wadew

Welcome to WAMAS! good luck with your tank!

Jason - yes, too intricate to render in Google sketchup... It's the LF1-125 Reefoholic - Thanks!

BowieReefer - sketchup has been instrumental in planning this out. After building out this part of the support stand, I had less than 20" of spare wood...all because I knew EXACTLY what I would need for the raw materials and I could calculate just how much I could get out of each 2x4. The RO/DI will sit just to the left of the left blue drum in the image above...it's going to be plumed right into the drum with a float valve so it always stays topped off. I like the DSB idea for the 2nd tank...I think that's a winner! For the display tank I was just going to do about 1/2-1" of sand + 120-150lbs of rock. I posted my sketchup file to the Google's 3d Warehouse if anyone is interested in pulling it down and looking in more detail: http://sketchup.google.com/3dwarehouse/details?mid=16ba18fe6ccbf71915cee5a56e15b57

Jason - Lowes!! I giggled like a little girl when I found it! Yeah, I was a little zealous with stating that it would be a hospital...I think just Frag and I'll setup a small hospital tank with it's own support systems. Thanks for the feedback!

Before getting into the meat of the post, I want to take a quick second to thank some folks: Emissary - I want to thank and curse you for getting me into this hobby. RickVT99 - thanks for the gear! WAMAS leaders - I want to thank you for running this community. I ran a website and a group for local wakeboarders...it's tough work...so THANK YOU! Current status (I'll update this with progress): Display tank stand/support framing - DONE! Little website to document stuff - in flight! (reef.leisurelylife.net) Now, here's the plan: 120G display tank, mixed reef. LF1-125 Sump w/ skimmer & return pump (Little Giant 3-MDQX-SC) ~12G Reefigium tank (part of the main display) ~12G Frag/Hospital/?? (part of the main display) Doing as much as possible to keep things easy (ie: 2x30G drums for RO/DI & salt mixing, etc) Photos! * Google Sketchup view of the design. * Front view * Framing and guts * Totally worth the $4.50. 90 degree angles all around! * Lumber cut, KILZ'd, and pre-assembled. Ready for transport to the basement. * Mostly fully assembled * Some of the equipment I've collected to date. The 120G is in my parents garage. There are a couple more pictures on my site, as well as larger versions of what I've posted here: reef.leisurelylife.net Over the next couple weeks I hope to make more room in the basement for the tank project and also hope to build the 2nd part of the stand. My goal is to have water in the tank by October and adding fish, coral, etc. by December or January 2012...spare money and time aren't the easiest things to come by.

is it even legal to import sharks?!? Might have to reconsider my 120G...maybe add a couple 0s

Pot. Kettle. Black. Thanks for the warm welcomes folks! Looking forward to documenting the build!

Hello folks! Joined WAMAS about a month ago (under the wise guidance of one Emissary) and have been lurking around trying to educate myself. I finally posted a note in the WTB forum, so I figured it was about time for an introduction thread. I'm Wade, I do things with computers during the day and enjoy the torture of golf in my off hours. I'm VERY new to this hobby...I'm been admiring Emissary's 180g for a number of years, and finally decided to take the plunge into the reef keeping hobby. My reasons are simple: I love water, I love colors, and I love building things (though my wife would tell you that I'm doing this to furnish her with Coral - and if that helps get the project off the ground, so be it). I plan to build a nice mixed reef with some fish life and a reasonably automated tank support system...hopefully I'll see the fruits of my labor in the next couple years - this project is sslooooooowwwww movin'! I have recently acquired a 120g and have drawn up about 17 plans for an in-wall setup...so the adventure begins!