Well hope to get started on the stand this weekend. What im thinking is 8 foot long 2x6 stringers 9 inch on center with 3/4 green treat top. legs made of two 2x4 screwed together to make 4x4 with ledge. I can only do one center support about 16 inch from back due to 125 gallon sump under. I also didn't want to go taller then 2x6 because the sump is 22 tall and to have room to get in it my display tank is already going to be 40 inches off the ground. Any thoughts! thanks everyone.
Mr and Mrs Reef - 290g in wall build
- Thread starter MrsReefK
- Start date
Bogue Chitto
New member
Sounds good, just make sure you have part of your top frame resting on top of a 2x4 as well as being screwed into the side of one
We got the mother load of all mother loads today. Estimated 300 lbs of live rock... We have yet to weigh it. I say it's more. We will see tomorrow. Pics to come tomorrow as well!
We're drying it out though, it's ridden with every kind of algae possible.
Picking up another 300 lbs next weekend.
Lights and Apex controller will be in Friday next week.
Tank is getting delievered Nov 7.
Now... Need to build the sump room and stand.
We're drying it out though, it's ridden with every kind of algae possible.
Picking up another 300 lbs next weekend.
Lights and Apex controller will be in Friday next week.
Tank is getting delievered Nov 7.
Now... Need to build the sump room and stand.
Bogue Chitto
New member
That's a lot of rock...
Progress - Let the sump room construction begin! The DT will be going in the wall where the 'outline' of boards are on the floor. The area where the dogs are laying will be the sump room. This used to be a bar with a peninsula. The house hasn't been touched with any updates since the 80's, we just purchased it, so might as well make it custom to what we need for a tank now!
Sump plans - Check
Apex controller ordered - Check
Radion xr30w Pro (X3) ordered - Check
424 lbs of Live rock (free) - Check (Drying this out, covered with algae and unknowns)
Tank delivery scheduled for Nov. 7 - Check
Picking up 300 lbs of (good) live rock this Sunday - Check
Bought mixing tank, ATO tank, 2 QT's today - Check
Sump plans - Check
Apex controller ordered - Check
Radion xr30w Pro (X3) ordered - Check
424 lbs of Live rock (free) - Check (Drying this out, covered with algae and unknowns)
Tank delivery scheduled for Nov. 7 - Check
Picking up 300 lbs of (good) live rock this Sunday - Check
Bought mixing tank, ATO tank, 2 QT's today - Check
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Treasure of a find on Craigslist!
The sump room materials were purchased today. Got a wash tub sink and all of the lumber. All of the lumber under and around the tank will be green treat. So, we went all out and purchased a custom sump rather than the 125g sump. This will not be housing the fuge, the fuge will be in a separate tank that overflows to the return column in the sump.
Pictures - lumber, and lots of it!
Dogs - They are being very helpful chopping up the wood for us. They are all 3 acting like wood chucks on our scrap wood.
Daisy - She fits nicely inside the tank layout.
We realized something tonight, our Tunze PH's may not be the most ideal. The 'lid' of our tank is not removable, there's 3 access points (see pic in first post of this thread for visual). Our PH's have the cords inside the tank, so the cord is going to be away from the sides because it's not an open top. Does this make sense? How do we make this work? Do we drill small holes in the lid? Do we find PH's like the Ecotech's that the cord is on the outside?
Pictures - lumber, and lots of it!
Dogs - They are being very helpful chopping up the wood for us. They are all 3 acting like wood chucks on our scrap wood.
Daisy - She fits nicely inside the tank layout.
We realized something tonight, our Tunze PH's may not be the most ideal. The 'lid' of our tank is not removable, there's 3 access points (see pic in first post of this thread for visual). Our PH's have the cords inside the tank, so the cord is going to be away from the sides because it's not an open top. Does this make sense? How do we make this work? Do we drill small holes in the lid? Do we find PH's like the Ecotech's that the cord is on the outside?
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mkindsfather
New member
Can't wait to see the pics!
Hey guys! Thanks for the support. We are getting anxious as well, it's all coming together. We still have a lot to do before the tank arrives, like build the entire sump room, but we're making headway. Once the tank arrives we have to buff the acrylic, remember this is used, and pretty scratched up. Our solutions came today for fixing the acrylic.
