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Innovative Marine Aquariums

The Butchered Finnex


masterbuilder

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masterbuilder

I thought I would start a tank thread like others have. Mainly to keep track of it over time and also to get feedback from others, either good or bad to keep me on the right track. So….here we go.

 

I finally finished building my new Finnex 30G and its Stand/Hood. Well 90%, I still have several details left before I add salt water and rocks. It’s going to replace my 12G Nanocube.

 

I found this Finnex 30G in a distant fish store that I accidently dove by while out of town a many weeks back. It was on display with a bunch of other various tanks. While looking at it, the sales person asked if they could help me. I asked how much the Finnex was and he said it was for sale “as is”. He went on to explain that this was a replacement tank for a customer that had purchased a Finnex system and the tank had arrived chipped. The customer never came in to pick up this replacement tank. Go figure? Anyway, this tank did not have the pumps/fittings/lights/skimmer/etc. So… he said I could have it and asked me to make him an offer. A few dollars later it was in the back of my truck.

 

Not having anything but a bare tank with a falsewall/chamber setup I didn’t have the parts for, I removed the Finnex falsewall and had Cowkid make me a new one that I could equip with stuff readily available and replaceable.

 

Here’s the specs:

 

30G Finnex – 24x18x16

Aquactinics TX5 T-5HO Light Fixture

Dual R2 Moonlights

3 – MJ900’s

Jager 100W Heater

Aquacontroller Jr.

Homemade Stand and Hood

 

That’s it…pretty simple.

 

 

Finnex_FTS_07_06_08.jpg

 

Full shot of the stand/canopy. I am a contractor and 95% of the wood came from left over shelving and cabinet lumber that would normally be tossed or go home with some sub-contractor. Built it in a simple Shaker/Craftsman style to match our funiture. I lost track, but at least a dozen coats of tung oil.....no stain, polyurethane or top coat, in keeping with my simple theme. The stand and hood seemed to take forever to make. Next time I am paying someone to do it!

When I started making the stand, I was going to have a sump behind the door on the left. I found that the Finnex is all tempered and cant be drilled. I do not trust U-tubes and overflows, so its just for storage now. Oh well, money saved and I dont really feel I need a sump anyway. Excuse the shim, wont be there once water goes in.

 

Finnex_Hood_07_06_08.jpg

 

Closeup of the hood, look familiar? Its Nanocube style! Worked for me for the last two years and why mess up a good thing. I like closed top tanks.

 

Finnex_Hood_Detail_07_06_08.jpg

 

Hood and light detail. I recessed the Aquactinics TX5 into the hood. I am not crazy about this black fixture sticking out of the top. I may veneer the light fixture and finish it to match or maybe I will paint some of the stand/hood black to make it look like I planned it that way? Wife says leave it alone, it looks fine, stop playing with your toys and do someting around here thats useful. Dont worry, I will pull of that white Aquactinic sticker off.

 

Finnex_Rear_Chambers.jpg

 

Rear chamber detail. Was too hard to get a picture so this Google SketchUp will have to do. The end chambers are just for circulation, they may both run all the time, act as a wavemaker or something in between...not sure yet. The middle two chambers are for floss/carbon/etc. Once again, Nanocube style....I like to get stuck in a rut and stay there!

 

Well...thats it for now...to be continued.

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glennr1978

Wow is all I can say....

 

That, and that you better stock this thing equally as beautifully as the stand and canopy.

 

Damn man, that thing really looks amazing. You should seriously start up a side business doing stands & canopies.

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That is amazing! I wish I had those wood-working skills. Also, I don't think the black fixture looks bad at all. The black silicone and false wall bring it all together just fine, so no need to ruin the hood, stand, or fixture with paint, veneer, or stain...it looks great as is IMO. Keep up the good work!

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glennr1978
That is amazing! I wish I had those wood-working skills. Also, I don't think the black fixture looks bad at all. The black silicone and false wall bring it all together just fine, so no need to ruin the hood, stand, or fixture with paint, veneer, or stain...it looks great as is IMO. Keep up the good work!

 

yep.

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lakshwadeep

Awesome! That is definitely the opposite of what I was expecting from the thread title. I guess the perfect AIO is actually a DIY. I'm sure people would pay serious money for a stand and canopy like that!

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dasstheboss

Are the back chambers of the 30G finnex build that way or did u tinker with the baffles ot set it up as so, i am sure the filter floss holders and al lare DIy but what about the baffling ( is this a word?..lol) .?

not ot hijack your thread, but i am also making a 30G finnex and want ot know if there are any drawbacks to the finnex M system?

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masterbuilder

dasstheboss...PM sent.

 

Thanks to everyone else...

 

Mark

 

p.s. Thanks Phixion, your Finnex thread is going to cost me a fortune..you bastard!

