New to the hobby and DIY is it up and going w/PICs

O3reefer · 04/03/2011, 10:24 PM

It has been a long road but I finally got it all done. I saved for a long time and a friend of mine gave me the idea to build it all myself (should have known better). Unfortunately I forgot to take pics of the hole process but i do have some originals posted in another thread. I will also tell you what equipment supplies I have for the system so if I forgot anything or you have some advice, the help would be greatly appreciated. I bought the tank and it had major problems. I took the glass apart, cleaned it, then put it back together with RTV108. Then came the stand. I looked up (on RC) 2x4 frame plans then went from there. I skinned the frame with oak and stained it with Minwax polyshades (Which I will never use again and do not recommend it.) The canopy was made out of a pine frame and also skinned with oak.

Here is the tank. Its a 70g cube (24x24x28)
Attachment 144420 Attachment 144421

The sump is a 20g that I bought at garage sale and cleaned many times then put the baffles in.
Attachment 144423

The drain system is the beananimal setup. It took some tweaking after it was setup. The 1.5" ball valve was trapping air and it would not get quiet on the main siphon drain. I then chopped the lower third off and adapted it down to 1" pipe with a 1" union ball valve. The valve then stays more open so it doesn't trap air. Problem solved and it is absolutely quiet. There is a long piece of oak that runs the length from bottom to top and swings open to allow access to the back.
Attachment 144424

Now for the equipment list:
Sicce 3.0 for the return (great and dead silent)
koralia 1400 powerhead
2 300W heaters (1 for the emergency set at 74)
SWC 160 Skimmer (great and also dead silent)
odyssea 250W MH system w 2 65W actinic and 4 moon LED plus 2 fans
Reef Keeper Lite Controller (LOVE IT!!)
2-3" sand bed
50lbs live rock 30lbs of BRS dry rock
RO/DI system w TDS meter
ATO system 6g tank.

The tank has been setup for several days, but the live rocks have been in cycle for 2 weeks. Everything sits perfectly in the stand and nothing is seen. I just have to tidy up the cords and put the fuge eggcrate lid in with the light that will sit on top. One question I have is that I have 2 koralia 1400 PHs but only one is in the tank, should I put the other in?

potterjon · 04/03/2011, 10:40 PM

Wow! Super ambitious! Congratulations on taking the bull by the horns! The only thing that I would consider is the depth of your sand bed. In my opinion, you should keep it at less than 1 1/2" or greater than 4". You have the depth of sand that tends to just be problematic and not so beneficial. But that is just my opinion. It sounds like you have done your research and know what direction you are going. The other concern would be the amount of top off available. 6 gallons may not get you far, but you will know your tank better than others over time. Again,well done.
By the way the links were dead for me.

O3reefer · 04/03/2011, 10:43 PM

I know I dont know what happened. The pics showed up in my previews. I dont know if I should try to repost or not. I just contacted the administrator about it.

O3reefer · 04/04/2011, 08:47 AM

1st two pictures
IMG_4736.jpg
IMG_4728.jpg

O3reefer · 04/04/2011, 08:51 AM

last pics
IMG_4735.jpg
IMG_4731.jpg

potterjon · 04/04/2011, 08:54 AM

Nice looking tank! I like the cubes.

jhs · 04/05/2011, 07:28 AM

I like the cabinet stain color.......very rich....

O3reefer · 04/05/2011, 03:27 PM

Thanks. I loved the color too but would not do it again due to the headache that is Minwax Polyshades. Any thoughts on if I should use a second powerhead?

04/03/2011, 10:24 PM	#1
O3reefer Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Pocatelo, ID Posts: 90	New to the hobby and DIY is it up and going w/PICs It has been a long road but I finally got it all done. I saved for a long time and a friend of mine gave me the idea to build it all myself (should have known better). Unfortunately I forgot to take pics of the hole process but i do have some originals posted in another thread. I will also tell you what equipment supplies I have for the system so if I forgot anything or you have some advice, the help would be greatly appreciated. I bought the tank and it had major problems. I took the glass apart, cleaned it, then put it back together with RTV108. Then came the stand. I looked up (on RC) 2x4 frame plans then went from there. I skinned the frame with oak and stained it with Minwax polyshades (Which I will never use again and do not recommend it.) The canopy was made out of a pine frame and also skinned with oak. Here is the tank. Its a 70g cube (24x24x28) Attachment 144420 Attachment 144421 The sump is a 20g that I bought at garage sale and cleaned many times then put the baffles in. Attachment 144423 The drain system is the beananimal setup. It took some tweaking after it was setup. The 1.5" ball valve was trapping air and it would not get quiet on the main siphon drain. I then chopped the lower third off and adapted it down to 1" pipe with a 1" union ball valve. The valve then stays more open so it doesn't trap air. Problem solved and it is absolutely quiet. There is a long piece of oak that runs the length from bottom to top and swings open to allow access to the back. Attachment 144424 Now for the equipment list: Sicce 3.0 for the return (great and dead silent) koralia 1400 powerhead 2 300W heaters (1 for the emergency set at 74) SWC 160 Skimmer (great and also dead silent) odyssea 250W MH system w 2 65W actinic and 4 moon LED plus 2 fans Reef Keeper Lite Controller (LOVE IT!!) 2-3" sand bed 50lbs live rock 30lbs of BRS dry rock RO/DI system w TDS meter ATO system 6g tank. The tank has been setup for several days, but the live rocks have been in cycle for 2 weeks. Everything sits perfectly in the stand and nothing is seen. I just have to tidy up the cords and put the fuge eggcrate lid in with the light that will sit on top. One question I have is that I have 2 koralia 1400 PHs but only one is in the tank, should I put the other in?

04/05/2011, 07:28 AM	#7
jhs Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2000 Location: Ks. Posts: 117	I like the cabinet stain color.......very rich.... __________________ Signatures???? We don't need no stinkin signatures.... Current Tank Info: 29gal reef 65gal reef

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04/03/2011, 10:40 PM	#2
potterjon Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Asheville,NC Posts: 933	Wow! Super ambitious! Congratulations on taking the bull by the horns! The only thing that I would consider is the depth of your sand bed. In my opinion, you should keep it at less than 1 1/2" or greater than 4". You have the depth of sand that tends to just be problematic and not so beneficial. But that is just my opinion. It sounds like you have done your research and know what direction you are going. The other concern would be the amount of top off available. 6 gallons may not get you far, but you will know your tank better than others over time. Again,well done. By the way the links were dead for me.

04/03/2011, 10:43 PM	#3
O3reefer Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Pocatelo, ID Posts: 90	I know I dont know what happened. The pics showed up in my previews. I dont know if I should try to repost or not. I just contacted the administrator about it.

04/04/2011, 08:47 AM	#4
O3reefer Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Pocatelo, ID Posts: 90	1st two pictures IMG_4736.jpg IMG_4728.jpg

04/04/2011, 08:51 AM	#5
O3reefer Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Pocatelo, ID Posts: 90	last pics IMG_4735.jpg IMG_4731.jpg

04/04/2011, 08:54 AM	#6
potterjon Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Asheville,NC Posts: 933	Nice looking tank! I like the cubes.

04/05/2011, 03:27 PM	#8
O3reefer Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Pocatelo, ID Posts: 90	Thanks. I loved the color too but would not do it again due to the headache that is Minwax Polyshades. Any thoughts on if I should use a second powerhead?