The Salts 60 Gallon Reef Build

[The Salt]

Hello Gang!

 

Welcome to my 60+ gallon build (around 62 gallons). This all stared March 2010. I found myself neglecting my aquarium because it was difficult to maintain it in the small studio I was living in. The place had 7’ ceilings and it was a struggle getting in the tank to clean. I decided to start a new system that was better suited for my living space. I ordered the aquarium custom from Visio and built my stand and canopy to fit a specific spot.

 

Shortly after finishing the stand an opportunity to move to a bigger place for the same price popped up. I emptied out my old tank moved and put the new build on hold until now. The new(er) place could accommodate a lager aquarium but I really love this one and I have a lot of time and money in it. I’m hoping to get it up and running sometime this month but I keep finding things I want to do in preparation before I start adding water. As of now I want fix a ding in the aquarium trim, plumbing, electrical, and I’m thinking about a foam background. Thanks for reading, I hope you follow!

 

Thanks!

Nick!

 

Photo taken May 7th.

 

Aquarium Specs:

62 gallon Visio Glass Aquarium, Back Center Overflow, Bottom Drilled / Drain & Return

36” Long x 20.5” Wide x 19.5 Deep, 3/8 Walls, 1/2 Bottom, Black Trim and Silicone

 

Flow/Circulation:

2x Hydor Koralia 1050

 

Return Pump:

Tunze Silence 1073.04 (792gph, 13 x turnover)

 

Lighting:

2x IceCap 660

6x 36"-39w T5 VHO (overdriven) to 55w-60w each

6x Retrofit Kit - Reflectors, Moisture Proof End-Caps And Standoffs From ReefGeek

 

Filtration:

26 Gallon Custom made 'Fujimoto Aquariums' Sump/Refugium

Warner Marine AS-150 Protein Skimmer

 

Controller:

Neptune System, APEX Lite From Bulk Reef Supply

BRS pH Probe From Bulk Reef Supply

 

Cooling:

2x Fans, 115 VAC 4-5/8 x 1-1/2 Sleeve Bearing 100 CFM

 

Substrate:

8x 10lbs. Carib Sea Arag-Alive, West Caribbean Reef

 

Possible Upgrades:

APEX Salinity Module :: PM2

Glass DIY Sump & Refugium To Fit Stand Pullout Tray

 

Items On Order:

Nothing at this time.

 

------------------------------------------------------------

 

Highlighted Posts In This Thread And Build:

Stand And Canopy Build

Replaced Aquarium Trim

DIY Stand Update

Sump/Refugium Plans

Lighting Insert

Lighting Insert Wiring

Lighting Wire Harness And Insert Installation

Sump/Refugium Painting

Lighting Completion!

LED Installation

Sock Holder 1

Sock Holder 2

Sock Holder 3

Return Pump Plumbing Question For Albert Thiel

Return Line Anti-Siphon/Y-Check Valve Mod

Sock Holder 4

*items were not purchased from links unless stated. For information use only.

[bencollinz]

looks great! painting the back of tank?

[The Salt]

looks great! painting the back of tank?

 

I'm looking into doing the foam and live rock background. It really depends on how it comes out but yes normally I paint the back of the glass black to hide wires and such.

 

Below are picture of the stand and canopy build. Thanks for looking!

[The Salt]

Hey Gang!

 

I just order a couple of these from MCM Electronics to make a breakaway cable for my two IceCap 660 ballasts. I want to keep the ballasts outside the stand and canopy. Adding these guys will allow me to unplug the harness from the canopy instead of the canopy from the ballast and having a bunch of wire balled up somewhere. I’m really trying to get "this" build dialed in and organized.

 

Thanks for reading!

 

[Trogdor447]

Nice! I've debated doing the same thing for my circuit boards now that I am running them. I have more boards that will be coming with a new controller as well. I am thinking about taking my entire setup down and redoing it.. or building one from scratch out of uchannel. Not that there is anything wrong w/ what I have. The way its setup is almost impossible for me to lift it up high enough to get full spread in the tank!

