rubbermaid 50 gallon tub grow out tank

[Ohioreef1700]

I had this grand idea to add another tank in my house , this one in the basement room where it is not an eye sore. I bought a rubbermaid tun from tractor supply for 78 dollars and used all of my spare parts from my other tanks that i had broken down or upgraded. All in all the setup looks good and is up and running perfect. Has anyone else tried this method I am running a deep blue t5 setup over the tank and don't really care for the looks of it and am thinking about switching to Chinese blackboxes. Whats everyones input on the build.

Purpose- to grow corals and frag and sell for profit online(I build websites) and sell at local swaps through reef trader and word of mouth.

Tank- rubbermaid 5 gallon agricultural tub, 100 gallon rated skimmer, eheim heater, 30lb live rock and some egg crate.

 

[DrewHaus]

I've had good luck with the chinese black boxes for what it's worth. My sps are happy and growing.

 

[Ohioreef1700]

Where did you purchase them if you don't mind me asking?

 

[organism]

I've used those for frag tanks, they work great! If you're relatively good at DIY I'd recommend making your own LED fixtures. They're not too hard to make and much higher quality than the black boxes for about the same or lower price.

 

[Ohioreef1700]

I've never messed around with building leds what is required ?

 

[DrewHaus]

Where did you purchase them if you don't mind me asking?

Here is a link to something similar to what I have. I use two of them on my 4 foot tank:

http://www.amazon.com/Watt-Aquarium...453141633&sr=8-2&keywords=TaoTronics+LED+reef

You can probably find something cheaper that is essentially the same thing.

I believe mine use 3W Bridgelux LED's. The blue's and white's are independently dimmable. Never had any problems with the fixtures.

 

[Ohioreef1700]

I was looking at some on ebay for about 90 dollars they look like a quality product the t5 fixtures just use a ton of electricity

 

[DrewHaus]

I was looking at some on ebay for about 90 dollars they look like a quality product the t5 fixtures just use a ton of electricity

That's why I switched from T5's and MH lighting. You get more lumens per watt of power.

 

[DrewHaus]

Plus you don't have to worry about changing bulbs! =P

 

[Ohioreef1700]

They don't come cheap I'm looking into leds right now I could run 2 over the tank and get some good growth hopefully

 

[Ohioreef1700]

 

[Ohioreef1700]

I posted a pic above

 

[organism]

I've never messed around with building leds what is required ?

I think rapidLED has a guide on their site, it's fairly straightforward and if you don't know how to solder they have solderless LED's as well.

The DIY forum on here has a few tutorials too.

 

[Ohioreef1700]

I'm going to try and build one I will create a thread when I get the supplies.

 

[jrkonzelman]

I've used a 15 gallon rubbermaid tote as a sump for 2 and a half years now.much cheaper and has been working great so far....great idea!

 

[Ohioreef1700]

It's all setup and running I have it full of corals and one yellow tang

 

[Ohioreef1700]

I just moved a large gonipora from my display tank into the Rubbermaid grow setup it wasn't liking any of the flow I had it in.(and I have no room on the Sand bed).

 

[moatdaddy]

I just bought a 50 g Rubbermaid and a 300g Rubbermaid for a sump. Got them on ebay cheaper than local tractor supply plus taxes. Shipped to my house too. Expect a build thread soon here and in sps forum. I have done a lot of reading on these tanks and for frags I think they are priced well and sturdy. Keep us update on yours please and thank you.

 

[Ohioreef1700]

You can post on my thread get a big thread going

 

[Nick92515]

People seems to have good luck with the Mars aqua leds from ebay, there's a thread on here somewhere but I can't find it now.