Saint's 40 breeder

[stAlphonzo]

Ok, I think the time has finally come to start a build thread. I'm a bit self-conscious about posting something like this considering I've never had a reef tank before and my freshwater experience is pretty far distant at this point. But I have found every build thread I've read so far pretty useful, even small ones that die out. So, maybe I can give a little back since this community since it has been really helpful to me so far, plus it feels like the best way to solicit advice when it hits the fan .

I'm not sure what the thread will become, but I can pretty reasonably promise that it won't be full of the latest whizzy cool equipment. I am on a shoestring with a house full of kids and other pets. I do plan to attempt some DIY projects as I can, like possibly a ReefPI controller and maybe other things.

Finally everything has progressed to the point where it might be more enjoyable than watching a glacier grow ... I am getting close to some critical mass on the build, to where I can't back out. I will try to get this thread caught up to the present day throughout the weekend. Here goes!

 

[stAlphonzo]

I started the whole process back in January by making an impulse purchase at the PetCO $1 per gallon sale. I knew I wanted a tank but wasn't close to settled on what that would be. I bought the 40 gallon breeder and moved it onto my workbench in the basement where it sat for about 7 months. At least I had it so now I HAD to do something with it. I still wasn't even sure if I was going to do a reef tank or freshwater Cichlid tank. Either way, I needed a stand. I couldn't (or didn't want to) afford a prebuilt stand so figured I would build one. It's not a terribly hard project but I would make a little progress, have to stop, then pick at the next step.

The good and bad thing about having the tank sitting on my bench is, I couldn't get anything else done, which got really frustrating. Free space is tight around here and I knew every other project would be stuck until I got the stand going. At the same time, I had to find a way to break the news to my wife that we were going to be reefkeepers ... I already knew just how excited she would be

 

[stAlphonzo]

Here is the stand I started, pretty basic but also pretty sturdy. I thought I had more pictures of this process, but can't locate right now. For each corner 2x4, I added a front 2x4 and a side one, which fit in the visible gap and would support the top. That is about as far as I made it by March when the project sat again. I started traveling a lot for work and the kids had swimming finals. That adds a lot of work for me since coordinate the regional swim events around here, collect and reconcile entries and run the computer systems for the meets. Once again, momentum lost.

 

[stAlphonzo]

Finally summer started. My oldest daughter, 11 1/2 declared that she wanted to be a Marine Biologist. She loves the ocean and aquatic life and is pretty passionate about it. That gave me a stroke of genius (it does happen every once in a while). The tank would be a reef and it would be a science project that she and I share. I would start doing the work but keep her involved at every step. I asked her what she though and no surprise, she was ecstatic. Knowing I had my in, I declared to my favorite wife that Anna and I were starting a tank to help teach her about marine life and jumpstart her future. She groaned a little, thought about a protest but knew there was nothing she could say. In the name of science, I picked up where I left off with the stand and crept my way closer to having something complete. The good news too is, I would teach her how to care for the tank, which gives me the coverage I need when I travel.

 

[stAlphonzo]

I really wish I could find the additional pictures of the stand, but oh well. The great thing about this stand is, I didn't need to buy anything. I had enough scrap 2x4 and plywood around the house. One of the problems with this start/stop/start again approach of mine is, I lost the napkin that contained the stand's design and forgot that I designed the width to include 3/4 in plywood. When I found some 1/4 inch in the attic, I decided to use that for the sides since I didn't really need the heft of 3/4 in except for the top. Once I nailed it all together though, I realized that I was about an inch too narrow, panic set in. I ended up pulling one of the sides off and added the extra in, then replaced the plywood. It would be an ugly fix, but I'd already decided to paint the thing so no one would notice anyway. Here is the final stand in place with the tank now on it. Slowly getting somewhere. I painted the back of the tank black because I like the look and I didn't want to see wires or the wall behind. I also painted the bottom sand colored. I didn't really know how much sand I was going to add, if any and I figured if I went bare bottom or if there were areas that the sand wouldn't stay because of flow, then at least it would look like sand. Probably overkill, but seemed like a good idea at the time.

Also, quickly realized that the carpet under the tank was a terrible idea, so I took it out and replaced it with a waterproof rubber mat. That would keep spills and slops from rolling under the stand and ruing the floor.

