40 Breeder Build

It's hard to see but I did the internal airline for the open channel to allow it to go full siphon if needed. It comes out of the elbow and is zip tied in place at the proper height. I also added teflon tape to both caps and now the system is completely silent again.



Full tank shot showing the heater I have added since the two I have are having a hard time keeping up with the added volume. I will be adding a third heater to the sump now. I will also be needing a second light since I don't think this one will cut it since I want LPS towards the edge of my tank. We'll see though.



Just another shot showing the back plumbing. You can see the ziptie holding the airline. It's gray.

 
Jrr how did you decide on how tall the weir should be? Also why did you go with a Ctc on such a small tank. I was thinking of making mine just long enough for the plumping to maximize tank space.
 
RicoJ said:
Jrr how did you decide on how tall the weir should be? Also why did you go with a Ctc on such a small tank. I was thinking of making mine just long enough for the plumping to maximize tank space.
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I determined the box dimensions after I had the holes drilled and I could see where the elbows would end up. I wanted a little wiggle room to be able to get the street elbows in and out. The box ended up being a little deeper than needed but it doesn't affect the function in this case.

I went full C2C because I wanted to maximize surface skimming. It's over kill but works well. Setting it up this way also allowed me to isolate the returns and minimize back flow if the return pump is shut off. I get zero siphon from my returns with this setup since they are out of the water. It also looks a little cleaner in my opinion.
 
Is that an Aqua 2 go LED from ebay? if so, what do you think of it? I have been looking at getting those or same brand.
 
GOT_REEF said:
Is that an Aqua 2 go LED from ebay? if so, what do you think of it? I have been looking at getting those or same brand.
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It's actually a fixture from Ocean Revive, the S026. They are a sponsor here on RC. I love the fixture and everything is growing well under it.
 
Nice 40, I bought a 40b and a 20l during the last dollar per gallon sale, and am looking at doing the exact same set up. I was wondering about your plumbing, is it 3/4 or 1"? and what are you running as far as gph thru the return?
 
RatReef said:
Nice 40, I bought a 40b and a 20l during the last dollar per gallon sale, and am looking at doing the exact same set up. I was wondering about your plumbing, is it 3/4 or 1"? and what are you running as far as gph thru the return?
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Thanks, it's coming along nicely now. My drains are 1" which is adequate for the flow needed for this tank. You may want to consider upping the open channel to 1.5 though for added overflow protection.

My returns are 3/4" and are vinyl into fittings attached to the bulkheads. If I did it again I would do a 1" inch return rigid with one outlet. Having added hose and fittings reduces the flow through my Mag7. I would venture a guess I am flowing between 4-500GPH through this setup.
 
Here is an updated FTS. Aquascape is still not where I want it but I want things to settle in again before I turn the tank upside down again.

 
Here are a couple more pics. My RBTA has moved again but is not constantly stinging the rock anemone like before.



Just an angled tank shot. Still don't know what to do with my aquascape.

 
Couple of videos.

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<iframe width="640" height="360" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/UAqvqTmVY4U?list=UUFVFUS7pS5yWe9D2QmPt8pA" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
 
Can I suggest you go to a plastics shop and have sheet of black plastic cut to glue to the overflow? I like this build very much and the overall simplicity of the display is going to be duplicated. Congrates on this tank.
 
TundraGuy said:
Can I suggest you go to a plastics shop and have sheet of black plastic cut to glue to the overflow? I like this build very much and the overall simplicity of the display is going to be duplicated. Congrates on this tank.
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Thank you. Do you mean to cover the top of the overflow or to block it from the front? The smoked glass blends in pretty good so its not super noticeable.

truthdesigns said:
Very nice build! Great job on the overflow. I'm also building a 40breeder I love the dimensions on this size tank!!
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Thank you very much. 40 Breeder is such a great size I really like it.

saybng said:
Wow looks really good..I like your c2c.
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Thanks. It seems to really skim the water surface well and my skimmer seems more productive.
 
Everything has been going well and I have slightly adjusted the aquascape. Had a bit of a scare this morning while I was doing water tests and adding Seachem Reef Buffer.

I noticed there was water along the bottom trim, on the stand, and a small puddle on the floor. It seemed like my tank was leaking from down low and I was immediately very upset. I calmed down and kept inspecting the tank and noticed that it seemed like there was a small dribble of water from up high. I found that my WP-25 was forcing water to constantly be high up in the corner and it was sneaking past the the trim. There must be a gap of silicone up in that corner. I can probably squeeze some in and seal it off but for now I just re-positioned the wave maker and the leak stopped.

Hope that my stand is OK since there is some water that sneaked under the tank for sure. Guess I'll just let it dry out.
 
Here are some more recent shots of my tank. Everything is doing well. I began dosing Red Sea NoPox along with reef energy A and B. I am happy with the results and my corals seem to be coloring up better.

Some Acans I picked up yesterday.




Trumpets/Candy canes


Clown in her RBTA. The male still has not tried to go in.


Frogspawn frags. They are growing babies and have both divided and look to be dividing again.




Purple Stylophora showing consistent growth.


Left side of the tank which has become the "softie side". The RBTA has migrated over there as well.


I plan on getting a FTS soon. I have not settled on an aquascape yet since I don't know what I want to do. I have a rock I drilled a bunch of holes in for SPS frags that I would like to elevate and relocate all of my SPS to.
 
Updated shots on the tank after I adjusted my aquascape a few minutes ago. Pics are blurry from the stuff I kicked up moving the rocks. Much happier with this layout. Also added another Jebao pump, a WP-10 which is running on ELSE mode.

I will get more shots later when my lights come on for the normal schedule and the dust settles.






 
So after a year of not updating this thread and various ups and downs, this is the tank as it stands now.

<img src="https://farm1.staticflickr.com/487/19651572923_9e12a2c53d_h.jpg" width="1600" height="900" alt="20150803_203057">


It has been through a move into our new house. Parameter swings with temperature, alkalinity and calcium and most recently a bleaching event from high temps a couple of weeks ago that I thought was going to kill half of the inhabitants or more. The monti caps took it the worst and I lost a millepora frag. Everything else is coming back and looks OK. The light is cranked right now for the picture. I normally run a blue look that does not come up well in pictures.

I came to realize that I could not keep up with the alk and calcium demands with kalkwasser alone and have recently started adding 2 part.
 
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