leedaly52 Posted November 20, 2015 Share Posted November 20, 2015 Hi all, so now that I'm nearing the end of the planning stages and am starting to get things together, I thought I should finally start a build thread. So here's what I'm doing. I've got a 24 l x 24 W and 18 H custom cube from ND aquatics in the UK. I am turning this into a custom all in one tank rather than sump in it. This is due firstly to space issues, secondly the wife is not keen on a sump due to flood potential and thirdly that the extra volume leads to alot of extra costs. There will be 3 rear chambers, the first will be the intake with a media rack, second will be a larger chamber with skimmer, heaters and space for future toys, third will house the return pump and ATO float switch. Equipment wise I have purchased 2 TMC reef white aquaray 1000HDs with controllers and a tunze 9004 skimmer. I am planning on purchasing a 1400lph return pump and 2x 2000lph powerheads from all pond solutions (cheaper option for the initial setup and will probably upgrade down the line) 2 x 100 watt heaters and a TMC V2 auto top up. I am also building an acrylic lid mostly to avoid too much evaporation and so that no fishies go carpet surfing. This will be built from 2mm clear acrylic. Livestock wise I'll be doing a mixed reef, with mostly LPS and softies with plenty of acans, blastos , zoas and ricoreas. I may dabble in SPS once the tank matures a bit. My 2 ocellaris clowns will come over from the 10g and I would like a citron goby and possibly a mandarin later on. But really haven't made any real decisions on fish yet. Any suggestions appreciated. I'll update as new purchases come in and as parts get made / built. I hope to have the tank wet by the new year. Link to comment
smiz Posted November 20, 2015 Share Posted November 20, 2015 Looks like an awesome build! Just a FYI with a solid acrylic top that thin you will almost certainly get extreme warping. If you can get something thicker it would do a lot better but might still warp. Look into the range of 6-9mm Link to comment
Lizz Posted November 20, 2015 Share Posted November 20, 2015 not quite the same but close...i have a yellow clown goby and i love him! they have so much personality and they're super cute and vibrant. your custom build sounds really interesting/cool! Link to comment
leedaly52 Posted November 20, 2015 Author Share Posted November 20, 2015 This is the acrylic lid. It will be made of 2mm clear acrylic and will have holes and edges cut to fit all the equipment, cables and other bits as per the design below. Second image is the custom media rack design that will fit In chamber 1 under the overflow. And finally the false wall that will make the filtration chambers. Looks like an awesome build! Just a FYI with a solid acrylic top that thin you will almost certainly get extreme warping. If you can get something thicker it would do a lot better but might still warp. Look into the range of 6-9mmYeah warping is a concern, the 2mm acrylic sheet has already been bought, but only cost me £9 so if it does warp significantly then ill purchase something thicker. Link to comment
leedaly52 Posted November 21, 2015 Author Share Posted November 21, 2015 not quite the same but close...i have a yellow clown goby and i love him! they have so much personality and they're super cute and vibrant. your custom build sounds really interesting/cool! Thanks, yeah I hope it turns out as good as I hope it will. Love the clown gobies, they look awesome. If I can't get a citron goby as I don't see them all that often at my LFS, I will probably go for yellow clown gobies instead. Link to comment
Orangutran Posted November 21, 2015 Share Posted November 21, 2015 Nice to see reefs in England! My wife's family is there, and one time we went to a Thai restaurant in Cheltenham, and there was a tank in there! There was a bit of algae, but the guy told me it was a pain to get water from the LFS. Lol Love meeting reefers in unexpected places. Link to comment
leedaly52 Posted November 23, 2015 Author Share Posted November 23, 2015 Nice to see reefs in England! My wife's family is there, and one time we went to a Thai restaurant in Cheltenham, and there was a tank in there! There was a bit of algae, but the guy told me it was a pain to get water from the LFS. Lol Love meeting reefers in unexpected places. Theres alot of demand in the UK, but it's alot harder to get some of the more custom parts that u get in the US. I had to order a bulkhead kit from the US as I couldn't find one at a decent price in the UK. Link to comment
Orangutran Posted November 23, 2015 Share Posted November 23, 2015 Theres alot of demand in the UK, but it's alot harder to get some of the more custom parts that u get in the US. I had to order a bulkhead kit from the US as I couldn't find one at a decent price in the UK. Maybe I should smuggle in parts the next time I visit. Link to comment
leedaly52 Posted November 24, 2015 Author Share Posted November 24, 2015 Maybe I should smuggle in parts the next time I visit. Ha ha, black market bulkheads... I like it Link to comment
leedaly52 Posted November 26, 2015 Author Share Posted November 26, 2015 Hi all, some advice please. Due to space issues, I can't keep my old tank running whilst the new one cycles. I know people have transfered over to new tanks by using dry sand and cured dry rock, then placing their existing rock, corals and fish straight over. What are people's thoughts on this and have any of you used this method before? Any issues to consider? Link to comment
leedaly52 Posted December 1, 2015 Author Share Posted December 1, 2015 Ordered the final pieces of equipment today. Ordered 1 x 1400 lph return pump, 1 x 2500 lph wavemaker and 2 x 100 watt digital heaters from all pond solutions. Definately not top of the line stuff, but we'll reviewed and spoken to a few other reefers that I trust that have used APS equipment and seem to be happy with it all. Plan to upgrade further down the line when i can afford to upgrade these. Also ordered an 2 x aquaray mms rim mounts in black and 1 x 1610mm mms rail for the lights. Hoping everything will be here by the end of the week. Link to comment
leedaly52 Posted December 3, 2015 Author Share Posted December 3, 2015 Heaters, wavemaker and return pump delivered today. Light mounting kit should be here tomorrow Link to comment
