imcosmokramer
New member
looking forward to seeing the rocks you made.
AndyReef's 110g Reef Build
- Thread starter AndyReef
- Start date
reidcrandall
New member
Looking good. What kind of surgeon are you going to be?
AndyReef
New member
As promised here are some pictures of the sump cabinet. I don't have the luxury of having a room that I can devote to all my reef equipment so I had to be somewhat creative in hiding all the gadgets. Creating this cabinet frees up my main display stand for even more equipment and lets me have a much larger sump and skimmer.
Still needs handles and needs to be finished.
From the side.
From the back.
Here is the inside.
I also have some DIY rock curing. Here are most of them. They are 4 parts oystershell, and 1 part white portland cement with just enough water to hold them together. They are very pourous, pretty strong, and pretty light.
I need to build the shell for the main stand and put on a canopy. I will probably start on that sometime in June.
Still needs handles and needs to be finished.
From the side.
From the back.
Here is the inside.
I also have some DIY rock curing. Here are most of them. They are 4 parts oystershell, and 1 part white portland cement with just enough water to hold them together. They are very pourous, pretty strong, and pretty light.
I need to build the shell for the main stand and put on a canopy. I will probably start on that sometime in June.
AndyReef
New member
True, you save some money with homemade rock, but they are definitely more labor intensive with water changes while curing. They are more fun, in my opinion, because you can watch them become populated with coralline, and other critters. I suppose it adds a little bit more control as well in what gets introduced to your tank. (Just a little more control) I have definitely introduced some unwanteds in the past with just the seed rock.
AndyReef
New member
I did some more work on the stand today, and started on the canopy too.
I used pine 1x4s and birch plywood, the same as on the sump cabinet.
Biscuits and a plate joiner were used to put the wood together to make the frames.
I put grooves into the interior of the frames for the plywood for the doors.
Here are the sides and back before the plywood was placed.
I'll post pictures of the canopy soon.
I used pine 1x4s and birch plywood, the same as on the sump cabinet.
Biscuits and a plate joiner were used to put the wood together to make the frames.
I put grooves into the interior of the frames for the plywood for the doors.
Here are the sides and back before the plywood was placed.
I'll post pictures of the canopy soon.
AndyReef
New member
Here are some updates on my progress. Still using the cell phone camera, will have to find the real camera soon.
Here is the stand before finishing.
Here is a close up of the canopy before finishing, it has a 270 degree euro hinge on the front.
I have a piece of plywood with cork on surface next to the floor so I can level the tank with shims without damaging the floor. Also, you can see the cat door on the wall that will allow the plumbing to go to the sump in the garage.
I painted the frame with one step epoxy to seal it from the moisture.
Here is a shot of the full stand in the room. I hear that my wife is going to paint the room a different color rather than green. Guess that means I get to move the whole thing again, including the 250 pound tank. Yipee!
Here is the stand before finishing.
Here is a close up of the canopy before finishing, it has a 270 degree euro hinge on the front.
I have a piece of plywood with cork on surface next to the floor so I can level the tank with shims without damaging the floor. Also, you can see the cat door on the wall that will allow the plumbing to go to the sump in the garage.
I painted the frame with one step epoxy to seal it from the moisture.
Here is a shot of the full stand in the room. I hear that my wife is going to paint the room a different color rather than green. Guess that means I get to move the whole thing again, including the 250 pound tank. Yipee!
AndyReef
New member
Haven't updated in a while. Since last time, I received my ReefKeeper Elite V2 system with the ALC and NET modules. I ordered some parts for my LED array that I am building, and I have ordered my Spectrapure RO/DI system. I will post some pictures when there is something picture worthy to place.
I would like some opinions on water flow.
Should I build a closed loop or should I go with some of the Vortech pumps?
I would like some opinions on water flow.
Should I build a closed loop or should I go with some of the Vortech pumps?
Stanley-Reefer
New member
pretty nice!
Might I suggest a piece of dark auto tint on the corner where the overflow is since it faces the room?
Might I suggest a piece of dark auto tint on the corner where the overflow is since it faces the room?
Wow. great progress and your postings are awsome. I think building out a system is the most fun of this whole hobby. My only suggestion (and what I will do with my next build is to build the stand with the ability to easily remove the sump for cleaning or maintanence. My design will probably be with some type of removable panel on one side or enough room to easily remove it from the front without having to twist and turn the sump to remove it. Great work!!!
AndyReef
New member
I actually built a second cabinet for the sump that resides in the garage. I didn't want to deal with the lack of head space in the stand. I started on some plumbing projects today. As far as the overflow compartment goes, I may go ahead with the auto tint idea. I did however paint the overflows black with some Plasti-Dip since that picture was taken. I will post some pictures of the sump cabinet later. I'm also building a rock rack that should be done in the near future.
AndyReef
New member
Time for some photo updates.
This is the stand without its shell. The blue paint is a marine epoxy.
I have decided to do a substrate free tank and built a rock rack to get good flow under the rockwork.
I didn't want to see any of the plumbing behind the tank so I built a rear box to hide all the plumbing and wiring.
There are brackets inside for the return line.
Here is how it sits behind the tank.
This is the front shell. It is bolted directly to the frame.
This is the inside of the canopy with the LED heatsink in place.
All together.
This is the stand without its shell. The blue paint is a marine epoxy.
I have decided to do a substrate free tank and built a rock rack to get good flow under the rockwork.
I didn't want to see any of the plumbing behind the tank so I built a rear box to hide all the plumbing and wiring.
There are brackets inside for the return line.
Here is how it sits behind the tank.
This is the front shell. It is bolted directly to the frame.
This is the inside of the canopy with the LED heatsink in place.
All together.
Reef_Matrix29
Water Lover
AndyReef, looking good and do you know how many LED's and if you will be using optics or not? That seems like a pretty deep tank and I think that 40 degree optics should be highly considered if you are keeping any kind of light hungry corals.
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