Hello all!
Excited to get back into the hobby after a 20+ year absence. My Dad and I kept koi in a giant pond we hand dug when I was a kid, then I kept discus in the house for a few years. Moved from England to the US when I was 23 on a one way ticket and haven't kept fish since. My wife and I just renovated our house and I built myself a little space to have an office and keep some fish. Thought I'd try saltwater this time for a bit of a challenge!
My good friend is a fantastic carpenter and we had him build us these sweet built in cabinets around a 36" x 18" x 24" acrylic tank I purchased. I would of liked to of gone bigger but this is what I was able to negotiate with the wifey!
After watching a bajillion BRS and other YouTube videos, reading and learning as much as I can this past year while I finished up construction, I took advantage of some Black Friday deals and bought some gear. Knowing what I know now I would of built this room differently to help with some plumbing etc. but it is what it is and my challenge will be to work with what I have and not get too carried away like I usually do!
I figured this 24" wide Saphire cube sump would be a good choice. I can't fit a 36" wide sump in through the opening, a rectangular 24" wide would of had a little less water volume so this guy seems to fit. Looks awesome to boot! I have room for a good sized skimmer, refugium area, space to put a couple of heaters and return pumps.
Got a matching Saphire 10 gallon ATO container. No idea how much this thing will evoporate so I figured if I have the room under the tank why not go with the 10 gallon instead of the 5 gallon. If it lengthens the filling intervals I'm happy. If I need room down the road for more equipment maybe I can switch it to the 5 gallon...
Also picked up a Reef Octopus 150SSS 6" Skimmer.
I purchased two 150w Cobalt heaters thinking I was going to be smart and build in a bit of redundancy. After rethinking it 1 of these likely isn't enough to maintain the tank so I may use these for a quarantine tank and the other for mixing salt. Then, install 2 higher wattage heaters in the sump...
Purchased a 16" Shadow overflow, scratching my head figuring out how to get all the plumbing neatly configured under the cabinet right now. I want to run dual return pumps for a bit of redundancy. Probably 1" drain and 3/4" return lines. Hoping to fit a manifold in there somewhere for potential expansion.
Also couldn't help myself and got totally carried away with the awesomeness of the Neptune Apex. Picked up one of those with the temp, ORP, PH and Salinity probes as well as the leak detector kit.
I'm hoping to update this thread as things progress (it will be slow!). Right now I'd love to see some under tank setups in a smaller space like I have so I can get ideas on how you all lay things out. I'm sure I won't have this exact same setup in 5-10 years but I'd like to at least give it my best shot in the beginning.
If anyone sees anything I'm doing wrong please don't hesitate to let me know!
Thanks,
Shaun
Excited to get back into the hobby after a 20+ year absence. My Dad and I kept koi in a giant pond we hand dug when I was a kid, then I kept discus in the house for a few years. Moved from England to the US when I was 23 on a one way ticket and haven't kept fish since. My wife and I just renovated our house and I built myself a little space to have an office and keep some fish. Thought I'd try saltwater this time for a bit of a challenge!
My good friend is a fantastic carpenter and we had him build us these sweet built in cabinets around a 36" x 18" x 24" acrylic tank I purchased. I would of liked to of gone bigger but this is what I was able to negotiate with the wifey!
After watching a bajillion BRS and other YouTube videos, reading and learning as much as I can this past year while I finished up construction, I took advantage of some Black Friday deals and bought some gear. Knowing what I know now I would of built this room differently to help with some plumbing etc. but it is what it is and my challenge will be to work with what I have and not get too carried away like I usually do!
I figured this 24" wide Saphire cube sump would be a good choice. I can't fit a 36" wide sump in through the opening, a rectangular 24" wide would of had a little less water volume so this guy seems to fit. Looks awesome to boot! I have room for a good sized skimmer, refugium area, space to put a couple of heaters and return pumps.
Got a matching Saphire 10 gallon ATO container. No idea how much this thing will evoporate so I figured if I have the room under the tank why not go with the 10 gallon instead of the 5 gallon. If it lengthens the filling intervals I'm happy. If I need room down the road for more equipment maybe I can switch it to the 5 gallon...
Also picked up a Reef Octopus 150SSS 6" Skimmer.
I purchased two 150w Cobalt heaters thinking I was going to be smart and build in a bit of redundancy. After rethinking it 1 of these likely isn't enough to maintain the tank so I may use these for a quarantine tank and the other for mixing salt. Then, install 2 higher wattage heaters in the sump...
Purchased a 16" Shadow overflow, scratching my head figuring out how to get all the plumbing neatly configured under the cabinet right now. I want to run dual return pumps for a bit of redundancy. Probably 1" drain and 3/4" return lines. Hoping to fit a manifold in there somewhere for potential expansion.
Also couldn't help myself and got totally carried away with the awesomeness of the Neptune Apex. Picked up one of those with the temp, ORP, PH and Salinity probes as well as the leak detector kit.
I'm hoping to update this thread as things progress (it will be slow!). Right now I'd love to see some under tank setups in a smaller space like I have so I can get ideas on how you all lay things out. I'm sure I won't have this exact same setup in 5-10 years but I'd like to at least give it my best shot in the beginning.
If anyone sees anything I'm doing wrong please don't hesitate to let me know!
Thanks,
Shaun
