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Our 12ft self contained reef
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- Thread starter Synodontis
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Synodontis
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The last delivery our LFS got I was lucky enough to grab another stunner Chalice, cause we need more, ah huh 
Really need to clean the skimmer today
Well that's about it, FTS to finish for the month lol
Really need to clean the skimmer today
Well that's about it, FTS to finish for the month lol
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My Aquarium Showcase
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Amazing!
schooleyosis
2500 Club Member
Yeah!!! To say the least.
Absolutely just STUNNING!!
Very will don...!! Keep it upThought we would share our slice of reef with everyone here as we have been lurking for so long.
This tank is 12x4x2.5 with a 9x3x18" sump & replaces our 10ft. Tank has been wet for about 12 weeks but the first corals were transferred over about 10 weeks ago. All of the livestock came from our 10ft which had been running for 4yrs with a 18hr tear down / reset when we moved house 2yrs ago.
It was a bit of a mission to get everything timed with removing the 10ft & getting the 12ft inside. Holding tanks for fish & corals was another matter. All up it was all of August to tear down, install & get wet. After a hectic few months setting up, cleaning up, waiting for the Dino's to settle the tank is starting to take shape. Still have the tail end of the Dino's but another few weeks & they should be sorted.
We have a full build thread in our local forums so this will just show a condensed version lol. I do prattle on so if you like a good read, not sure if I'm allowed to post a link in here tho. This is a much larger forum & we would love to hear your thoughts & views about the build so far. We know it's a big tank so don't need to hear that anymore
This is the 14ft stand we started with, 75 x 75 x 5mm SHS
Stand was fully lined with MDF, then covered with 6mm white acrylic & all joins sealed with white silicone.
The sump was the first piece of glass to turn up.
The next bit to turn up was the skimmer, a huge Bubble King 500 Internal
Once the stand was lined we married the sump, skimmer & stand
The 10ft was dismantled over a couple of days, last pic ever taken of the 10ft
Ended up being the holding tank for a few weeks on the floor
Moving day, long day but all went well taking the stand out of the garage & into the lounge.
DT ready for pick up, 4hr round trip to pick up, & then the install
Back home
In place ready to go
Filling & rock work
Started dropping corals in until the Dino's showed up
Once the algae showed up I lost interest & started playing down below
Return pump controls mounted
Trial fit of DIY reactors
All power supply units mounted, Tunze plugs accessible which is a bonus
Wave maker controls mounted
The worst of the algae after being lazy & letting it get away
That's about where we are up to now. The front electrical panel above is still a work in progress, it will be finished off in white acrylic to match the rest of the stand. The next week is back to finishing off the reactors, syphon out the last of the algae & then start moving our corals up from the frag sections in the sump.
So how are we looking to you? Thoughts, questions or ideas required
bairdimusprime
Bill
absolutely gorgeous
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Synodontis
Active Member
Geez guys, thanks for the comments. Glad we are not the only one's who think it;s a pretty cool tank lol
Our tank is all glass, 19mm base & 15mm everything else. It was built by Lee at Australian Aquariums, pretty sure he would make a tank for you but freight from Australia to Idaho would be a killer
Surly this by far the highest praise one could receive hahaha & the bestest comment so in this thread.
I've been pretty slack the last few weeks. I did start a job & even took a few pics but I can't remember what I was doing hahaha.
Re-joined the working ranks a couple of weeks earlier then planned so things will def slow down as week nights & weekends will be the only time I get to play in the tank. 7 months being an unemployed bum had it's advantages when installing a new tank lol. Told Jen I take no responsibility for the lounge room being invaded by hordes because I won't be playing on Xbox half the day. For some strange reason she didn't have a problem with this?
A few new additions have been made to the livestock since the last post. Dropped a Blue Assessor Basslet, a Gold Assessor Basslet, a Yellow Candy Hogfish & a couple of Luzon anthias. The first 3 are only about an inch long & finding them in the tank is an interesting exercise. It's nice to see them pop up behind a coral now & then when your not expecting it.
It's a public holiday here Tuesday so water change & do some tinkering Me thinks. Till then, Ta-ta for now.
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Synodontis
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Don't have to many of the bit's up top sorry mate. This is the only pic I have before the acrylic went on.
Left to right...
Water change 32mm- Left return 32mm- Main drain 50mm- Backup drain 50mm- Right return 32mm, using Marine Sources bulkhead's.
The water change pipe is both in & out, taps are located below in the cabinet. This pipe is "outside" the weir & the height is set to drain about 380Ltr's. The weir cover was cut longer then the actual weir to cover the W/C pipe & slots cut in the side of the weir at the same height as the W/C pipe. Doe's that make sense?
The Loc-line on the returns is not glued as at that point I wasn't sure what I was doing there. The main drain is adjusted by tap from below at the sump. The backup drain is just a straight through piece of pipe in case the main drain becomes blocked. I want this one to make a noise so I know something needs attention lol. W/C from the inlet side.
Main drain tap & backup drain. You can see the outlet W/C heading right. The 2 pipes on an angle are the returns, each return is hooked up to it's own RD3 65w pump.
Hope that gives you an idea of how it works lol
PANONHAS
Valuable Member
Don't have to many of the bit's up top sorry mate. This is the only pic I have before the acrylic went on.
Left to right...
Water change 32mm- Left return 32mm- Main drain 50mm- Backup drain 50mm- Right return 32mm, using Marine Sources bulkhead's.
The water change pipe is both in & out, taps are located below in the cabinet. This pipe is "outside" the weir & the height is set to drain about 380Ltr's. The weir cover was cut longer then the actual weir to cover the W/C pipe & slots cut in the side of the weir at the same height as the W/C pipe. Doe's that make sense?
W/C from the inlet side.
Main drain tap & backup drain. You can see the outlet W/C heading right. The 2 pipes on an angle are the returns, each return is hooked up to it's own RD3 65w pump.
Hope that gives you an idea of how it works lol
that is very ingenious. quite the setup. Amazing tank ! good luck with it.
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Synodontis
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Thanks for that, it seems to be ticking along quite happy at the moment lol.
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