Feedback on 40g reef build

ReefyMcreefFace · 07/21/2016, 09:09 PM

Backstory:

Hi all, so new to saltwater, had various successful freshwater tanks in the past. Due to travel associated with my job, I have not been able to be around enough for saltwater. With a new assignment I'll be travel free for the next 4 years so I thought it would be as good a time as any to get my feet salty wet. Thanks to finding dory and a 2 year old who is obsessed with it, well let's say it was a lot easier to sell to the wife now, I mean I'm doing it for the kid how can she say no....

The build:
So I wanted to be in the 75g-120g range because I know for tons of reading on here that salt is far less forgiving than fresh so bigger would be better. Unfortunately I didn't really have a good space for it and the cost increases were significant. So the next most common thing I saw was a 40g breeder build, so thanks to petco and their $ a gallon sale I grabbed a 40g breeder/ 20g long/ 10g. My plan was to have the 40 DT/ 20L refugium/ 10g Quarantine tank( I know a little small but most of my stocking plan involves fish on the small side and stocking very slowly).

I built the base of the stand to accommodate both the sump and the quarantine, which will have a shelf for stuff installed above it once the stand is complete

I then modeled my stand after the most used plan I found on here with a slight modification. Since I planned on doing the BA overflow I didn't like the idea of having nothing between the plumbing and the wall so I extended the stand back to allow room for the pipes between the rear brace and the tank support. This also allowed space for the two tanks underneath and also allowed my sump to be directly below all my piping to allow any drips to drain into the sump until they are found/fixed. You can see the spacing in these photos

Added a bit of paint

So stand complete-ish, today I received my holesaw/bulkheads and I got to drilling my holes. Regardless of all the info I found saying it wasn't too hard etc. I was terrified of putting a drill up to the glass of my tank. I bought the jig with bearings to help stabilize to bit and it wasn't bad, took me about 20 min and only had one tiny knick on the first hole. So all in all major confidence booster, because I knew if I cracked that baby my wife would never let me live it down.
Picked up the plumbing at the local shop and started plumbing the tank. I went with 1" because well I felt 1.5 would be overkill for a 40g and 1" lets me get it all closer to the wall. I wanted to have the full siphon drain in the middle to ensure even draw from both sides of the tank so I had to work it over with some 45's, but I don't think it will have too much effect on the flow rate, I should still be able to meet my ballpark of 400ish gph, thoughts? I still have to run the emergency drain but it will be a straight shot down so shouldn't take too long. I'm going to get getting some 1/4" glass cut tomorrow I will be doing a DIY internal c2c smooth overflow. Based on the space needed to remove the elbows in the bulkhead I'm going with 4" from the back and 6" deep to allow about 2" below siphon elbow. I'll also be getting the baffles cut for the sump based on the popular 20L refugium plans I found on here.

So just thought since I'm inching close to putting water in these things I would get some feedback to see if there's a glaring problem I'm overlooking before it's too late to fix.
Equipment I have so far
2x 165w Galaxyhydro led lights( I know it's overkill but one wasn't going to have and even spread with 1 and their adjustable so I'll just turn them down. I didn't want shadows on the side, and these were on sale for Amazon prime day)
55lbs of dry rock
40lbs of Fiji pink sand
Sicce silent 2.0 return pump

So I think the only large piece I need to get this thing cycling is a protein skimmer though I think I could start the cycle without it and then add it later before I start stocking. Any suggestions on a protein skimmer?

ReefyMcreefFace · 07/21/2016, 09:29 PM

Not really winning on the picture front but here are the photos for the plumbing

07/21/2016, 09:09 PM	#1
ReefyMcreefFace Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2016 Posts: 4	Feedback on 40g reef build Backstory: Hi all, so new to saltwater, had various successful freshwater tanks in the past. Due to travel associated with my job, I have not been able to be around enough for saltwater. With a new assignment I'll be travel free for the next 4 years so I thought it would be as good a time as any to get my feet salty wet. Thanks to finding dory and a 2 year old who is obsessed with it, well let's say it was a lot easier to sell to the wife now, I mean I'm doing it for the kid how can she say no.... The build: So I wanted to be in the 75g-120g range because I know for tons of reading on here that salt is far less forgiving than fresh so bigger would be better. Unfortunately I didn't really have a good space for it and the cost increases were significant. So the next most common thing I saw was a 40g breeder build, so thanks to petco and their $ a gallon sale I grabbed a 40g breeder/ 20g long/ 10g. My plan was to have the 40 DT/ 20L refugium/ 10g Quarantine tank( I know a little small but most of my stocking plan involves fish on the small side and stocking very slowly). I built the base of the stand to accommodate both the sump and the quarantine, which will have a shelf for stuff installed above it once the stand is complete I then modeled my stand after the most used plan I found on here with a slight modification. Since I planned on doing the BA overflow I didn't like the idea of having nothing between the plumbing and the wall so I extended the stand back to allow room for the pipes between the rear brace and the tank support. This also allowed space for the two tanks underneath and also allowed my sump to be directly below all my piping to allow any drips to drain into the sump until they are found/fixed. You can see the spacing in these photos Added a bit of paint So stand complete-ish, today I received my holesaw/bulkheads and I got to drilling my holes. Regardless of all the info I found saying it wasn't too hard etc. I was terrified of putting a drill up to the glass of my tank. I bought the jig with bearings to help stabilize to bit and it wasn't bad, took me about 20 min and only had one tiny knick on the first hole. So all in all major confidence booster, because I knew if I cracked that baby my wife would never let me live it down. Picked up the plumbing at the local shop and started plumbing the tank. I went with 1" because well I felt 1.5 would be overkill for a 40g and 1" lets me get it all closer to the wall. I wanted to have the full siphon drain in the middle to ensure even draw from both sides of the tank so I had to work it over with some 45's, but I don't think it will have too much effect on the flow rate, I should still be able to meet my ballpark of 400ish gph, thoughts? I still have to run the emergency drain but it will be a straight shot down so shouldn't take too long. I'm going to get getting some 1/4" glass cut tomorrow I will be doing a DIY internal c2c smooth overflow. Based on the space needed to remove the elbows in the bulkhead I'm going with 4" from the back and 6" deep to allow about 2" below siphon elbow. I'll also be getting the baffles cut for the sump based on the popular 20L refugium plans I found on here. So just thought since I'm inching close to putting water in these things I would get some feedback to see if there's a glaring problem I'm overlooking before it's too late to fix. Equipment I have so far 2x 165w Galaxyhydro led lights( I know it's overkill but one wasn't going to have and even spread with 1 and their adjustable so I'll just turn them down. I didn't want shadows on the side, and these were on sale for Amazon prime day) 55lbs of dry rock 40lbs of Fiji pink sand Sicce silent 2.0 return pump So I think the only large piece I need to get this thing cycling is a protein skimmer though I think I could start the cycle without it and then add it later before I start stocking. Any suggestions on a protein skimmer?

07/21/2016, 09:29 PM	#2
ReefyMcreefFace Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2016 Posts: 4	Not really winning on the picture front but here are the photos for the plumbing