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Cultivated Reef

75g Reef Tank [Retired]


jinx

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Hello, I'm a very old member of this site :lol: and I'm glad to be back from the dead! I'm no stranger to saltwater... in fact, I've had many setups in the past (some nano's and some fairly large). Long story short, I kinda fell out of the scene after all of my tanks died from the stresses induced during 2004 Hurricane Frances, Jeanne, and then Wilma right after in 2005.. These were all direct hits on my area btw. They did ok during the almost back to back Frances and Jeanne, but, Wilma sealed the fate of them. We didn't have power in my area for almost 2 months after Wilma... I lost a ton of time and money after these events and my heart was seriously broken :unsure: especially when my happily mated pair of Maroon Clowns and their babies died. I honestly didn't think I would return to the scene... but, alas, here I am again!! I'm in the process of gathering everything for my build, so, it'll be awhile before I actually get it going.

This space is reserved for my upcoming custom 75 reef/refugium setup..

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Picked up a brand new standard black 75 gal yesterday for $130.. Couldn't pass it up :o I'll be drilling the back of it so I can utilize the overflow box that I also picked up for it. Think I'll be doing quad T5HO's and some leds this time around. Also came upon a super crazy cheap deal, I scored 30k lbs of dry calcium carbonate rock for $150 from a guy who was stock piling it on his property, but, me and the wife have to move it all... Some of it is really really niiiice. I'll have a large selection in which to build my tank from. Not sure what I'll do with the rest of it besides using it for landscaping. Some of the rocks are 1k + lb monsters. Still need to build a cabinet and canopy for it and pick up a tank to convert to the sump/refugium..

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Picked up 90% of the wood I need and also a good portion of the plumbing. Still need to get a tank to convert to the sump/ref, a skimmer, and a decent R/O setup due to the fact that we are on a well. The main house filter just isn't enough, nor would I even dare drink it in the first place.. More to come, pics later.

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The virgin 75 gallon.

 

Fabricating the stand in our 1300 sq ft guest house. I will be converting it in to a full time workshop soon.

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Indeed. Just unsure where I'll be adding more just yet... I still need to be able to squeeze a 25/30 gallon tank in there after it's all skinned and closed up. I'll probably leave the rear mostly open.

Didn't get much further today. Some progress is better then none at all :blink:

 

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More work done.. More to go. Almost ready to start skinning it.

 

Yay fresh tank builds!

 

Where will the tank end up at? Main floor of the house? Will it stay in the workshop/guest house?

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I'm super excited to get back into the swing of things! Sadly, I do not have any of my old equipment to get me going as fast as I'd like. It'll end up in our bedroom in the main house once I've finished remodeling that room. I'm by no means a professional carpenter, nor do I have the means to get it perfectly flat.. so I will need to address the imperfections of the top surface of the cabinet with some sort of padding. Thinking about using a 1/4" foam rubber fatigue pad that I have no use for at the time.

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Good luck with the build. Post some pics of that rock when you grab it

Here yah go! Not even close to a 1/4 of the rock that I picked up... They need pressure cleaned to expose their true look as they a pretty packed with sand and such. Still have tons to go get.

Dry rock aka calcium carbonate

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Here's a close up of some of the features that a good portion of the rocks share. This was exposed with only a garden hose, not a pressure washer.

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Getting ready to start skinning the stand :happy: Everything is just resting in place to make sure it's all lining up. Gotta drill everything for dowels before gluing and naling it together.

 

 

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Thanks! This is about where I made it last night. Bottom section/mid section is doweled and glued. Top section is ready to be drilled for the dowels but I needed the glue to set first.. so I'll probably get that all done later today.

 

75 gallon stand

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Never mind my question on the photo you attached to the home page. I see you are going to attached the skin. I would consider keeping it so you can move the skin out of the way when you want to do sump maintenance. You will appreciate having all of that extra room to work. I wish I could easily get to the sides of my sump.

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The thought did cross my mind, though I'd be worried about permanent warpage from all the humidity the sump will be causing. Without it being fixed to the frame, it's going to warp over time, no matter what you do to try and prevent it. I left the sides open and will be putting doors there as well. That should give me plenty of room for better access to the sump.

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Dunno why I was thinking a 30 gallon would fit in the sump area. Ended up grabbing a 20L for it. Plenty of room for it, just a real bitch to squeeze in there.

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This is where I'm at right now. Building the canopy before sanding the entire thing and patching it up smooth. Still have to add trim and such after that.

 

post-508-0-44496600-1389700493_thumb.png

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