Poor Man's 100 gallon reef build 36x37.5x18 (WITH PICTURES)

[PurdueMAN_08]

Here is my effort to build one of those beautiful reef tanks that I thought I never could afford (convince my wife to spend all the money on). I hope to make this smaller tank just as beautiful as Steve Weast's tank or atleast very close but on a budget that most of the people on this forum could afford. Without any further ado, lets begin.

Well, I've had a 75 gallon reef that I've had for about 8 years and it's time to move on. I didn't want something too much bigger but definately needed to provide more room for aquascaping as I fell in love with Steve Weast's huge cube tank. I decided to put together a system around a glasscages 100 gallon 36x37.5x18 tank. With the focus on inexpensive but not cheap ( well, maybe a little cheap ) I will hopefully give inspiration to those of you who are on a tight budget like me but want a bigger beautiful tank.

I will be updating this project with pictures as I go. Should be done within a month from today or less and I would greatly appreciate any constructive criticism anybody feels to add!!!

Here is what this project will include.

Tank: Glasscages 36"x37.5"x18" will be deliverd May 22nd

Stand: Building my own out of 2x4's and 1/2" plywood

Lighitng: aquatraders 24" 250watt MH with (2) 65watt PC actinics

Protein skimmer: aquatraders PS160 (yeah... I know but found a great thread on them here!)

Other filtration: 130lbs Live rock from current system

Fish: 1 yellow tang, file fish (monster on aptasia!!!), lawnmower blenny, perc clown all from current system.

Coral: I currently have soft coral but had a SPS frag live under 260 watts of PC do really well so I'm going to start phasing out the soft coral and go SPS! (Will need some help there!)

Substrate: Going with some fine aragonite for sandsifting starfish and cucumbers

Sump: 20 gallon long (might go bigger but already have this one) with unknown return pump.

Auto water change: I will be constructing a semi-auto water change system so stay tuned for that. It really just makes water changes way easier as I'm sure others have used but will be really inexpensive!

Here are the pics so far...

[jchase1970]

wow, Very heavy duty stand, nice job.

[PurdueMAN_08]

yeah, wanted to make sure this thing will last. I looked online for ever before finding a construction method I liked. It was for a much, much larger tank however. Atleast I won't have to worry about the stand falling apart while I'm at work!

[Pallobi]

following along, i love your dimensions, pretty much what my ideal would be

[jchase1970]

Have you ever looked at how flimsy the 125g stands are when you go to a place like petsmart. I didn't realized how much I over built until I bought a use 125 and stand. Like you said 1 less thing to worry about.

[PurdueMAN_08]

I am not sure about the 125g stand but the current 75 gallon stand was purchased from a local pet store 8 years ago and it's basically 1/2 plywood with very little support. I'm not saying it hasn't held up well, but I won't build like that. Besides, I had the 2x4's laying around and the plywood was pretty cheap.

I think I will put up the cost of this project as it goes on. If the whole reason of this thread is to show what can be done with a tight budget so I might as well get thorough with it.

So far my costs are:

Tank: $286
Stand: $162 ($90 on the trim pieces, whoa!)
Protein Skimmer: $91 (includes mods)
Lighting: $169
Sump: From current system
Powerheads: From current system
Liverock: From current system
Livestock: From current system
TOTAL $708

I will add as I get more stuff. So far I've kept the cost pretty low considering. I want low cost but high quality. I know the skimmer is an exception but I hear pretty good things once modified. Even if I must add another I will still be saving $$ hundreds $$

[Johnny C]

Nice tank... I hope you are aware that Filefish eat corals as well as aiptasia...

[PurdueMAN_08]

Originally Posted by Johnny C

Nice tank... I hope you are aware that Filefish eat corals as well as aiptasia...

Actually I'm not aware of this. I've yet to see it eat any coral but then again I have been so happy with no aptasia in my tank that I might not have noticed. I will keep an eye on him and get back to you on that... Thanks!

