New to the hobby and building my dream tank

[Josh Morris]

Hey everyone, I currently have a 40 Gal breeder tank, the tank has been running excellent for the past 2 months but I currently have 5 fish in the tank, 2 of which I bought knowing I would eventually have to up my tank size “basically giving myself an excuse to be able to build the fish tank I’ve wanted Sense I was a kid lol” I bought a 180 gallon tank off of Craig’s list for a really good price so that’s going to be my next setup, I like to think I’m a pretty handy fella so i want to build this setup myself. Another hobby of mine is wood working so I’m actually in the process of building the stand/supply cabinet at the moment, Im sure I could just look up what some website says the best way to do this is but I’d much rather talk with people who have been in the hobby for awhile and might be able to give me some good advice and ideas. I know that I’m gonna get the tank drilled and I’m gonna use a sump in this tank but I would also like to get into some coral and stuff down the road as well, so any advice on good equipment that has lasted people a long time, things that you Wished you would have done when you set your system up, Sump size, Sump design, Refugium ideas, lighting, or ideas on how i could set this system up to make it easy on myself in the long run. Any and all help would be much apricated, Thanks everyone

 

[Fudsey]

Welcome to R2R ! ! !

Sump size.... biggest you can fit is what I've been told.

 

[Chrisfish]

Welcome to R2R

 

[Josh Morris]

Welcome to R2R

Thanks

 

[Scottsquatch]

Welcome to R2R! I'm a bit of a wood worker myself, so I'd love to see some pics of that stand your working on.

 

[Josh Morris]

Welcome to R2R! I'm a bit of a wood worker myself, so I'd love to see some pics of that stand your working on.

Thank you, and I’ll be putting some pictures up, I’d like to kind of document the entire build on here

 

[Fudsey]

Start a build thread in member's tank forum

 

[Josh Morris]

Start a build thread in member's tank forum

Will do, thanks

 

[don_chuwish]

Fortunately the forums are full of opinions to tap, unfortunately they are often in contradiction with each other! You've covered a lot of ground in that opening post, basically asking to drink from a firehose.
Invariably all those choices come down to budget and time, penchant for DIY vs wanting 'turn key' etc. Take your time, read lots of posts and build threads, start to form an idea of what makes sense to you in your situation. Good luck and good reefing!

 

[George Lopez]

Welcome to R2R a far as stand goes i like overkill (2×4 frame with 3/4" plywood) but that's a personal opinion, and as far as sump as big as you can get but leave some solace for future equipment or storage if necessary. Plan EVERYTHING or before buying and building and water test the tank before starting the project. If you buy used make sure you test on site. If buying a skimmer oversize, if used take some water and a power inverter to test properly before you buy, a pump may run dry but run like cramp wet and need to be replaced.

Last thing is patience is key, take your time do it once and do it right.