I started a new project over the weekend. I thought it was a pretty good idea, so I thought I would share. I have a 120 gallon reef tank. Mostly zoas, a few lps and a few sps. The problem is I have very little space for new corals. Probably my favorite part of the hobby is fragging and growing new colonies. I think it is pretty exciting to grow out a new colony from a little frag. Plus selling and trading a few frags helps fund a very expensive hobby. I wanted to covert my garage into a coral farm. There are a couple of problems with that. One I can overcome. The other.... The garage has no power. I can run power. The other problem, the wife said no.
Well, I have finally found a place for a small coral farm. My sump. I run my tank with very little equipment. I have a closed loop, a sump with one small pump, one heater and 2 x 250watt (12k reeflux) halides. I have had pretty good luck running my reefs with this simple setup. So I started looking at the sump for my frags. First thought, way too small, upgrade! I took some measurements to see what size of sump I could fit in the stand. The footprint of the stand is 4'x2'. The problem is it has a center brace. I did some layouts on the computer (I am a CAD designer). About the biggest tank I could physically get under the stand without removing the center brace was a 30 gallon breeder. A little better, but still too small. I had a thought, what if I turned my whole stand into a sump. I have done some research in the past on building plywood tanks. Garf.org has some good info in the DIY tank building pages. It always scared me that the tank would leak. The garf tanks are sealed with epoxy paint and silicone. If your craftsmanship is good, I am sure this would be adequate. I have also read of people using, fiberglass, concrete, .... You name it. The one that really caught my attention was a product called http://sanitred.com/. This stuff can make a wicker basket hold water. Literally, they have photos. The only negatives I could see to this product was the price. To build a plywood/glass tank out of my stand, seemed pretty simple. I already had the plywood part, just add glass and apply the sanitred products. The full sanitred process would required permaflex (primer), TAV/LRB (sealant), LRB (rubber membrane), permaflex (topcoat). The permaflex top coat can discolor under UV, but it will not effect the product performance. You could topcoat with epoxy paint (optional). A little discoloring did not concern me. The coverage of 1 gallon of permaflex was 240 sq feet. I need one coat for a primer and 1 coat for a top coat. I figured at the most I would need 60 square feet of product. So I only needed a quart. The LRB covers 80 sq feet per gallon. I only need one coat of this and if I applied it only to the required areas (16" height), a quart would be enough. So the sampler pack at $95 would be just enough product.
Well, I did it last week: I order a sample kit of sanitred - $114 (with shipping)
1. 1 Quart Permaflex (Penetrating Primer & Top Coat)
2. 1 Quart LRB (Liquid Rubber Base)
3. 1 Pt TAV (Thickening Activator)
4. Catalysts
5. Instruction set (I told them I was doing a plywood/glass aquarium. The actually had and instruction set for that purpose.)
I order 1 piece of glass 48"x16"x.25" - $42 (I probably paid too much, I could have got starfire for another $30, damn)
Brush/Roller - $6
I already have pumps and 1 175 watt 20k halide retro. I want to add an additional halide retro later, when funds become available.
Total: $162
Not too bad for an 80 gallon custom sump. I will probably only fill it to 60 gallons.
I removed the sump and put all the contents into my quarantine tank.
I moved my closed loop from under the tank to behind it. Luckily I set my tank up 8" from the wall. There was just enough room to place my external behind the tank. It was a little tricky to remove the closed loop without draining the tank. I did not have a union to stop water from siphoning out. I used vise grips to clamp the hose shut while moving the pump. That actually went really smooth. I only spilled a couple of drops of water. Running my closed loop only, while construction is going on, should be adequate temporary flow.
I cleaned all surfaces of the stand and double checked the fit of the glass.
Applied Permaflex (primer)
Permaflex was applied to all surfaces that would be getting rubber sealant. This includes the glass edges inside and out. (let it dry for a day).
Applied TAV/LRB (sealant), sealed glass to stand.
Applied TAV/LRB (sealant), sealed all other edges, holes and gaps.
The next step is to apply LRB (rubber membrane). That will have to wait until tomorrow.
More updates to come…. Wish me luck.
Well, I have finally found a place for a small coral farm. My sump. I run my tank with very little equipment. I have a closed loop, a sump with one small pump, one heater and 2 x 250watt (12k reeflux) halides. I have had pretty good luck running my reefs with this simple setup. So I started looking at the sump for my frags. First thought, way too small, upgrade! I took some measurements to see what size of sump I could fit in the stand. The footprint of the stand is 4'x2'. The problem is it has a center brace. I did some layouts on the computer (I am a CAD designer). About the biggest tank I could physically get under the stand without removing the center brace was a 30 gallon breeder. A little better, but still too small. I had a thought, what if I turned my whole stand into a sump. I have done some research in the past on building plywood tanks. Garf.org has some good info in the DIY tank building pages. It always scared me that the tank would leak. The garf tanks are sealed with epoxy paint and silicone. If your craftsmanship is good, I am sure this would be adequate. I have also read of people using, fiberglass, concrete, .... You name it. The one that really caught my attention was a product called http://sanitred.com/. This stuff can make a wicker basket hold water. Literally, they have photos. The only negatives I could see to this product was the price. To build a plywood/glass tank out of my stand, seemed pretty simple. I already had the plywood part, just add glass and apply the sanitred products. The full sanitred process would required permaflex (primer), TAV/LRB (sealant), LRB (rubber membrane), permaflex (topcoat). The permaflex top coat can discolor under UV, but it will not effect the product performance. You could topcoat with epoxy paint (optional). A little discoloring did not concern me. The coverage of 1 gallon of permaflex was 240 sq feet. I need one coat for a primer and 1 coat for a top coat. I figured at the most I would need 60 square feet of product. So I only needed a quart. The LRB covers 80 sq feet per gallon. I only need one coat of this and if I applied it only to the required areas (16" height), a quart would be enough. So the sampler pack at $95 would be just enough product.
Well, I did it last week: I order a sample kit of sanitred - $114 (with shipping)
1. 1 Quart Permaflex (Penetrating Primer & Top Coat)
2. 1 Quart LRB (Liquid Rubber Base)
3. 1 Pt TAV (Thickening Activator)
4. Catalysts
5. Instruction set (I told them I was doing a plywood/glass aquarium. The actually had and instruction set for that purpose.)
I order 1 piece of glass 48"x16"x.25" - $42 (I probably paid too much, I could have got starfire for another $30, damn)
Brush/Roller - $6
I already have pumps and 1 175 watt 20k halide retro. I want to add an additional halide retro later, when funds become available.
Total: $162
Not too bad for an 80 gallon custom sump. I will probably only fill it to 60 gallons.
I removed the sump and put all the contents into my quarantine tank.
I moved my closed loop from under the tank to behind it. Luckily I set my tank up 8" from the wall. There was just enough room to place my external behind the tank. It was a little tricky to remove the closed loop without draining the tank. I did not have a union to stop water from siphoning out. I used vise grips to clamp the hose shut while moving the pump. That actually went really smooth. I only spilled a couple of drops of water. Running my closed loop only, while construction is going on, should be adequate temporary flow.
I cleaned all surfaces of the stand and double checked the fit of the glass.
Applied Permaflex (primer)
Permaflex was applied to all surfaces that would be getting rubber sealant. This includes the glass edges inside and out. (let it dry for a day).
Applied TAV/LRB (sealant), sealed glass to stand.
Applied TAV/LRB (sealant), sealed all other edges, holes and gaps.
The next step is to apply LRB (rubber membrane). That will have to wait until tomorrow.
More updates to come…. Wish me luck.
