Another 75g build thread....just cooler

[stonedage]

I got this tank by trading some frags and was torn but what to do with it and how to get it set up on a budget. Most of my equipment was bought off of classifieds either B/N or used and pieced together for the last few months. I am trying to DIY as much as possible aswell again for the sake of keeping a lower budget. I am at the point now that i should be able to water test in the next week or 2.

I will try and take as many pics as i can and post as the set up goes along....for starters
my 10g



when i got the tank

I am using a horizontal coast to coast overflow and have my returns over the top in the corners, the two holes with loc-line will be attached to a closed loop, modeled after one found at melevsreef.com and both return systems with have scwds on them.
start of the stand build

moving along and testing fit(i cleaned the glass)

pretty much ready to start painting it after i sand off the wood filler and a few rough edges, ill hang the doors at the end. all of my ball valves will be at hte bottom for easy access, but i may end up cutting the sides and adding piano hindges to give me access to the tank back just in case.

thats pretty much it for today, i will be painting the tank back blue and the plumbing inside the tank the same(unless you think that is a silly idea, speak up)

I am open to any opinions, so if you see some thing I am doing wrong or that should be done differently please tell me. If you like what im doing tell me that to(its great for my ego)

[Sugar Magnolia]

I can see why you're upgrading. That 10g is packed full!

[stonedage]

ya its a little bit crampy in there, i just keep fraggin things when they get to big, well except for that clam, havent figured out how to frag him yet

[cdness]

Looking good, I'd go black for the back as it makes the colors pop out more. I guess that's all personal preference though. Nice stand and 10G tank.

[stonedage]

ya i wasnt sure about black or blue, the stand itself is actually going to painted black. i kinda like the way that when you look at a blue backed tank with open rock work it makes it feel deeper or like its more natural, but i see what you are saying about the colours popping out more, ok quick everyone that looks here i need your opinion.....what should i use? will it be to much black with the stand and the back the same? its only typing 4 or 5 letters and your reading this anyway

[fivesmallworlds]

black

good work so far, I would mock up the door mounts before painting though.

[stonedage]

the hinges will be screwed right onto the face of the stand, i got the doors wide so hopefully no light from the fuge gets out the front, they arent resessed or anything special so hanging them will be about a 2 minute job

blue-1
black-2

[fordsvt04]

black +++++ is the way I would go

[camero678]

+1 for black backgroung

[camero678]

+1 for black background

[Deep_blue15]

+1 for the Black background.

[bikeguy1]

I'm getting ready to start my 95g and I'm going black so that is my vote also.

[rad3dad]

I know no one else would probably agree, but I would go black.

Nice cabinet work, looks good!

[SaltyDr]

Black for sure. Mine is black, but it is now 100% covered in coralline that you can't really tell. That 10 looks much bigger, I guess because it's so packed. I think the black stand with black background will look sweet.

[mindytoy]

i vote with black

[stonedage]

ok black wins!!!!!

starting the primer/sealer now, so hopefully it will be painted by the weekend and ill paint the tank at the same time. thanks for all the replys and positive comments on my stand, i must admit for having no woodworking skills it looks kinda good, and its a good thing that HD is only a few blocks away cuz i went back and forth ALOT getting wood and trim and more trim and wood and parts and paint and trim and....haha but i havent started the canopy yet so maybe i should plan a bit better and save some gas on that

[mindytoy]

what paint can be used?

[stonedage]

Im using an outdoor enamel paint.....primed last night I hope to get a coat of black on it today

[stonedage]

got the tank back painted black and the stand is all painted, i used enamel on the inside to make clean up a sinch and to reduce moisture. tonight when i get home i will put on the first coat of urathane, i want to do 2 or 3 to really protect the paint and wood from salt water. my bubble-magus and scwds arrived, hopefully start the plumbing on sat, i am going to spray the plumbing in the tank with krlon black so they match the background for the first little bit until it gets covered in coraline. picked up a cheap icecap 660 w/ vhos but when i tryed to see the colour over my ten i really dont like it at all, some colours pop more but overs really changed. I have mean green and nuclear halo zoos that with the vho become the same colour, not what i want. so im going to get everything to make a 4 bulb t-5 fixture with the ballast instead, when a nother sweet deal comes along later i will add either another 2 or 4 bulbs.....im a little worried about picking my t5 bulbs though so i can not have what happened with the vhos. right now i have a 14k on my nano and really like the colouring from it. hopefully the store where i buy the bulbs will let me test them there or something. any suggestions on combos that work well for others? I will have some updated pics soon, i just want to waitto get the doors hung and then i will show my progress.
thanks

[mindytoy]

if your running 4 bulbs, id suggest 14k-18k t5, 1 actinic, and 2 10-12ks. that will look pretty blueish yet enough light to keep softies zoas, etc.

[stonedage]

but what about others like lps and maybe some lower light sps placed on top of my rock? would that be enough for them to? is that the lighting combo on your tank? any pics to show the colouring in your corals/tank on here somewhere?

[mindytoy]

no, my lighting is the regular nova extreme lighting. which is 2 10k daylikghts, and 2 actinics. my corals have great colors, but im adding 2 more t5s (a seperate fixture) and in that one getting 2-14ks, or 1 12k, and one 20k, for bluer tint...


all my pictures are with my lights i told you, check out the thread..
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showth...readid=1437513

[stonedage]

ok got it done, now just need to do the canopy befor my lights get here this week. went with aqua science bulbs, 2 15k 2 22k I hope i like it also ordered 2 250w heaters. I have the tank half filled and holding my lr right now so i can get my sump/fuge finished up and then plumbing done this week, THEN its time to build my aquascape.

anyways here are a few more pics of my progress just to show i aint being lazy






im pretty impressedwith my newly found woodworking skills that i never new i had. i even had to borrow the saw and build it in my dinig room, haha

[Don-Coraleone]

looks good. i love the clam in the first pic.

[stonedage]

thanks that thing is awesome, it changes so much depending on viewing angle, from purple to blue to green, i hope he likes his new home