Benjamin's 75g Garage Build (FOWLR to Reef)

[mrbee2828]

I finished up the light rack this week. The raw metal was starting to rust really bad in the garage between the tank and all the humidity of a full week of rain here in Virginia. I skipped the powder coat route for this one and just did primer and paint via spray. It will probably rust at some point but I doubt it will be before I move this inside at the end of the year. This is 1000x better, solid, out of the way and the lights have a better spread on the tank. I have the one expected shadow but thankfully you can only really see it on the overflow. The corals at the bottom aren't being excluded.

Cost. I spent under $40 on materials but I spent a decent amount of time on this so was it worth it in the end? I'm not really sure. I did learn a lot and I like the way it looks so I'm happy with the effort.

 

[Qube]

Looks great! Nice job!!

 

[mrbee2828]

It doesn't look like I posted this the other week but I ordered several fish off LiveAquaria to get free shipping on a Blonde Naso Tang for my wife's birthday this Sunday. The goal was to QT it and then have it in the tank by this Sunday morning for her. It didn't make the shipment with several others though sadly. Their customer service is awesome. After trying to order one through my own distributors, talking to other local stores etc it's been extremely difficult to source a large male with streamers.

So, I found a large blonde naso on BlueZoo this afternoon in stock so I pulled the trigger. Let's hope this one makes the trip. This is only my 2nd time ordering something online (outside of our wholesale orders) and while LiveAquaria's customer service is top notch, the overall experience of losing several fish wasn't great. Especially when one was a gift I tried to go local (called several shops) and to get a large one through my own distributors but time is ticking away and my wife's birthday is Sunday so I'm out of options. It just comes down to timing and who's caught what I guess. Crossing my fingers.


So the tang police are going to get on me here. 5 large tangs in a 125g. The plan is to move to roughly a custom 225g tank inside in a few months... Merry Christmas? I have about 9' from wall to door in the dining room space and I think it will look good centered at 84"x24"26". I started sourcing builders and trying to figure out shipping later this year. I really don't want to have to drive a full day+ to pick something up. I'm also looking into a closed loop system with a 4 outlet Oceans Motions unit with the dart I have now. I may add a few of the MP10s I have along the back for additional flow but overall I don't want ANY equipment showing. I'm also not 110% with the hum the MP10s give off as they pulse. But who knows... I may just end up with another 125g :/

 

[mrbee2828]

BTW: All 3 tangs are good now. I really do feel that clipping the barbs helped to eliminate the possibility of early onset injury/death and gave them more time to work things out. The smallest one had some fin nips but they have all figured out their spots and are swimming together form time to time. Nd I'm happy to report that the barbs a almost grown back already.

 

[mrbee2828]

Sad news, after a year and a half and surviving 3 tank swaps we've lost "The Godfather" our blue hippo. I found it floating this morning very, very swollen. All of the fins were intact and no markings on the sides. I'm at a loss. This on the same morning my blonde naso has arrived after a 2 month search. Blue Zoo does an amazing packaging job complete with stress guard, acclimation line, suction cup and a full care and acclimation guide. The naso is on the upper size of their large scale so I'm very excited. It's very blotchy in color but I assume it's due to the stress of travel than anything else. I'll keep everyone posted.

 

[mrbee2828]

Upgrade in the works....

 

[Sniperhank]

Nice skimmer! What is it rated at?

 

[mrbee2828]

It really depends on where you go. Coralvue says 500g and most other sites say 400g. I have 200+ total volume with the frag tank and sump. I'm planning on stuffing the display and then hopefully upgrade to a larger tank inside the house once the addition gets underway.

 

[Sniperhank]

Either way, that is huge. Hope it works well for you.

 

[mrbee2828]

Major super insane weekend. Tons of work but I finally have the new sump and Dart up and running. As with all things reef related, this is an ongoing experiment. I went from 2 1262s rated at 900gph to a single Dart Hybrid rated at 3600gph. This was an upgrade with a larger tank in mind next year so it's temporarily rigged into the old 3/4" fittings until next year. While it's overkill, it will help with the overhead chiller and the 2nd frag tank. The only downside to the sump so far (and I'm sure more will come) is that the baffle/fuge section isn't wide enough to accommodate the flow. So the emergency drain area is already getting a decent trickle of water. The fuge will be more of a display for macros than anything else due to it's small size. I'm really happy with the filter section and after discussing some ideas with a friend I think I figured out a way to make the next one better.

The beginnings of Frankensump. A bit of inspiration from Mel's Reef sump documentaries.

First 3" hole ever. I need to get new 1" and 3/4" hole cutters. This new one cut through in about 4mins.

3rd drain hole on the sump for the frag to sump bridge.

3rd hole on the frag tank to accommodate more flow and opening the bean animal up more to the frag tank. This was the first tank I have drilled with water in it and I was freaking the entire time. No biggie after a slow 15mins or so. On to the sump.

I made a quick and dirty platform for the Dart and just sprayed it white Saturday morning.

I've broken the rules and mounted the bulkhead backward to save space. This caused a leak right when it got wet. I had to pull it all apart and try reseating it after cleaning the glass and gasket thoroughly. We're leak free now. If this hadn't worked I would have had to throw away the $25 ball union and go with a straight 2" union and flipped the bulkhead around. It's a tight fit with the heater.

Here we are finished with the 1.5" getting split to dual 3/4" returns. Pathetic but temporary

Up and running, the flow is crazy. I threw all my small rock in with the mangroves until I have time this week to get this sorted out. The filter socks are getting hammered after not running them for months. The skimmer seems to be breaking in nicely. I need to build a platform and a muffler to catch micro bubbles.

 

[Ericwm]

Wow! Nice work, that looks clean.

 

[jwh0818]

What made you go with mangroves?

 

[mrbee2828]

To see if they would help with nitrate reduction, they looked great in the old sump and I was thinking about some bonsai work. The fuge is too small to be effective in the cycle but it's fun to show off.

 

[jwh0818]

Mangrove its great if not the best for nitrate reduction. Bosani may work but no where near as good as mangrove. You can also do some lucky bamboo. Both equally as good for semi aquatic

 

[mrbee2828]

I just meant bonsai as in trimming the mangroves, not as in a type of tree. I had planned to trim these as the grew out.

 

[jwh0818]

I just meant bonsai as in trimming the mangroves, not as in a type of tree. I had planned to trim these as the grew out.

Ahh okay. I got confused and misread there a bit I guess. It all looks great so far! I remember you helped me build my sump on here when I fiest joined. Where have you been? I havent seen you in awhile

 

[mrbee2828]

Insanity from Headie's. These are the sugar rush and subzero pieces.

 

[mrbee2828]

I finally made some new tops.

 

[mrbee2828]

I also finished the refugium.

 

[jwh0818]

That looks really good!