[Rskillz]

Good job so far, but I also tried to take the "economy" approach; I bought my dentist's old setup (which is super nice) for 700$.

He did not have plumbing, RO/DI, rock, salt, sand, etc etc etc.

I'm in day 9 of cycling, with NO LIVESTOCK and the tab is already up to 1300-1400$.

Bottom line is this is a REALLY expensive hobby. (I'm addicted though)

[PurdueMAN_08]

Yeah, it is expensive but with planning and a little patience it can be done for much cheaper than people think. Starting from scratch can be expensive because livestock is pricey but I got most of my rock and coral from deals at pet stores and searching craigslist. I paid probably 1/3 of what you may pay at a pet store or online by using my method.

Also, been looking at autotopoff.com. I was going to build my own cheap top off and show everyone how cheap it can be done but for less than $50 with double redundancy hard not to go for it.... I'll think about it for a little while since I still have plenty of time.

[RotaryGeek]

I have the same light your planning on using. It works great, but if you want a whiter color, don't go for the 15k's, they are really really blue. The 12k is nice and white with a hint of blue.

[r-balljunkie]

Hey Purdue, great minds think alike!!! we are on parallel paths, as i have the same dimensions, and i am CHEAP and proud of it!!!!

here is a sneak look, definately tagging along.

i have my house on the market, so i am slow playing the build...gonna have to wait to set it up, could be next month, could be 6 months, sneaking little items here and there so my wife doesnt notice. my goal is to keep it under a certain dollar, amount on the build, be net +-$500 when the dust settles, and i sell my other tank.

Good luck with your build, cant wait to see what you are going to do with it!
oh, ditch the fine sand, too much of a hassle.....your gunna need a bigger sump, so start looking now, 20 aint gunna cut it.




c

[PurdueMAN_08]

Originally Posted by r-balljunkie

Hey Purdue, great minds think alike!!! we are on parallel paths, as i have the same dimensions, and i am CHEAP and proud of it!!!!

here is a sneak look, definately tagging along.

i have my house on the market, so i am slow playing the build...gonna have to wait to set it up, could be next month, could be 6 months, sneaking little items here and there so my wife doesnt notice. my goal is to keep it under a certain dollar, amount on the build, be net +-$500 when the dust settles, and i sell my other tank.

Good luck with your build, cant wait to see what you are going to do with it!
oh, ditch the fine sand, too much of a hassle.....your gunna need a bigger sump, so start looking now, 20 aint gunna cut it.

c

Well, I'm not sure why the fine sand will be too much of a hassle with sand sifting star fish and a sand sifting gobie. I've never had problems in the past that I remember. I hear what you say about the 20L sump but I have it laying around already and it will be perfect for 10 (10% when accounting for the live rock) gallon weekly water changes with the partitioning it will have in it.

Here is a very simple drawing of what I'm talking about. An auto top off system will also be imployed for use. Still deciding...

[footballdude2k3]

Its a good start, however a 20 gallon sump really will prolly not cut it for a 100 DT, I cannot see the pics since I am at work, I am not sure how big the stand is, but if it can fit the 75 that would be a sump and since you already have the tank you would just have to get silicone and acryllic.

[Floowid]

A 40 breeder would make a great sump under that tank, but if all you have is a 20, you can make that work too. Another interesting idea would be to get a second 20 and make one a dedicated refugium, and have it empty into the other 20 which can take care of mechanical (skimmer, top-off etc). Just thoughts. You can also make a perfectly functioning sump out of just the 20, if it comes to that.

[Bigjoe2531]

Following along

[PurdueMAN_08]

Well, just got the stand about 70% completed. I need to get the foam to put between the aquarium and stand. Everyone says to use 2" foam but what about 1.5" foam??? My trim will not cover the glass bottom of the tank if I use the 2" foam so any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. After the foam and trim it needs stained and will then get moving on the rest of the system.

