Our first tank!

[ScottandAlisa]

Hey everyone! So my fiancé and I have decided to start a 40 gallon breeder reef build, and are building it all ourselves (drilled/plumbed, etc)! We would like to share our journey in order to be able to ask questions we may have as well as let you guys critique what we have already done. We plan on taking our time to set it up so if theres anything you suggest to make this all go smoothly please comment away! Ill attach a few pics to show what we have done already and include what we plan on doing for the future along with some questions we have.

current setup list:
Koralia Powerhead
current led 36" light
marineland protein skimmer (may switch b4 setup)
quiet one return pump
10 gal sump/refugium (max size that could fit in the stand)

still looking for a wave maker pump and heater (suggestions?)

So far we have been trying to do as much of a budget friendly build as possible. We acquired the stand (former tv stand), both tanks and basically everything aside from the lights from craigslist. We drilled the tank, added bulk heads, siliconed the overflow box and plumbed everything down into the sump using black aquarium tubing and PVC ball valves. I haven't seen anybody do this but we also used outdoor home window tint to tint the back portion of the tank as well as the doors on the tv stand, as Im not the biggest fan of the flat black/blue painted on most tanks...

we don't know when exactly when we will be setting it up so we're probably going to start curing the rock on an upcoming weekend. If anyone can think of any modifications or other things to do while we wait to fill it that would be really appreciated!

Thanks for taking a look!

 

[sfin52]

Nice job.

 

[Sierra_Bravo]

Congrats and welcome to R2R

 

[Mal11224]

Nice setup and welcome to R2R. Good choice to take your time. I would move the pump in the tank up a little above the scape. Also, be careful of the finish in the stand. You will be splashing water all over it. Might want to put a sealant on it. Good job with the build. Look forward to seeing the progress.

 

[Idoc]

Looks really good so far! Welcome to R2R.

 

[ScottandAlisa]

Nice job.

Congrats and welcome to R2R

thank you!!

Nice setup and welcome to R2R. Good choice to take your time. I would move the pump in the tank up a little above the scape. Also, be careful of the finish in the stand. You will be splashing water all over it. Might want to put a sealant on it. Good job with the build. Look forward to seeing the progress.

I actually have a question on the position of the pump! Should you place them somewhere where the flow goes off a rock or wall to distribute the current more or should it be unblocked (ex. parallel to front wall)? And we are looking to find a clear plastic liner to go under the tank to not get salt spray everywhere but will definitely look into a sealant too. The cabinet was only $40 off craigslist though so we wouldn't be too upset if it needed to get replaced. Thank you for the helpful response

 

[Mal11224]

thank you!!



I actually have a question on the position of the pump! Should you place them somewhere where the flow goes off a rock or wall to distribute the current more or should it be unblocked (ex. parallel to front wall)? And we are looking to find a clear plastic liner to go under the tank to not get salt spray everywhere but will definitely look into a sealant too. The cabinet was only $40 off craigslist though so we wouldn't be too upset if it needed to get replaced. Thank you for the helpful response

You will want to place it above the rocks for proper circulation and water movement throughout the tank and at the surface. I think it is good with the flow going lengthwise on the side where you currently have it. Nice deal on the cabinet. It looks pretty decent.

 

[40B Knasty]

Looks good man. I had a 40B. It cracked due to it not being balanced correctly. So break out the leveler and check that before you put in water and after. Buy some shims for a couple bucks that will save you hundreds in loss of live stock, water, new tank, etc.. if the tank is not level.
The only thing I would consider doing is find out how much the stand can hold for weight. 8.2lbs per gallon. That's 320lbs water weight. If you are doing a sand bottom. Add another 40-50lbs for a 2" sand bed. Dead rock another 40lbs. Then equipment about 10lbs. That is total of 410lbs+. TVs do not weigh that much. A 65g tank stand has the same foot print as a 40B. If it can hold a 65g. That gives you plenty of leeway for weight.
A great wave maker I used on my 40B and now on my 65g is the Jebao SW-4. Put one on each side and create a gyre effect and good surface tension. It is a good flow/bounce for candy canes, torches, hammers, frogspawns, and Zoas. If you are doing an SPS dominant tank. Maybe the next size up would be better. If you want to see what they look like on a tank brand new running and not gunked up. Checkout on YouTube 40B Knasty. My first few videos are with that wave maker on 1 side. Had a Hydro 480 on the other side. My 65g has 2 Jebaos SW-4. The SW-4 is the newer model of the PP-4 and MP-4. Hope that helps. Good luck with your tank!

 

[sfin52]

I have three power heads in my tank one back bottom one on the left and one on the right. I also have a canister filter going across the top. Designed tank before joining reef 2 reef Next tank sump will be in place.

