WheresTheReef March 29, 2015 Share March 29, 2015 Recently began working on my 90g, so decided to start up a build thread. This will be a process... so enjoy the ride. I invite and appreciate any feedback. First the concept... I want to create a peninsula style stand with a small storage attached to it. I am going to put my son's 20g long on top of the storage and tie it into my system. The back of the stand will house a 10g tank for top-off and a 20g high for mixing saltwater for water changes. I had a good starting point for the main stand. However I decided to rip off the partially covered back and reinforce it with an extra leg (middle-back of the stand). Also reinforced the front of the stand opening which will remain w/o a center post. The back part of the stand, canopy, and 20g stand/storage are add-ons. My concern was that main stand will sink into the carpet and put pressure on the back add on. To combat this, I added a 1/2" plywood bottom. I got tired of spending so much time to make straight cuts so I bought this bad boy! Man i love it and it saves a ton of time. Also recruited some help Attached back framing to the main stand. It sits on the shared 1/2" plywood bottom. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave w March 29, 2015 Share March 29, 2015 That's a good looking build. I'd bet your helper works for candy. Mine only work if I threaten to take away their DS. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WheresTheReef March 30, 2015 Author Share March 30, 2015 That's a good looking build. I'd bet your helper works for candy. Mine only work if I threaten to take away their DS. Thanks. Yea I found him with a sign "will work for candy" lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YHSublime March 30, 2015 Share March 30, 2015 Look forward to watching this unfold. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thakki April 2, 2015 Share April 2, 2015 Looks good. Keep posting with the updates. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flooddc April 2, 2015 Share April 2, 2015 Looking sweet! Can't wait to see the final product. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WheresTheReef April 2, 2015 Author Share April 2, 2015 Look forward to watching this unfold. Looks good. Keep posting with the updates. Looking sweet! Can't wait to see the final product. Thanks! Finally have nicer weather on the weekends to get work done. Have been wanting to start this earlier, but winter and its snow just wouldn't go away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WheresTheReef August 5, 2015 Author Share August 5, 2015 Lots of stuff has happened since the last update… Well I tore down the back section of the stand from the previous post since it just wasn’t straight enough and the boards were pretty beat up. Buying stock 2x3’s was a waste of time and money! Instead I decided to get the straightest 2x4’s I could find and cut them down to size with the table saw. I recommend the HD or Lowes “premium” 2x4s for this. Their corners are not as rounded as the regular boards. Took a while, but I managed to find some straight ones. People at the stores thought I was a little crazy stacking boards in the aisle looking for good ones. I cut 1/2 inch from both sides of the 2x4s, which left me with pretty flat and straight boards. Stock 2x3’s (top) and cut 2x4’s (bottom) … my OCD is much happier now Canopy boards were cut down a little more than the 2x3’s above. The frame boards are about 1.25x1.25” Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WheresTheReef August 5, 2015 Author Share August 5, 2015 Since I was in a building mode, I got an Avast CS1 skimmer. Lots of parts (left)… and now all built (right). I ran it on my 40g breeder with a MJ400. It being plumbed into the main return pump in the new build so I can tune the water input with a gate valve. My 10g top-off tank will go on the bottom shelf, and a 20g salt mixing tank in the middle. I decided to put in a couple support boards for the 20g tank so that the weight isn’t just on the screws. I created the doors using 1x2s and 1/4” plywood. I created some of the 1x2s from the 2x4s since I just couldn’t find enough straight boards. I used a Rotozip tool with a routing bit to cut out a channel for the plywood to sit flush in the frame. The picture shows a guide board (standing up) and the channel cut out of a door frame board. Somehow I forgot to take a picture before painting the doors, but here is the finished product. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WheresTheReef August 5, 2015 Author Share August 5, 2015 This gives an idea what the stand will look like side-by-side. Was planning out the plumbing… lots of parts and fun . The left valves are for reactors. The valve in the middle is for the skimmer intake. The right valves are for the 90g and 20g tanks. I decided to go with gate valves this time for easier tuning. I converted this reef-ready tank into a herbie style drain system and ran an external return line in the back cabinet. Did a leak test and found a couple of spots. The biggest pain was my 1” return line. I added Teflon tape a few times, but the darn thing kept on leaking. Decided to put a rubber washer and it fixed it. Never had this much trouble before, but oh well it works now! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WheresTheReef August 5, 2015 Author Share August 5, 2015 For the return pump I went with a Deepwater Aquatics BLDC8. Nice, quiet and energy efficient pump. They are still fairly new so hoping for longevity. I have to say that the build quality and its controller are really nice. The in tank circulation is 2 Jabeo RW8s. I found that I couldn’t get my drain to be quite even with tuning the return and drain flow rates with the gate valves. Then I remembered that there was a hole on the stand pipe cap that could be allowing air to enter. I managed to fix it with my high-tech air flow restrictor (a.k.a tape)… patent pending. Worked like a charm! Will put a dab of silicone for a semi-permanent solution. Filled tank and sump with RO-DI in about 40hrs ~3g/hr on a 75gpd filter. Now adding salt. I am used to adding 1/2 cups of salt mix at a time for water changes on my current 40g. This was much faster… Turned out to be too fast. There was some precipitation that I had to put some mechanical filtration to remove. The calcium, alkalinity and magnesium levels are still acceptable however. This build is going to occupy the same area as my current 40g. However, the side stand/storage is wide enough (36”) so that I could place the 90g in its final location. Luckily I didn’t have to relocate the 40g. That would have been a pain. I measured carefully so hopefully no surprises when I move the 40g and add the side piece. You can see my ReefBreeder Photon48 on my 40g. Looks funny, but only for a short time. My better half helped to paint the stand. Was a great help! After I got the water parameters in check, the plan was to migrate the equipment over from the 40g to the new build and also acclimate the fish. To do this I plumbed in the 40g into the 90g. I started with the gate valve barely open and slowly opened the valve over several days. I was able to move my rocks over for the aquascaping once a good flow was achieved to the 40g. