D's 40 breeder desk project

[D-Man]

Hi all,

I have been working on a new tank for the last few months and decided to post my progress on reef frontiers since it seems to have a lot of locals active on it. I have been keeping marine organisms for about six years now and this new tank will be my third system.

The new system I am building is a 40 gallon breeder display with a twenty gallon sump which has a 10 gallon water change system plumbed to it.

I built the stand for the tank so I could use half of the counter space as a desk and laptop station. I decided to make the stand bar height because it leaves ample room inside for any equipment I might upgrade to in the future. The stand is built from 2x4's and 2x6's and is skinned in MDF and maple 1/4 inch plywood. The stand is way overbuilt and probably weighs upwards of 300 pounds so it will have no problem holding all the weight.

I also built a canopy for the display tank out of maple 1/4 inch plywood as well.

My livestock from my last tank is being held in a ten gallon tank until a get this new system up and running.

But anyways pictures are better than descriptions so ill try and get some pics loaded up as soon as possible.

 

[D-Man]

Here is what I have been able to get done so far

I still need to wrap the bottom of the tank in plywood so none of the black tank frame will show

I ordered 50 pounds of dry rock for the tank a while back and have just started experimenting with rockscapes

 

[D-Man]

Here is the belly of the beast....

Sump is a twenty long that I siliconed bubble traps and a refugium section into

Five stage RO-DI unit

tell me what you think I will post more on what my plans are when I get a chance

 

[rainydave]

I like it. The height of the stand is great for viewing. Looks like you have the layout of the inside of the cabinet well thought out.

Can't to see more pictures as it progresses.

 

[D-Man]

thanks, ya I built the stand bar height so most people are eye level with the tank. I am 6'2 so I still have to squat a little to get a good view but its not bad. And ya I'm trying to get the cleanest and most organized look that I can get for under the stand because I hate clutter and I've learned that any clutter under the stand becomes a big problem when trying to maintain the equipment.

 

[Skimmy]

WELCOME to RF!!
looks great so far...
wot do you plan on doing for flow/skimmer/lights??

 

[Krish]

Good job so far man!!!

 

[D-Man]

I plan on lighting the display with a 150watt 14,000k DE halide and supplement with 4 39watt t5's that are a mixture of actinic and daylight bulbs. I have to wait to install the lights till last minute because they are currently installed in an old light hood i built and are lighting my holding tank with all my corals. Ill probably move the t5's over to the new system first to light the tank during the cycle period and then move the halide over when I move the corals into the new system.

For flow I have two koralia ones and a new koralia evo 2, those and the flow from my return should be enough flow if not I can custom make some prop drive powerheads from some older pumps to supplement.

The skimmer I plan on using is a CSS 65 I have had it for years and have done some mods to it and it still pulls out nasty gunk so Ill plan on still using it in the new system even though I would prefer a bigger newer one. I will also have a refugium to help with nutrient export so the combination of the two should work fine. I also am trying to design a easy water change system so I can perform water changes weekly without having to do to much work, I want to be able to just turn on a switch pumping 10 gallons of dirty water into a holding tank and then switch another switch and new water be pumped in. I will also have a mixing tank that I will only need to add salt to and it will be automatically heated and mixed.

 

[D-Man]

I just ordered plumbing parts and tank drilling supplies a few days ago so hopefully next week I'll be able to get the plumbing started and maybe finished. I plan on having a 3/4inch return and two 3/4inch drains inside an overflow box going through the back right of the tank.

 

[D-Man]

Here is my old tank that literally cracked in half a couple of months ago. RIP

 

[Skimmy]

excellent...
although, i would ditch the CSS at your soonest convenience,
bad skimmer, even mesh modded.
heres the best bang for your buck right here: $195
SWC150 BMK

 

[Krish]

Here is my old tank that literally cracked in half a couple of months ago. RIP

Bummer! That really sucks! One thing I noticed on the old setup is you had a fan blowing directly on the bulbs. I was told a while back that that is not a good idea as it changes the spectrum of the bulbs for one and also, may cut down on the life of the bulb. I'm not 100% sure on this and will probably start a thread on it just to get the right info, but in any event, you want fans to blow on the water's surface to get best cooling so something to consider on your new setup. Good luck with getting it all completed. As I mentioned already, you are off to a great start.

