Reef the 2nd aka "Bubba's Sand Pit"

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I'd like to start off by saying thank you to all who replied to my meet and greet, never in a thousand years did I expect 20 strangers from around the world to provide so much warmth. Maybe it's because I've been an online gamer for 20+ years - not much warmth there!
Regardless, I owe it to all of you to log my next build.

I ask in advance that you all play gentle with me (haha) and excuse the newness as well as the odd slip of the tongue - I'm a mechanic, we swear like sailors and have nudie calendars!

A bit of background, I'm 6mths into my first salty (70L Ecostyle) since moving back to my hometown (Tauranga, NZ) around a year ago.
I'm have a b/w Oce at 1" and a b/w Perc at 2". Originally bought 2 black Oce to begin with and one sadly died overnight in QT due to what I figure as low overnight shipping temps. I had my first taste of heartbreak watching one try and pick the other up, poor guy was faded when he got here but hey I broke that "seal" by losing my first animal and now I know what to expect, plus I got to check his taxonomy to confirm he was indeed a Darwin Ocellaris.
I also scored a cheap Zoa frag and bought some other small frags (discos, ps gorg and leather) from a local breeder when I bought the Perc. As I've learnt with the zoa you cant kill them! Same with the discos it seems, but the gorg and leather were a lot more fussy, so that's when I finally started testing my water, lol.
I had no ammonia and barely detectable nitrates, but I noticed my trace elements were down and my pH was pretty low too so Ive been doing the diy dosing method (that Randy guy is in here, right?) for 4wks and my leather is opening now, and some flow redirection has the gorg happy (but forced one of my discos to move out lol). I've also been spot feeding whatever phtyo I can afford.
Sorry for waffling but that's my story so far and it leads into my next build: I noticed my lighting was ABSOLUTE **** as these medium light corals I had to place right up high, even my zoas are halfway up..
From here I had two options:
1 - Aqua One led hood light mod
Or
2 - New build!

Being a tradie, I've always loved the build, and just like that ive changed the lives of all my family, haha!

Next up I go through the gear I have already and the wish list.

PS- I've only ever read 2 build diary's so please tell me if I'm doing it wrong!
 

Billldg

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Looking forward to seeing this come together. Unfortunately, loss can and usually happens in this hobby, but the plus is when it comes together its very fulfilling.
 
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NPRW

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Phase 1: Planning

To be fair, there was minimal planning involved! More like a few factors which led me to this this decision.
1. I have a 1.8m empty wall space in the bedroom
2. My missus wants an Angel and I want acros - well see who wins that fight!
3. I needed a new light and power head anyway so why not build a new setup.

While falling short of calling this a budget build, naturally I am budget minded, so any "dry goods" are coming from overseas at the lowest price I can get, I mean hey I got kids and bills too haha. Therefore, I won't be commissioning any custom tanks and sumps for top dollar that fit perfectly, but I will be making my own sump, and this time I want to play with automation (dosing, lights) without going as far as a million dollar apex - can't have all your dreams at once or there's nothing for next time, right?

1. Tank and stand
As this will be in our bedroom I want the tank to be sitting relatively low, with either a shallow rimless no-lid type whatchacallit, or even a slighter taller tank so there's still standing viewing.

So off I went to the Internet's to find me some cheap stuff and it was meant to be! Within 20mins I'd spend 45 bucks on a 300L aquarium 950x500x650 and 5 bucks on a 950x500 steel-framed coffee table. I pick them both up on Tuesday.
Ideally I was thinking a 1200 (4ft?) long but like I said it was meant to be, and as I was originally going to build a 2x4 stand, I now have a $5 steel frame to work around!
Screenshot_20190721_110732_nz.co.trademe.trademe.jpg

Screenshot_20190721_110755_nz.co.trademe.trademe.jpg

It's no Red Sea Reefer but I can def make this work!
1 question: Can I remove those top panels, the glass doesn't look very thick (the description was 6-8mm but which one LOL) but I'll get to that later anyway..

Needless to say, I was looking at about 90 bucks just for the 2x4 and screws for stand so that money can go into the plumbing, estimated to be over the 100 mark. I also won't be using the lid or the goldfish gravel, and will likely reseal the joins.

2. Sump/Filter
To be honest I have no ideas for the sump, but Im leaning towards the diy trickle tote, we have a bunch of 40L and 60L totes with a bunch of crap waiting to be thrown out. Another option is a shallow turtle or reptile tank if I can find one cheap enough.
My previous tank is almost entirely bio filtration with a 40cm length of filter floss. What I was to differently this time is run a semi-proper 'fuge with a leftover 30cm grow light, my only problem is chaeto is hard to get in NZ but I've seen some intestine Ulva at the marina so will look into that. Another option is an ats which seems to work better but not as cool - any reason I can't run both?
I also want to run carbon, its cheap enough and I'll have room so why not.
Currently I have a 300w ti heater and 1200Lph return pump, is 300w enough or shall I get another? Feels overkill for the 70 but its nice kit so I'm keeping either way.
Also have an old 20L tank aka graveyard I've been using for QT.