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WheresTheReef August 5, 2015 Author Share August 5, 2015 Was contemplating going bare bottom, but in the end opted for Reef Flakes. I love the grain size and well worth the $$$. I rinsed off the sand until it ran mostly clear. My tank barely got a little cloudy and cleared quickly. The extra work paid off. Finally added sand and moved my livestock over this last weekend. Here are a few pics of the current tank. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WheresTheReef August 5, 2015 Author Share August 5, 2015 The biggest setback so far was losing 6 fish in my QT. A flame angel bought from an LFS near BWI came infected with Ich which wiped out the other fish. I’m sad to see them all wiped out, but glad that I didn’t add the fish straight into my DT. I will turn my 40g into my next QT soon and only add a couple fish at a time. RIP! Still lots to do, but progressing along now! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
s2nhle August 5, 2015 Share August 5, 2015 great plan. tagging along. Thank you for sharing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruleyii August 5, 2015 Share August 5, 2015 This is a nice and unique build. looking good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SixtyFeetUnder August 6, 2015 Share August 6, 2015 Being in Gaithersburg close to home I'll have to come check it out once it is in full swing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WheresTheReef August 7, 2015 Author Share August 7, 2015 Thanks all. SixtyFeetUnder hope to have things settled in the next couple months so welcome to have a look. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SixtyFeetUnder August 7, 2015 Share August 7, 2015 Thanks all. SixtyFeetUnder hope to have things settled in the next couple months so welcome to have a look. Will plan on it. Seems like most of the reefers are out in VA so like meeting people local! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
s2nhle August 11, 2015 Share August 11, 2015 so, how is everything? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WheresTheReef February 26, 2016 Author Share February 26, 2016 It’s been a long time since my last update. Dealt with lots of setbacks including an ich or velvet breakout that killed all my fish but a small clown, and a breakout of dinoflagellates that took over my tank. Still working through the dinos, but fighting to keep them under control. After an 8 day blackout, I reduced the light cycle from 12 to 8 hours. I’m also siphoning out the dinos several times a week. My refugium with cheato wasn’t helping much. I put together a diy algae scrubber and hope it works to starve off the dinos with a much simpler green hair algae. I treated my clownfish with cupramine and it has been well since. The DT went through a fallow period and things are clear. To protect my current and future investments, I added a coral/invert QT pictured below. Right now I have an Onyx clownfish that I purchased from another member a month ago in it, but will move it out soon. I also added some corals I purchased from members and Pacific East Aquaculture right before and at our last meeting. Kudos to member Tommy for hooking me up with a JBJ ATO. I also setup and cycled a 40g breeder fish QT. Have been waiting to get fish for over a month. I pulled the trigger on 3 fish from LA since they were running a nice sale. 3” Powder blue tang 2.5” Yellow tang 4” Copperband butterfly The tangs picked at some seaweed tied to a rock, but are still a little antsy and trying to settle in. The yellow tang took a little mysis today as well. I was nervous about the butterfly fish, but it tore up some mysis out of the water column 2 days in a row now and was looks for more when I approach the tank . Definitely a deliberate eater. I turned off the pumps prior to feeding to make the tank nice and calm for it to eat. Will observe for a couple weeks and perform some prophylactic treatment once they are all eating well and settled in. Hoping not to have to medicate due to parasite/infection, but I planned ahead and have a fish medicine cabinet. I have to give kudos to monkiboy as he helped me with a ton of advice and guidance. A great member of the WAMAS family! A few updates to the DT 90g + 30g breeder anemone tank plumbed into a common sump. I installed a dedicated circuit and tied it into the electrical section of the stand. Photon 48” + T5 supplements. Mixing and ATO tanks. The only thing missing is an RODI tank. Right now using a bucket so that isn’t settled yet. Sump area. Both doors are removable to give access from both sides. The 30g breeder anemone tank. I diy a center brace for these leds using aluminum rods to make use of their legs. I have some rock and substrate to add to this tank, but don’t want them to get full of dinos. The glass is much easier to clean at this point. Mogurnda hooked me up with a pink-tip GBTA that was the size of a dinner plate. It just split on 2/23 and now I have 2. That’s it for now. Thanks for following along. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YHSublime February 26, 2016 Share February 26, 2016 Looking good, and also very clean. Glad you didn't let the setbacks shut you down, and learned from them instead. Monkiboy knows a thing or two, I'm glad to hear he's helped you out! Not for everybody, but I used to take LRS food and feed by hand just frozen chunks, and let it thaw in the water. I see now some folks are sticking it to the glass. My copperband used to go nuts and eat from my fingers, would also beat out most of the tangs if a piece cut loose down the aquarium. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nbgen12 February 26, 2016 Share February 26, 2016 That is an impressive setup! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WheresTheReef February 27, 2016 Author Share February 27, 2016 Thanks. Definitely takes some persistence. I joke to my wife that it's supposed to be a hobby not a full time job. However, in not sure I could ever be without a tank. I think I saw your video feeding the fish. I also like to hand feed my fish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flooddc February 27, 2016 Share February 27, 2016 Great job! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WheresTheReef March 2, 2016 Author Share March 2, 2016 Great job!Thanks Chuck. Still have a long way to go, but headed in the right direction. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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