phild3791 Posted February 4, 2012 Posted February 4, 2012 Bombastic Breeder; 40 gallon Last year I got back into the hobby after a twenty year hiatus. To say a lot has changed is a colossal understatement. I was surfing youtube and came across Brandon’s vase pico and was blown away. I started doing a little research and was hooked. Last year I sent up a 14g biocube and have been quite successful thanks to Nano-reef. I have decided to build my dream tank. I was lucky enough to be in Petco the day the gallon sale started and picked up a 40b and a 20L. I have been collecting equipment and building a stand ever since. I plan to be wet by the end of feb. Current FTS: Nov. 3rd 2012 FTS: 10-29-12 Equipment: 40b with 20L sump Herbie overflow Reefdevil skimmer BRS dual carbon & GFO BRS ro-di MP40w ES (will likely get another 40 or mp10w es) Neptune Systems Apex Lighting: DIY led Stocking: To be determined
phild3791 Posted February 4, 2012 Author Posted February 4, 2012 First thing I needed to do was build a stand. I wanted it to look like a piece of furniture and still be functional. I decided to build a sturdy frame and cover it with nice wood. The front and side panels will be held on with magnets for easy access. Started of with some 2x4’s and 1x4’s of aspen. The stand is almost complete. Lap joint construction for the frame: Steel L brackets: Frame completed: Next it was time to skin it with some nice wood. I found some Aspen in the scrap pile and got busy: Next up it was time to make it look pretty. I was going to just paint it black to match the tank trim, but my wife talked me into putting a stain on instead. Almost done. Next on the agenda: Drilling the Tank
miniwhinny Posted February 4, 2012 Posted February 4, 2012 Love it !!! Going to be tagging along with this one
phild3791 Posted February 4, 2012 Author Posted February 4, 2012 Love it !!! Going to be tagging along with this one Thanks. While planning my build I was checking out others 40b's, yours is great I love the scape.
siwelk Posted February 4, 2012 Posted February 4, 2012 She call me Mr. Boombastic Say me fantastic touch me on the back She says I'm Mr. Ro Mantic, say me fantastic Touch me on the back, she says I'm Mr. Ro
phild3791 Posted February 4, 2012 Author Posted February 4, 2012 Great work on the stand. Thanks. That was the easy part. I'm a little worried about drilling the holes in the bottom of the tank
iball1804 Posted February 4, 2012 Posted February 4, 2012 Phil! Yay! I'm really excited to see this up and running!
phild3791 Posted February 4, 2012 Author Posted February 4, 2012 She call me Mr. BoombasticSay me fantastic touch me on the back She says I'm Mr. Ro Mantic, say me fantastic Touch me on the back, she says I'm Mr. Ro Lol. That song was stuck in my head when I came up with the tittle for this post.
phild3791 Posted February 4, 2012 Author Posted February 4, 2012 Phil! Yay! I'm really excited to see this up and running! Thank ballz.
phild3791 Posted February 5, 2012 Author Posted February 5, 2012 No problem. When can we see this wet? I'm hoping to have water in by the end of the month.
phild3791 Posted February 5, 2012 Author Posted February 5, 2012 MP20 to MP40 upgrade. I picked up an MP20 from Lawnman a while ago. I had a bunch of rewards points with BRS and bought the upgrade controller for half the price and picked up a mp40 power cord. Then it just a matter of opening the blue box and swapping dry sides. Quick and easy, MP40 w ES for $275.
phild3791 Posted October 29, 2012 Author Posted October 29, 2012 Long overdue UPDATE! I held off on starting the tank until summer was over. I have spent the last few weeks plumbing the tank, building the sump and finishing the canopy. The canopy is made of wood with a glass partition to protect the lights and other misc epuipment. I also added I lock to keep the kids out. Construction: Open: Staining: Keys & Lock: Next update: drilling and plumbing.
eawonko Posted October 29, 2012 Posted October 29, 2012 Looks awesome, even with the canopy (I'm not a huge canopy fan)!!! And not to mention that stand looks so beautifully done with that stain. I agree with the wife, the brown stain looks really great:)
phild3791 Posted October 29, 2012 Author Posted October 29, 2012 I'm not really a huge fan of the canopy either. But, given the circumstances it was a good option. We have forced air heat and evaporation rate is insane in the winter, add to that little children who really don't get the whole cat and curiosity story. Maybe in few years I can ditch the canopy
phild3791 Posted October 30, 2012 Author Posted October 30, 2012 I ordered ¾ inch return from Glass holes. What a great experience. The template and drill worked great. The extra candy was nice too I also drilled two holes in the bottom for the over flow. Overflow: picked up some black acrylic and made an overflow wall Routing out teeth: installed and waiting for a final water/leak test: I had planed on using flex tubing until I felt I had everything the way I like it and then plumbing PVC. But now I'm thinking of leaving the hose. Does anyone know what the Pro/Cons are of flex hose?
phild3791 Posted October 31, 2012 Author Posted October 31, 2012 I am using a 20L for the sump. In the right chamber I will have the skimmer, on the left is a fuge, and in the middle the return pump. Dual bulkheads in the overflow. One controlled with gate valve the other as emergency. I am already liking my decision to make front and side panels removable
CLR Posted October 31, 2012 Posted October 31, 2012 I don't want to sound stupid when I ask this but it looks like to me ur left side( the fuge) partition and the partition between the middle and right side are the same height. why would water flow into or out of the fuge at all once u filled it up to the final water level?
phild3791 Posted October 31, 2012 Author Posted October 31, 2012 I don't want to sound stupid when I ask this but it looks like to me ur left side( the fuge) partition and the partition between the middle and right side are the same height. why would water flow into or out of the fuge at all once u filled it up to the final water level? Not a stupid question at all. I plan on putting in a T after the gate valve, allowing water to go to the left and right chamber. I don't have the "T" plumbed in yet, I was going to wait until after I have done the final leak test. I also still have to decide on the flex hose or rigid PVC pipe. I was also thinking of having a second valve inline on the hose going to the fuge. That way I could restrict flow to the fuge and increase dwell time.
rb1685 Posted October 31, 2012 Posted October 31, 2012 I have pretty much the exact same setup in the works, so I'm following. What return pump do you plan to use?
phild3791 Posted October 31, 2012 Author Posted October 31, 2012 I have pretty much the exact same setup in the works, so I'm following. What return pump do you plan to use? The more I work on this the more I love the dimensions of the 40b. How far along are you on your build? I bought a Mag7 & oceanrunner OR3500. I will try both and which ever is quieter I will use and keep the other as a backup or use for a ATO.
rb1685 Posted October 31, 2012 Posted October 31, 2012 The more I work on this the more I love the dimensions of the 40b. How far along are you on your build? I bought a Mag7 & oceanrunner OR3500. I will try both and which ever is quieter I will use and keep the other as a backup or use for a ATO. Yeah, I love the dimensions too. I'd love them even more if they were rimless. Oh well. I have the tank, stand, and sump. I haven't done any drilling or plumbing yet. I think I'm going to soft-plumb everything like what you've done here. It just seems more practical from a maintenance perspective. I'm probably going to buy either my lights or the skimmer this weekend.
phild3791 Posted October 31, 2012 Author Posted October 31, 2012 The soft hose has made it easy to set up and move around. Going from a bc14 to the 40b is great. I have so much room. I bought the reef octopus NW150. The thing is huge, I had to make the skimmer chamber bigger than I wanted to. I should have bought the next size smaller. Are you going to be using a controller? I' still trying to decide if I should get a reef angel or the Apex.
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