3. Cycle
So this time I have all the testing gear so I'm doing a traditional fishless cycle. Just did a marathon on the "BRS/WWC 4mth Cycle" and 4mths actually sounds fine to me .. Time to save up for a light!
Currently have 50kg of home made cement rock cured and another 50kg curing, its very fun making dry rock, but it's hard getting the right balance so i don't end up with sand covered rocks
IMG_20190717_095612.jpg

Even had a play with scaping, couldn't help myself! So much sexier than the nicest LR I could find in our local seas.
This was 1 bucket and I have 4.
Using my poor return pump on all 4 switching daily. Went through 10L of vinegar before I decided it wasn't doing enough to bring down the pH so I'm just leaving it there to do its thing now.
4mths huh, lol.
Also want to run a DSB as it reminds me of home there's sand everywhere I go diving and I like the natural look (brown algae in the 70 lol).
Ordered some pool filter sand and GD its expensive!! So went with the one bag and will go pickup 3x as much play sand for the same price when the time comes.

4. Lighting
Ummm... Ummm... Hmm...
Shall I get a bank loan? This is half the reason I'm doing a 4mth cycle.
Worst case I could go for a couple of chinese boxes which is still over 300 bucks, and there is ZERO 2nd hand options in NZ.
Any homebrew lights out there?
I'm handy with a soldering iron from multiple stereo/gauge/ecu installs throughout my automotive tenure.

5. Stock
This normally comes first, right?
Well I guess you could say we want EVERYTHING!!
I want the challenging corals (erm, devils hand/middle finger frag is already challenging!!) And my missus wants the big pretty fish.
There's a healthy selection of livestock for sale in NZ but one thing we lack is inverts - shrimps and crabs in particular - so have been reading up on a lot of local species so we'll see how I go there...
Will also be transferring all my frags to the new system and keeping the clowns in there. Love those things, the bigger one has clear dominance and the smaller one follows like a puppy. Currently hosting/ticking off the Gorg, last week they were cleaning/squashing 2 of the discos. Great pets! My daughter calls them Madea and Swim Shady.

As you can see this is my new obsession and has been for the last 9mths. I have 8+yrs of experience in FW focusing on tropical predators and ultimately got bored and sold the whole setup to buy a project car I never got running, haha! If I knew about planted aquariums in those days I prob would've kept on!
One thing I can say is I was more excited when the first new polyp came through on the zoas than seeing my puffer fish give the knife a haircut before the black shark "beat him up". Husbandry sure changed in the last 20yrs lol.

Thanks and sorry for the long read. Open to all suggestions and criticisms.
Currently in Design Phase will update soon as.
 
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Looking forward to seeing this come together. Unfortunately, loss can and usually happens in this hobby, but the plus is when it comes together its very fulfilling.

Thanks, like I said it "broke the seal" for me, and I learned a valuable lesson about shipping - a lot can happen in 18hrs.
 

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[...]
Thanks and sorry for the long read. Open to all suggestions and criticisms.
Currently in Design Phase will update soon as.

No reason to apologize - we are fish fanatics here so when we are not build or rebuilding our own tanks then we are helping others build theirs or dreaming about a future tank!
 
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No reason to apologize - we are fish fanatics here so when we are not build or rebuilding our own tanks then we are helping others build theirs or dreaming about a future tank!
Hey thanks for reading, lol! Waiting to get tank and table in my hands, planning on reinforcing the "stand", to what extent I'll find out tomorrow night.
In the meanwhile I'm going crazy scribbling up plans for overflow and sump.. Won't be bored for a while!
 
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Bad news!!! Or good news?

My partner is confirmed with child. She did a home test yesterday and booked the scan for today, so my question is this:
What was I doing 8 weeks ago!?!?

Naturally, my 1.8M wall space has turned into 0.5M and the whole bedroom has had a reshuffle throughout the afternoon.
But I will not budge! About to pickup the table, however have to pickup the tank itself tomorrow.

Thankfully, I have made space for the tank next to the tv... Who uses home theater anymore, right?

So the race begins...
What's coming first a cycled tank or a developed baby? Suddenly 4mths doesn't sound that long. Hope I can afford a light!

Hopefully tomorrow I will release my designs or at least a vision of what's to come.
 
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Horror! Tank sale fell through (I got impatient) and have another one lined up for tomorrow. Still a 3ft but a bit lower so more suitable for "Bubbas Sandpit".

