My Ultimate 40 Breeder Build

[Marlboro Zoa]

Well, I got sick of my 46 gallon acrylic bowfront and DIY stand. Some of my complaints were that the tank scratched too easily, the distortion through the bow when viewing got annoying, I had to use a footstool to reach into the tank, and I was not happy with the way my stand turned out. So now I am embarking on an all new build and am trying to get it down perfectly!

Here are some pictures of the old setup. It has been going for about 18 months, and due to bad husbandry it is not even worth showing how it looks today...

Here is the idea for the new setup...

Equipment
-Top Fin 40 Gallon Breeder from Petco
-ADHI Refugium 30
-G*l*a*s*s*H*o*l*e*s 700 GPH kit with two 3/4" returns and flared nozels
-Aquatic Life 36" 4X39 watt T5 fixture
-Super Reef Octopus SRO-1000INT skimmer
-Two Ecotech Vortech MP10wES for circulation
-Eheim 1260 return pump 635GPH @ 0', ~500GPH @ 4'
-2X Two Little Fishies PhosBan Reactor 150's (One phosban, one carbon)
-Still deciding on anything else like controllers, heaters, ATO, ect

Stocking
-Two clownfish
-Two blue damsels
-One royal grama
-One brittle starfish
-One cleaner shrimp
-Zoanthids, Mushrooms, some softies and LPS

 

[Marlboro Zoa]

So first things first, time to build a new stand. I pretty much used Rocket Engineers template except used thinner material. The new stand will be 32" tall, the same height as my old one. The 40 breeder is 17" tall where my old 46 bowfront is about 20.5" tall with small openings on the top that are a pain to reach into. The new setup will not require the use of a footstool which will be great for me! (I am only 5'8")

The legs are 1X3 oak boards and the top and bottom box frames are 1X4 oak boards.

I sheathed the top and bottom in 3/4" pine plywood and the back in 1/2" plywood.

Here is the center span

A closeup of one of the joints and you can see a bit of the corner moulding I have used.

A test fit of the new tank on the stand. I built the stand with about 3/4" extra room around the edge of the tank in case I upgrade to a 65 gallon in the future which has a slightly larger footprint than the 40 breeder.

 

[Marlboro Zoa]

Next up, building the doors for the stand. I chose to make some simple panel doors out of 1/2" thick oak boards.

Test fitting the doors. In this picture they are not perfectly adjusted and I have yet to put the door catches on.

 

[Marlboro Zoa]

Got my overflow and return kit in and got to try my hand at drilling glass for the first time. Pretty easy!

 

[Marlboro Zoa]

Then on to painting the back glass of the tank. I debated between blue and black for a long time. I finaly decided on blue; both my mom and girlfriend insisted. "Corals don't grow in the dark, why would it be black?":crazy1:

Four coats of royal blue Krylon Fusion

From the back it looks a little uneven...

But from the inside its perfectly uniform!

 

[Patricklong]

I have been doing the blue or black debate for a while now in my head.

Your blue looks very nice though.

 

[Marlboro Zoa]

Next up was finishing off the plywood top and bottom of the tank. It was exposed a little bit past the corner moulding so I just used a router with a flush bit to bring it perfectly even with the moulding, then applied oak veneer.

 

[Marlboro Zoa]

Well, this brings me up to where I am today. I have been taking my sweet time doing this build and money never comes in as fast as I would like. Currently I have the tank and stand in my garage waiting for my fuge, skimmer, vortechs, and other equipment to come in. I am also going to build a canopy, and I am debating between staining, painting, or laquer for the stand. I probably should make it black to match the furniture in my living room though.

 

[Marlboro Zoa]

I have been doing the blue or black debate for a while now in my head.

Your blue looks very nice though.

Thanks. I think they both look good, but the only thing is to get a darker blue. It took me a few days to decide, and I now have a folder on my computer devoted to pictures of blue vs black backgrounds :lol:

 

[Mavrk]

That's why I didn't paint and went with a vinyl (or thin plastic of some kind) sheet that is blue on one side and black on the other

I keep wanting to build a stand for my 40b and get it going. I too was going to use the same plans and use 1x4's. I have the same overflow but did not opt to drill for the return. I don't have a router, so my doors would not look as nice as yours (if I even have doors).

What did you use to cover up the screws in the stand?

ETA: Forgot to say... Great job. Looks really nice.

 

[OwenReefin]

Great stuff, I have a 40b also. Perfect tank size I think. I have pretty much the same set up as you, besides having two returns. I really wish I had done 2 like this. What kine of rock scape you going with?

Subscribed.

 

[Marlboro Zoa]

That's why I didn't paint and went with a vinyl (or thin plastic of some kind) sheet that is blue on one side and black on the other

I keep wanting to build a stand for my 40b and get it going. I too was going to use the same plans and use 1x4's. I have the same overflow but did not opt to drill for the return. I don't have a router, so my doors would not look as nice as yours (if I even have doors).