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Wow.. Totally unique and just amazing. You really have some skill in woodworking and DIY in general.

 

Do you make plans for stands? I want to build my own for my Finnex in a few months. I think someone else said it up there somewhere, but you could really sell stands/canopis for a fortune - your work is beautiful.

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Master, this is awesome. I like the "a few bucks later" part of the story, lol! I'm really eager to see hos this Finnex "custom" project turns out. Keep us updated daily, hehe! B)

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That is honestly the best looking nano I have ever seen. Do you or would you Please Please Please make up some blueprints of the stand? My uncle is a professional cabinet maker and I would love to do that design but scale it down for a standard 20 gallon high tank.

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Awesome Master....you are going to love that Aquatinics fixture. I had the 48 inch 5 bulber on my 55 gallon and loved it to death. Still have it sitting in the closet just waiting to be used again someday.

 

Definitely following along.

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Nick's Reef

Wow! I'm speachless Mark! That thing looks so nice, it better look just as good inside the tank! :D

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MarvinsReef

wow... I can only wish for a tank that clean.... maybe in the near future... :)

 

awesome job! can't wait for the scaping.. :)

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That is one beautiful setup! The stand and hood are just amazing. Maybe you can use the "sump" area on the left for a ATO / chiller compartment?

 

Definitely following this thread.

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Well Done Mark!

 

Moving from Aquallumination to ATI and then Aquactinics had me wondering what you were up to. :-)

 

Looks great..Damn you!!

 

Definitely keep us posted on the progress.

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masterbuilder
Moving from Aquallumination to ATI and then Aquactinics had me wondering what you were up to. :-)

 

Yeah, me too. I never had such a hard time buying a friggin light.

 

1. Wanted an ATI and still do, its one sexy looking fixture. Ordered and waited over 2 months and still no light. No real date on when it would arrive, maybe next week maybe next month? Gave up.

2. OK..I will go nuts and get the Aquaillumination, always wanted LED's. They missed 3 promised ship dates and were promising a 4th; I said I had a 3 strike rule. It’s now been way over 4 months with my empty tank sitting there with no light! Gave up again.

3. Ordered the Aquactinics, arrived 3 days later, finally someone that ACTUALLY wants my money. Worked out best in the end. No regrets.

 

So... by the time I get this thing cycled, it will be close to 6 months since I sat the tank on its stand. I am patient, but 6 months is about my limit.

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Wow...didn't realize that you went through three different light choices before settling on the Aquatinics. Sounds like you were a heck of a lot more patient than I would have been. I usually give items on backorder, etc. about 2-3 weeks max and then just give up and get something else. I just hate the "waiting game" sometimes for things.

 

Those ATI fixtures really are some sexy lights (I guess about as sexy as a light can be) but I'm sure the Aquatinics will be a workhorse for you.

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  • 2 weeks later...
masterbuilder

Rocks, water and sand added Friday - 7/17/08

 

The wait begins.

 

15 lbs of Fiji Pink Sand, I plan on sucking out some of it. Its a little deeper than I want. I like around 1 inch or less.

 

45lbs of Rock Total, of which:

 

20-25 lbs of rock from Premium Aquatics - Its the rocks on the bottom 1/2 of the pile. Not much life or coraline. Interesting shapes though. I think its mostly Fiji, not sure because I asked them for flat shapes and I did not care what kind it was. Some of it was so dense/heavy (around 25%), I decided not to use it and I traded it to my LFS for $2.00 per lb.

 

20 lbs of what my LFS called Sulawesi. Its the rock on the top 1/2 of the pile. Very nice, very light, coraline, nice shapes, some life. I would have used this for all my rock but this is all they had and they charge a fortune.

 

The tank held a total of 23.5 gallons after the rock and sand.

 

I made a foam over eggcrate wall and covered it with sand as a background. I really like an all black background like some people have, but I cant figure out how to keep coraline off of it. I am not crazy about a perfectly flat background covered in coraline, it looks one dimensional to me....so I made the foam/sand one to give it a more 3-D look. I hope it turns out when its gets covered with coraline and I think I may attach a couple of montipora capricornis to it.

 

Finnex_HDR2.jpg

 

p.s. Need to adjust my white balance, its not this pink.

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Thats a great canapy and stand. My GF wants me to build one like that for my 33 I am putting together but I assured her my skill set does not extend to quality furniture. Really, fantastic looking.

 

The backing is very interesting. What type of foam did you use?

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masterbuilder

The foam is "great stuff" spray foam and its found in any hardware store. There are a couple of detailed "how to" threads over on reefcentral.com in the DIY forum.

 

Mark

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"Butchered" is most definitely the wrong word for what you've done. I look forward to seeing this progress. Are you moving the contents of your nanocube over to this tank?

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