New to Me Used Frag Tank Build

[Brian Kracht]

Hello,

So I am going to try to track this build on this thread. I recently found a good deal on a used set up which I think needs a little TLC and it needs a few other things as well. This is my first frag tank and it will be a long process before it is up and running simply because I have to wait until spring to move into where I will be staying for a while.

So far, for this build, I have all used equipment and the set up is as follows.

• 50 Gallon Frag Tank and stand - Dimensions 40x24x12 (Acrylic Rimless)
• Sump - nothing special and I am not sure what the dimensions are or gallons of it. I plan to buy a 40B once I find a sale at petco for dollar per gallon and adding it to this existing sump.
• Mag Drive 9.5 Return Pump
• BRS Carbon and GFO dual reactor with a small pump (didn't see the brand) which I am not sure if I will be using yet on this tank, but it came with the set up so of course I took it!
• Skimmer - Bubble Magus Curve 5
• Tunze ATO 3155 which I got used from a user here on R2R

Anything I forgot was most likely something small and not critical to the build.

Now, on to some of the other plans and needs for the tank. I am still trying to figure out what my plans will be for lighting and dosing. At this point, I am pretty sure I will be going with SB Reeflights, but I am going to be waiting to find a deal used or a big sale before I purchase as is the case with everything I get for this and any build I will be doing. For dosing, I am strongly considering going with just dosing Kalkwasser as this will be a simple set up on a controller and a single dosing pump. My idea with going with just Kalkwasser is that I do not plan to have much SPS at all considering I really gravitate to LPS and softies. Hopefully Kalk will be able to keep up with that. Lastly, as budget is the name of the game, I am most likely going with a simple Reefkeeper option to control some basic things unless a really good deal comes through for an Apex Junior. Last of the major things is a frag rack for everything. I would love an acrylic rack, but that cost much more than simple egg crate, so that will be another process I have to go through and figure out what to choose.

By no means is this a complete list, and I will try to keep updating this as it goes and there will be plenty of things to add and change.

No post is cool without pictures of some kind, so I will post my equipment which is in a vinegar bath while I go to work tonight and will take it out when I get home. I will be picking up the actual tank and stand this weekend and will post pictures of it when I get it home.

Thanks for checking out the build and process, and suggestions or information is always welcome.

 

[ihavecrabs]

I've heard really good things from a few premium SPS gurus for the Ocean Revive T247s. Might be worth looking into!

Nice build so far.

 

[Brian Kracht]

I've heard really good things from a few premium SPS gurus

I am going to have to look into those more. if the site I found was right for around 150 a piece and that's right at what I would like to spend per unit. Thanks for the heads up on those. They look nice too.

 

[Brian Kracht]

I've heard really good things from a few premium SPS gurus

I am going to have to look into those more. if the site I found was right for around 150 a piece and that's right at what I would like to spend per unit. Thanks for the heads up on those. They look nice too.

 

[ihavecrabs]

I am going to have to look into those more. if the site I found was right for around 150 a piece and that's right at what I would like to spend per unit. Thanks for the heads up on those. They look nice too.

Check out FarmerTy's tank from the beginning. He used those for quite a while.

https://www.reef2reef.com/index.php?threads/207702/

 

[Brian Kracht]

Just finished the vinegar bath and toothbrush scrub. I wish I took a good picture of the entire skimmer before the soak and clean. I bought it used and it was basically greenish Brown from top to bottom inside the skimmer with some on the outside (the joys of buying used equipment), but here is the after shot of the nice clean skimmer. You can actually read the brand it is now that the gunk is cleaned.

 

[ihavecrabs]

Just finished the vinegar bath and toothbrush scrub. I wish I took a good picture of the entire skimmer before the soak and clean. I bought it used and it was basically greenish Brown from top to bottom inside the skimmer with some on the outside (the joys of buying used equipment), but here is the after shot of the nice clean skimmer. You can actually read the brand it is now that the gunk is cleaned.

Lol been there. Hopefully you got it for a steal! Looks like new now.

 

[Brian Kracht]

Thanks! I think I did. I got everything listed in this build thread minus the ATO for $400.00

 

[Brian Kracht]

New Update

I picked up the tank and stand today. I have some cleaning to do, and I think I will be changing the plumbing up down to the sump. I am somewhat concerned about the strength of the stand. It feels very sturdy, but I do not see any real structural beams in it. Only the plywood sides are what hold it together from what I saw. Hopefully if someone sees this and has any input on if I should reinforce it or just leave it, I would love some advice. It was up and running as it is now, so I am assuming it will hold the weight though.

 

[ihavecrabs]

Thanks! I think I did. I got everything listed in this build thread minus the ATO for $400.00

That's a steal... nice job.

