Old School SPS Reef v5.0

drawman

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Fine I ordered a new tank!

60 x 24 x 22 acrylic.

Peninsula style with an external overflow but it will be up against the wall. I did this so I have access to deal with the eventuality that is leaking bulkheads. Seems like four years is the magic number where they start having salt creep etc.
I have nowhere near the free time I did when I built the last stand so it will probably take me all year to get it done.
I love it! I need a house first then best believe I'll be upgrading as well and joining the club.
 
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spsick

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Alright new tank is all built. The stand took me ages as I found out how much building time you get when you have kids.
 

drawman

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Awesome Ben! You built the stand yourself? It looks fantastic!

Who made the tank for you and curious why you went acrylic?
 
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spsick

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Awesome Ben! You built the stand yourself? It looks fantastic!

Who made the tank for you and curious why you went acrylic?
Hey Tim, thanks!

Yeah I built it myself. Probably only about $400 in materials but a good hundred hours of labor lol

Tank was built by Midwest Custom Aquariums. Went with acrylic for weight savings and associated ease of moving, strength in the face of a toddler possibly hitting or throwing stuff at it, cost, and just to try something different.
 
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Final Update to this thread. The tank was a huge success after 3.5 years. 75g has always been the sweet spot for me. Hundreds of frags sold and not a single acro lost other than the 2 colonies from the tank move! Let‘s hope the new tank brings this much growth and health.

I attribute this mostly to stability. Auto water changes, 2part with Tropic Marin Part C and Elements A- and K+ kept trace elements really stable in the face of massive coral growth. No changes in lighting, no mechanical filtration other than a protein skimmer.

You really see the size of the colonies when you take them out and try to arrange them again.

Orange passion 12” across even though it’s had 100 frags cut from it.
IMG_8506.jpeg


Sneaky Oregon Tort was hiding in the back almost basketball sized.

IMG_8514.jpeg

And a glance at the new tank

IMG_8511.jpeg


Cheers and happy reefing!
 

drawman

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Absolutely stunning Ben! Do you have a new thread you're starting?
 

drawman

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Thanks!

I have a build thread going on TCMAS. Nobody reads this one except you so I figured might as well keep it local. No offense!
Hey man I love the updates! I feel the same I don't end up posting on mine either.
 
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Could you tell us more about the stand?

Looks like oak? Is it plywood skinned?

I got a screaming deal on some blemished cabinet-grade oak plywood so I bought 4 sheets and made 2x4 laminations to build a rocket engineer style frame and then skinned it in solid oak.

In hindsight it made a lot more work and I would have been better off just making out out of thicker solid oak but I don’t have a jointer or planer so getting stock that is flat and square makes it possible for me to make nice furtniture.

Here’s a few pics as it progressed.

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drawman

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Holy Christmas this Quanta bar puts out a lot of light! Went from 300 to 450 in the middle of the tank. Had to throw in a 6500k bulb to balance out the blue.
That's awesome! I really want to try those quanta bars when I upgrade. Tank looks very evenly lit my friend!
 
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spsick

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That's awesome! I really want to try those quanta bars when I upgrade. Tank looks very evenly lit my friend!
Thanks Tim!

Def more than enough par up front and not enough on the ends and in back. Some of the acros in the back are only getting like 100mmol.
 

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