[Cubeman]

Looking forward to seeing where this one goes.

[The Salt]

Nice! I've debated doing the same thing for my circuit boards now that I am running them. I have more boards that will be coming with a new controller as well. I am thinking about taking my entire setup down and redoing it.. or building one from scratch out of uchannel. Not that there is anything wrong w/ what I have. The way its setup is almost impossible for me to lift it up high enough to get full spread in the tank!

 

I know what you mean! This is my third aquarium. In the past I have always thought about things I wish I had done beforehand that make no difference to the livestock. I would really like this one to be a tight ship. I’ve had a lot of time to think about this build and to be honest it’s starting to drive me crazy. Last night I ordered the connectors just because I notice how long the wire harness was. I spent 3 hours looking into connectors! What’s wrong with me, some people don’t take that long picking and buying a new car?!

 

I’m starting to realize no matter how long I plan this out there will something I wish I had done differently.

 

Thanks for reading!

[Arkayology]

Get this thing wet! GL with the build. Make sure to take lots of pics!

[bencollinz]

Hey Gang!

 

I just order a couple of these from MCM Electronics to make a breakaway cable for my two IceCap 660 ballasts. I want to keep the ballasts outside the stand and canopy. Adding these guys will allow me to unplug the harness from the canopy instead of the canopy from the ballast and having a bunch of wire balled up somewhere. I’m really trying to get "this" build dialed in and organized.

 

Thanks for reading!

 

I did the same thing but used the 4 pin molex connectors from PCs

[The Salt]

I did the same thing but used the 4 pin molex connectors from PCs

 

Yep! The IceCap harness uses a computer PSU 16 pin connector. I cant find one that is "male" solderless, they all look to be design to attach to a greenboard. I noticed the harness only uses 15 pins so I decided to wire the PSU connector to these 15 pin Molex connectors. No soldering and all clean and hardwired.

 

Thanks for reading!

[The Salt]

I noticed the aquarium had a ding in the front trim after I got it home all those years ago. I have been on the hunt for replacement trim for a while and finally scored some. I found it at Fujimoto Aquariums in Gardena, CA. It turns out it was the same stuff Visio uses on their aquariums so all I had to do was replace the one piece. I used a putty knife along the bottom side and corners and was able to get a hold of it and pull it off. I removed the old silicone with a straightedge blade and cleaned it with acetone.

 

It's was $2.50 a foot. I cut the 45° ends with my power miter saw, added some silicone and tape and I was done!

 

 

 

[The Salt]

I painted the inside bottom of the stand with 'Rust-Oleum Porch Floor Paint' today. I installed a fan and two vent covers. I also put in some aluminum and rubber weather stripping around the stand opening to keep the the glow of the refugium light from escaping from around the doors.

[bencollinz]

awesome, keep it up!

[The Salt]

awesome, keep it up!

Thank you!

[Cubeman]

Really liking the detail. When I installed a fan like your setup (but in a canopy) the mounting hardware rusted badly. Spraying it with a rust paint prior or coating it with nail varnish after will help wih this. I went the nail varnish method and it worked well.

[The Salt]

Really liking the detail. When I installed a fan like your setup (but in a canopy) the mounting hardware rusted badly. Spraying it with a rust paint prior or coating it with nail varnish after will help wih this. I went the nail varnish method and it worked well.

That's a great idea! I was buying stainless steel hardware but I completely for got when I picked this stuff a couple weeks ago. It's been a few years since I bought anything for it. I guess I'm getting rusty myself! LOL!

 

PS - I also have another fan for the canopy.

[The Salt]

I forgot to mention, I order a sump/refugium from Fujimoto Aquariums earlier this week. It should be ready sometime next week. Here are my plans, it should be around 26 gallons. The idea is I will be splitting the drain with a T joint and putting a ball valve on the refugium side to slow the water going thru the refugium. Lets hope it work huh?

