imisky's 30g custom tank
 

hey guys,

ive been in pico reef setups for a bit too long now, and finally starting a 30 gallon SPS dominant tank in the new few weeks.

so a little bit of a background about myself in this hobby, i started with a 3.5 gallon tank which my brother bought..after about a month he pretty much ignored it and everything started to die and etc. so i took the tank and its been mine ever since. ive been in reef for almost 2 years now learning as i go and the last year or so ive been interested in SPS. i converted my 9g custom frag tank into a SPS tank and ever since that day...my wallets been empty haha.. so thats a little bit of a background info on me and the SW side of my hobby, im also the ADA distributor for Canada and im still doing freshwater setups and crystal red shrimps, so this hobby overall is keeping me pretty busy.

alright enough of me talking, onto the journal. close to the end of Nov i decided that i want to make a stand for my tanks, the stand measuring 36"L x 13.25"W x 36"H and was supposed to hold 2 of my sw tanks....well thats when i saw the opportunity to upgrade to a bigger tank. so my plans started from then for this 30g SPS tank.

The stand:

the stand i made is based on the simple design of the ADA cube garden stands, except the height is taller and the wide is a bit wider, other then that i added a little extra patch on both side so i can say i DIYed that stand and have people able to tell the stand apart rom the ADA one. heres some pictures.

before varnish:
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y29...n/IMGP0844.jpg
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y29...n/IMGP0843.jpg
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y29...n/IMGP0842.jpg

after varnished:
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y29...y/IMGP0877.jpg
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y29...y/IMGP0878.jpg

i also picked up some Hydor Koralia powerheads (thx for the great deal Chin Lee)
im planning on using:
1x koralia 1
1x koralia 2
1x koralia 3

and hopefully this will create some nice random strong and weak flow.

The koralia 2 and 3 ( 1 is being used in the 9g sps tank at the moment. )

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y29...y/IMGP0881.jpg

The Refugium

the 2nd to last piece of equipment i had to get was a refugium and i also found it on Canreef 2nd hand (thx Renegade)
it is a CPR HOB refugium Medium (19"L x 4.5"W x 12"H)
its a huge refugium which will go over half the length of my tank but hopefully it'll work well.
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y29...y/IMGP0880.jpg

There is now just a few more things left for me to do for the setup and it'll be complete. I have my 70w MH pendents i DIYed which i am sticking with until i find that they wont be powerful enough. I'll have to make a hanger for the lights so i dont have to hang them from my celling (my parents will kill me...haha), grab the tank which i am getting custom made, and then the skimmer. ive decided after long hours of research to get a deltec mce300 it'll be over skimming but at least keeping the tank clean for the SPS.

tell me what you guys think.

imisky looks good so far! are you running a bare bottom?

i will be running a bare bottom as i think the with that much flow i would have a super big sand storm inside the tank. Im still debating about a DSB in the HOB fuge or just use LRR + macro algae, what do you guys think?

Looks great so far! How long did it take to assemble everthing?

it took about a weeks worth of time to get the stand ready and fully varnished, the actual amount of time taken to make the stand was roughly 2 weeks ( with school and exam preparation too )

Can we see photos of this 9g sps tank? Please?

I commend you on your ability to multitask around exam time!

so im going to type an embarrassing thing that happened to me and my tank..about 2 months ago, my ATO ( at the time using 1 float switch ) got stuck..roughly 5 gallons worth of RODI water emptied into the 9 gallon tank...and so some of the corals dont have very good color yet..but most have colored up again from that freshwater bath... the only one that is taking its time seem to be the tri color but none the less everyone made it without a problem.

heres the picture.
FTS:
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y29...w/IMGP0894.jpg
Left side:
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y29...w/IMGP0891.jpg
Right side:
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y29...w/IMGP0892.jpg

and some of the coral frags:
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y29...w/IMGP0889.jpg
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y29...w/IMGP0890.jpg
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y29...w/IMGP0893.jpg

Cute! How long has it been up and running?

its been running for almost 1 year at first it was a fragging tank but i switched it over to SPS after about 2 months

hey guys so heres an update, i waited about 3 weeks to receive the custom tank but now its now ( i am currently painting the back black *12:06AM* haha )

heres some pictures the tank is 36"x12"x12" with 3/8" glass so im pretty happy, the sticker on the bottom left of the tank is a sticker which i used for all the DIY objects ive made..although this isnt a DIY i like it enough to brand name it haha.

enjoy guys.

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y29...y/IMGP0947.jpg
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y29...y/IMGP0946.jpg
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y29...y/IMGP0948.jpg