56 gallon column official build begins

L

Ludwigia73

Reef Reef Reef Reef Reef
Premium Member
This could be a long build, but tonight just ate about a month off the final fire up date. The admiral just ok'ed $200 for Christmas money towards the tank, so of course I dropped $208. ;) Wait till she gets the bill, she'll make me work off the $8! Anyone seen my wife, they'll understand, 6'2" Romanian bodybuilder... But I love her to death (I have to, she'll beat me up if not!) LOL, but anyway, here goes:

Started the stand yesterday, with the intention of building the framework, and finishing the rest another day. Instead, I just finished the whole thing. All that's left is final sanding, staining, and clearcoat. Tell me what you think...

cabinet.jpg


cabinet2.jpg



Tonight I ordered sand (80 lbs), 160g pail of ReefCrystals salt, 2 L of Black Diamond Carbon, A Korallia 1 powerhead, an AquaClear 70 (same one I used on my 65, I'm very partial to these filters), and some food. I'd say I'm on my way.

More pics once the stand is finished...

I believe I'm buying Del's lights from him (6x24w HO T5). This should be good for some lower light SPS, with a couple of nice acros up high. Hopefully I'll get some nice color out of the deal.

So schedule is as follows:

Next week sometime, finish the stand, and acquire the lights.
Mid to late Dec, fill the tank with sand and water, and hopefully a nice piece of live rock.
Early Jan, acquire the rest of the live rock
Early Feb, hopefully the rock will have cured, and any pests taken care of (aiptasia, unwanted crabs, bristleworms, and mantis shrimp.)

My rockwork will be set up so that there are a few larger pieces, able to be dismantled easier if need be (to get to dead fish, undesireables, or broken off corals.) No more potato rocks. I hope to be a host of a tank hop stopover late next year if the tank is up to par (no pun intended).
 
P.S. the height of the stand is 37 inches, so it's better viewed from a standing position. I hate stock stands, they're so low you have to stoop or sit to look at the tank for any period of time.
 
Chris, is the tank going to be pre-drilled with an overflow? What are you going to do for flow?

Maybe something else to consider is to have a PVC framework under the rock so you can use less rock in the display to make it look fuller, even though it'll be pretty easy to make a 56 look full.

You're going to go with sand this time around? SSB, DSB?

I'll be watching. I'm excited :D
 
The sandbed will be approx. 3", with pvc framework holding up the rock right at the sandbed level. There will be a couple more pieces of pvc at various angles filled with tiny rubble that jawfish can set up residence in. I want a black head dusky jawfish, a twinspot goby (sand sifter) a canary blenny, and maybe a midas blennie (if they'll get along). I also want 2 or 3 fire shrimp, a bright red acan, maybe with green centers, a green slimer, a dark blue or purple acro, an idaho grape undata, a sunset monti, maybe a superman, and a challice with some bright colors (saw hot pink once). Any of that is subject to change, but that's my basic plan for now. I'm taking suggestions as to fish, but I want to keep it lightly stocked, and I'm kindof set on jawfish/blennies for the most part. I'll probably add a flame angel at some point.
 
Oh, and there won't be any outside plumbing. Overflows fail with me, and for now I'm staying away. The back will be painted black, so you won't be able to see the filters outside the tank. I'll be using an aquaclear 70, that'll provide a little flow, a korallia 1, and I'll use that once I get the rock in to determine how much more I need. I'm planning on adding a korallia 2, but might not need that much.
 
Looks good so far, what type of wood did you use to make the stand?? I went w/out a skimmer for abit but I wouldnt recommend it!! I have a Remora HOB and it's great, look into those, I beleive I recently saw some one selling it at about
$100- 125, which is almost 50% off full price!!
 
Hey Chris...
Would you build a small stand like for someone else? How much would you charge....ballpark figure. I would be interested in a stand for a 24g JBJ Nano Cube I have.

Mel
 
First of all, that's a loaded question... would I build a stand for someone else. If I said yes, then it becomes everyone else. Plus, the mods would ban me. Personally, woodworking is a hobby, just like reefing, and if you came to me with the wood this week we could talk about what you're interested in. I don't take money for this..... Also, sanding and staining and whatever final finish you decide would probably be up to you, since I hate the finishing part. I just love creating things out of wood.


As for the no skimmer part, my 18 gallon did not have a skimmer, and the list of inhabitants are as follows:
2 flameback clowns
yellowhead goby
lots of nassarius snails, and astreas.
quite a few hermits
a huge colony of bali giant xenia
pagoda
pavona
tons of zoos
a large green open brain
green star polyps
cinnamon polyps
 
Gonna do a colonial maple (slight reddish tint) I know you probably know that, it was more for the others that didn't. I was also thinking of doing 1 coat of varnish, then doing some subtle gold leaf scrollwork.

HPIM0294.jpg


This is some more of my handiwork.
 
Hey I have always wanted to learn to work with wood. If you do get together can I join the party and learn.

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11300516#post11300516 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Ludwigia73
First of all, that's a loaded question... would I build a stand for someone else. If I said yes, then it becomes everyone else. Plus, the mods would ban me. Personally, woodworking is a hobby, just like reefing, and if you came to me with the wood this week we could talk about what you're interested in. I don't take money for this..... Also, sanding and staining and whatever final finish you decide would probably be up to you, since I hate the finishing part. I just love creating things out of wood.


As for the no skimmer part, my 18 gallon did not have a skimmer, and the list of inhabitants are as follows:
2 flameback clowns
yellowhead goby
lots of nassarius snails, and astreas.
quite a few hermits
a huge colony of bali giant xenia
pagoda
pavona
tons of zoos
a large green open brain
green star polyps
cinnamon polyps
Click to expand...
 
Here's an update... the stand is finished, the back of the tank is painted black, now just waiting for Del to be ready to sell his lights :D

I have everything I need to start, salt, sand, korallia pump, aquaclear filter... I'll be setting it up in the middle of January, and I'll need some established sand and live rock. Can't wait!!!

P1000160.jpg



P1000159.jpg
 
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