45 DD RR Cube...First Dream Build PICS!

[FiShScaLe]

I'm new to the forums, this will be my first post/thread:celeb3:I've been in the hobby for about 6 years now with plenty of tanks just always on a budget....so since things have been going great at work I've decided to set up my first "Dream Tank". Progression is at a stand still at the moment due my basement having to be re-carpeted. As soon as that's finished the custom stand project will begin along with ordering the rest of my equipment. Here's a list of all equipment I've come up with so far

• Tank/Stand/Sump
• 45 Gallon RR DD Marineland Cube (24x24x18)
• Custom Oak Stand (built by me)
• 15 Gallon Deep Blue Sump (24x12x12)
• Dry Rock From BRS seeded with LR
• CaribSea Sand

• Filtration/Water Circulation
• SWC 160 Cone Skimmer
• 250w MarineLand Heater
• Ehiem 1260 Return (Feeds Reactors, Fuge, and DT)
• 1x Vortech MP10 (will most likely be adding another)
• Small Aquaclear Set up in Fuge
• TLF Phosban Reactor
• Fuge Filled With Macro Algea

• Lighting
• 250w DE Halide
• 2 96w PC's for Supplement Lighting
• Icecap Ballast

• Dosing
• BM Dosing 3 Pump(Mag,Ca,Alk)

• Controller
• Reefkeeperlite Plus
• PH Probe
• ATO (hooked up to the RKL)
• 5 gallon tank for ATO Water Storage
• Will be used mainly for lights, heaters, ATO

• Testing
• Hanna po4 meter
• Hanna ALK meter
• salifert Mg and Ca test kit
• refractometer

• RO/DI Water
• 75 GPD RO/DI 6 Stage *DELUXE* System

 

[blakers82]

:wavehand: Let's get this thread rocking! Nice inventory thus far. So what do you plan on keeping in this system? Tell us more! :thumbsup:

 

[FiShScaLe]

All of these pictures were take with an iphone 4. I had pictures of the sump build in my iphone3g til it broke and I lost all the pics, but now that I have a camera back I'll be keeping you guys up to date on whats going on with the tank.

Here' the tank. The overflow on these tanks are a pain to work with :headwalls:
but the design really does save space. Ill be adding a little twist to the overflow along with painting the back glass black.

Sump before cutting off excess silicone (picked up almond instead of clear )

Skimmer which I love very easy to take apart and clean.

Electronic Ballast the fixture will be running off.

Light. 1 250w xm14k DE bulb may change it though.

Vortech (love these things but expensive lol)

Reactor (This is temporary will be switching to BRS dual reactor to run GFO/&Carbon)

Aquaclear which will hold ceramic ring for added bio filtration. This will be placed in the fuge section of the sump to help keep flow in the fuge and keep the cheato tumbling.

I'm taking this build nice and slow to try and make it perfect. Please if you have any suggestions feel free to comment. I'll post more pics once I start building the stand.

 

[M007]

Looks good, tagging along. Good luck with the build!

 

[clowndude]

Looking good so far. Can't wait to see it running with water.

FYI in the future for silicone just use tape for your lines. Then run your middle finger on the seams to make it look nice. Then pull the tape up while it's still wet.

 

[chrishayes]

geesh, I guess we have the same idea of what a great tank should be! Good luck and ill keep reading you thread and posting to help keep ya motivated!

Heres my thread
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2046567

 

[MrHarvard]

NIce equipment so far....Keep posting updates...Will follow for sure!!

 

[FiShScaLe]

Reefcentral crapped out on me last night so here are the rest of the pics I was suppose to post last night...

Heres the aquaclear on the fuge section and you can see how I plumbed the fuge.

Heres the sump with all equipment in it and the silicone touched up a bit.

And here the last pic for now of how it will be set up under the tank with the 5 gallon ATO reservoir

 

[FiShScaLe]

blakers82- The tank will be mostly SPS dominated with a few of my favorite LPS and possibly some zoas and rics.

clowndude- TY good to know I'll have to try that my next sump I build because all my silicone work has been very sloppy lol

chrishayes- Wow VERY! nice build so far im Subscribed lol. I love your idea for the overflow, I may have to do something along those lines myself if you dont mind

Thank you everyone for the positive feedback! Soon as I start the stand Ill be posting plenty of pics of the build lets pray its this week!

 

[Flippers4pups]

Where did you get that silicone you used in your sump? You said " almond" right? Man I hope it wasn't just any household silicone!

 

[FiShScaLe]

No it was from home depot #2 silicone I just thought I picked clear but instead I chose almond.

 

[clowndude]

Lol I like your idea of the 5 gallon ATO reserviour. I'm doing the same thing bug with a 10 gallon. Fits perfect right in front of my sumo and is easy to refill with 5 gallon budgets.

 

[FiShScaLe]

I actually have a spare 10 gallon so I'll most likely use the 10 gallon if theres enough room underneath the stand. It will make my life easier due to the fact I'll have to add less top off water.

 

[FiShScaLe]

So the build is going to be started a little soon than expected :celeb3:!!
Went to home depot today to pick up a few things i'll need to build the stand 2x4's, 1/4 inch oak for the skinning, white paint, wood stain and wood finish. All the finish like molding ect. to the stand I'll pick up when I'm finished building. Still a bit undecided about it.

White paint for inside the stand, red oak wood stain, and some wood finish to make it shiny

The black poles behind the wood are what I made to hang the fixture they will be mounted behind the stand for a clean finish.

Due to the random rain we had today the build will have to be postponed until tomorrow :angryfire: but as we all know patience is the key in this hobby lol.

 

[allsps40]

You better make sure that silicon is aquarium safe. If it does not say so on the tube dont use it! Also you fuge drain way plug up and overflow with time, the strainer could clog with algae. Nice skimmer.Good looking build.

 

[FiShScaLe]

It's GE II 100% percent silicone which if I read correctly is aquarium safe?? I'm almost positive I've used it on other sumps due to the fact fish stores sell silicone at absurd prices, but never almond I hope it's ok. I will have to keep the strainer clean. I left a decent amount of space before hitting the top tank brace on the fuge baffle. The fuge is going to be fed by my return so the space should be able to handle the flow I'll have to test it.

Thanks for all the feedback! Please feel free to point out anything you have questions about or something you notice wrong I'd like know now if anythings wrong before I fill it with water.

 

[Supernova26]

Nice start and that is a good looking tank.

 

[chrishayes]

Yeah, in all my years of reefbuilding, standard silicone is a no-no. Most of them have anti mold agents such as arsenic. If you had looked a little further down the aisle homey sells aquarium silicone. Its in small tubes in a package by the wood filler, super glue and what not. Its now in a light blue package that is easy to miss cause it doesnt say in bold AQUARIUM SEALANT. In the bottom lefthand corner it says its for aquarium use.

Bottom line, I would scrape all that out and use the correct product as much as I know it sucks! Better safe than sorry, especially seeing as though that time and money is but a drop in the perverbial bucket. ask me how I know!

 

[chrishayes]

I think its called household sealant.

 

[FiShScaLe]

Well I'm going to suck it up and re silicone the sump so there's no problems down the road even though this sucks :angryfire:lol.

Like promised here's the stand build. It's not finished yet still have a couple things to do to it but here's the frame. Painting and skinning will happen later on tonight when my girlfriend gets home (loves to paint lol).

The work Station

Used 2x3's for the legs to save space

Here it is almost complete.

Frame finished with all equipment on it (couldnt help myself lol).

Later on tonight I'll post some more updates of the stand. Until then going to take a nap all this building made me tired lol zzzzz.