40 Gallon Breeder reef tank build...

[mmittlesteadt]

GSP has come back to life and is doing great now.

Day it was put in the tank before its polyps disappeared and the base started spreading...

About a week later moved to a slightly different spot. If you look real close at the bottom of its base, right at the corner of the frag plug, you can see one of it "star" polyps pretty clear...

 

[mmittlesteadt]

A bit blurry, but got a pic of both clowns in the same shot. They are just little ones...about 1" or so long.

One shot of mostly the middle of the tank. GSP on the left, Goniopora in the middle and the little Kenya Tree on the lower right (can't really see it)...

I really love the Kessil A160WE. Killer light. I still can't believe one little light is putting out that much...and it's only at about 60%!!!

And finally one overall pic of the whole tank. It's really beginning to look more like what I envisioned. (you can see one little clown up near the top about in the middle)...

 

[Grizz717]

Looks great Mark. beautiful set of clowns.

 

[mmittlesteadt]

Looks great Mark. beautiful set of clowns.

Thanks! Yeah they are pretty entertaining clownfish. Even though one of them wanted to sleep in my overflow.

I've got my eye on so many corals and fish...ugh...PATIENCE!!! :hmm2:

 

[Grizz717]

I know what you mean! Picked up a pair of Grade C Picasso Clowns and a pair of Bangai Cardinals tonight. Just put them in QT. Will post pictures tomorrow for you and Zee!

 

[mmittlesteadt]

Looking forward to it.

 

[ZeeSparrow]

Well, couldn't find any needlepoint canvas at work, but we had some very open cell foam that I put in behind my weir. It's not a permanent thing...just until the clownfish grow a little larger (OK...a lot) to where they can't fit through the openings in the eggcrate. Just need to rinse out the foam occasionally.

My GSP has spread and is coming back stronger than it's ever been in my tank. Very full and colorful. Can't seem to find the smaller Kenya Tree (wife said she saw one of the hermit crabs on it). Weird. The larger one is doing great.

My LFS is going to order me some different colored Xenia from ORA. Huge frags for only $12 my cost. They are also getting a new 500 gallon saltwater display tank. The pet department is really growing. The saltwater section has tripled in size in only a few months. It's great that I can get things a little over cost.

I am SO jealous. The cost savings you have... UGH!

Thanks! Yeah they are pretty entertaining clownfish. Even though one of them wanted to sleep in my overflow.

I've got my eye on so many corals and fish...ugh...PATIENCE!!! :hmm2:

Seriously! I am fighting the urge so bad.... pretty sure I'm going to give in and buy stuff this weekend though. Just sayin'.

I know what you mean! Picked up a pair of Grade C Picasso Clowns and a pair of Bangai Cardinals tonight. Just put them in QT. Will post pictures tomorrow for you and Zee!

YES!!

Looking forward to it.

Exactly. I can't wait!! Clowns AND Cardinals! Woo hoo! I'm actually considering those cardinals for my next fish, too. Either that or pajama cards... not completely sure. One or the other is very likely to show up in my QT tank next week.

Mark... I think your tank looks great. I am amazed you have the Kessil at 60% though! I have my Photon at 35% max blues; will probably bump it to 40% this weekend. I'm not sure my candycane at the top of the tank will like it, though.

 

[mmittlesteadt]

Yes, the Kessil certainly does throw some serious light out. I personally love the shadowing because of the way I want my tank to look, although I understand why many prefer their tanks to be fully lit.

At 100% it's just too much...it makes my living room look like an airport runway at night.

 

[Swope2bc]

Well, I finally found your build thread (thanks to the link posted on Zee's) and read through it!! What a process you've gone through!

Because of your thread I've moved my tank to a new location and begun the contemplation of moving the sump to the basement. Hmm.... Lol...

If only I had time to work on it. At least I get to watch you guys while I wait!

Love the faux rock work, the aquascapeing, the stand/canopy, the light!!! Well, basically everything, great work! Following along now ;-)

 

[mmittlesteadt]

Well, I finally found your build thread (thanks to the link posted on Zee's) and read through it!! What a process you've gone through!

Because of your thread I've moved my tank to a new location and begun the contemplation of moving the sump to the basement. Hmm.... Lol...

If only I had time to work on it. At least I get to watch you guys while I wait!

Love the faux rock work, the aquascapeing, the stand/canopy, the light!!! Well, basically everything, great work! Following along now ;-)

Thanks a lot! Yes, it has been a VERY long and tedious, but well planned out build. It taught me the value of patience, although I still have none. LOL.