leedaly52 Posted December 7, 2015 Author Share Posted December 7, 2015 Ok so... The Tmc mounting brackets and rails arrived today. I cut them to size and put them over the tank, but to be honest I hate the look of it. My wife does too, and after some discussion we have decided to make a pelmet made for the top to hide the lights under, hide the top of the protien skimmer and all the wires etc... I know a few may think this spoils the look of the rimless tank, but the current light mounts along with the wires etc... from other equipment will also ruin the look. So I think the pelmet is the way to go with this tank. It will be made from Oak, same as the cabinet it will sit on and coated in marine (boat) varnish to stop any corrosion. My dad is the woodwork genius who is currently building the stand, and now has a pelmet to add to his list of jobs to do! Link to comment
leedaly52 Posted December 14, 2015 Author Share Posted December 14, 2015 Silicone and pvc tubing for the return arrived today. Unfortunately tubing they sent was 16/18mm instead of the 18/22mm I ordered. Will call them tomorrow hoping to get it re-sent before the holidays. Using HA6 silicone to secure the false wall in the tank. Link to comment
leedaly52 Posted December 22, 2015 Author Share Posted December 22, 2015 Photo update! Santa (my dad) has come a few days early and brought with him the completed false wall, cabinet and top. Cabinet is solid oak and sealed with sea plane varnish. It will house the ATO container, electricals and foods, test kits, spare media etc... There is a slide out shelf so I can have some work space in front of the tank... very happy with the work my dad has done on this. The false wall has turned out very well too and my measurements were spot on and sits snuggly in the tank. The custom media rack is also looking great and gives plenty of space for different media combinations. Will probe be running floss in the top, carbon and a phosphate remover. Will silicone and plumb everything in tomorrow and update with more pics and hope to get it filled after Christmas. What do you guys think? Link to comment
TFish77 Posted December 22, 2015 Share Posted December 22, 2015 Very nice! Can't wait to see everything get plumbed.... Is it sad to get that excited about plumbing? Link to comment
leedaly52 Posted December 22, 2015 Author Share Posted December 22, 2015 Very nice! Can't wait to see everything get plumbed.... Is it sad to get that excited about plumbing? Lol nope, I've been excited about acrylic for weeks! Link to comment
leedaly52 Posted December 23, 2015 Author Share Posted December 23, 2015 Things are moving forward. The all in one section has been siliconed in to place today and the tank placed on the cabinet. Have also fitted the bulkhead and strainer. Really happy with the look now its all together and excited to get it filled. Will let it cure over Christmas and will get it wet after the holidays. Few pics below. Link to comment
leedaly52 Posted December 28, 2015 Author Share Posted December 28, 2015 Hooe everyone had a great Christmas and santa dropped off lots of goodies for your tanks! The tank is just about ready to fill now. Silicone has cured and everything seems sturdy and watertight. Have plumbed in the return to the bulkhead and now its ready for filling. Have ordered 10kg of reef flowers pearl white sand and 10kg of macro rocks dry boulder reef rock from marineaquatics.co.uk that will be in addition to the 8kg of live rock from my current tank. Hopefully should be here before new years day so I can fill the tank on the weekend and move over the inhabitants of my 10 gal. Link to comment
leedaly52 Posted December 31, 2015 Author Share Posted December 31, 2015 Macro rocks and sand arrived today in time for the new year! Played with the scape on the kitchen floor and quite like what I've come up with. An arm extending out from the main "island". There will be another smaller island on the left side of the tank that will be made from the rock and corals from my current 10 gal. Let me know what you think. Hope to get this in the tank and fill it on saturday, finally! Happy new year everyone! Link to comment
specore Posted December 31, 2015 Share Posted December 31, 2015 Nice start. The acrylic turned out great Link to comment
leedaly52 Posted December 31, 2015 Author Share Posted December 31, 2015 Nice start. The acrylic turned out great Thanks! Yeah I'm really happy with the way it's turned out and looking forward to getting it filled. Link to comment
leedaly52 Posted January 2, 2016 Author Share Posted January 2, 2016 Today was the big day! Got the new tank filled and all the inhabitants moved over from the broken down 10 gal. Moved all the rock, corals and fish over to buckets with the water from the old tank. Ran them with heaters and powerheads whilst the pre-mixed salt water warmed up in the new tank. Everything looks happy, the clowns are enjoying the extra space, the corals have been extending polyps already and the leather has gone from super sulky to upright with PE. Changed the scape from what was planned. Wanted to do 2 separate islands but didn't have quite enough space. Happy with what we've done though. Created a horseshoe shaped scape with some height changes and plenty of hiding spaces. Back filtration is working perfectly, the skimmer is breaking in. Only thing I'm thinking is that there isn't quite enough flow, so may need to add another wavemaker. Other than that, couldn't be happier, let me know ur thoughts! Link to comment
leedaly52 Posted January 3, 2016 Author Share Posted January 3, 2016 Well it seems everything survived the move and corals are looking happy and healthy. All the lps have been fully out, the zoas are all open and the toadstool and xenia are out and happy. Had to adjust the flow as it was blowing straight at the xenia, which my clowns host. They were having real trouble staying in it without swimming like their life depended on it! Now I just need to start saving for more corals. The new scape is looking pretty bare! Link to comment
leedaly52 Posted January 3, 2016 Author Share Posted January 3, 2016 Well it seems everything survived the move and corals are looking happy and healthy. All the lps have been fully out, the zoas are all open and the toadstool and xenia are out and happy. Had to adjust the flow as it was blowing straight at the xenia, which my clowns host. They were having real trouble staying in it without swimming like their life depended on it! Now I just need to start saving for more corals. The new scape is looking pretty bare! Link to comment
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