 

 

[The Salt]

Unbelievable! We are trying out a new-used dog. She belongs to a friend who is trying to re-home her to see if she gets along with my wiener dog. Last night we brought her home a toy and she was playing with it and knock over a piece of wood and dinged the aquarium trim I just replaced... So I guess I'll be fixing that again today! Does anyone know how to make dog fur shoes with say... matching belt?

[Cubeman]

Time for an update on the dog and maybe the aquarium too

[The Salt]

 

Time for an update on the dog and maybe the aquarium too

 

Yes, I have an update on the lighting and the dog is still here! I wanted to make an insert for the retrofit T5’s to mount to. I didn’t want to fasten them directly to the canopy because the wood is thin and I want to be able to remove the lighting from the canopy without having to remove the canopy from the hinged support I made earlier in the build.

 

I started out with a 1/2” piece of plywood cut to the size of the canopy’s inside diameter. I ended up using a ¼” piece of laminated birch plywood. The reason behind this was because I wanted to leave a little room behind the insert for the wire to travel. I had the idea to cut channels for the wires to pass under the three vertical support studs. I don’t have a dado blade or table saw here so I had to figure out some other way to make the channels. I came up with a jig to hold the studs while I made two passes with the circular saw. The studs were glued up and fastened with countersunk brass screws to the plywood insert.

 

I then cut twelve 5” x ¾” pieces of wood to use as four contact brackets for the insert and canopy to fasten to each other. I used two pieces for each of the four contacts on the insert and one piece for each contact on the canopy. These were also glued up and fastened with brass screws. When the insert is placed in the canopy the single pieces fall in between the two-pieces allowing for a quick guide. The canopy side receives one heavy brass screw and washer for each bracket, four total, fastening the insert to the canopy.

 

I drilled 2 holes under each standoff for wires to pass through from underneath unseen. After everything was assembled I took it apart and prepped the insert and canopy inside for painting. I’m currently in the process of painting everything white to help reflect the light in the canopy. Once that is all done I’ll be moving onto wiring everything to the two Ice Cap 660’s. I left a space in between the two sets of T5's because I want to add some LED lunar lights down the road.

 

Thanks for reading!

[The Salt]

I just added three more pictures of the painted lighting parts in the post above. I'm trying to keep the lighting pictures together somewhat...

[Cubeman]

Nice work - the channels for the wires are a sweet touch.

[The Salt]

I’m both excited and nervous. I got a call today from Joanne at Fujimoto Aquariums, it seems my refugium/sump is ready for pickup. I’m worried because there were a few mistakes on my part with the drawing I noticed after placing the order. I called and corrected them well before they started but I’m questioning if the final drawing got to the production department. I called twice to make sure and was told not to worry. Lets hope it’s right. I’m afraid it will all fall in my lap if its not done right and I suppose that’s fair. I’m going to try to make it over there tomorrow.

 

Thanks for reading!

[The Salt]

I picked up the sump/refugium today... Everything is cut to the right size so I'm happy about that but the silicone is a little messy and some of the trim is kind of janky. I might try to take it off and fix it, it looks like a piece is cut too long so its not meeting cleanly to the other. I didn't complain to them because I know you get what you pay for.

 

Other then that no complaints. I know I'm a pain but I've worked really hard on this build and I'm really trying to end up with something super clean. Outside of the aquarium the sump is the only thing I let anyone else do on this build. I'll post better pictures down the road. I apologize for the poor photo, the lighting is really bad in here.

 

Thanks for reading!

[The Salt]

I wired up the insert and tested everything tonight. This is super bright, my phone really dumbed down the brightness in the photo. These are six 39w over-driven to 55-60w with two VHO Ice Cap 660s. I wired them in two sets, two on one ballast and four on another. If six ends up being overkill I can just run the four and use the two as dusk and dawn instead of all six at once...

 

I was really happy to see they fired up. I got the Ice Caps used from a guy that ran a 6000 gallon frag farm out of his house. I was told they were taken down and he had them serviced by Ice Cap and didn't end up using them again. I got the pair for $50 about 3 years ago. I hope I get some use out of them.

 

Thank for reading!