225 reef build

[cioutlaw]

Tank is a 72x30x24 starfire & will be a room divider along the back of a sectional couch. I have a 48"x24 120gal. that it will replace. At the time I am about finished building the stand & will start the canopy when I get time.

Equipment is as follows:

3) 250w DE MH Phonix 14k bulbs in Reef Optix III pendants & Blue wave ballast.

VHO super actinics

Euroreef CS 180 skimmer for now, will go larger later.

40 gal breeder sump with 2 1200GPH pumps feeding 2 wavysea's(might add a 3rd)

2 chamber MRC calcium reactor

Here are some pictures where Im at now

 

[mflamb]

Glass Cages tank??? I like my 390 from them.

 

[cioutlaw]

Yep its from GC.

 

[nss9400]

nice stand!

 

[zylumn]

Tagging along for ideas for my 225g build. Great start with the stand.

 

[zylumn]

cioutlaw

You show welder as occupation and yet you constructed your stand solely out of wood. I would appreciate your reasoning.
Kevin

 

[fefo23]

Looking good what are your plans for it?

 

[orlandobrian]

Keep up with the photos!!! what are your plans for the inside?

 

[cioutlaw]

zylumn- Could have easily built it out of steel but wanted it finished in wood to match the rest of my house trim ect. Couldnt think of a good way to frame it in steel & cover it with wood. I have built many aquarium stands out of steel including LFS displays holding 20 30gal tanks each

fefo23- Mostly SPS with some LPS. I have a 120gal now that will get the corals/fish transfered.

orlandobrian- from Orlando Fl? I was just there last week, wife had a convention & I tagged along.

Inside of the stand? I have a 40G sump & Euroreef skimmer but both will need to be replaced with larger ones in the future. will also keep the calcium reactor & suppies down there. If you were asking about the tank...Im planning a rock wall against the overflow & a couple islands with lots of open water. SPS dominated & my current fish are Desjardins Sailfin Tang, Bangai Cardinal, Red Hawk, couple perc clowns & Coral Beauty Angel. Im not going to add a lot more fish.

Here is a shot of my current 120G

 

[fefo23]

Its a torch coral the one in the bottom, for how long do you have and is an anemone the big center pice, also how big is your cardinal, I may get one like that.
fefo

 

[cioutlaw]

Coral on the bottom I think you are looking at is a Frogspawn, Ive had for over a year & fragged many times. Big annenome looking piece is actually a Toadstool Leather. The Cardinal is about 2.5-3" long, great fish...might get him a mate when the move is all finished.

 

[orlandobrian]

Nice tank.

 

[zylumn]

Thank you , good job on the stand.

 

[fefo23]

wou toadtool is big, I just got one but is not like that, well mine is only 4", so i may have to get a bigger tank if mine grow that much.

 

[FishyBiz]

Awesome work on the stand.
Take your time with the finish.... Ive seen a lot of guys on here build a killer stand and then F it up with their stain/painting skills. :lol:

 

[cioutlaw]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10181204#post10181204 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by FishyBiz
Awesome work on the stand.
Take your time with the finish.... Ive seen a lot of guys on here build a killer stand and then F it up with their stain/painting skills. :lol:

I hear ya, my last stand I built I wasnt crazy about the finish. Will research a lil better this time.

 

[orlandobrian]

I stripped the stain off mine 4 times before I got a finished product I was happy with. I recommend using Minwax from Home Depot. (I used #225) Two light coats should do it. Dont treat the wood first - I had better luck this way. Then follow up with Olympic Interior Water Based Polyurethane - Easy to use!

 

[Brandan]

Wow, thats awesome. What wood did you use to cover the stand? I've seen it before, just don't know the name.

 

[cioutlaw]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10188998#post10188998 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Brandan
Wow, thats awesome. What wood did you use to cover the stand? I've seen it before, just don't know the name.

Thanks, the wood is birch with Oak trim.

 

[cioutlaw]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10188189#post10188189 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by orlandobrian
I stripped the stain off mine 4 times before I got a finished product I was happy with. I recommend using Minwax from Home Depot. (I used #225) Two light coats should do it. Dont treat the wood first - I had better luck this way. Then follow up with Olympic Interior Water Based Polyurethane - Easy to use!

Thanks for the info. I used Minwax last time but a thinking room temp(Illinois winter in the garage) might have affected the outcome last time. I have used the same product on wood trim in the house & it came out nice.