Finally Got A Big Reef Tank

[talh]

Love custom build threads. Going to be following along; everything looks awesome so far!

 

[Solo McReefer]

Alder planks all cut for cabinet veneer and trim

Gluing up alder trim pieces

Alder cabinet door panels before face trim installed

Clampoholic

 

[Gumbies R Us]

Following along!

 

[Smartinelli]

Making slow progress took all week to get this far. Leak tested yesterday and we are good to go.

Parts list installed so far:

Red Sea reefmat 1200 fleece roller
Red Sea reefer dc-900 skimmer
2- Brs titanium heaters
2- Coralvue hydros flow meters
Red Sea auto top off
2- Jebao DC-8000 return pumps
Coralvue Hydros Minnow
Coralvue Hydros WiFi plug
BRS deluxe carbon reactor
BRS bio pellet reactor
BRS CO2 reactor

 

[crazyfishmom]

Awesome thread! Looking forward to what you do with it!

 

[Smartinelli]

 

[Smartinelli]

Got these stainless steel drawer roller to make a custom control board that will slide out when doing wiring. Not totally sure if I will like it or not but I’m running out of room under the tank stand. Original plan was to put the controller board in empty space to left of tank but now the JBJ chiller will be going there.

 

[Smartinelli]

Weekend plans!

 

[Smartinelli]

This is some of the rock work I’m putting in the tank along with all the old live rock from my 90 gallon tank. I made lots of custom pieces using the Caribsea rock. Last tank aquascape was just a pile of rocks and this one will have lots of caves and swim throughs. Plan is to have two “islands” with the Caribsea 24” arch connecting them at the top.

 

[lbacha]

Wow, that's a lot of clamps! Looking forward to seeing more (progress, not clamps)! Ha!

You can never have enough clamps lol

 

[Salty2021]

Nice build. Have to fallow along. Like the panel on the side. Access to the sump.

Can you slide the sump out?

 

[Smartinelli]

Nice build. Have to fallow along. Like the panel on the side. Access to the sump.

Can you slide the sump out?

Yes. I built the cabinet door wider to allow me to slide the sump out if needed. I’m always upgrading and changing equipment so I didn’t want to have the sump locked in under the tank.

 

[Smartinelli]

Had my youngest son helping aquascape yesterday.

Tip of the day. Don’t trust superglue to hold rock formations together. They will break free and gouge your new acrylic tank! Ugh.Good thing I already bought scratch remover polish.

 

[rc8t6353]

Loving the build!! Following along!

 

[Smartinelli]

Got the lights installed this afternoon. I Had maxspect jumps on the last tank and they are good lights and was very happy with them, but they aren’t powerful enough to punch down 36” to the bottom of this tank. I chose to go with three Kesil A500x lights for this build. Turned them on tonight and wow. These are way impressive lights. Even at 50% power they are throwing the light out. I should have no problem growing SPS with them.

 

[tritonpower]

Looks great. Trying to decide between glass and acrylic myself currently. Look forward to seeing your tank progress.

 

[Smartinelli]

Looks great. Trying to decide between glass and acrylic myself currently. Look forward to seeing your tank progress.

This is my first acrylic. Other than my own mishaps I am very happy with the acrylic so far. Cheaper cost and lighter weight tank with a super clear view. It would be hard to go back to glass.

 

[Smartinelli]

You can never have enough clamps lol

Totally agree! I say use em if you got em! I used to fabricate custom door and window systems for high end residences and the end product has to look perfect. Glue lines are the first sign of an amateur.

 

[Smartinelli]

Got all the fish and corals moved over to the new tank. That was an adventure to say the least. I do like the 36” depth of the tank but it does make gluing frags on the lowers rocks difficult. My arm isn’t long enough to reach the bottom of the tank. And the height of the tank required me to use a ladder. There I was up on a ladder with my arm all the way up past my shoulder in the water. The water displacement had water rushing down both the overflow pipes.
I broke down and bought some long angled tweezers off of amazon that really helped. I got pretty good with them after dropping the frags into the rock work several times. One thing I learned is the dropped frags will always fall in a spot where it is the most difficult to retrieve.

 

[bakbay]

Looking good - I did a massive transfer last night as well! lol

I have both glass and acrylic tanks — by far, the acrylic one is super clear and doesn’t bend light that much. Be careful on scratching the inside though — will be brutal to remove. I’ve done it on a Lagoon tank but it was dry and shallow. Can’t imagine trying to buff out yours.

Looking fwd to see how you grow out the tank. Great job on the plumbing - that looks awesome!