AKG
Active Member
Hey! I have two other tanks currently,(29g mixed SPS reef tank with no skimmer or sump) (15g mixed SPS reef AIO with no skimmer)
That said, my currently project is a mostly DIY 40b reef tank. I have successfully built the stand and painted and sealed the wood, leveled it out, etc. This is a work in progress so I will start with my earliest photo and explain each step in this process.
This First photo is of my stand build placed together on my apartment balcony, I followed the king of diy schematics but wanted the tank height to relatively match the top of my 29 so that they could fill a corner and I could sit down and be surrounded by fish and coral. I used Grabber 8x2.5" Decking and Fence screws and as you will see soon enough ran into some issues because I was close to edges, wasn't drilling pilot holes...... Ugh.
This is what I got when I put the pieces together before screwing. At this point I had wisened up to pilot holes. See my next photo.
At this point you can see one corner looks like absolute garbage but upon consultation with a professional it was suggested to not be a problem given the surrounding structure.
Within 72 hours I have fitted the tank, painted the tank, this bottom compartment is Musou Black sealed with matte clear enamel, and the outside is a dark blue gloss enamel, triple sealed. I went with Musou because I like the ability to see and clean up trash or spills, and a matte finish in black allows me to see virtually anything and identify a reflection as a leak quickly. Blue because well, it looks nice.
You can see a, "shim" bottom left.
Shameful, I know. I need to find a better long term solution because the stand ends up not being perfectly level in my apt even though when I created it, it was level. This also explains the tons of screws on that top piece of plywood board. Before trying to adjust the tank, I identified that the plywood had a 1/32" bow in the middle so the tank wasn't touching the 2x4 for about 16". The screws were used to jack the sheet back into a regular shape bit by bit. Did I mention I did this while the tank was full of water and my rockwork? Yep. I'm a crazy person. The person your friends warned you about. The guy who knows better but just wants to take shortcuts.
So, here's a image of the tank with my water and dry rock. I'm going to chop this front panel in half and do doors instead of a bolt on front panel for easier access.
The rocks are all 20+ year old sps tabling acro colonies, lava rock, some old shells, so I will let the rocks sit for at least another week before testing the water parameters.
So there you have it, that's my project so far.
Goals:
Deep Sand Bed?
Weekly 25% water change
36PPT
12 dKH
Ambient temperature tank
Quanta Bars(undecided)
No sump
Decent flow
Gigantic Red Planet Colony
Pink and red gonioporas
Cricket spine frag
Midas Blenny
Will see about adding more technology as it becomes applicable. But, honestly, I'm going to forgo a sump if I risk flooding my apartment at any point.
Salt:
Either Tropic Marin Meersalz, or Red Sea Reef Pro Salt. I'd prefer the Tropic Marin though.
Dosing: None. This will change if my alkalinity drops faster than I can do a water change.
Refugium: This will sit across the top back of the tank as an acrylic tray in order to grow chaeto, if I ever deem it necessary in order to manage algae growth.
Thermometer: I will have a thermometer in tank in order to determine tank temperature and if room temperature permits me to do so.
Flow: Maxspect Gyres + some jet pumps.
Live rock: Currently, 65lbs dry rock steeping in some water.
Filtration: Dunno yet probably nothing but we will see.
Basically I'm going to be as lazy as possible, minus water changes and watching dKH. Maybe I'll add some creative low tech solutions to manage problems as they show up. Maybe some high tech.
Right now though, that's all I got. The next step is changing my RO/DI water to saltwater and establishing a bacterial colony, potentially a heater, and some lighting. Take care, community!
That said, my currently project is a mostly DIY 40b reef tank. I have successfully built the stand and painted and sealed the wood, leveled it out, etc. This is a work in progress so I will start with my earliest photo and explain each step in this process.
This First photo is of my stand build placed together on my apartment balcony, I followed the king of diy schematics but wanted the tank height to relatively match the top of my 29 so that they could fill a corner and I could sit down and be surrounded by fish and coral. I used Grabber 8x2.5" Decking and Fence screws and as you will see soon enough ran into some issues because I was close to edges, wasn't drilling pilot holes...... Ugh.
Within 72 hours I have fitted the tank, painted the tank, this bottom compartment is Musou Black sealed with matte clear enamel, and the outside is a dark blue gloss enamel, triple sealed. I went with Musou because I like the ability to see and clean up trash or spills, and a matte finish in black allows me to see virtually anything and identify a reflection as a leak quickly. Blue because well, it looks nice.
You can see a, "shim" bottom left.
The rocks are all 20+ year old sps tabling acro colonies, lava rock, some old shells, so I will let the rocks sit for at least another week before testing the water parameters.
So there you have it, that's my project so far.
Goals:
Deep Sand Bed?
Weekly 25% water change
36PPT
12 dKH
Ambient temperature tank
Quanta Bars(undecided)
No sump
Decent flow
Gigantic Red Planet Colony
Pink and red gonioporas
Cricket spine frag
Midas Blenny
Will see about adding more technology as it becomes applicable. But, honestly, I'm going to forgo a sump if I risk flooding my apartment at any point.
Salt:
Either Tropic Marin Meersalz, or Red Sea Reef Pro Salt. I'd prefer the Tropic Marin though.
Dosing: None. This will change if my alkalinity drops faster than I can do a water change.
Refugium: This will sit across the top back of the tank as an acrylic tray in order to grow chaeto, if I ever deem it necessary in order to manage algae growth.
Thermometer: I will have a thermometer in tank in order to determine tank temperature and if room temperature permits me to do so.
Flow: Maxspect Gyres + some jet pumps.
Live rock: Currently, 65lbs dry rock steeping in some water.
Filtration: Dunno yet probably nothing but we will see.
Basically I'm going to be as lazy as possible, minus water changes and watching dKH. Maybe I'll add some creative low tech solutions to manage problems as they show up. Maybe some high tech.
Right now though, that's all I got. The next step is changing my RO/DI water to saltwater and establishing a bacterial colony, potentially a heater, and some lighting. Take care, community!
