30g Shallow

[lilyost4290]

Hi all,

I just signed the lease for my new place today and you know what that means... time for a new tank upgrade. This will be my build thread and I'll keep it updated as the build progresses.

My current tank is a 20g tall from the remnants of my 55. Mostly lps, many of which I've had for at least five years now. A few sps and softies. I intend for the new tank to be more of the same. Mostly lps on the sand with a few sps on the rocks. Only fish I have currently is a skunk clown.

Now onto the new tank. My biggest dislike with my previous tanks has been the widths. The 55 and 20 have been very narrow and after it's been tough to have much open sand bed with the rock in the tank and trying to give some space between the rock and glass. So for the new tank, I'm going with a 24x24x12 30g. It's pre-drilled, and my current 20 will be the sump. I want minimum rock in the display so most of the rock will stay in the sump.

I'm trying to run this tank on the cheap so for flow I'm planning on a pair of jebao pp8s. Light will be black box leds. Skimmer will be a remora that I've used for years. And my return will be a jebao as well. I'm going to try my luck at building a stand too. Pics to come. Comments and advice particularly on building a stand are always welcome!

 

[kevin j.]

Trying to do saltwater on the cheap is not easy. I tried to do it myself. What I ended up doing is figuring out what equipment I wanted and or needed. Then I would find that equipment on ebay or Amazon for the cheapest price. For example ebay seems to have salt pretty cheap with free shipping for instant ocean. Looking forward to following your build.

 

[lilyost4290]

Picked up the tank yesterday. It's still wrapped up so no pictures on that just yet. Picked up the wood from the store and got to work on building the stand. I've never built anything more than IKEA furniture so this was a bit of an adventure. Just put sealant in everything a few seconds ago and hopefully by the end of the week I can paint and put doors on the cabinet. Pictures to come soon.

 

[lilyost4290]

Picked up some trim for the base of the stand today and put on the first coat of paint. Should hopefully have the tank on the stand and be able to test it out this weekend.

 

[lilyost4290]

We're just about all moved in now. Tank is on the stand and I just put the light hanger up. It's made of copper piping attached to the stand so I can keep the rimless look. Rodi system came yesterday. As did the black box leds, and the jebao wave makers. Just need to get some sand, set up the plumbing and add water.

 

[lilyost4290]

Tank is up and running. Corals and the lone clown have been moved over to this new tank. It's been about three days and everything looks pretty good for the moment. Still trying to deal with a leaky return in the sump but that's a work in progress. Just wanted to share some pictures. I love the depth and dimensions of this tank.

 

[lilyost4290]

More pics

 

[lilyost4290]

Yet more pics

 

[zoa1988]

amazing looking tank

 

[lilyost4290]

amazing looking tank

Thank you!

 

[lilyost4290]

I think I want to add some more fish. Right now I only have one orange skunk clown. Any suggestions?

 

[Djbeasley05]

Great idea with the copper pipe hanger! I don't want to spend 150.00 on goosenecks for my kessil so I'm stealing this idea for my new build! I'll probably paint the copper black though.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[lilyost4290]

Great idea with the copper pipe hanger! I don't want to spend 150.00 on goosenecks for my kessil so I'm stealing this idea for my new build! I'll probably paint the copper black though.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Yeah, looking back I think the black would match better but the copper is growing on me. Good luck with your build!

 

[Djbeasley05]

What size copper did you use and how did you attach it to the stand?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[lilyost4290]

It’s 3/4”. To attach to the stand I used a few U clips I think they’re called. I can attach some pics of it if it’ll help you out.

 

[Djbeasley05]

It's 3/4". To attach to the stand I used a few U clips I think they're called. I can attach some pics of it if it'll help you out.

Please attach pics. Thank you.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[lilyost4290]

Please attach pics.

Here's some photos of the stand and clips with the copper tube. They're just screwed into the side of the tank. I used two just to keep it straight and steady. Hope these help!

 

[Djbeasley05]

Here's some photos of the stand and clips with the copper tube. They're just screwed into the side of the tank. I used two just to keep it straight and steady. Hope these help!

Thank you!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[lilyost4290]

Anyone have any idea what these are? I don’t think they’re aiptasia as I’ve never seen them this small and the shape doesn’t look right either. They almost look like burrs or dandelions. I superglued over them just in case.

 

[lilyost4290]

Picked these guys up from aquasd a few weeks back. The blue brain was labeled Trachy but ive never seen one shaped or colored like that. Under day lights it's almost a baby blue color but darkens up under blue lights. It also has some gold stripes on the edges. It's fast becoming my favorite piece.