My Custom 66

mfinn · Sep 3, 2019

My old 50 gallon tank is starting to show it's age.
There are a ton of scratches that that have appeared.
The silicone in the corners is starting to show some issues that I'm getting a little nervous about.
I built the tank myself almost 10 years ago.

So I got in touch with my favorite tank builder Mike O'brien.
Told him I was looking for a new tank.
I wanted rimless and made out of 1/2" starfire glass
32" x 24" x 20"
I wanted just a simple herbie design drain with two 1-1/2" bulkheads in the right rear corner.
Standard black acrylic overflow in the corner.
Black vinyl on the back.

This is what the plans look like.

mfinn · Sep 3, 2019

My planned equipment list is pretty much the same as my old 50 gallon tank.
The dimensions are going to be pretty similar.
My lights are a ATI T5 6 x 24 watt fixture with 2 Reef Brite XHO's.
A pair of Tunze 6055's for flow and I'm going with a Vectra S1 for my return.
My old Sea Side Aquatics CS1 skimmer will be good.
As well as my old 29" x 16" x 16" sump.
I'm using a Tsunami AT-1 for my ato.

I did build a new stand out of 1/2" maple veneer plywood with hickory trim.

mfinn · Sep 3, 2019

mfinn · Sep 5, 2019

Got a few pictures from Crystal Reef Aquatics on the tank progress.
Looks pretty small in the pictures.

They said they still have to do the abs bottom, corner guards, beauty beads and then final clean up.

mfinn · Sep 10, 2019

Just got some good news.
Mike at Crystal Reef Aquatics just called me and said my tank would ready for pickup this Friday morning.
The only down side is they are now a 3 hour drive each way through Seattle traffic.
But I'm happy to make this one.

He sent me 2 new pictures.

mfinn · Sep 12, 2019

mfinn · Sep 13, 2019

I made the 6 hour drive today and picked up my new tank.
It's really nice.
I like the 1/2" glass in this small of a tank.
Really makes it look stout.

Ruben's Reef · Sep 13, 2019

Awesome !!! Following progress..

mfinn · Sep 20, 2019

Water, sand and rock. Finally!

mfinn · Sep 23, 2019

So, I got most of the corals moved over yesterday.
Most are in their permanent locations, some need to be moved and glued down.
I took a few pictures with my S9+ with a orange filter, with just the reef brites on.

mfinn · Oct 7, 2019

I took a few pictures this morning with my Samsung S9+ and a orange filter. The orange filter seems to help remove some of the blue and still let the real colors show.
The lights that were on are the 2 Reef Brites and 2 of the T5 Blue Plus tubes.

NY_Caveman · Oct 8, 2019

mfinn said:

This is an incredible tank. The color and life are phenomenal. Looking forward to a video perhaps to really see it come alive!

mfinn · Oct 8, 2019

NY_Caveman said:
This is an incredible tank. The color and life are phenomenal. Looking forward to a video perhaps to really see it come alive!

Thank-you.

mfinn · Oct 23, 2019

I got in touch with a guy I know who owns Clear Fabrications a acrylic tank manufacture in Seattle and had him make a little frag/feeding station for the corner of my rimless tank.
I found out when I had my first rimless tank there wasn't any convenient area to set things when working on the tank.
So I made a little triangle out of acrylic a few years ago. It looked kind of rough, so this time around along with the new tank I needed a nicer looking spot to set things on.

I gave him the dimensions I wanted and he made me this.
It just sits on the corner of the tank and is supported underneath so it doesn't slide in or off.
When I'm done I just put over on a shelf out of the way.

mfinn · Nov 12, 2019

A few new pictures

mfinn · Dec 12, 2019

Nothing new.
I did lose a couple pieces recently, that I was probably because of a error with my kalk dosing.
I mistakenly doubled my kalkwasser addition to my topoff container.
So I may just stop with that method.
I picked up some extra Fritz red box salt and go with that for a while and see how it goes.

JoshH · Dec 12, 2019

mfinn said:
Nothing new.
I did lose a couple pieces recently, that I was probably because of a error with my kalk dosing.
I mistakenly doubled my kalkwasser addition to my topoff container.
So I may just stop with that method.
I picked up some extra Fritz red box salt and go with that for a while and see how it goes.

What route do you think you will go with the kalkwasser? Doser and stirrer?

mfinn · Dec 12, 2019

JoshH said:
What route do you think you will go with the kalkwasser? Doser and stirrer?

I'm going to see how the red box Fritz salt holds up without going with any dosing for a while.
I'm a water change guy and have had tanks over the years with nothing but water changes to replace what was used by the corals.