 

[Chrisfish]

Welcome to R2R, thanks for joining looking forward to seeing more.

 

[stAlphonzo]

Welcome to R2R, thanks for joining looking forward to seeing more.

Thanks Chrisfish! Regardless of how this project turns out, I will update this thread. The good news is, my daughter just discovered the camera and takes about 100 pictures a day of the tank. I won't have any shortage of material to post ;Happy

 

[mch1984]

Great start so far, we all have projects that get stopped and started. My problem is I start project while in the middle of another and then another, my attention span sucks. Looking forward to the progress, and so much more fun for you having the kid involved.

 

[stAlphonzo]

Great start so far, we all have projects that get stopped and started. My problem is I start project while in the middle of another and then another, my attention span sucks. Looking forward to the progress, and so much more fun for you having the kid involved.

I know what you mean. This project interrupted the workshop I've been trying to get together. Involving my daughter is great for so many reasons, but one of the biggest is, she keeps me on point. Her enthusiasm is so infectious, I want to keep up progress just to see her smile

Now the hard part is going to be keeping a slow and steady patience while she keeps asking, 'so can we get fish yet'

 

[mch1984]

I know what you mean. This project interrupted the workshop I've been trying to get together. Involving my daughter is great for so many reasons, but one of the biggest is, she keeps me on point. Her enthusiasm is so infectious, I want to keep up progress just to see her smile

Now the hard part is going to be keeping a slow and steady patience while she keeps asking, 'so can we get fish yet'

I don't need anybody to make that worse, my patience level already sucks. I'm getting there with reef keeping but it's tough. Especially when you see pictures of 10 year old tanks that are packed to the brim and just stunning.

 

[stAlphonzo]

Finally it was time to start collecting equipment. As with everything on this build so far, I've been trying to get things that are quality and will suffice for this build, but aren't the most expensive or feature rich. To prevent the problem of upgrades becoming a waste, I'm trying to make purchases with upgrades in mind, getting products that can fulfill another purpose in this journey.

I bought 2 Sicce Voyager nano powerheads. The claim is that they put out 530 GPH, but I don't know if that's true. I don't know it's false, but it is really hard to gauge. When I have extra cash to upgrade to a controllable wavemaker, I will use one of these pumps in the salt mixing container and maybe the other in the qt tank, or just keep in the main tank for extra flow.

I also bought an Eheim Jager 75 W thermometer. It was really easy to calibrate and so far is keeping the tank a steady 78 F. I might pick up a second one for redundancy. It's pretty cheap insurance.

I decided not to drill the tank itself for a number of reasons. The first was, I was terrified of sticking a drill up to the glass. I knew that if I broke it, I may not rush out to buy another and the project would be dead. Having that tank staring at me, was pretty motivating. The other reason is, when I eventually experience such great success with this tank and decide to upgrade to something big, I can use this tank as the sump ;Happy

Lastly, I bought a box of Instant Ocean salt. It seems like a good enough brand to start out with and it's not too expensive.

 

[stAlphonzo]

I don't need anybody to make that worse, my patience level already sucks. I'm getting there with reef keeping but it's tough. Especially when you see pictures of 10 year old tanks that are packed to the brim and just stunning.

Oh man, I know what you mean. I find tanks like that a mix of motivation and discouragement. Thankfully I haven't had too much failure yet so I'm still living the illusion that I can to that too ;Smuggrin

My patience and attention span are pretty shaky too. That's one of the reasons I messed up my stand. I was just looking at another 40 breeder build thread and saw the stunning stand that guy built. That is pretty much what I had in mind, but darned if I could make it happen

I didn't read your whole build thread yet, but I really like what you've got going on there!

 

[mch1984]

Oh man, I know what you mean. I find tanks like that a mix of motivation and discouragement. Thankfully I haven't had too much failure yet so I'm still living the illusion that I can to that too ;Smuggrin

My patience and attention span are pretty shaky too. That's one of the reasons I messed up my stand. I was just looking at another 40 breeder build thread and saw the stunning stand that guy built. That is pretty much what I had in mind, but darned if I could make it happen

I didn't read your whole build thread yet, but I really like what you've got going on there!

Well thank you very much, I was going to update it a little later with a failure I'm going through right now. Luckily most of the time failures come with success and it's enough to keep you going.

