Custom sump and Bubblemaster skimmer...Slowly but surely, it's all coming together

[Mikey Donuts]

I just had my custom sump dropped off by Kieth Grandt. Many thanks to him as well as you guys for recommending him. I was out of the country for the last few months and Keith was nice enough to stop by my house while I was gone and pick up my skimmer and fans to ensure the build was perfect. I spoke with him several times on the phone and he is super nice and very accommodating. The sump holds about 60 gallons or so and is very well built. All of the seams are perfect and the build quality is excellent.
The upper left chamber holds the skimmer. The water then flows into the narrow front compartment (frag section). The next chamber is the fuge. This will be separated from the frag section by a perforated acrylic plate. The last chamber is the sump area. Kieth is also bulding a fan tray to hold two 120 mm computer fans as well as some probe holders. Overall I'm very happy with the setup.
I got my Bubblemaster from reefgeek and their service was excellent as usual. The last pics are of my 34...hopefully it will be up for sale soon!

Mike

The 34:

 

[eagleONE]

very nice!! Clean design. I hear BM is really good.

Jay

 

[yoboyjdizz]

looks like your ready to get things going. Looks good keep us updated!

 

[kdblove_99]

That is one nice looking sump!

 

[dots]

I really like putting new systems together......I envy you....

 

[jtarmitage]

That is a beautiful sump. My compliments to the builder, as well as to whoever designed it. Looks like a very nice system your putting together.

 

[kevin95695]

Show room tight.

 

[bored4long]

Is that the BM200? Looks like a great skimmer.

 

[Mikey Donuts]

Thanks for the kind words everybody. Man, this tank seems like it's taking forever to get finished! I'll probably plumb it and cure the rock in Jan. That will make it a one year project. I can't imagine how sweet it will be when it's done though. You guys have been awesome with all of the help and advice (not to mention the frags). I really appreciate it!

Jtarmitage: The sump was build by Keith Grandt and he helped me make my idea a reality. Really good dude who builds tanks as well. I have his contact info if anyone needs it.

Bored: The skimmer is a BM 250. I ran it in the bathtub for a few hours tonight in vinegar water to help break it in and I thought it was a little too loud. I may just need to trim back the mesh wheels in the pumps. Does anyone have experience with these skimmers?

Take care,
Mike

 

[Pico1]

Thats a sweet set-up! Who made your stand and canopy?

 

[Mikey Donuts]

Thanks Pico. A builder in FL. made the stand/canopy. He's out of business now though (went back to school). I had some...ahem...customer service difficulty with him so I wouldn't recommend him even if he were still building stands.

 

[Pico1]

Thats too bad. It's really hard to find aquarium furniture that looks good and is functional for everyday maintenance. Can't wait to see it all up and running.

 

[JJ4417]

There will be no bashing in this forum!!

(Sorry I couldn't resist. All in good fun.)

Looks clean. Are you going to stay with seahorse idea or have you changed your mind in the last year?

 

[Mikey Donuts]

Ha Ha!! Only nice posts allowed. I know! I've strayed from my original idea. I am going to have the 150 be a standard mixed reef. BORING!! I have a female solar wrasse (the one in the pic) that is beautiful, so I'd like to have a bunch of small fish & fairy wrasses. I am planning a second tank for the horses though. I'm looking at maybe a 3'x3' x 30" rimless cube or a rimless room divider. My wife is so awesome to even consider letting me have another tank. Yup, she's a keeper. Come to think of it, I'd also like a coldwater reef, deep reef biotope, clownfish/anemone tank and a pair of dragon eels. I guess I'll see how much she really loves me

 

[bladeruner143]

That sump looks very nice. If you could Mikey, could you pass Keith's contact info along to me. I'm about a year away from actually building this tank but I will hold on to his info

 

[Mikey Donuts]

Hey Blade, here's Keith's contact info: Keith Grandt 510-432-3464.
I just found out that Keith is starting up his own custom aquarium business. He builds glass tanks as well as acrylic. He can build stands as well, and like I said his work is excellent. I was originally going to have my sump built by socal creations, but they have closed up shop recently. That's when I decided to post on this forum and was directed to Keith. I definitely plan on having my next tank, sump and stand built by Keith. I think it's awesome that we have a skilled tank builder here in Sac. If anyone ever wants to take a look at his work personally, just let me know.

 

[bladeruner143]

Thanks Mikey!

 

[tfp]

mikey very nice looking setup you've got going there! i too second the quality worksmanship that keith provides. he just delivered a custom sump add-on for me and i was floored at the beauty of it! i don't even want to put water in it .

love that sump pic with your dobie .

 

[kevin95695]

Mikey, got any pictures of it now? What are the overall dimensions? Would you change anything? TIA

 

[Mikey Donuts]

Hey Kevin, the tank is coming along. I got a bunch of nice live rock from John at Your Reef which is curing now. I'm going with a DSB and I've got about 4-5" in there. The fuge has about 8" of sand in it. I've got a vortec on the tank which is just awesome. I'm waiting on a T-5 fixture from reefgeek that should be here early next month. I also ordered 20 threadfin cardinalfish from Rob at Underwater Paradise (awesome store in Marysville). He is going to hold onto them for me until the tank is fully cycled. I want to keep mostly small fish so I can have more of them.

Overall, I wouldn't change a thing. I've spent many hours planning the tank and I'm happy with it. The overall dimensions are 48x24x30. The stand is 48x30x40.

I'll likely get rid of the 34 gallon setup next month (last pic) to help offset the cost of the lights. I'm sure Mr. Cat will be very depressed

12 Hours worth of skimming from the Bubblemaster: