Making my own 'TMC habitat 50' nano tank

[Mav2]

In April I set up an180 gallon marine tank(6x2x2) I love it and it is doing very well. However, in an effort to keep my 'tinkering' hands out of the tank, I finally persuaded my wife to let me buy some glass, wood and acrylic and build my own 50l display tank with a 25l sump and 7.5 l top off tank. It's been fun, fun, fun.... time to start a build thread.

I'm aiming for a 'mini cycle' at worst.
(there is nothing brown and hairy growing in the sump that's a reflection of the living room rug!)
as I am seeding the tank with some siporax, a little sand, live rock and some sponge media from the180. I thought about purchasing TMC habitat 50 tank... they look so good! Then I thought to hell with spending almost £600 pounds on that... I would make my own 'version' for less than half that amount.... wish me luck! The tank including equipment should cost me less than £300. I'm really looking forward to receiving feedback on my plans for this mixed reef and its progress!

Display: DIY 12 gallon Display
Sump: 6 gallons
Lighting: TBA
Filtration: Tunze 9001 skimmer, filter floss, gfo, carbon
Heater: 50w
Circulation: Jebao 1200
ATO: Tunze Nano ATO - not purchased yet
Dosing: Manual ATI Essentials (not pro and not yet!)

 

[Devaji]

dude that is freaking amazing!

 

[Mav2]

dude that is freaking amazing!

Thanks so much! I hope I get to grow out some beautiful corals not a forest of algae

 

[Mhart032]

looks great!

Im sure you know this already, but good to remember small body of water.. more drastic swings in chemistry.

 

[Mav2]

looks great!

Im sure you know this already, but good to remember small body of water.. more drastic swings in chemistry.

100%...but a reminder is always good as it helps to focus my mind on keeping my big fat hands out of the tank and keeping up with regular maintenance. I plan on eventually Dosing ATI essentials and will be testing, for the first 3 months every other day (with a focus on ALK).

 

[Mav2]