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