided to just do it this year. I had a custom acrylic tank(36x24x24) built because I couldn't find anything that would fit the space I had correctly. It's the end of a row of kitchen cabinets so making it fit in was my main design constraint. Picked up an all plywood hickory sink base to convert into a stand.

Reinforced the corners with tightbond and quarter round.


Added some PT plywood to stiffen the floor inside the stand for the sump and ATO weight.


Further supported the floor with "joists" made from scraps of PT 2x6. Maybe overkill


Added a power center;


Fresh air vent through the toe kick;



AC Infinity fan for fresh air through the stand;


Stand alone temp monitor/alarm


Bead board back , with the Fan and cord ports installed.


Water resistant when in use GFCI install. Now I have power!!


Bayite temperature controller;


Hickory trimmed top with yoga mat spacer;


Test fitting the Trigger Emerald 20c sump, deepwater aquatics BLDC5 return pump.


I'm too tired to play with it anymore tonight. I should have some more updates tomorrow.

 

[prsnlty]

I've had an idea for this in my head for a few years and I finally decided to just do it this year. I had a custom acrylic tank(36x24x24) built because I couldn't find anything that would fit the space I had correctly. It's the end of a row of kitchen cabinets so making it fit in was my main design constraint. Picked up an all plywood hickory sink base to convert into a stand.

Reinforced the corners with tightbond and quarter round.


Added some PT plywood to stiffen the floor inside the stand for the sump and ATO weight.


Further supported the floor with "joists" made from scraps of PT 2x6. Maybe overkill


Added a power center;


Fresh air vent through the toe kick;



AC Infinity fan for fresh air through the stand;


Stand alone temp monitor/alarm


Bead board back , with the Fan and cord ports installed.


Water resistant when in use GFCI install. Now I have power!!


Bayite temperature controller;


Hickory trimmed top with yoga mat spacer;


Test fitting the Trigger Emerald 20c sump, deepwater aquatics BLDC5 return pump.


I'm too tired to play with it anymore tonight. I should have some more updates tomorrow.

I LOVE IT!!! This is going to be gorgeous! What type of lighting do you plan to have over it?

 

[fermentedhiker]

I picked up a used maxspect razor 20.5" 15000K. Because I have an internal overflow(no real back to the tank for rear plumbing) the usable tank space is only 31" . It should cover the length fine, but I'm not sure if it'll have the spread for a 24" tank. So I may have to get a second one or look for a different light.

My stocklist has some potential coral nippers so while I intend to have coral it won't be anything expensive . It'll end up being whatever they don't try to eat.

The focus is going to be on a couple dwarf/medium lions. I'm leaning towards a dwarf fuzzy and a radiata at the moment. I may try my hand at a fu manchu if I find one that's eating well.

Tankmates will be; Either a copperband butterfly(if I can find one eating frozen) or Atlantic longnose and Tahitian butterfly, Tomini or Kole tang, Eibli dwarf angelfish. I would've liked to add a tiger wardli goby/starry blenny/ psychedelic mandarin but have decided against tempting the lions

I've got some sanding etc... to do tomorrow and then a buddy is coming over after work to help lift the tank on the stand. 3/4" acrylic may be lighter than glass, but it's still heavy. Hopefully I'll have it plumbed Wednesday and freshwater wet test it. After that I'm away for the weekend so no more playing until next week. Then I'll get the heaters working, setup the skimmer, decide on and order ATO , then refill it with salt water and start cycling. Still deciding between dry rock and live rock shipped from Florida......decisions decisions

 

[prsnlty]

Sounds like a great plan and fun tank I think the razor may have just enough spread depending on how far off the top it'll be.

I do love lionfish. Had a volitan lionfish about 9 years ago. Stung my daughter and died Daughter lived after extreme temporary pain and had to care for the tank for a month lol

 

[fermentedhiker]

Ouch! That's too bad about your lion and your daughter . But yeah I'm hoping it's more of an enjoy it tank than a fight with issues tank, but only time will tell

 

[fermentedhiker]

Weather resistant timer for the refugium light;



Aquafuge light. I think I'll need a second one to get the necessary coverage.

 

[fermentedhiker]

Test filled the sump and installed a 150 Watt finnex titanium installed. I need to order a second one I think.

 

[fermentedhiker]

Tank is in place thanks to help from a friend. Now to sort the plumbing out.

 

[marissas47]

Looks really great !! Can't wait to follow this build, best of luck with it !

 

[fermentedhiker]

Thanks. It's been an itch in my brain for a long time. It's exciting to see it finally start to take form.

Did a test of the light I got off of a local reefer. I'm a little worried about shadowing once I have rock in place. I may need to find a second fixture to get better spread. 24" is a lot to ask of a single fixture.

 

[fermentedhiker]

Wet testing is finally done. All the leaks are resolved. I'll let it run freshwater for a week and then start setting it up in earnest.

Hooked up two 150 finnex titanium heaters through the Bayite temp controller. Hopefully they'll be enough.



Lessons learned from this build so far. I think 1" drains would've been plenty. I set it up similar to a bean animal design with a full siphon drain, and open drain and an emergency drain. Even with the return pump maxed out the full siphon drain can handle it without actually going to full siphon. So the oversized piping isn't really necessary. The sump really can't take the full flow of the pump at max so I could've saved myself a little money on smaller pipe and fittings and ended up with a little more space to work with.

Now I just need to spend some time trying to layout the scape.

 

[Husker]

Great job of integrating the tank into the cabinetry. I always like seeing the rooms that surround the tanks.

 

[fermentedhiker]

Thanks. I really wanted this build to look cleaner and more part of the room it's in.

 

[fermentedhiker]

It's starting to look like a real thing...........



Cloudiness is from me adding a bag of sand to partially fill the overflow. I should've rinsed it better

 

[chefjpaul]

Very nice so far.

 

[Husker]

Which lion are you thinking? Any tank mates?

I am thinking of having my display refugium containing a predator, but I am not sure yet. I had a volitans lion in my 75 gallon reef tank back in college without any "eating tank mates" or nutrient problems, but it was a pretty naive and rudimentary tank.

 

[AcroNem]

Following along, this should be cool

 

[fermentedhiker]

I'm leaning towards a dwarf fuzzy and a radiata. Possibly a fu manchu but that'll depend on my confidence level of being able to wean it onto prepared foods. Tankmates are tentatively a copperband butterflyfish(If I can find one eating) and if not a Tahitian and Atlantic longnose butterflyfish. Eibli Dwarf Angelfish, and either a Tomini or kole tang. I've been mulling over a Barrier Reef clownfish as well.

I think most of the dwarfs could work in a 55gallon display fuge. The choice would also depend on what you're trying to accomplish with the fuge. If amphipod production is part of your goal I would stay away from the really small dwarfs like the fu manchu as they would put a serious dent in the population. I think larger ones would likely ignore them as too small.

 

[fermentedhiker]

So I drilled a float valve into my ATO reservoir. Not that I intend to keep the RODI line on all the time and let the float valve control it. It's just so that I can refill it without risk of overfill because I get distracted by something(has happened before on other tanks). So I have a valve on it and it will be off except when refilling.



Now I just have to do some research and decide on an actual ATO to use.

FSS(Full sump shot )


It's starting to get crowded down here.

 

[fermentedhiker]

Two magnafuge refugium lights working on a reverse light cycle.