New Update

I picked up the tank and stand today. I have some cleaning to do, and I think I will be changing the plumbing up down to the sump. I am somewhat concerned about the strength of the stand. It feels very sturdy, but I do not see any real structural beams in it. Only the plywood sides are what hold it together from what I saw. Hopefully if someone sees this and has any input on if I should reinforce it or just leave it, I would love some advice. It was up and running as it is now, so I am assuming it will hold the weight though.

Plywood stand is totally fine as long as it hasn't been saturated with water. I had my 120g and 60g (both 48x24 footprint) on plywood only stands. They are solid if built right.

Can you see how thick of ply they used? 1/2" or bigger would be what to look for.

Edit: Just saw the pics (for some reason they didn't load the first time...) So I would personally prefer to have a solid ply box with doors and plumbing cut out. It seems that your had separate woos pieces in the front and back.

Totally fine (especially if you have seen how Marineland stands are built). I'd just keep an eye on twisting or swaying when filled.

 

[Brian Kracht]

That's a steal... nice job.Plywood stand is totally fine as long as it hasn't been saturated with water. I had my 120g and 60g (both 48x24 footprint) on plywood only stands. They are solid if built right.

Can you see how thick of ply they used? 1/2" or bigger would be what to look for.

Edit: Just saw the pics (for some reason they didn't load the first time...) So I would personally prefer to have a solid ply box with doors and plumbing cut out. It seems that your had separate woos pieces in the front and back.

Totally fine (especially if you have seen how Marineland stands are built). I'd just keep an eye on twisting or swaying when filled.

I will check the thickness but half inch seems about right and I checked for water damage and I didn't notice anything bad or anything that jumped out. I will watch out for sure I pushed on it several ways and leaned on it before even setting the tank on it which is light since it's acrylic, and it didn't flex at all. I'm just used to seeing diy stands with 2x4s. This is near 50 gallons so it isn't insanely heavy.

And yeah I lucked out on the deal I got. The previous owner only wanted this set up as a holding tank for his 300+ gallon tank he had set up.

 

[Brian Kracht]

Another Cleaning Update:

So now that I have the tank and stand it was in serious need of a cleaning. I got out the vinegar and water again and used a toothbrush to scrub off the build up all over the sides. After the scrubbing, I put some paper towels with vinegar water over the overflow to let some of it soak. That part still needs some attention, so I might end up bringing out the Q Tips to clean it even better. Doing a scrub down with the vinegar and toothbrush I rinsed it out and then did another clean with some alcohol. There was what I am assuming a vinyl white cover on the bottom of the tank which was torn up and it was also on the bottom of the stand so I tore those off since I will be making it look better and I want a black bottom and black background. Haven't decided on how I will be doing it since this is acrylic and I am not sure I want to paint it. I might go with a sheet of black acrylic to put on the bottom or a foam bottom that is black. Then for the background I might use another piece of black acrylic. Lastly, I sanded down the inside of the tank to get rid of some of the saltwater splashed on it and sprayed it down with a polycrilic coat to help prevent any future water damage. Next step will be ordering acrylic for the back and potentially bottom.

Of course, here are some pictures of the process.

 

[tupes]

Looks really good can't wait to see what you do with it.

 

[Brian Kracht]

Looks really good can't wait to see what you do with it.

Thanks! I am excited to get it up and running. It will be a couple months since I am going to wait until I move in the spring to get it going. For now it is just a bunch of prep work.

 

[tupes]

What's your plan for the polycrylic and sanding block? Did you use it on the stand?

 

[Brian Kracht]

What's your plan for the polycrylic and sanding block? Did you use it on the stand?

Yup, I used it to clean up the inside of the stand. There were a few water stains that I sanded a bit and then sprayed the Polycrylic to hopefully give a little more water resistance to the stand. Not sure how effective it will be, but for 10 bucks I figured it was worth a shot if it will keep the stand nicer for longer.

 

[tupes]

After comparing the photos I can see the difference. I'm having a new stand built now and I'm going to do the same on the inside but I think with white.

 

[Brian Kracht]

After comparing the photos I can see the difference. I'm having a new stand built now and I'm going to do the same on the inside but I think with white.

That would look good. It would brighten up the inside I'm sure with white. I wasn't too concerned with looks inside, so I went the cheap route and just got a clear acrylic spray. There were some resins that you can pour also and it wasn't too much more expensive which I almost considered, but some guy walking past me at Home Depot recommended this spray I used and said he uses it for when he makes tables, so I trusted him and gave it a try.

 

[ihavecrabs]

It cleaned up really nice

 

[Brian Kracht]

It cleaned up really nice

Thank you, the bottom of the tank has a ton of scratches which showed up after removing the white plastic that was used for under the tank. Not sure if I am brave enough to try to sand them out or just roll with it since I will be adding a black bottom and there will be frag racks sitting on top of it anyways.