With a smaller tank my plans have changed yet again:
1. I now have a massively over-engineered stand (tank is half the volume) - pic to come
2. I can go rimless but will def need a cover/diffuser of some sort with how low I'll be.
3. No point drilling now so will use an overflow and get away with a smaller sump.

Also picked up some "paint" for my rock so I don't have to look at ugly gray rocks while I'm cycling - the first batch is drying out right now.

I'm still happy and my vision is coming together, looking closer to a pond than a pit but really sits low. The look is really growing on me and I'm starting to form an image in my head.

Hopefully my daughter doesn't crash it the first time I leave town for work...
 
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IMG_20190724_161130.jpg


Jank Stand framing complete! Even sits level. Got some leftover Gib in the shed I think I'll just slap it on and call it a day, daughter can paint it when she feels motivated, haha!
Decided it sits low enough that I'll build a Shelf-hood above it to store all the gear.. maybe...

For now time for a smoke. Busy next few days before I go back to work!
 
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2 days until work, a lot to get done!

Painted my first batch of rocks last night, they dried up a bit lighter than what I wanted. Was about to put a coat of blue acrylic on before my daughter walked in and exclaimed how much she loved the "pink" rocks.
IMG_20190725_115320.jpg

So I'll leave them as is, can't complain with barely 1 coat. I guess its easier to replicate with the rest!
All I can say is thank god for the "spill bag"!!

Finally picking up the tank this afternoon, and from there its full blast fab'ing an overflow/wier.

Hopefully have tank cleaned/resealed and scape in place before I leave in the weekend.
 
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Finally made it home safe and sound to some interesting "discoveries".
My missus and kid went beach combing on a rare sunny weekend and came back with some "colourful" rocks and let me say. These are the nastiest live rocks I've ever seen!
IMG_20190730_101310.jpg

IMG_20190730_101356.jpg


Coralline, crabs, snails, sponges, nems you name it! So glad the pit isn't up and running, these rocks would've caused a catastrophe lol. However, these things are too beautiful to let go, and will make it to the DT - after a lot of cleaning!

Just got up here, today I will be re sealing and placing the tank, and finally I can work on the scape. Its good to be home again.
 
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Updates:
Re sealed the tank - not the greatest workmanship - the glass was cut poorly!
Painted the stand - only to run out of paint!
2 weeks in and another hurdle to cross!
My partner has decided the stand I built was not aesthetically pleasing enough (in her words - looks messing s***). So I took decisive action and repurposed the tv cabinet sitting next to it and I'm quite pleased with myself again.

Currently playing around with scaping..
IMG_20190803_162736.jpg

Sump cupboard below will fit a 40L no sweat..
IMG_20190803_163534.jpg

Rigged up some blue LED strips to see what it looks like..
IMG_20190803_163631.jpg


Can't see in the pic very well but it's WAY too bright and thats just a 1m blue strip. With the (maybe) 15" clearance above, I'll def need a decent dimmable light, or maybe 2 turned right down.

Ill also be covering the top half of the front just to contain the light. I was originally going to 100mph tape the inside as a reflector, but well see.

Next up:
Once I'm happy with the scape, I'll epoxy it all together and black the back of the tank, ready for permanent installation.
 
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Overflow and Return

So I had a great idea. As I'm running a sump for the first time I want to make it worthwhile and put everything I can in there (of course).
Now to me, as I'm hiding most of the gear in the sump why not hide the overflow and return?
I can see 2 ways to do this:
1. Overflow box (drilled or hob)
2. Low profile outlet/inlet

So I looked at a lot of iwagumi and fw setups for inspiration and came across canister filter setups, intakes and spraybars, and eventually lily pipes! Even saw a slightly smaller long reef running them!
But there was one huge problem - canister filters.

So my next stage of planning begins...
I dont want to use a canister even though im sure ill get away with it. They are setup for 16/22 hose which fits almost any pump so I'm thinking of going the most risky route and running 2 small pumps, 1 to suck and diy spray bar into sump, and another to lift and return to DT.
I'm not sure this has been done before so I need to workout flow rates, mainly because I only want to run a single wave maker to keep with the minimal hardware theme.

Has anyone tried this? Or should I just get a canister filter and be over with it?
I had an overflow box cut to size and ready to go, but it took too much real estate even with just a siphon.

I mainly just like the look of clear glass and think I'll fit my vision, but another option is the 16/22 return inlets with 1 into 2 locline splitter duckbills, I'm sure I'd get good flow from them with a decent pump.

Really looking for help and or inspiration.
Thanks all for reading
 

Mastering the art of locking and unlocking water pathways: What type of valves do you have on your aquarium plumbing?

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