Josh11915 Posted December 1, 2013 Share Posted December 1, 2013 So I am setting up a 30 gallon reef in my room (24x24x12) and my plan is to create as much water volume to keep water changes to a minimum and stability of water at a maximum. I want to have plumbing go under the house and into another room where I want to have at least 100 gallons of sw that will be connected to the 30 gallon tank. does anyone have any ideas on what I should use to keep cost down on the build and yet still keep quality and frustration to a minimum? I thought about building a "pond" type thing out of 2x4s but I don't want to build much.. So I found a 130 gallon pond at lowes but thought that it might need to be underground to keep the support on the sides. I have a 100 gallon acrylic tank but I would have to build I stand to set it on and I really want to build as little as possible. Does anyone have any other ideas? I'm just looking for the best option possible so I do it right the first time. And keep in mind that the display tank will only be 30in off the ground so whatever I do will have to be lower than that. Link to comment
TheKleinReef Posted December 1, 2013 Share Posted December 1, 2013 when i contemplated a sump for my frag tank i was thinking about one of these: http://www.katom.com/007-FG424288BLA.html?CID=Nextag&utm_source=Nextag&utm_medium=CSE&utm_campaign=CSE&zmam=29342707&zmas=1&zmac=3&zmap=007-FG424288BLA could work for you, but you'd have to take into account the depth of the container. Link to comment
Josh11915 Posted December 1, 2013 Author Share Posted December 1, 2013 when i contemplated a sump for my frag tank i was thinking about one of these: http://www.katom.com/007-FG424288BLA.html?CID=Nextag&utm_source=Nextag&utm_medium=CSE&utm_campaign=CSE&zmam=29342707&zmas=1&zmac=3&zmap=007-FG424288BLA could work for you, but you'd have to take into account the depth of the container. I really like that! Do you know where I could pick one up locally? I wouldn't know where to start.. Link to comment
TheKleinReef Posted December 1, 2013 Share Posted December 1, 2013 I really like that! Do you know where I could pick one up locally? I wouldn't know where to start.. maybe a tractor supply company or a farmer's store? i'm not exactly sure, i didn't end up going that route. i'm sure someone else here could chime in. Link to comment
Josh11915 Posted December 1, 2013 Author Share Posted December 1, 2013 maybe a tractor supply company or a farmer's store? i'm not exactly sure, i didn't end up going that route. i'm sure someone else here could chime in. that would be a good place to start. Thank you! Link to comment
Mazzy21 Posted December 1, 2013 Share Posted December 1, 2013 If you have a 100g acrylic sitting empty, couldn't you still just use that and put it on the floor?? If you need it to just sit off the floor, you could extremely minimally 'build' by having Lowes/Home Depot cut you some 2x4s to 2x- 6ft, and 2x- what? 18 inches or 2 feet? and then roughly nail those together and sit the tank on that. Still on the ground, but not sitting right against the basement floor, and very minimal work on your part. Plus you won't have to buy another piece of equipment and keep that 100g unused in storage. Link to comment
Archaic37 Posted December 1, 2013 Share Posted December 1, 2013 You can also use cinder blocks to raise up the 100G acrylic. you can do 3 stacks of them for the middle and ends of the tank and then get a piece of 1/2" plywood to go over all the cinder blocks so the acrylic is supported properly. Link to comment
Josh11915 Posted December 1, 2013 Author Share Posted December 1, 2013 If you have a 100g acrylic sitting empty, couldn't you still just use that and put it on the floor?? If you need it to just sit off the floor, you could extremely minimally 'build' by having Lowes/Home Depot cut you some 2x4s to 2x- 6ft, and 2x- what? 18 inches or 2 feet? and then roughly nail those together and sit the tank on that. Still on the ground, but not sitting right against the basement floor, and very minimal work on your part. Plus you won't have to buy another piece of equipment and keep that 100g unused in storage. This is true.. It's a 7ft long frag tank so it's super shallow (12"). That's the only reason why I'm going to be forced to raise it. I'll save money going this route I think.. I might even throw a couple fish in there or something cool. You can also use cinder blocks to raise up the 100G acrylic. you can do 3 stacks of them for the middle and ends of the tank and then get a piece of 1/2" plywood to go over all the cinder blocks so the acrylic is supported properly. This is brilliant! So simple and cheap! I thought about using cinder blocks but couldn't figure out how to support the bottom of the tank properly.. I even thought I could use some ply to go over the cinder blocks but I think it will be strong enough if I use the 1/2 in think.. I think this I'd the route I'm going to take unless someone comes up with a better idea. Link to comment
