A decade of setups + NOW begins 36X40X18 Project ~100gal

[seattle989]

Lets see i began at the tender age of 10 and got sucked into the world of aquatic mastery and beauty, since then its been a decade of much interest and never ending fascination. I could never have to many tanks even if i had to hide much of my interest from my parents being the traditional type education should be #1 priority. But the addiction has been much to powerful. I remember i started equating anything i bought with LR. the price of gasoline. 3.50 a gallon??!! 70$ to fill my tank??? i could have bought 20lbs of rock.

I remember fondly hiding a 100 gallon long saltwater reef tank in my room withholding this information from my parents for about 6 weeks. To say my dad wasn't mad was a understatement, he was quite furious after much yelling and ultimatums had to give up that tank almost for free. But the addiction continued went thru a nano phase,eventually running 6 setups at a time. It got pretty bad. to the point i quit for about 4 months. But now im back and enjoying the freedom as i finish college. as my parents understand its something i love but the catch is i can only have one tank running at a time.

Anyways here are just a few setup picture i could find. each image represents a different setup.

trench setup

biocube

nano

100 gall fish mixed

Gobies anemones tank

90 gall almost cube

NOOW ON TO THE PROJECT AT HAND MAHAHAH I LOVE THE FOOT PRINT OF THIS BAD BOY,


STAND 36X40X30

2X4's and solid plywood top and trim

36X40X18 got this from Dan.

Livestock waiting for their master to finish plumbing in 55 and 37 gal rubbermaids

Oh man i cant WAIT

p.s i just figured out to post pics this is so COOL

 

[Rothany]

Since ten thats cool. I wish i had the addiction since then. Good Luck on the new tank

 

[roscoe]

Yeah its been a long addiction for you!!! I'm 31 and I've always had some sort of fish tank since I was 10. I got into saltwater when I turned 21 and more into the reefing side the last 5 years. This hobby is very addictive. I love it though! Have fun with your new project!!

 

[seattle989]

yep goldfish and betas where the cool thing when i was 10 haha. Well the only thing i could afford anyways.

 

[seattle989]

Yeah its been a long addiction for you!!! I'm 31 and I've always had some sort of fish tank since I was 10. I got into saltwater when I turned 21 and more into the reefing side the last 5 years. This hobby is very addictive. I love it though! Have fun with your new project!!

TOO addictive in my IMO, my girlfriend complains i spend way to much time with my tanks than with her. We are having dinner and a fellow reefer calls about an item or a trade. She just rolls her eyes. LOL


This tank is like a massive frag i need to set this up now all i keep thinking is this setup. quite distracting exams are already starting,:exclaim:

 

[Rothany]

TOO addictive in my IMO, my girlfriend complains i spend way to much time with my tanks than with her. We are having dinner and a fellow reefer calls about an item or a trade. She just rolls her eyes. LOL


Lol! my girlfriend is the same

 

[Myteemouse]

SWEET tank!!

 

[ronone10]

You made it 6 weeks without your parents finding out? Impressive...

I started with an under gravel filter at about 15 years back in the 70's....

 

[seattle989]

You made it 6 weeks without your parents finding out? Impressive...

I started with an under gravel filter at about 15 years back in the 70's....

I remember my first under gravel filter its come a long way.

 

[seattle989]

OKAY QUETIONS?

Where do i buy 1inch bulkheads.... cant find them in a hardware shops. Do i need to go to a glass shop or something?

 

[seattle989]

UPDATE been trying to buff out this tank for 3 hours. lordy i wish this was easier process than microfiber cloth and polish

LEts see i finally picked up my 40 gallon sump from mike THANKS fits perfectly!!! all i needs ta do is drill (if only i had the equitment =( do aquarium shops around here do it for a fee?)

Specs!
Les see i will be running either a iwaki 20 or this LG 3 pump as the return pump for the overflow.
skimmer: euroreef Cs model
closed loop gonna run a dolphin amp master with two returns
Lights will consists of T-5 actnincs and 250 MH and PC actnics
getting a calcium reactor hopefully.
+ 3 k4s for extra flow wooooo

Battle plans!

