New reef in the works, 225g

[Dave C]

A week and a half ago I got a batch 160lbs of Tonga LR from J&L. It's curing now and this week I should get another batch. Since the tank will be bb I decided not to go with any base rock. Here's a pic of some of the pieces. That carpet tile is 18"x18".

[Dave C]

The stand is made of 1.5" tubular steel. I was hoping to have it powdercoated but it looks like I'll be spraypainting it instead. In order to fit it through my office door I had to have it made in 3 sections, 24Lx30Wx40H. They will be bolted together and the entire stand will sit in an aluminum tray with a 4" apron on it. That should keep any leaks/spills from hitting the carpet.

All of the equipment for this tank must fit under the stand. Here's a preliminary plan of how that should fit.



Here's how the stand looks so far.

[Dave C]

Under the stand, and above the sump there will be a shelf, 48"x30". It will sit on rebar that will fit in holes drilled in the legs of the stand. I plan to put all of the electrical / power center up there. It will be isolated from water & salt and should be relatively safe there. I have built a power center for most of the equipment. This will be wired to a DJ power center so I can easily turn equipment off & on. Another DJ power center will be wired to my Aquatronica powerbars so I can override the controller. That will make more sense when that equipment arrives. Here's the power center that I built. It will sit on the shelf to the left facing the length of the tank...



Yesterday & today I have been priming this unit & painting it with black paint to make it more water resistant. The tank stand will also be painted black as will all of the electrical housings. I will build a skin for the stand and attach it with strong magnets to cover up all of this wonderful gadgetry.

[Dave C]

That's pretty much where I'm at as of today. This week I hope to be finishing the stand, getting the Tunze, Calcium reactor, ozone reactor, sump, aquatronica gear and the rest of the live rock. The rest of the equipment & tank should arrive by the end of the month.

[niloc16]

looks awesome so far buddy, i've definitely taggin along for the ride. those pieces of live rock look nice. i like the dimensions of the tank. i wish mine was 30 wide and 24 deep. mine is 30 deep and 24 wide it makes it a little difficult to reach the bottom of the tank. the power center looks really clean and tidy, i like that. definitely keep us posted

[Johnny Reefer]

Just curious....why are you going with black starboard?

Thanx much,

[zulu_principle]

Saw Aquarium Obsessed's work at MACNA, very impressive.

Your system is coming along nicely, keep us updated.

All the best.


Wendell

[Dave C]

Originally Posted by Johnny Reefer

Just curious....why are you going with black starboard?

Thanx much,

I went with starboard to protect the tank bottom. And I didn't want white because I thought it would be too bright. I figured whatever I put down there would be covered in algae quickly anyways and I've never seen black, but I have seen black sand & liked it. So what the heck, give it a try.