 

[ScottandAlisa]

Looks good man. I had a 40B. It cracked due to it not being balanced correctly. So break out the leveler and check that before you put in water and after. Buy some shims for a couple bucks that will save you hundreds in loss of live stock, water, new tank, etc.. if the tank is not level.
The only thing I would consider doing is find out how much the stand can hold for weight. 8.2lbs per gallon. That's 320lbs water weight. If you are doing a sand bottom. Add another 40-50lbs for a 2" sand bed. Dead rock another 40lbs. Then equipment about 10lbs. That is total of 410lbs+. TVs do not weigh that much. A 65g tank stand has the same foot print as a 40B. If it can hold a 65g. That gives you plenty of leeway for weight.
A great wave maker I used on my 40B and now on my 65g is the Jebao SW-4. Put one on each side and create a gyre effect and good surface tension. It is a good flow/bounce for candy canes, torches, hammers, frogspawns, and Zoas. If you are doing an SPS dominant tank. Maybe the next size up would be better. If you want to see what they look like on a tank brand new running and not gunked up. Checkout on YouTube 40B Knasty. My first few videos are with that wave maker on 1 side. Had a Hydro 480 on the other side. My 65g has 2 Jebaos SW-4. The SW-4 is the newer model of the PP-4 and MP-4. Hope that helps. Good luck with your tank!

oh wow, never thought that the tank being a little off level would cause such a big problem, we'll definitely have to check that out before we fill it up, thank you for the advice. The media stand is good solid wood so we think it'll be okay holding a bit of weight, but we are thinking about reinforcing it a little more with some 2x4 just in case. Yes, we will be doing mostly softies and SPS for the time being until we decide we're more experienced and upgrade the light. The wave maker sounds like a good idea. Have you ever had any experience with Hydor wave makers?

 

[ScottandAlisa]

I have three power heads in my tank one back bottom one on the left and one on the right. I also have a canister filter going across the top. Designed tank before joining reef 2 reef Next tank sump will be in place.

What size tank do you have? I was thinking 2 would be enough, along with the input pump from the sump but if we need more we'll definitely go get one! The only reason why my fiancé got into the hobby was because he saw how personalized your tank could get through builds, and even though we're just beginning I definitely recommend it! It was a lot of fun to do together and a learning experience for both of us.

 

[sfin52]

Sorry I have a 75gal I prob could get away with out having one in the back but it so hard to clean the back of the tank.I have one there to help move detritus along.

 

[ScottandAlisa]

You will want to place it above the rocks for proper circulation and water movement throughout the tank and at the surface. I think it is good with the flow going lengthwise on the side where you currently have it. Nice deal on the cabinet. It looks pretty decent.

okay, I think I understand more now. After lots of searching for answers on youtube you've finally explained it to me better in just one post lol, thanks so much! Glad I joined this forum!

 

[ScottandAlisa]

Sorry I have a 75gal I prob could get away with out having one in the back but it so hard to clean the back of the tank.I have one there to help move detritus along.

I guess if you have a 75 and I only have a 40 then maybe I can get away with just 2 pumps... I think the other pump we are getting will be put in the back like yours to have constant flow behind the rock work.

 

[ScottandAlisa]

Another question:
I have a friend who has an established reef tank with a bit of red looking detritus on the sand bed... Is there any way to direct flow toward the sand to not allow build up, but also as not to disturb the bed so much and blow it everywhere? Or are you only able to really remove it through water change/sandbed sifting?

 

[40B Knasty]

Here is a pic of my old 40B to give you an idea. I had 2 powerheads on the sides and 2 HOB Fluval dumping in from the top.

 

[A4goulet]

Yes, we will be doing mostly softies and SPS for the time being until we decide we're more experienced and upgrade the light.

Did you mean LPS instead of SPS here?
Also I would look into changing your overflow setup. With a single down pipe/tube like you have the tank will be loud from gargling water and it's a huge fail point. If that pipe was to ever clog you would have a serious problem. Check out durso overflow or better yet bean animal overflow setupup.

EDIT: I ment Herbie overflow. Not durso.

 

[ScottandAlisa]

Did you mean LPS instead of SPS here?
Also I would look into changing your overflow setup. With a single down pipe/tube like you have the tank will be loud from gargling water and it's a huge fail point. If that pipe was to ever clog you would have a serious problem. Check out durso overflow or better yet bean animal overflow setups.

yes I did mean LPS, sorry. I was thinking the same thing and tried to tell my fiancé and he didn't want to listen... Maybe now he'll look more into it. Thank you for the advice!

 

[ScottandAlisa]

Here is a pic of my old 40B to give you an idea. I had 2 powerheads on the sides and 2 HOB Fluval dumping in from the top.

I like the color variation of your corals. What kind of coral is that in the top right next to the pump?

 

[A4goulet]

yes I did mean LPS, sorry. I was thinking the same thing and tried to tell my fiancé and he didn't want to listen... Maybe now he'll look more into it. Thank you for the advice!

No problem. I did the same thing on my first tank (standard 55g). After a couple weeks of listening to it gargling while cycling I couldn't take it. Looking back I wish I would of drained the tank and drilled another hole and did a durso. I ended up using pvc piping that wrapped over the tank rim and down into the overflow box. Same idea as a HOB overflow. Had a valve on so it ran on a siphon. It was terrible setup. To start the siphon I had to squeeze under the stand and suck on the end of the pipe. I would get a mouth full of saltwater if I wasn't careful.