[PurdueMAN_08]

Originally Posted by footballdude2k3

Its a good start, however a 20 gallon sump really will prolly not cut it for a 100 DT, I cannot see the pics since I am at work, I am not sure how big the stand is, but if it can fit the 75 that would be a sump and since you already have the tank you would just have to get silicone and acryllic.

The tank is only 36" x 37.5" or else I would be doing exactly that since the 75 is 48". I thought about going 48"x36" but didn't think it was worth it just to use the 75 as a sump. We will see about the sump and I can always replace it with something bigger later. Thanks though!


Also, I am thinking of doing Randy's improved 2 part dosing system since it focuses on the big three dosing elements. Can any of you weigh in on personal experience?

[PurdueMAN_08]

Just stained the stand. Now I need to wait for the tank to get here to finish the top trim. Until then I will be setting up the sump and plumbing and I will try to get some pictures here today if not tomorrow. This is the only piece of furniture I've ever built so it's not bad but definately not show room quality. I'm sure most people won't see the flaws that I know are there anyways. So nobody is using Randy Holmes-Farley's improved two part dosing system?

[r-balljunkie]

you may want to consider the addition of leveling feet to your stand.

for the sump, still think you will have issues, esp when power go's out, and you start to back siphon. 20G is not enough volume. you might want to consider a 29G tank, which will fit underneath your stand....if you have the 30" left to right.

Comment towards sand - the tank is shallow. when you put PH in, you will only have 16-18" tops of actual water column to push around. you may have issues keeping sand in place.

GL!!!
C

[footballdude2k3]

i disagree about the sand part, there are plenty of tanks that have less than 16-18 inches

[sslak]

Originally Posted by footballdude2k3

i disagree about the sand part, there are plenty of tanks that have less than 16-18 inches

I agree with this guy, it's only 36x37 it's not like he's pushing water down an 8foot long tank.

Go look at all the awesome 30 and 40 breeders, they are only 13 to 17 inches tall with a 36 inch length and those guys do great.

[PurdueMAN_08]

Well, here is the skimmer I'm going to try. I like modding so we will see what I can do with this little guy. I've ran a 75 gallon reef tank with no skimmer and had no problem but with SPS I know the water will have to be better. Let the criticism begin... haha


I guess we'll play the sand issue by ear. I didn't think it would be a problem either but I've been wrong before, just ask my wife.

I have been rethinking the sump as well but I will go ahead with it as is and that way if I do need to replace it I will probably want to change it around so I'll see what I like and what I don't about my design.

Here is a simple diagram showing my intended flow pattern in the tank. I'm basically pointing tw PH at each other to give a random/turbulant flow for the SPS through the "rock valley". Not exact but intended to give you the idea.


And I just called glasscages and hopefully they can modify the tank in time to put an internal overflow so I can use BEAN ANIMALS silent overflow. I could easily saved money on the external overflow I already have but the lack of salt creep was enough to convince me. Kind of steered away from my whole " poor man's reef " but an option as others don't have to do it.

[Fizz71]

If you want a cheap/safe top-off and you have room in your stand (which you should with your dimensions) you can use something like this:
http://www.marinedepot.com/Eshopps_F...FIDPGT-vi.html
..that's what I have, but you can get cheaper ones. Simply hook them up to a water source sitting above your sump and it will drip top-off water all day as you need it.

Gravity fed means no pumps, no switches, very Murphy proof. I've had mine going about a year and the only thing that happened was it got clogged with algea and wasn't dripping fast enough...failed safely...cleaned it and it was fine again.

I will agree with the others...get a bigger sump. You'll need the volume for a power failure and room to hide equipment and maybe even some macro later.

[r-balljunkie]

Originally Posted by sslak

I agree with this guy, it's only 36x37 it's not like he's pushing water down an 8foot long tank.

Go look at all the awesome 30 and 40 breeders, they are only 13 to 17 inches tall with a 36 inch length and those guys do great.

well,

i run vortechs, so sugar sand would be a no no in my book.

to each his own!!!!