Greenman's 50g reef

GreenMan13 · 02/26/2013, 04:08 PM

Well, I have been lurking for about 6 years now and figure it's time to start my own reef tank after moving into a larger house that has the space for it.

Don't know if DIY was the right spot to put it but since it will be a lot of DIY I decided it might fit here best. Feel free to move it if I was wrong.

The rough plan. I will be setting up a 50g (36x18x18 i think) as the display and a 40g breeder (48x12x16 i think) as the sump. The stand I build a while ago was for a 55 long so it will fit the 40 under it. This will leave some space next to the 50 as counter space. I just like the depth of the 50 more than the length of a 55 so that's why I'm going with a 50 on top.

Since I am fitting a 40 under it, I figured the sump should be larger enough these sections: return/skimmer/refuge/drain. The order and spacing I am still working on.

The 50 will have mainly soft coral and CUC with a fish or two. I am mostly interested in the coral and plan to start with soft since they are the least picky and thus easiest. Thinking zoas to begin with then I'll go from there in a year or so. CUC don't know yet. Fish, maybe a clown or chromis. Not a lot fish wise.

I plan to have a sand bed, not sure how deep yet. And I plan to DIY most of the live rock. Probably aiming for about 50-100 lbs of that and then get one or two decent size pieces from a store to seed the DIY rock.

Due to doing most of the rock myself I am expecting this to be a slow process to get started. Not planning on rushing anything. So, first step will be the overflow. Plan is to drill the 50 gallon on the bottom and do a hermie style setup. I would like it so nothing is hanging off any side of the tank so I plan to drill for the return as well.

Couple questions:
How much flow should I have for the return pump from the sump? I was thinking 500 gallons. Only have a pump that is 300gph which seems low for this size so planning on buying a pump.

Hole size, number, location. I was thinking 3 holes. One for return, one for the main drain and one for the safety drain. Would 1 inch pvc for each be good? Location wise thinking of putting them all in one corner so i can keep one side of the tank free of any large plumbing. Would that be a problem with the return being right near the drain though?

Any other thoughts or suggestions are greatly welcome. I will be posting photos once the work starts as well.

GreenMan13 · 02/28/2013, 07:43 PM

Since I didn't get any comments on drilling and plumbing yet and rocks take a while to cure and kure I started off with that step first.

Made them based mostly off this thread:
Ultimate DIY Rocks

I made some about 4 years ago with the mold being sand, salt or rocks just to see the difference. I like the look of the sand ones the best but never tried oyster shells so made a test batch today of different ratios.

cement:sand:OS
1:6:0
1:4:0
1:3:1
1:2:2

In a day or two I'll take them out of the molds and post some photos or a video of the different textures. Pick the best one and go to town on some larger tank rocks.

Here is a photo of the old sand made rock.

GreenMan13 · 03/03/2013, 12:49 PM

So took the 4 rocks out of the sand last night. The 1:6 ratio didn't really get very solid; I can smooth out areas with with my fingers. Didn't really expect much from that but felt like I should try it. The other three ratios worked will. Very similar as most of the surface texture comes from the mold material it seems. These are after I took a stiff bristled brush to them to brush off any loose grains.

Bottom left is 1:4 Cem:Sand, top left is 1:3:1 Cem:Sand:OS and right is 1:2:2 Cem:Sand:OS

Farther show shows the color difference better but here are close ups of each.
1:4 Cem:Sand

1:3:1 Cem:Sand:OS

1:2:2 Cem:Sand:OS

I like the look of the added OS but don't feel like the 1:2:2 did much more than the 1:3:1 so I will go ahead and start on some tank rocks with the 1:3:1 ratio today.

02/26/2013, 04:08 PM	#1
GreenMan13 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Lakewood, CO Posts: 14	Greenman's 50g reef Well, I have been lurking for about 6 years now and figure it's time to start my own reef tank after moving into a larger house that has the space for it. Don't know if DIY was the right spot to put it but since it will be a lot of DIY I decided it might fit here best. Feel free to move it if I was wrong. The rough plan. I will be setting up a 50g (36x18x18 i think) as the display and a 40g breeder (48x12x16 i think) as the sump. The stand I build a while ago was for a 55 long so it will fit the 40 under it. This will leave some space next to the 50 as counter space. I just like the depth of the 50 more than the length of a 55 so that's why I'm going with a 50 on top. Since I am fitting a 40 under it, I figured the sump should be larger enough these sections: return/skimmer/refuge/drain. The order and spacing I am still working on. The 50 will have mainly soft coral and CUC with a fish or two. I am mostly interested in the coral and plan to start with soft since they are the least picky and thus easiest. Thinking zoas to begin with then I'll go from there in a year or so. CUC don't know yet. Fish, maybe a clown or chromis. Not a lot fish wise. I plan to have a sand bed, not sure how deep yet. And I plan to DIY most of the live rock. Probably aiming for about 50-100 lbs of that and then get one or two decent size pieces from a store to seed the DIY rock. Due to doing most of the rock myself I am expecting this to be a slow process to get started. Not planning on rushing anything. So, first step will be the overflow. Plan is to drill the 50 gallon on the bottom and do a hermie style setup. I would like it so nothing is hanging off any side of the tank so I plan to drill for the return as well. Couple questions: How much flow should I have for the return pump from the sump? I was thinking 500 gallons. Only have a pump that is 300gph which seems low for this size so planning on buying a pump. Hole size, number, location. I was thinking 3 holes. One for return, one for the main drain and one for the safety drain. Would 1 inch pvc for each be good? Location wise thinking of putting them all in one corner so i can keep one side of the tank free of any large plumbing. Would that be a problem with the return being right near the drain though? Any other thoughts or suggestions are greatly welcome. I will be posting photos once the work starts as well.

02/28/2013, 07:43 PM	#2
GreenMan13 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Lakewood, CO Posts: 14	Since I didn't get any comments on drilling and plumbing yet and rocks take a while to cure and kure I started off with that step first. Made them based mostly off this thread: Ultimate DIY Rocks I made some about 4 years ago with the mold being sand, salt or rocks just to see the difference. I like the look of the sand ones the best but never tried oyster shells so made a test batch today of different ratios. cement:sand:OS 1:6:0 1:4:0 1:3:1 1:2:2 In a day or two I'll take them out of the molds and post some photos or a video of the different textures. Pick the best one and go to town on some larger tank rocks. Here is a photo of the old sand made rock.

03/03/2013, 12:49 PM	#3
GreenMan13 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Lakewood, CO Posts: 14	So took the 4 rocks out of the sand last night. The 1:6 ratio didn't really get very solid; I can smooth out areas with with my fingers. Didn't really expect much from that but felt like I should try it. The other three ratios worked will. Very similar as most of the surface texture comes from the mold material it seems. These are after I took a stiff bristled brush to them to brush off any loose grains. Bottom left is 1:4 Cem:Sand, top left is 1:3:1 Cem:Sand:OS and right is 1:2:2 Cem:Sand:OS Farther show shows the color difference better but here are close ups of each. 1:4 Cem:Sand 1:3:1 Cem:Sand:OS 1:2:2 Cem:Sand:OS I like the look of the added OS but don't feel like the 1:2:2 did much more than the 1:3:1 so I will go ahead and start on some tank rocks with the 1:3:1 ratio today.