Sir patricks work in progress-

[Sir Patrick]

This will be my first long term reef build. Gonna try to set this one up right from the start. Been collecting equipment for almost a year, and have just about everything I need.

Equipment-

60 gallon breeder (still needs to be baught) 36x18x23
40 gallon breeder for sump
Home made stand
Custom canopy
250w MH light
2 36" VHO actinic
36" NO T5 for sump light
2 24" T5 HO for frag area in sump
2 reactors- one carbon and another phos
Large DIY protein skimmer
Mag 5 return pump
Mag 9.5 closed loop
dual corner overflows- DIY pvc and durso standpipes
Modded (sure flow) maxi jet 900
2 maxijet 1200 and 1 900 on wave timer
RO system
Cooling fan

For livestock I plan on keeping my ever growing zoa colection, some LPS, Chalices, and going to make an honest effort in sucessfully keeping SPS.

Fish for the tank....Gonna keep my B&W occy. and orange occy. clowns, my niger trigger, a couple wrasses (not sure which, but will include a yellow coris), and possibly my one eye psudo chromis.

The tank and sump will be run bare bottom. Closed loop will be set up to keep bottom clean/detrius suspended and work to send all the nasties down the corner overflows where the skimmer can take care of the waste. Random flow will be acomplished with the maxi's on the wave timer. Rock work will be elevated off the bottom of the tank and secured together using acrilic rods.

Sump will hold the skimmer, micron sock, reactors, heater, and a frag rack for frags. Lights will be run on an opposite schedule as main tank.

I will be using my live rock from my existing cube tank, along with odds and ends I have cooking in the basment. The rock in the cube was "cooked" 2 years ago, and has been with me, throughout a bunch of different tanks, for the last 6 years.

Should be getting a tank within the next couple weeks, and the stand and canopy will be stained very soon, then the building can begin!


Still need- For ease of keeping track-

Tank
Starboard
Mesh top
Aqualifter pump (for kalk dosing/top off)
Plumbing parts for closed loop and durso stand pipe
Quality heater

[Sir Patrick]

Some pics of progress so far-

skimmer-




stand-

[Sir Patrick]

Stand and canopy- Tank in pic is not going to be used-

[ReeferRob]

Cool man Im digging the go go gadget pannels!

[jojo22]

bit of advise, you may want to put a strip on those panels at the bottom, as they get moist from the sump the luan will warp and they won't want to go into the slots at the bottom as well.

That is of course if you plan to have the sump under there, which I assume you do if the panels are removable.

[graphixx]

right on so far!! this will be a good one to watch progress

[jimsflies]

Looking great. That is one heck of a skimmer!

[Sir Patrick]

Finally got the stand sanded and stained. Hope to poly wednesday. Should be able to replace the hinges on the canopy, and stain/poly that wednesday also.

Pics to come wednesday. Too dark outside tonight. Very happy with the color mix I made.

[Tom@HaslettMI]

looking forward to seeing the progress and the final product. I have to admit I'm a bit skeptical on the door design. Regardless I have a feeling it's gonna be a sweet set up.

Tom

[Sir Patrick]

I agree- I am a bit skeptical on the door deseign also....

The whole thing was put together spur of the moment. Other than the wood and tank measurments- there were no plans.

I never took into consideration the boards (door panels) warping/swelling, when the whole idea came to mind and was quickly implemented into the stand deseign.

I have however done what I can with what I built. The boor panels are solid oak sheets, not luan board. The entire inside of the stand has 3 coats of white primer, for light reflection and seeling purposes. The stain is waterproofing deck stain, and the entire stand will be polyurithan'd, inside and out. Doing what I can to keep the moisture out of the wood, as much as possible on this stand build.

So far, the stand has sat in my drafty garage for about 7 months, unfinished, and everything is sliding in and out fine. I have hopes it will hold up to the humidity of a sump.