TOTM quality 6' SPS tank for under $1k? The 5.56 build thread; AKA a really bad idea

You won't be able to remove the whole baffle. The parts that are glued to the side won't come off. Just cut it an inch away from the sides of the sump.

There's a guy from the socalireefs forum selling a used Fluval SP2 for $75. Sure you could beat him up a bit. That would be a great pump for your tank. It's 900gph.

Saw that here on RC in the used equipment forum. He also had a sp6 for $100 when I saw thread
 
Total spent: $259.47

Total spent: $259.47

Just picked up a $10 "frag" of Hollywood stunner chalice. The thing is about 5" and looks great. I'm keeping it in the 29 biocube for the big tank

I finaly figured out what I am going to do for the canopy and the wood is going to cost almost $100

The canopy will be a upen top "U" shape with 3 ribs. The "U" design is so that I can slide it 1/2 off and grab it from underneath to remove it.

I have been at this long enough to know that if the canopy is too hard to remove or too hard to access when open, you just won't service the tank so ease of access is a MUST.

The ribs in the canopy will be notched to accept a stick of shallow unistrut to which the lights will be attached. That way, I can just disconnect the lights, lift them out and then slide the canopy off.

I already have unistrut, hardware and disconnects in my garage so that stuff doesn't count against the $1k
 
Total spent: $290.86

Total spent: $290.86

I spent $31.39 on this sheet of plywood, Home Depot cut it for me. I have a nice table saw but it's just so easy to have them do it on their panel saw. You do need to get someone who both cares at all and has skill or your cuts will be off.

Here is my canopy:

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I'm not much at woodworking, it takes 3 hands to hold all those pieces together to glue clamp and nail together. Lucky for me, CSmooth2009 stopped by to buy some stuff from me and he had time to help out because I would have been a gluey nailgunny cussing and possibly bleeding mess The notches in the ribs are to set the unistrut supporting the lights in place.


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Here I have glued the stop in place

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Here I have attached the reflectors to the unistrut using spring bolts which allow me to slide the reflectors up and down the unistrut and then tighten the bolts to hold them in place

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Here is the view as you walk in the front door, a crucial factor in determining the WAF metric on this project.

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Here is a photo from the bridge over the foyer, also a key WAF metric.

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The box on these lamps said XM 10k but I have no idea, they do really make my plastic scuba diver pop.

I'm not going to let the dark spot in the center bother me, it's a $1k build and it's a 6' tank with 2X250 halide. The fixtures are adjustable and they are tilting away from the center a bit because of the weight of the lamp holders, With some tweaking I think I can close up that hole quite a bit at the expense of the front of the tank and the back of the tank which will be sand bed and top of rock wall/power heads respectively.

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What is hanging outside the sump? White cylinder.

The dropped the price on the used tunze 1073.05 return pump to $90, I bought it with existing paypal balance.

Traded a Remora PRO and ACJr./DC8 setup for a Euroreef RS135 with a really nice fellow SoCAlL reefer. I think we both ended up with what we needed. Anyway, that thing is a beast! It barely fits in my sump :(

I want to either cut the baffles out of my sump or get rid of it and get a 40 breeder long to better fit my needs.

Ideas?

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New total: $500.84

New total: $500.84

I got 1 of the two Tunze 6105s I need and probably all the rock and a brute I needed and as an extra, a battery backup for the tunze $185. About all I have left in to buy before livestock is 1 more Tunze 6105

I still have $79.28 in paypal from fish stuff, $80 cash from selling and a lot of stuff left to sell including the biocub 29 and stand once everything is in the big tank. It looks like I just might pull this off!

$24.96 36 GPD FILMTEC REVERSE OSMOSIS MEMBRANE
 
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I don't know if I should worry about this but in this picture you can see light coming from between the tank and the stand, that's because there is a small gap under the tank between the vertical 2X4s Should I worry about this?


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Is there any value in keeping the baffles in my sump? I want to just cut all 3 out.



If that's under consideration, I'd suggest selling your sump and grabbing a curbside tank on trash day. I'm sure you can score a dirt cheap bare tank and have more budget for other things, at a minimum.
 
If that's under consideration, I'd suggest selling your sump and grabbing a curbside tank on trash day. I'm sure you can score a dirt cheap bare tank and have more budget for other things, at a minimum.

I like that idea but the best tank for my stand size is a 40 long and they aren't all that common.
 
It seems I need to install a rim joist in the stand, shouldn't be too much trouble and I have pleanty of 2X4's on hand.

First draft of the aquascape and I think I'll do the sme thing again once I put salt water in, just with epoxy to hold the rock together. I paid $60 for this rock, bought it with the 6105. A lot, I know but there are some very nice pieces

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Once the tank has been established a bit I will replace the pile-o-rubble-rock in the front with the contents of my BC 29

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It seems I need to install a rim joist in the stand, shouldn't be too much trouble and I have pleanty of 2X4's on hand.



First draft of the aquascape and I think I'll do the sme thing again once I put salt water in, just with epoxy to hold the rock together. I paid $60 for this rock, bought it with the 6105. A lot, I know but there are some very nice pieces



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Once the tank has been established a bit I will replace the pile-o-rubble-rock in the front with the contents of my BC 29



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You have those rocks sitting in a tank full of tap water? Might not be the best thing. If it's ro/di, then your good!
 
New total $696.56

New total $696.56

I spent $275 ($195.72 counts, the rest wiped out my paypal acct for fishy things sold) on a pair of 6105's. Yes, I know, I only need 2 and already have one. These are matched and slightly newer and I'll jsut sell the one I have for what I paid for it... if nobody want's it here,I'll eBay it and make a few bucks

The tank is off the stand, stand is getting more bracing but before I pulled it, I ran the one 6105 gyre with rockscape in it and it was amazing. Biggest problem is it drags sand back from the front of the tank, and that's with just 1 6105. I am going to have great flow in this tank :)
 
DIY Chaeto reactor.

DIY Chaeto reactor.

Mark, you're pretty resourceful. You can probably put together your own diy cheato reactor for next to nothing
Mike, sry for muddying up your thread.

I have looked into it, well for a CaCl2 reactor anyway because they seem so redonlulously expensive but by the time you buy a nice chunk of acrylic tube and union fittings and nylon screws and such, it's tuff to build a reactor for much less than you can buy one and with an off the shelf solution there is always previous owner's feedback on the design which you don't have on DIY.

But now you have me thinking... see my thread LOL

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So, I have this giant AquaC media reactor that nobody is going to buy because it's discontinued because the reviews on MD are terrible, I also have a submersible LED strip... I just have to figure out a way to get the power to the light into the reactor.. I think I have a plastic raintight threaded type SO connector somewhere that would work great, they used to come with PoE cameras I sold but never used that part.


This light
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That big reactor next to the TLF reactor

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15X35
 

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