Having a large sump, in my basement, actually makes this ALL worth it. If I had to do topoffs and water changes in my living room...ugh...it's not even worth going there. But having most all of the work being done in the basement is great and well worthwhile. It's my lab down there, away from everyone else. I can do all my maintenance without making a mess in my living room.

The single biggest decision I'm happiest with was putting my sump in the basement.

 

[Swope2bc]

40 Gallon Breeder reef tank build...

Mine, if I decide to stick with the current plan, will be immediately next to a utility sink too! I can drill for an emergency overflow and let it just hang into the sink, not to mention the ease of water change... It just makes sense ! I'll only have another 40b as my sump but the space limitations for ATO and every other need will disappear.

My wife didn't even balk when I suggested drilling holes in the floor! Oh, one more added bonus, my 1" full siphon on my bean drain will flow tons of water due to the drop lol.

 

[mmittlesteadt]

Mine, if I decide to stick with the current plan, will be immediately next to a utility sink too! I can drill for an emergency overflow and let it just hang into the sink, not to mention the ease of water change... It just makes sense ! I'll only have another 40b as my sump but the space limitations for ATO and every other need will disappear.

My wife didn't even balk when I suggested drilling holes in the floor! Oh, one more added bonus, my 1" full siphon on my bean drain will flow tons of water due to the drop lol.

Yes. My 65 gallon sump is the exact same footprint as my 40 breeder and I probably could have used a 40 breeder for a sump, but I already had the 65 gallon tank. It's about 6 feet away from my utility sink and yes, it makes EVERYTHING easy. And the easier it is to do maintenance, the more likely it will get done. I never have to spend much more than a few minutes at a time to do anything with my tank.

 

[Dkuhlmann]

Great job and I love the back wall that you made. I must have over looked it but what are you using for a return pump?

 

[mmittlesteadt]

Great job and I love the back wall that you made. I must have over looked it but what are you using for a return pump?

An Aquatop 3600. Pretty quiet and even with a 9 ft. head from the basement I'm getting about 400-450 GPH flow on my return. I can get them cheap (as in slightly above cost) where I work so replacement would be quick and cheap if necessary.

 

[Dkuhlmann]

An Aquatop 3600. Pretty quiet and even with a 9 ft. head from the basement I'm getting about 400-450 GPH flow on my return. I can get them cheap (as in slightly above cost) where I work so replacement would be quick and cheap if necessary.

WOW, sounds like quite a bit of flow for a 40b. But you do have a long way to go with your water. I only have about 4 1/2' tops so after looking I think the AquaTop SWP-2600 Submersible Pump, 740 GPH would be a better choice for my system. Good reviews and great price.

Do you have a video of your water flow?

 

[mmittlesteadt]

Yes, I lose a lot with the 9 ft head and 45 degree elbows. It actually is working out great as I utilize my return with my circulation pumps for the tank circulation...

In mine I created a gyre (instead of pumps pointing right at each other). It makes the water circulate in a circle all around and through my rock. I don't have much for dead spots (just a few where you can see a little eddy where the fallen food swirls in little circles on the sandbed...where my hermit crabs love to come for lunch and dinner.). Food stays suspended in the water column and keeps going round and round my rockwork.

My return is split from a 1" into two 3/4" PVC...a tee with one part pointing down behind my rocks, and a 45 degree elbow with it pointing up and towards the front glass to create some turbulence on the surface, but also to blow the water off my front glass and over to my overflow. Then two circulation pumps (just 250GPH each) one in the back right pointing down and towards the front glass and the other towards the front and point down behind the rocks on the left. I had a larger pump in there, but it was way overkill.

Here's my return and my circulation pump on the right side...

And here's a pic of my overflow (weir is behind the eggcrate diffuser) and the left pump...

 

[Dkuhlmann]

Looks amazing. I like the back wall rock work you made. Very nice!

 

[mmittlesteadt]

Looks amazing. I like the back wall rock work you made. Very nice!

Thanks. The back wall is for more than just effect. It does hide my vertical overflow on the left, and makes a nice looking large cave in the middle back, but my return pipes are tucked in the upper right of it, and the right side also curves out at a 45 degree angle. This effectively rids the back tank of corners, so the water literally flows in a circular fashion around the back of the tank.

I purposely designed the back wall to create circular flow in a rectangular tank.

 

[Dkuhlmann]

I agree with you and see that from the build. Great idea for sure. It's functional and attractive.

 

[mmittlesteadt]

[Cyborg voice on]"Resistance is futile..."[Cyborg voice off]

OK...so I know I said I wasn't going to get any zoas, and yet here I sit, with a zoa in my tank. I swear I don't know how it got there. One minute I was shopping for a spray bottle and some vinegar for my wife and a new screen door handle I had to fix. Next thing I know I'm putting this guy in my tank...