My Shallow Dream Build 60" × 30" × 17"

RichtheReefer21 · Sep 30, 2020

JoshH said:
You're right, they will serve me very well for quite some time until I want to throw some higher demand corals in there

Well the first signs of light and life on the reef have shown themselves today They are a little unhappy with the move but should be okay. Temporary placements for now until the light canopy is complete....

RobB'z Reef · Sep 30, 2020

JoshH said:
And Ten minutes later, turns out that I do have this ;Smuggrin for those that are curious, standard hole saw bit, Run on slow speed in reverse, stopped roughly every third of the way through to let the acrylic cool down which may or may not have been the right thing to do but it worked lol and a quick sand with 150 grit sandpaper wrapped around a pen, Done!

Well executed sir!

RobB'z Reef · Sep 30, 2020

JoshH said:
For me this philosophy can be applied to just about every aspect of a new build, plan plan plan plan and when you think you have planned enough, plan some more. I agree 100% and then the first thing to remember is, even after all that planning, something is still bound to come up. It's just the nature of the beast. I certainly didn't expect some of my 90° fittings to shrink when I added cleaner in them making them total garbage, however I did plan ahead and bought extras incase SOMETHING happened.

And currently, not waiting on anything now, some of the parts I needed showed up and the others I'm holding off on ordering until I know for sure what I need. However, this will be running tomorrow. As a herbie drain setup for now and when the rest of the parts come in I'll get my emergency drain online and we will be firing on all cylinders ;Smuggrin

Can't wait!

RobB'z Reef · Sep 30, 2020

JoshH said:
And it turns out after all that, I was short water ;Shifty Sump is filled for the the most part but will take even more when the fuge is set up, tank is filled JUST to the point of overflowing and that's where I fell short. Water has been made, hopefully I don't need more than 15 Gallons for now, the sump ate roughly 40 so far and will probably take another 10 when the fuge is set up. This will place the system roughly around 180ish Gallons when up and running I'll leave you all with this for now, hopefully you're happy with that ;Smuggrin;Hilarious

You're not good for my laundry you know that right?

Kodski · Sep 30, 2020

I can't wait to see how the tank matures!

I'd love to get feed back on how you like the dimensions of the tank itself as you work in it more. I'm looking at taking a 180 gallon tank(72"x18"x30" too deep for my taste but I couldn't pass it up for the price), and cutting it down to 60"x30"x18". My only concern is that I don't think I have a good space to make it into a peninsula and 30" wide is probably going to be a pain to reach the back with.

JoshH · Sep 30, 2020

Rob.bucek said:
Well executed sir!

Thank you! I'm really glad everything turned out okay.

Rob.bucek said:
Can't wait!

Me either !!!

Kodski said:
I can't wait to see how the tank matures!

I'd love to get feed back on how you like the dimensions of the tank itself as you work in it more. I'm looking at taking a 180 gallon tank(72"x18"x30" too deep for my taste but I couldn't pass it up for the price), and cutting it down to 60"x30"x18". My only concern is that I don't think I have a good space to make it into a peninsula and 30" wide is probably going to be a pain to reach the back with.

Thank you!

Best piece of advice I can give you is to get some 2x2 or PVC pipe and mock up the tank itself to see how it works for you. You will also be able to find out if the peninsula tank would possibly work in your space or not. I could definitely manage the 30" if it was up against the wall but what is manageable for me, might not be for you. I would, If possible, keep the 72" length. For me it's what I wanted from the beginning however it wouldn't fit in the space we had set out for it so I had to reduce to 60". I love the depth! Hands down the easiest to work in for myself, I always hated the deeper tanks and getting wet up to my armpits every time I wanted to work on something.

RobB'z Reef · Sep 30, 2020

JoshH said:
I always hated the deeper tanks and getting wet up to my armpits every time I wanted to work on something.

Me working on my tank this past week...

JoshH · Sep 30, 2020

Rob.bucek said:
Me working on my tank this past week...

IKR!!!! Man, I do enjoy the look of the slightly deeper tanks but that's exactly how I always felt even in my 22" tank. It's AMAZING what just a few inches difference will make in comfort during maintenance.

Kodski · Sep 30, 2020

JoshH said:
Best piece of advice I can give you is to get some 2x2 or PVC pipe and mock up the tank itself to see how it works for you. You will also be able to find out if the peninsula tank would possibly work in your space or not. I could definitely manage the 30" if it was up against the wall but what is manageable for me, might not be for you. I would, If possible, keep the 72" length. For me it's what I wanted from the beginning however it wouldn't fit in the space we had set out for it so I had to reduce to 60". I love the depth! Hands down the easiest to work in for myself, I always hated the deeper tanks and getting wet up to my armpits every time I wanted to work on something.

Thank you for your advice! My issue with the 72" length is the added cost to going that much larger. More light, bigger skimmer, more pumps, ect. I've done the math and its quite significant, and that's my reasoning to go with 60" instead. Also, I definitely wont be able to do 72" peninsula, but I might be able to swing 60" peninsula. But we will see. As you suggested, I think I'm going to be making a PVC mock up to see how and where it all fits.

najer · Oct 1, 2020

JoshH said:
It's AMAZING what just a few inches difference will make in comfort during maintenance.

RichtheReefer21 · Oct 1, 2020

najer said:

Pipe cleaners. Theres always one.

RobB'z Reef · Oct 1, 2020

JoshH said:
It's AMAZING what just a few inches difference will make

That's what she said

RobB'z Reef · Oct 1, 2020

Rob.bucek said:
That's what she said

You can't blame me.. Someone was gonna go there, well maybe not on this site, but I'm that guy in your thread, sorry not sorry.

JoshH · Oct 1, 2020

Rob.bucek said:
You can't blame me.. Someone was gonna go there, well maybe not on this site, but I'm that guy in your thread, sorry not sorry.

Totally expected nothing less ;Smuggrin

JoshH · Oct 3, 2020

A nice evening on the reef.... well dry rock shelf ;Smuggrin

Scratch08 · Oct 3, 2020

You got that thing full of corals yet??? Whats the hold up? I mean really...you've had it running for a week now....geeze

;Hilarious

RichtheReefer21 · Oct 5, 2020

JoshH said:
A nice evening on the reef.... well dry rock shelf ;Smuggrin

Man that is a dream come true brother. Cheers.

Scratch08 said:
You got that thing full of corals yet??? Whats the hold up? I mean really...you've had it running for a week now....geeze ;Hilarious

You should see how long he waits for drinks at the pub.

JoshH · Oct 5, 2020

Scratch08 said:
You got that thing full of corals yet??? Whats the hold up? I mean really...you've had it running for a week now....geeze ;Hilarious

Hey now, remember, patience! ;Smuggrin I do have a small CUC showing up tomorrow if that makes you feel better

RichtheReefer21 said:
Man that is a dream come true brother. Cheers.

You should see how long he waits for drinks at the pub.

Thank you ! It really is a dream come true, I can't wait till it's full of coral and fish

Then I can start complaining I'm out of room

RichtheReefer21 · Oct 5, 2020

JoshH said:
Hey now, remember, patience! ;Smuggrin I do have a small CUC showing up tomorrow if that makes you feel better

Thank you ! It really is a dream come true, I can't wait till it's full of coral and fish Then I can start complaining I'm out of room

Reefers are never happy. Ha!