What did you use to cover up the screws in the stand?

ETA: Forgot to say... Great job. Looks really nice.

Thank you. I thought about using the vinyl too but decided to just go all out and paint it, hopefully I don't get sick of the blue.

One thing though, I made the top and bottom out of 1X4's but the legs out of 1X3's. The reason being is that with the 1X3 legs, I was able to achieve an opening on the front of the stand that was 32" wide. Taking into acount the european hinges I still end up with a ~31" wide opening so I can still slide a 30" long sump right in without worrying about comming in diagonaly or anything.

To cover up the screws on the stand I bought a 1/4" oak dowel rod and cut disks that I glued into the holes and sanded. I used pocket screws inside the stand but I felt better about using some 3.5" decking screws to make the top and bottom box frames, only drawback being the need to go through this step to hide them. Eventually I am going to get around to filling in the pocket screw holes inside the stand and doors with oak pocket hole plugs too.

Great stuff, I have a 40b also. Perfect tank size I think. I have pretty much the same set up as you, besides having two returns. I really wish I had done 2 like this. What kine of rock scape you going with?

Subscribed.

Thanks. I will be using the rocks I have in my old 46" bowfront. They are a hodge-podge collection of base and live rock I have collected from several LFS in the area. I like the idea of doing something minimalist with plenty of swimming room, and I think I want to try fiberglass rods to make two or possibly 3 structures that won't collapse. Easier said than done though, I have to look at the 40BR FTS thread some more for inspiration!

 

[Snakebyt]

great looking stand, nice work on it. Your gonna love that size tank, Looks like you are off to a great start with it

 

[Electrobes]

Ditto on the good start. I love 40Br's and you, my friend, are doing it right!

 

[Sugar Magnolia]

The stand is awesome! Looking forward to seeing how your tank comes together.

 

[Marlboro Zoa]

Thanks for the positive feedback everyone! I'm going to try my hardest to make this a worthy build thread!

In other news, I should be recieving my reef octopus skimmer and (one) vortech in several days time. I am equally excited to recieve my ADHI model 30 refugium which is looking like about a weeks time away from delivery. Here are some pictures I found from google images of it, there are not too many reviews and pictures out there on them, but I love them. I'm running an ADHI model 20 under my 46 bowfront right now (not pictured way up above, that's an aqueon proflex model 1) and the build quality is excellent. For my 40 breeder though, I decided to step it up to the next size, which affords a much greater selection of skimmers which will fit. The dimensions of the model 30 I am waiting on are 30" long, 14" deep and 18" tall. Skimmer section is 10 x 13.5, fuge is 12 X 13.5.

But to make things more interesting, I have just made up my mind and am going to attempt to have an acrylic automatic top off reservoir custom made to go to the right of the sump/fuge. I found the contact information of the guy that makes these lovely reservoirs on another forum, and plan to contact him once I have decided on the final dimensions.

I would have it built to be the same depth and height as the ADHI model 30 refugium but just a few inches narrow to fit in my stand. My carbon and phosban reactors will likely hang inside the return section of the sump/fuge from the right hand side wall just above the water line. I will buy a JBJ auto top off and an aqua lifter pump too. This is looking like things will get interesting!

 

[uny2bld]

Fantastic work so far... can't wait to see it set up

 

[Snakebyt]

that reservoir looks really nice, with the dimensions you have room for, hot much top off water will it hold?

 

[Mavrk]

Thank you. I thought about using the vinyl too but decided to just go all out and paint it, hopefully I don't get sick of the blue.

One thing though, I made the top and bottom out of 1X4's but the legs out of 1X3's. The reason being is that with the 1X3 legs, I was able to achieve an opening on the front of the stand that was 32" wide. Taking into acount the european hinges I still end up with a ~31" wide opening so I can still slide a 30" long sump right in without worrying about comming in diagonaly or anything.

To cover up the screws on the stand I bought a 1/4" oak dowel rod and cut disks that I glued into the holes and sanded. I used pocket screws inside the stand but I felt better about using some 3.5" decking screws to make the top and bottom box frames, only drawback being the need to go through this step to hide them. Eventually I am going to get around to filling in the pocket screw holes inside the stand and doors with oak pocket hole plugs too.

I think the painted looks better anyway. You chose a nice blue. Thanks for the info. I hadn't thought about using 1x3 legs to make the opening wider. Perfect for a 20 long. Good job hiding the screws. I was planning on putting the base inside the frame, but I like how yours looks with the wood on the bottom. Did you glue two pieces together, or did you round it with a router or something?

 

[yellowRubi]

looks great! i like the way how u did the doors for the stand!