I think your stand looks just fine.

 

[NY_Caveman]

Coming along nicely, @stAlphonzo ! I have an 8 year old and a 10 year old and it is great to have little helpers. Have you thought about what rock you are using? I am a big proponent of live rock, but many people also create great reefs with dry rock. How is the capitol area for LFS anyway?

 

[stAlphonzo]

Coming along nicely, @stAlphonzo ! I have an 8 year old and a 10 year old and it is great to have little helpers. Have you thought about what rock you are using? I am a big proponent of live rock, but many people also create great reefs with dry rock. How is the capitol area for LFS anyway?

Hey Caveman, good to see you! 8 and 10 are great ages, mine are 14, 11, 9 and 7. The 11 year old is the helper.

Regarding the rock, the short answer is yes, I have selected rock. It's been something of a struggle for me though. I went back and forth for about 6 months. I'm like you, I think live rock is really the way to go. It seems to me that if I'm creating a small reef ecosystem, it would be best to start with that rather than try to build it up piece by piece. I'm generally pretty wholistic in my thinking and I am pretty sure there is a fine balance of organisms that comes on those rocks that you can't really replace later.

That said, I did end up going dry for a few seemingly valid reasons. Partially I was concerned about having to work with the rock to make an aquascape underwater. It felt easier to take it out and play on the floor for a while. When it was all said and done though, I actually really finished the scape underwater anyway. The other reason really came down to cost. With so many other things to buy at the start, it was hard to justify spending it all on rock. Plus, compounded, I would have a tank fully running without some of the things I wanted in there and with other work still to do. Figured settling in to a few month cycle was just fine. I can let the tank do its thing while I finish the loose ends on the stand, run the CGFI line, figure out the sump, light, controller, etc, etc. We shall see if that was a good decision or not.

I got the rock from Reef Breeders and was pretty happy with it. It is solid, but not too heavy and pretty porous. Plus, it was $95 for 50# shipped!

 

[stAlphonzo]

Here is what I came up with on the floor.

Not bad, but when I moved it to the tank space got tighter. I didn't really want to measure and tape, etc, just wanted to eyeball it. Here is modified version in the tank. This is the picture from this post, which you helped out with.
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/new-aquascape-height.463708/#post-5167169

Thanks to your advice, I brought the height down to about 2/3 of the tank height.

I think it looks better and my partner agreed. She loves all the swimthroughs and the small overhang on the left. I didn't need to putty anything. It all stays really well locked. The only iffy part is the small arch on the right, but I will watch it for a bit.

 

[stAlphonzo]

I think your stand looks just fine.

Thank you, I appreciate it. It certainly looks good enough for the basement. If I even convince my dear wife that a tank belongs upstairs though, then I will need to worry about it. For now, perfect

Well thank you very much, I was going to update it a little later with a failure I'm going through right now. Luckily most of the time failures come with success and it's enough to keep you going.

Sorry to hear you had a setback. I will read up a bit tomorrow to see what happened and hopefully how you fixed it. Figure I can learn something from it. Hope it's all working out ok!

 

[stAlphonzo]

How is the capitol area for LFS anyway?

We actually have tow decent stores up here. One is an aquarium only store which has been around since the 70's. They have great livestock selections and consumable goods, additives, food, etc, but minimal equipment. Also their prices are a bit high end, but still about the same as ordering online when you add the shipping.

(Can I mention stores by name on here or no?)

The second store has a few locations and does multiple pets. The one closest to me does dogs and aquariums, lol. It's really a nice shop though. Excellent corals with fair prices. Nice, relaxed staff and reputable equipment, e.g. AI lights. Plus the carry Florida Aquaculture Live Rock which is a sweet bonus. I decided it would be best to add a small piece to my tank to help get corraline algaw moving during the cycle. Figured that would be good for the rock in the long run.

 

[stAlphonzo]

Here it is in place...but looking really out of place

Not sure I'll keep it there. I might move it into the sump, who knows.

 

[NY_Caveman]

Here it is in place...but looking really out of place

Not sure I'll keep it there. I might move it into the sump, who knows.

Nice colorful live piece. I name stores around me. I mean why not, we are all here to help each other out. It is allowed, I think the only restriction is trying to do business here if one is not a sponsor.