-Ive decided i really like that foam wall look and probably going be on the back wall
thanks blazer and kanin for answering my questions.
- im going to finish plumbing today!!!! got most of the materials union and locks
-Need to drill the 40 gallon, and make it look like a respectable sump.
- stand well i was thinking of painting the stand color of my walls and it would be like an illusion of a in wall tank but NOT. hahahha or like a really cool floating tank in the middle of the living room.
-canopy eh i don't really want to hang something off my ceiling but i don't want a full enclosed canopy either. i still want to be able to do a look down tank. any ideas how to set up the lighting? i might just make a T shape out of 2x4s and let it sit 8inch-10inches above the water

 

[arc eye]

Looking good!

 

[roscoe]

i spend way to much time with my tanks than with her. We are having dinner and a fellow reefer calls about an item or a trade. She just rolls her eyes. LOL


:

I know this to well :lol::lol:

 

[Herefishyfishy]

I started with an under gravel filter at about 15 years back in the 70's....

I also started my first marine tank in the 70s (You might want to check your math though)

My first tank was at 6, a 3 gallon metaframe tank with guppies.

Seattle989 The tank is coming along fine, and I enjoyed seeing your pets waiting for the new home

 

[gas4544]

The tank cleaned up really nicely. Your three hours of buffing paid off.

I remember seeing this tank when it was listed for sale. It would have fit on my 36" X 36" stand with 4" of overhang in the back. I have a 36" X 36" X 30" cube tank in storage in the garage. I will set that up when I know that I will be living in our residence for a long time. That may need to wait until we buy a house.

Do you already have your lighting components?

 

[jamiehill]

Talk to Jonas at Blue Sierra. He drilled my tank for me a while back.

 

[seattle989]

thanks all

I also started my first marine tank in the 70s (You might want to check your math though)

My first tank was at 6, a 3 gallon metaframe tank with guppies.

Seattle989 The tank is coming along fine, and I enjoyed seeing your pets waiting for the new home

im glad . I started off with goldfish he sat in a bowl adjacent to the toilet. BUt one day he(goldy) fell into a untimely doom when one of my friends (when we where very little) decided to throw goldy into the toilet and innocently exclaimed it had jumped and he was simply sending it on his way to heaven as he urinated on him. kids this day and age

The tank cleaned up really nicely. Your three hours of buffing paid off.


Do you already have your lighting components?

my arms and elbows are so sore i still have so much more buffing to attend too, i do have my lighting its consist of 250 MH electronic ballast, 65watts X 5 PC actinics, and 7 blue led lights.

Talk to Jonas at Blue Sierra. He drilled my tank for me a while back.

thanks i never knew blue sierra drilled, but i was in the neighborhood of ARSA so i just got it done there.




I bet everyone is dying to see a update =-D pics will come soon as soon as i do a test run with water mhaahaha

 

[seattle989]

as i wait for things to cure i though i'd do a little update. to be honest i'm a bit iffy on the foam wall idea but we shall see

image of the DIY sump looks pretty snazzy . i exchanged my euroreef for a ASM-3 just barely fit like 5cm away to not fitting

pic of my plumbing for the closed loop, ive decided for the returns to have spray bars vertically up.

stand with a fresh coat of paint

canopy is complete just finishing cleaning it up a bit and the wiring.

 

[seattle989]

So i said i was gonna fill with water and what not but thing have been taking a lot longer than expected. and i pretty much gave up on buffing no more i say.

Great stuff is amazing , the fact that its still in my hair describes its steadfast nature. i attempted to use a type of epoxy resin but decided to risk without it, as the only epoxy i found clearly stated not suitable for underwater. The foam wall creates nice deep deph look and i'm quite happy how it turned out inside the tank. It masked my large 2inch inlet for the CL very well. here is a pic take a gander and tell me watcha think?

powerbrights i picked up earlier today man oh man do they look cool. Oh and if you look closely at the foam rocks u can see a hint of purple creating a kind of faux purple Coraline until the true Coraline grows =-D

 

[roscoe]

Looking good!! Take your time setting it up. Don't rush it.