Edit: Started the thread incase you want to follow along. http://www.reeffrontiers.com/forums/f14/fans-blowing-bulbs-59712/

 

[D-Man]

SKimmy, i'll look into that skimmer it looks nice and I have heard good things about them

krish, i have never heard that the fan directly blowing on the lights is bad so i'll make sure to figure out a different cooling method for the new canopy, but my plan has been to ditch the large fan and install the large fan underneath the stand for extra cooling if needed and then install two computer fans in the new canopy, one pulling air in and one blowing air out. But thanks for the info i'll have to follow that thread.

 

[Krish]

SKimmy, i'll look into that skimmer it looks nice and I have heard good things about them

krish, i have never heard that the fan directly blowing on the lights is bad so i'll make sure to figure out a different cooling method for the new canopy, but my plan has been to ditch the large fan and install the large fan underneath the stand for extra cooling if needed and then install two computer fans in the new canopy, one pulling air in and one blowing air out. But thanks for the info i'll have to follow that thread.

Sounds good man! On an old setup of mine I did 5 fans in the canopy (2 blowing in cool air across the surface and 3 sucking hot air out of the canopy) as well as a clip on fan over the sump. Worked pretty good although evaporation increased quite a bit.

 

[2Sunny]

I'm subscribed!

 

[Maxx]

Set up looks clean, especially underneath the stand. However, I dont see anything for ventilation under the stand? Do you have something in mind to cut down on corrosion from all the close range salt vapor on the DJ 100 power centers?

I have my tanks downstairs in the unfinished side of the basement. I have tools on the other side of the basement, and I see surface corrosion a good distance from the tanks, so its something to think about.....that or buy a couple of extra powercenters and make sure they're plugged into a GFCI outlet to keep you from getting shocked if they go bad.

Also along the corrosion line of thought.....best to run ventilation to the lights, blowing out, vs in. Out is positive pressure, cutting down on the salt vapor/air getting into the internals of the lighting. In is negative pressure basically direct injection of salty air into your lights. It will cut down on the lifespan of your fixture.

For mine I just leave the canopy top open. This allows heat to vent, and doenst actively suck salty air into your fixture.

Looks very good. Cant wait to see it up and running.

Nick

 

[D-Man]

I plan on installing a vent on one of the sides of the stand and having a fan blow air out of the bottom of the stand which hopefully will be enough ventilation, but im pretty flexible so ill just test and see how much ventilation I need once I get things up and running. and Thanks for the info on canopy info that makes sense to have them only blowing out.

Also the power centers are going to have a water proof acrylic housing built around them plus the half of the sump that is closest to them will have an acrylic cover on it to reduce splash and salt creep. The power centers also will trip and shut all the outlets down at the first sign of water near that outlet and I hope to build some sort of splash guard around it so there is minimal risk of shock. Its all just in the beginning stages at this point so hopefully once more of my parts come it will start to come together nicely.

and I can't wait either to get it up and running

thanks
Devin

 

[user 2204]

Very nice looking set up thus far. Look forward to seeing how things progress.

 

[D-Man]

Got my order of plumbing parts today, I got tank drilling supplies, bulk heads, and various RO/DI plumbing parts to rig up two different outlets with float switches for my water change system. I also went to goodwill and found some almost brand new stools for the stand. Their not perfect but they were cheap and are in really good condition.

I also installed a fan underneath the stand. I'll address additional cooling once I get water in the system and know what kind of moisture and heat i'm dealing with

 

[Krish]

Nice man!!! I really like the table you incorporated into the tank!! Quick question...Not sure if it was mentioned, but is that a vent on the floor underneat the chair? If so, what is it for?