70 gal custom reef tank

bmesa · 10/02/2012, 11:20 PM

hey reefers this is my first custom diy tank i've ever done. i went custom because :
A. i was on a budget
B. couldnt find anything that fit my area perfectly
C. i got a really good price on some acrylic

the stand
so i started out by building the stand and went with steel over wood because ive seen wooden stands and they feel to bulky plus i can weld so.... i went to the local steel supply and bought some 2x1 11ga. steel tubing and 2x2 11ga steel tubing for the support beams (the 11ga. is overkill but it sure brings some peace of mind). i built 2 normal rectangles with the 2x1 with two center supports and then just welded the four corner supports. very simple and supper strong!
steel cost = $85 dollars

paint
then went to walmart and pick up 4 cans of rustoleum paint( 3 primer and 1 large black gloss) and was able to do 3 good coats of primer and two thin coats of black gloss (again maybe overkill but salt vs steel is an unfair fight)
paint = $15 bucks

The acrylic
i was able to find a plastic supply near town and found great prices on cast acrylic. i bought a sheet of 1/2" pexglass G for $200 cuts included (normal price at other places around 285-315 a sheet not including cuts) also bought weld-on 4 and 16, a needle tip bottle, and some acrylic hinges.
total = $230

The plumbing
thanks to the bad economy i actually got a plumbing wholesaler to sell to me (without opening a line of credit or buying in bulk...etc) i was able to get 3/4" schedule 80 @ $.25 a foot and 1" @ $.30 (bulkreef charges about $2 a foot plus shipping) and the fittings of coarse also at a fraction of the cost. the most i spent was on the gate valves, ball check valve, and bulk heads.
for spears gate valve = $22 for 1" and $18 for 3/4"
ball chack valve = $26
bulkheads = $8 for 3/4" and $11 for 1" (but i got them special order slip x slip)
plumbing = about $150
for design i went with the herrbie method because i wanted something very quiet and with very little bubbles. as for overflow i built a custom 1200gph overflow out of abs plastic.

sump
for the sump i just bought a 20 long and marineland 100% silcon rubber from petsmart for 35 bucks and had lowes cut me some pieces of glass for baffles (about $10). when measuring out your chambers make sure and know all you components dimentions before you build (sounds stupid but ive seen way too many people build a sump and restrict themselves when buying equipment). i went with a three chamber design from left to right: return/filter sock/ protien skimmer area, bubble trap, pumps, refugium/ auto top off (not exactly sure which im going with).
sump = under $50

components
protien skimmer i got a swc 160 cone for $275
main pump eheim compact 2000 = $90
b.r.s. biopellet gfo and carbon reactors plus 2x mj1200 = about $200

bmesa · 10/03/2012, 01:09 AM

more pics

bdreptiles · 10/03/2012, 02:09 AM

Looks awesome. Are all the canisters ran together on one pump or separate?

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2

bmesa · 10/03/2012, 11:21 AM

I am running two mj1200s one only for the bio pellets and the other is tee'd off for carbon and gfo (but the are single canisters so I can adjust the flow to each.

bmesa · 10/05/2012, 01:34 PM

update: I threw a raw shrimp in there to build up bacteria... still looking for a light fixture

bmesa · 10/06/2012, 05:37 PM

shrimp is looking fuzzy... how long does it have to stay there?

bdreptiles · 10/09/2012, 02:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bmesa

shrimp is looking fuzzy... how long does it have to stay there?

From what I understand to much frozen or raw can make your phosphates crazy. I'd just get some cheaper fish to put in there to get them to cycle it, their waste and food will help more than just shrimp. Just my opinion and what worked for me though.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2

bmesa · 10/21/2012, 11:14 PM

swc skimmer stopped working today does anyone know of a better pump than atman to replace it with?

10/02/2012, 11:20 PM	#1
bmesa Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2011 Posts: 11	70 gal custom reef tank hey reefers this is my first custom diy tank i've ever done. i went custom because : A. i was on a budget B. couldnt find anything that fit my area perfectly C. i got a really good price on some acrylic the stand so i started out by building the stand and went with steel over wood because ive seen wooden stands and they feel to bulky plus i can weld so.... i went to the local steel supply and bought some 2x1 11ga. steel tubing and 2x2 11ga steel tubing for the support beams (the 11ga. is overkill but it sure brings some peace of mind). i built 2 normal rectangles with the 2x1 with two center supports and then just welded the four corner supports. very simple and supper strong! steel cost = $85 dollars paint then went to walmart and pick up 4 cans of rustoleum paint( 3 primer and 1 large black gloss) and was able to do 3 good coats of primer and two thin coats of black gloss (again maybe overkill but salt vs steel is an unfair fight) paint = $15 bucks The acrylic i was able to find a plastic supply near town and found great prices on cast acrylic. i bought a sheet of 1/2" pexglass G for $200 cuts included (normal price at other places around 285-315 a sheet not including cuts) also bought weld-on 4 and 16, a needle tip bottle, and some acrylic hinges. total = $230 The plumbing thanks to the bad economy i actually got a plumbing wholesaler to sell to me (without opening a line of credit or buying in bulk...etc) i was able to get 3/4" schedule 80 @ $.25 a foot and 1" @ $.30 (bulkreef charges about $2 a foot plus shipping) and the fittings of coarse also at a fraction of the cost. the most i spent was on the gate valves, ball check valve, and bulk heads. for spears gate valve = $22 for 1" and $18 for 3/4" ball chack valve = $26 bulkheads = $8 for 3/4" and $11 for 1" (but i got them special order slip x slip) plumbing = about $150 for design i went with the herrbie method because i wanted something very quiet and with very little bubbles. as for overflow i built a custom 1200gph overflow out of abs plastic. sump for the sump i just bought a 20 long and marineland 100% silcon rubber from petsmart for 35 bucks and had lowes cut me some pieces of glass for baffles (about $10). when measuring out your chambers make sure and know all you components dimentions before you build (sounds stupid but ive seen way too many people build a sump and restrict themselves when buying equipment). i went with a three chamber design from left to right: return/filter sock/ protien skimmer area, bubble trap, pumps, refugium/ auto top off (not exactly sure which im going with). sump = under $50 components protien skimmer i got a swc 160 cone for $275 main pump eheim compact 2000 = $90 b.r.s. biopellet gfo and carbon reactors plus 2x mj1200 = about $200 Last edited by bmesa; 10/02/2012 at 11:34 PM.

10/03/2012, 01:09 AM	#2
bmesa Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2011 Posts: 11	more pics

10/03/2012, 02:09 AM	#3
bdreptiles Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2012 Posts: 63	Looks awesome. Are all the canisters ran together on one pump or separate? Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2

10/03/2012, 11:21 AM	#4
bmesa Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2011 Posts: 11	I am running two mj1200s one only for the bio pellets and the other is tee'd off for carbon and gfo (but the are single canisters so I can adjust the flow to each.

10/05/2012, 01:34 PM	#5
bmesa Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2011 Posts: 11	update: I threw a raw shrimp in there to build up bacteria... still looking for a light fixture

10/06/2012, 05:37 PM	#6
bmesa Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2011 Posts: 11	shrimp is looking fuzzy... how long does it have to stay there?

10/21/2012, 11:14 PM	#8
bmesa Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2011 Posts: 11	swc skimmer stopped working today does anyone know of a better pump than atman to replace it with?