The Money Pit

dustint21

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So it begins!

A little about myself to start. I’ve been out of the game for 7 years. I’ve been tryin to catch up on all the new technology and methods. I started in this hobby in 2007. I’ve had 4 reef tanks. 46 gallon bow front, 90 gallon, 20 long, and then a DIY 125 gallon build from the ground up. All of these were mixed reef builds.

I’m very much a DIY kinda guy. Much more so back then. I built MH reflectors, acrylic sumps, wave boxes, tanks, stands, and anything else I could to keep costs down. It was fun and I learned a lot. Now I do not have as much time as Work and family are first. The new tank will be mostly purchased goods.

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dustint21

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On to the new tank. I have only purchased the tank and a few odds and ends stuff. I have a lot more to go before we get it wet. I wanted to share the journey along the way.

The tank is a Planet Aquariums 60x30x22 starfire on 3 sides. It has and external overflow. The stand is heavy walled steel tube and has been powdercoated.

Lighting
Ati 8x54 dimmable

Sump
Bashsea SS36 with remote Lifereef fuge

Skimmer
Reef Octopus 200int

Return pump
Eflux 6011

Flow
Maxspect gyre xf250 x 2

Controller
2016 Apex

This is where I’m currently at.

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dustint21

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Still going nowhere fast!

I just finished up mounting the new light.
ATI 8x54 dimmable sunpower

I just received a couple hundred pounds of Marco dry rock.

I started getting the RODI/ mixing station ready.

I picked up a 6011 eflux return pump and started to redo some of the plumbing. I added a manifold.

Need to get a sump and skimmer. Should be able to find decent deals this week being Black Friday!

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don_chuwish

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I have that same Costco storage rack. Have you test filled all three Brute's yet? I'm not sure the wire shelf is up to the job...
Nice tank and sexy stand!
 
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dustint21

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I have that same Costco storage rack. Have you test filled all three Brute's yet? I'm not sure the wire shelf is up to the job...
Nice tank and sexy stand!

Hi Don!
I have not yet tested it. I got the unit from Home Depot. It came with four center braces (one per shelf). I put three of the braces on this one shelf. I hope this helps support the weight. If not I have the ability to weld up a heavier support to go under it.

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Fin

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Planet Aquariums makes nice tanks. You should be well pleased with it. Love the stand. Looks like you are acquiring some nice gear too. Following to watch this one come to life...
Popcorn.gif
 
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dustint21

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Planet Aquariums makes nice tanks. You should be well pleased with it. Love the stand. Looks like you are acquiring some nice gear too. Following to watch this one come to life...
Popcorn.gif

Thanks! I really like the tank so far. This is the first tank I've had with an external overflow box built in. It's setup for a 1.5" bean animal.
There is so much new equipment out there since I've been gone. DC pumps and lights are the two main things I've been researching. I wanted LEDs but it would have cost me more than I had budgeted for the build. I've always liked T5s. I will add LED supplements at some point.
 
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dustint21

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Working on the aquascape.... I will say that some of y'all have way more artistic ability than I!

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dustint21

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Received most of my Black Friday orders. Planning to have the tank full of water by the end of the weekend.

I got the sump first so I started mocking up the plumbing. I was short on 1.5” red PVC. The sump only has two bulkheads. I have a bean animal overflow. I will just route the emergency drain into the skimmer chamber above the water line. I’m also trying to figure out exactly how to plumb the remote Fuge. I did drill a third hole for a second backup drain out of the Fuge back into the sump. I think I will just put a 1” Y in the main return to feed the Fuge.

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Greybeard

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Cool :) I see a lot of familiar equipment in there!

I put together a Planet Aquariums 60"x30"x18" tank last summer... on a powder coated square tube steel stand, with an 8x T5 light... even used an Eflux return pump :)

Mine's a bit shorter than yours, peninsula style, and I located my (repurposed 55g tank) sump in a closet, rather than under the tank. Still, very similar to what you're doing.

Love the show sump :) Mine is functional, but not really meant for show. Being hidden in a closet gives me less reason to fancy up the equipment side of things.

Remember the most important piece of all of this... Have fun with it!
 
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dustint21

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I love how tall that stand is - you've got lots of elbow room under there!

The stand is 44” tall. I’m tall and don’t won’t to bend down to look into the tank. It nice not having to worry about room under the tank also.

Cool :) I see a lot of familiar equipment in there!

I put together a Planet Aquariums 60"x30"x18" tank last summer... on a powder coated square tube steel stand, with an 8x T5 light... even used an Eflux return pump :)

Mine's a bit shorter than yours, peninsula style, and I located my (repurposed 55g tank) sump in a closet, rather than under the tank. Still, very similar to what you're doing.

Love the show sump :) Mine is functional, but not really meant for show. Being hidden in a closet gives me less reason to fancy up the equipment side of things.

Remember the most important piece of all of this... Have fun with it!

Do you have a build thread? I would love to check it out.

No need to get fancy as long as the equipment does what you need it to do. I’ve done lots of DIY projects and some of them turn out great and others not so much... I’ve searching through all the custom builds and I got the bug to get a little more detail involved on this build as I plan to keep it for a while.
 
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dustint21

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dustint21

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Last night I got the 5 stage BRS RODI system hooked up so I could start making water! It’s holding strong at 50ish psi.

I’m getting around 10-15 tds reading before the DI and 0 after. I do believe the 150gpd upgrade will need to happen soon. Lots of waste water!

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Clayton Jessup

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This build is going to be good .. love the tank and all the equipment;) I am have been playing around with upgrade tank of 60in x 30-34in x 20-24in . Very close to yours ;) can’t wait to see it progress. Huge fan of the Bashsea sump
 
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dustint21

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Last night I got the 5 stage BRS RODI system hooked up so I could start making water! It’s holding strong at 50ish psi.

I’m getting around 10-15 tds reading before the DI and 0 after. I do believe the 150gpd upgrade will need to happen some. Lots of waste water!

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This build is going to be good .. love the tank and all the equipment;) I am have been playing around with upgrade tank of 60in x 30-34in x 20-24in . Very close to yours ;) can’t wait to see it progress. Huge fan of the Bashsea sump

Thanks Clayton! I'm very happy with the tank as far as size goes. I thought it was going to be easy to aquascape! That was far from true... The sump quality is fantastic! Bashsea makes a great product for sure. I will be using their reactors and possibly their skimmer if an upgrade is needed down the road.
 
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dustint21

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Hard plumbing is a pain! Lol! If I wasn’t trying to make it look halfway decent this could be so much quicker....

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Mixing lighting technologies: Do you use multiple types of lighting for your reef?

  • I currently use multiple types of lighting for my reef.

    Votes: 6 66.7%
  • I have used multiple types of lighting for my reef in the past.

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • I haven’t used multiple types of lighting for my reef, but I plan to in the future.

    Votes: 1 11.1%
  • I have no plans to use multiple types of lighting for my reef.

    Votes: 2 22.2%
  • Other.

    Votes: 0 0.0%
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