Nano tanker Nick Posted July 12, 2014 Share Posted July 12, 2014 This thread will be the building of my 40 breeder mixed reef tank. The project is still in the works and i have been taking lots of pictures along the way so far, so I hope you enjoy it. Also, any tips and suggestions are encouraged. Tank: aqueon 40 breeder.(diy drill) Stand: metal petco til wooden stand can be built. Lighting: 16" evergrow it2040 led Sump: 20 long diy build. Skimmer: Eshopps PSK-150 Overflow: Glass holes 700 kit. Return 3/4" loctite flex hose thing Return pump: Rio+ 3100 Display pump: mp-10! woo Heater: 300w titanium heater. Link to comment
Nano tanker Nick Posted July 12, 2014 Author Share Posted July 12, 2014 Pictures over the past week or so. Link to comment
Nano tanker Nick Posted July 12, 2014 Author Share Posted July 12, 2014 These pictures were all from today, Still working on the plumbing and waiting for the return bulkhead, reducer, lo####e line stuff, and nozzle. Back of the tank was painted with black plasti dip, panels in the sump are acrylic 1/4" first baffle is 9", second, 9" with 3/4" gap, third 7" with 1.5" gap at bottom, and fourth 7". Link to comment
Nano tanker Nick Posted July 13, 2014 Author Share Posted July 13, 2014 Skimmer(6"x12") is going in the first chamber 7" width, second chamber is a refugium 15.5" width, and third is return section 5" width. Still waiting for silicone to dry then water test to follow. Link to comment
atrox Posted July 13, 2014 Share Posted July 13, 2014 Nice build, got a 40 myself and by far it's my favorite tank. Link to comment
NorthGaHillbilly Posted July 13, 2014 Share Posted July 13, 2014 good lookin build man, good to see MHs still have some followers. Looking forward to see the build come together Link to comment
Nano tanker Nick Posted July 13, 2014 Author Share Posted July 13, 2014 I leak tested the sump today and it did fine, I also tested out the skimmer and something is wrong with either the skimmer design or the pump. I have emails eshopps and will see when they get back to me.... It only produces big bubbles at a slow rate..Still trying to figure it out, brand new skimmer out of the box and it doesn't work... I expected more from what is supposed to be a 250 dollar skimmer..Guess the tank is on hold til I get my return lines and skimmer fixed. Link to comment
Nano tanker Nick Posted July 13, 2014 Author Share Posted July 13, 2014 The skimmer is an eshopps psk-150 and it only produces large 6mm sized bubbles. It's like the intake is too small to handle the pump or something. I tried drilling out the intake. More water going in but still same amount of bubbles. You can kinda see in that last picture. Link to comment
Reef guy Posted July 13, 2014 Share Posted July 13, 2014 If you are using fresh water and not salt water to test your skimmer that is your problem. Link to comment
atrox Posted July 13, 2014 Share Posted July 13, 2014 Yeah won't work in fresh, try it in salt and adjust Venturi accordingly. Link to comment
Nano tanker Nick Posted July 13, 2014 Author Share Posted July 13, 2014 Yeah I'm dumb. I went to the local fish store and he said the same thing. Also picked myself up a pump today! an MP-10! and a filter sock. Link to comment
Oceanus Posted July 14, 2014 Share Posted July 14, 2014 Looking good! That looks like an Odyssea light. Nothing wrong with it, but if you still are using the stock bulb you might want to change it out. When I had that fixture a few years ago I couldn't keep stuff looking too great until I changed to a Ushio when the stock bulb died, which was about 4 months in. Sump looks nice, can't wait to see this build! Link to comment
Nano tanker Nick Posted July 16, 2014 Author Share Posted July 16, 2014 Looking good! That looks like an Odyssea light. Nothing wrong with it, but if you still are using the stock bulb you might want to change it out. When I had that fixture a few years ago I couldn't keep stuff looking too great until I changed to a Ushio when the stock bulb died, which was about 4 months in. Sump looks nice, can't wait to see this build! Thank man! I appreciate that! I can't wait to see the build come together either. I'm pretty excited about it. I'll look into getting a new bulb before I even cycle the tank. Link to comment
Nano tanker Nick Posted July 30, 2014 Author Share Posted July 30, 2014 I am married now and back from my honeymoon! Time to start working on the tank again. I received the bulkhead for my return line, need to finish up plumbing then I can throw some water rock and sand and mix it up! I think I am going to get rid of the metal halide and go with an evergrow it2040 16" led light to cut down on my utility bill. My local fish store offers a military discount so I should be able to pick the light up for a reasonable price. I will try and pick it up in the next couple days and upload some progress pictures. Link to comment
Mojado Posted July 30, 2014 Share Posted July 30, 2014 Yeah I'm dumb. I went to the local fish store and he said the same thing. Also picked myself up a pump today! an MP-10! and a filter sock. I think you'll want to go with a 7" sock instead of the 4". Link to comment
Nano tanker Nick Posted July 30, 2014 Author Share Posted July 30, 2014 I think you'll want to go with a 7" sock instead of the 4". I believe the one I picked up is quite a bit longer than 4" so hopefully it's the 7"! Link to comment
Mojado Posted July 30, 2014 Share Posted July 30, 2014 I believe the one I picked up is quite a bit longer than 4" so hopefully it's the 7"! The size was for the diameter. The one you have seems to be a 4". I use a 7" on my 40B. Link to comment
Nano tanker Nick Posted July 30, 2014 Author Share Posted July 30, 2014 Went to the fish store again today and picked up some more stuff on sale. Got a box of reef crystals salt, a flared loc-line head, and a evergrow it2040 16" light. Also plumbed the tank today and have a question on the drain side. Can the pvc pipe for the drain be in the water or does it have to be above the waterline? Link to comment
Nano tanker Nick Posted July 30, 2014 Author Share Posted July 30, 2014 Plumbing and light. Link to comment
Curry02 Posted July 31, 2014 Share Posted July 31, 2014 Love the build. I have the same skimmer but the psk 75. They work great. Link to comment
GHill762 Posted July 31, 2014 Share Posted July 31, 2014 Thank man! I appreciate that! I can't wait to see the build come together either. I'm pretty excited about it. I'll look into getting a new bulb before I even cycle the tank. If it were me I'd probably stay with the stock bulb until you either have a handful of coral or the thing burns out.. no point in wasting money on a nicer bulb to just illuminate an empty tank another 40B build I think I'm gonna follow...for whatever reason I've been really interested in MH lately.. edit: just saw you're going to switch to an evergrow.. lol.. still going to follow.. I was looking forward to a MH 40b though.. Link to comment
Nano tanker Nick Posted August 2, 2014 Author Share Posted August 2, 2014 I went to the fish store today... again... and I picked up 60 pounds of live sand, one 50 pound rock, and 55 gallons of freshwater. and got the tank wet today. Had two small leaks. one from the return pump line where it meets the threads on the pvc fitting, and another leak from the elbow with threads on it. Nothing a little silicone couldn't fix mistakes learned for next time. Still have to figure out how to hang the light but i'm not too worried about that right now. More pictures to come tomorrow. A question though. How should I set the mp10 with the set up I have now? and people have been telling me led's don't grow acros very well. Is this true? Thanks in advance guys. Link to comment
Nano tanker Nick Posted August 2, 2014 Author Share Posted August 2, 2014 So I built the light stand today and put the light on and fixed all the leaks(hopefully!!!) Still need to take the sides off, build a door don't know if I want just one solid door or two cabinet doors, and box off a canopy around the light. then fill all the holes then prime and paint it to make it look pretty. Comments and advise are both gladly accepted. Link to comment
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