UPDATE - Tank Pics

[Kronk]

Well now that I have messed up my ankle which eliminates my usual summer hobbies its time to start building the system that I have procrastinated on for the past several years...

The 20g reef is busting at the seems from growth (and algae) no matter how many frags I cut out. I had originally planned for a 65g but I decided to go smaller for various reasons. The tank I picked was a euro 32 decent dimensions 33Lx14Wx19T and paired it with a 20g sump.

1. The 20g is looking a little full and now i am getting some problems with hair algae.
2. Did some designs in sketchup really nice tool
3. Drilled the tank for 3 1" bulkheads. 2 for drains and 1 for closed loop I now wish i went bigger with the main drain...
4. Building the stand with 2x4s, 2x3s and 1/2" plywood. The plywood is a pain in the a$$ very very warped.
5. I am using 1/4 round moulding to frame the tank on all edges including the lid which is not shown.
6. 1" polystyrene under the tank. I plan to put it under the sump as well. I painted the back of the tank black I think it gives the tank a clean look.
7. Moulding the acrylic for the overflow. Used a heat gun and some clamps. Very easy to do it yourself. Cutting it SUCKS though.
8. Cutting acrylic with a dremmel is more like melting it. In retrospect I wish i would have cut it with the inside up.
9. The 20g to be used as the sump. Thanks to Allen at JL the first tank I bought from them developed a crack under the rim before I had even taken the cardboard off. It was very wierd but they warranteed it.
10. Some of the plumbing parts. I still have to pick up a few more pieces but the hardware stores were out of stock.

I have a long way to go on the build and having a 3 month old baby around isn't going to speed things up but I figure some peer pressure from fellow reefers might ;)

Thanks,
Ken

[Leah]

He he! hurry up with this. :biggrin:

[reef bound]

Yay, you definitely needed a bigger tank. Nice job so far. Have fun with it.

[Kronk]

Well I chickened out and painted the stand black... then siliconed the overflow, buckheads and the baffles in the sump.

DISASTER when I went to do the sump baffles though.. the silicone tube kind of burst a little and instead of doing the sensible thing and throwing it in the garbage and buying another one i figured i could make it work... and maybe i did but it looks freaking terrible. Whatever sumps arent supposed to be pretty right???

With any luck i will doing the plumbing in the next couple of days and be adding water by the end of the week.

I added some pics to the link above.

[JDigital]

Sump doesn't look too bad.. Build is coming along nicely.

[Kronk]

Well.... its never really done I guess but teh fish and corals are moved over... I am just waiting for the cement to dry on a limiter for my WAY too powerful sump pump and I need to buy a new closed loop pump cause it isnt powerful enough.. .

Still I am really happy with the results... dont mind the heaters they are going in the sump as soon as the plumbing is done.

http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k266/Kronk_01/Tank%20Build/aquariumbuildSept30003Large.jpg

http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k266/Kronk_01/Tank%20Build/aquariumbuildSept30007Large.jpg

http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k266/Kronk_01/Tank%20Build/aquariumbuildSept30006Large.jpg

http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k266/Kronk_01/Tank%20Build/aquariumbuildSept30004Large.jpg

http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k266/Kronk_01/Tank%20Build/aquariumbuildSept30005Large.jpg

[cwickham]

That looks amazing, huge step up from the old setup

[Kronk]

Some update pics. I need to install the stronger recirc pump in the main tank adn i need to get a couple pep shrimps or a berghia to trim the aiptasia down. Other than that everything is going well. There are ridiculous amounts of pods in the tank even during the day and the snails have started breeding! There are little sponges popping up all over too they are odd looking like little pinecones.

http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k266/Kronk_01/Tank%20Build/01-12-20-09.jpg

http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k266/Kronk_01/Tank%20Build/4-12-20-09.jpg

http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k266/Kronk_01/Tank%20Build/3-12-20-09jpg.jpg

http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k266/Kronk_01/Tank%20Build/2-12-20-09.jpg

http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k266/Kronk_01/Tank%20Build/5-12-20-09.jpg

Thanks,
Ken

[sharuq1]

Purdy! What type of macro is in the sump?

[Kronk]

Just a few update pics its been a long time since i posted any... tank has been neglected due to a busy summer but i have snails and clowns breeding so maybe they like the privacy. Just replaced the loud as hell recirc pump with 2 Q1 4000's I need to find a way to hide the ugly intake pipe for the 2nd. My advice to people building tanks DRILL EXTRA BULKHEADS you can always cap them. If only I could do it all over again.... hmm

http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k266/Kronk_01/Frags/12010-08-21.jpg

http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k266/Kronk_01/Frags/62010-08-21.jpg

http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k266/Kronk_01/Frags/52010-08-21.jpg

http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k266/Kronk_01/Frags/2010-08-21.jpg

[reefermadness]

just put a powerhead in there.

[TheKid]

your aquascaping is phenomenal, i might hire to redo mine :mrgreen:

[Kronk]

Madness. The flow is awesome now that i have the 2 recirc pumps. And my GBTA loves powerheads... It had been chopped up about 3 or 4 times while in the 20g.

Thanks Kid, I change the scape a bit every time I do a water change. Intentional or not.

Cheers,
Ken

[Kronk]

I finally paid some attention to the fish tank... cleaned up the electrical by mounting it on the wall and added a fourth fish, 6 line wrasse about a month ago. As you can see I still have nusance algae but the clowns and snails are breeding like mad. I am starting to feel guilty about not setting up a rotifer culture and tank for the fry, they usually dont last a day. Anyone know where to get rotifer cultures and how to get started?

I have a new MH bulb shipping from JL and will plan on doing a major tank clean one of these weekends.

Cheers,
Ken

http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k266/Kronk_01/Frags/IMG_0685.jpg