BowieReefer84

40 breeder sump is now built. I used two prebuilt baffles from tenecor, and some "fine" aquamesh off BRS. Return is an Eheim 1260. Skimmer is a Regal 150 int. Two marine pure blocks will fit perfectly as well. Will be using a tunze ato. I can always DIY filter docks if I want on the main drain. Sump by mteske1, on Flickr Sump by mteske1, on Flickr Sump by mteske1, on Flickr Sump by mteske1, on Flickr

House was built in 1958. It’s like a tank. Hahah

Yea, I had to do final assembly in my basement. I am adding some more bracing as well to avoid any racking concerns. I used the fuze it liquid nails in some areas and nice construction screws. I want to be able to sleep like a baby. My below average engineering skills tell me it will hold 12k pounds, with a safety factor of 8.

Yea, the wall needs a lot of reinforcement. I cut out a bunch of the framing. It's non-load bearing and there is a huge steal ibeam across the top. It's just a 3/4" wood trim wall. I am going to add 2x4 framing across the top then down to the floor with support. I am then going to paint the whole backside of this wall and stand white.

Matt, you can't get PM's it said.

I ordered 2 marine pure blocks and some of the bio balls. Looking for a couple folks near Ellicott City that will let me put them in their sumps for a couple months. They are brand new. I am starting with dry rock, and want to seed the tank. I realize pests are unavoidable, but I would really like someone with a relatively pest free tank if possible.

I put in a lot of work on the stand over this past weekend. I have some final touches on it, and plan to paint it white. Hoping to get that done next weekend, so I can get the tank on the stand the weekend of the April 1st to get it filled up. I ordered some ceramic media, I need to find some folks in Howard County area to let me put it in their sumps so I can get a good bacteria population going. I am starting with dry rock. I bought a 40 breeder on a sale at petco for $60, and ordered a baffle kit, so that should be coming together soon. You can see the lights I ended up with. Two Gen 5 radions and some led strips too. I like the hanging kit. I also have a duplex outlet on it's own circuit/breaker that is tied to a generator if I lose power. Things are starting to come together. I even have a utility sink down here, and I plan to run some rodi line to a trashcan next to the tank for water changes. Untitled by mteske1, on Flickr Untitled by mteske1, on Flickr Untitled by mteske1, on Flickr Untitled by mteske1, on Flickr Untitled by mteske1, on Flickr Untitled by mteske1, on Flickr Untitled by mteske1, on Flickr

Petco had a sale. I ended up buying a 40 breeder for $60 and a baffle kit online. I forgot how much acrylic cost

I want to get a custom (but basic) acrylic sump to maximize my space. Anyone local building these now?

Dang Alan. Can you slow down a little. I take a few months off and you're already up and running.

I did a thing over the weekend. Opening is 46.5" x 21.5" (should be good to hide the seams around the edge, and tank will sit flush up to trim) Hoping next update is sooner than 3 months. IMG_1754 by mteske1, on Flickr IMG_1756 by mteske1, on Flickr IMG_1761 by mteske1, on Flickr IMG_1762 by mteske1, on Flickr IMG_1769 by mteske1, on Flickr IMG_1776 by mteske1, on Flickr IMG_1777 by mteske1, on Flickr IMG_1779 by mteske1, on Flickr

Nice tank. BIG fish!

Well, I cleaned the old coralline off the glass to get a fresh start. I also went ahead and took a dive into LEDs. So much for keeping the lights affordable. I wired the two outside reef brites together and the two inside together. They can dim in pairs, so this will work well. It's impossible to capture the white balance for me. They look way brighter in person, and not as blue. I will def be using dimming feature.

Look forward to following this.

Yes, room for water to settle when power goes out or I turn off the return is def a concern for me. I guess if The tank with the rock is taller with a smaller footprint that would help. That makes me want to do something tall vs wide (so def not like a 40 breeder). Putting a powerhead in the sump is a good idea vs trying to get too much flow off the return. I am leaning towards a 29gal tank packed with rock (maybe even a sand bed since the DT will be BB).

So I ended up with 220lb of dryrock, and want to put about 100lb in display and the rest in another container. I am thinking I can T off the return pump (eheim 1260) then let it gravity feed back into the sump through some bulkheads/pvc. I realize this will recirculate some of the water before getting into display. I think a 29gal next to sump would work well and I could pack it with rock. Anyone have a setup like this? I am thinking I would use redundant oversized drains into sump to avoid any potential floods. I would use a 1/2" gate valve to make sure I can keep the flow low on the tee off along with unions to be able to take it offline easily if necessary. Any potential pitfalls? All of this is on the unfinished side of my tank/basement. I could also plumb it above the DT but is that even necessary?

Can you use silicone at the seal to get it leak free for now? You’ll obv have to get it dry and let it cure

Yes, thank you sooo much for dropping them off! They were crucial. I actually ended up bringing 4 home, then sent them back UPS (with insurance).

Yea, and HEAVY. This 120gal weighs 275lb empty. My buddy and I got it, but wasn't easy. Glad we had suction cups, or honestly, it would have prob dropped.

Let the fun begin.

It kinda looks like you have an African Flameback Angel in there, but it's only yellow on the face. What fish do you have? Some (like the flameback) nip at SPS. There is a big difference in difficulty b/t SPS. Monti are pretty easy, where as imo acropora are much harder to keep. I do think if they were monti that died it was either chemical warfare or nipping fish assuming parameters are pretty stable and everything else is looking good.

These powerheads are subscribe and save 40% off on Amazon right now: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B076FKHBQP/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&th=1 I wanted two, but for now just bought one for the 40% off. I will wait to see if I can snag the second one for a similar price. Brought it down from $76 to $46. Pretty cheap! EDIT - I cancelled my order once I read some not so positive reviews... BUT, they are cheap (prob for a reason)

Once upon a time I bought some of those little blue glass bottles. Can't remember the brand. Honestly... I don't plan to ever do that again.

Alan, you still have this tank running? Any others?

I meant MarineDepot.com It looks like BRS bought them out I guess. Seems BRS is the only website now for reef tanks?