Being we decided to dry this 424 lbs of LR, we laid it out, wow! It's so much more when it's laid out. Those pieces in the top of the close up picture are HUGE!
I told you we decided to go with a custom sump that was designed for an external skimmer... well here she is. Got a heck of a deal on this puppy, can't wait to get it pushing some water through. We are debating on fuge size now. I want the DT to be 'less' full of rock for a cleaner look, so I want a fuge that can handle a large amount of rock. Size TBD.
Being we decided to dry this 424 lbs of LR, we laid it out, wow! It's so much more when it's laid out. Those pieces in the top of the close up picture are HUGE!
I told you we decided to go with a custom sump that was designed for an external skimmer... well here she is. Got a heck of a deal on this puppy, can't wait to get it pushing some water through. We are debating on fuge size now. I want the DT to be 'less' full of rock for a cleaner look, so I want a fuge that can handle a large amount of rock. Size TBD.
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dave.m
Active member
Congrats on moving the refugium out of the sump. A refugium big enough to have any significant effect on water quality will seldom fit into a sump, anyway.
You may also want to consider having more than one refugium, since you have mentioned lowering the amount of rock in the display tank. You can have one lit refugium for growing algae and pods, and another dark refugium to store more rock. This second one is called a cryptic refugium, and all manner of worms and sponges will eventually populate the rocks in this darkened tank. A cryptic refugium can have huge benefits as regards filtering water if you maintain good water circulation through it.
Dave.M
You may also want to consider having more than one refugium, since you have mentioned lowering the amount of rock in the display tank. You can have one lit refugium for growing algae and pods, and another dark refugium to store more rock. This second one is called a cryptic refugium, and all manner of worms and sponges will eventually populate the rocks in this darkened tank. A cryptic refugium can have huge benefits as regards filtering water if you maintain good water circulation through it.
Dave.M
Dave, thank you! It was a tough decision on my part for some reason (I had not valid reason), but my husband was all over separating the sump/fuge. Previously my fuge area was about 55 gallons, we were using a 125g tank for the combo. Now I am thinking 55 gallon tank, 1 section with DSB and macro algae, next section rock sharing a light with the macro. I haven't heard of cryptic fuge yet. This is intriguing to me, I'm off to look it up.
Fuge debate has been solved - 125 g fuge that will overflow into the 30g sump. I'm very excited, but can't decide exactly what to do with the 125, I keep bouncing back and forth with all of the options and benefits/downside to each.
Fish room construction starts tomorrow. I'll have lots of pictures to share.
The tank, lights, and apex controller are all getting delivered SATURDAY. Just a few more days. We don't have to be ready for the tank in terms of the fish room. We have a lot of buffing to do first, the tank needs a bit of TLC. We will be posting during that process to hopefully help others.
We picked up the other 300 lbs of LR. While pulling it from the tank, Jeremy flipped the rock over and next to his thumb was a fire worm.... As big around as his thumb, 5-6 inches long!!! We left that piece with the seller in a bucket in the sump. She said she saw the worm 2-3 years ago and hasn't seen it since. You never know the life you have in the tank.
Fish room construction starts tomorrow. I'll have lots of pictures to share.
The tank, lights, and apex controller are all getting delivered SATURDAY. Just a few more days. We don't have to be ready for the tank in terms of the fish room. We have a lot of buffing to do first, the tank needs a bit of TLC. We will be posting during that process to hopefully help others.
We picked up the other 300 lbs of LR. While pulling it from the tank, Jeremy flipped the rock over and next to his thumb was a fire worm.... As big around as his thumb, 5-6 inches long!!! We left that piece with the seller in a bucket in the sump. She said she saw the worm 2-3 years ago and hasn't seen it since. You never know the life you have in the tank.
Dave, I'm a planner by nature. We will gain experience and what works best for us, we are planning a system that can be changed in the future. We want to learn from all of you as well though, what worked and what didn't, what do you suggest, etc. We can't plan for everything, but we can plan to avoid costly mistakes from learning from all of you guys out there.