jbb Posted December 1, 2013 Share Posted December 1, 2013 sounds to me like you have a sweet 7' long shallow reef that could use a 30g sump just sayin Link to comment
Archaic37 Posted December 1, 2013 Share Posted December 1, 2013 sounds to me like you have a sweet 7' long shallow reef that could use a 30g sump just sayin Unless the acrylic tank is in poor condition and would make for a crappy display, or they don't have enough room for a 7ft tank lol This is true.. It's a 7ft long frag tank so it's super shallow (12"). That's the only reason why I'm going to be forced to raise it. I'll save money going this route I think.. I might even throw a couple fish in there or something cool. This is brilliant! So simple and cheap! I thought about using cinder blocks but couldn't figure out how to support the bottom of the tank properly.. I even thought I could use some ply to go over the cinder blocks but I think it will be strong enough if I use the 1/2 in think.. I think this I'd the route I'm going to take unless someone comes up with a better idea. Yeah 1/2" should be no problem. You may want to do 4 stacks of cinder blocks if it's 7 feet long but 3 should be enough since there will only be 2 3 foot sections that are not supported by cinder blocks and you will have 1/2" or 3/4" plywood over the entire thing. Link to comment
Josh11915 Posted December 1, 2013 Author Share Posted December 1, 2013 sounds to me like you have a sweet 7' long shallow reef that could use a 30g sump just sayin Haha I'm going to agree with you but I just don't feel like maintaining something that big atm lol. Link to comment
Josh11915 Posted December 1, 2013 Author Share Posted December 1, 2013 Unless the acrylic tank is in poor condition and would make for a crappy display, or they don't have enough room for a 7ft tank lol Yeah 1/2" should be no problem. You may want to do 4 stacks of cinder blocks if it's 7 feet long but 3 should be enough since there will only be 2 3 foot sections that are not supported by cinder blocks and you will have 1/2" or 3/4" plywood over the entire thing. The tank is actually like brand new lol. And I do have the room I just want low maintenance. Ha (lazy, I know) and I really don't feel like buying 3-4 vegas to cover it lol. But yes I think that's what I'm going to do. I'll set up a bunch of cinder blocks down the center and sides to make sure it's supported and throw some ply on top and call it a day! Link to comment
Red_Blenny Posted December 1, 2013 Share Posted December 1, 2013 I really like that! Do you know where I could pick one up locally? I wouldn't know where to start.. If you're in socal, there's a LFS here that's selling it for $75. Link to comment
jbb Posted December 1, 2013 Share Posted December 1, 2013 I really don't feel like buying 3-4 vegas to cover it Saving money is for the weak, your bills can wait NOW BUILD THE SHALLOW !!!! Link to comment
Josh11915 Posted December 1, 2013 Author Share Posted December 1, 2013 If you're in socal, there's a LFS here that's selling it for $75. That would be a long long drive!! Lol. I live in Florida. But maybe I will check with some lfs to see if they could get me one. Saving money is for the weak, your bills can wait NOW BUILD THE SHALLOW !!!! Haha I could do it I just don't want a huge tank to take care of. Once season kicks back in I plan on doing a huge tank with an even bigger setup in a room outside of the house.. I think that is going to be a total of around 600 gallons lol. Link to comment
malawian Posted December 2, 2013 Share Posted December 2, 2013 i would use 3/4" MDF on top of those cinderblocks and then a layer of foam on top of that. also, between each cinderblock in the stacks put a quarter at each corner to rule out most of the little imperfections in the faces of the blocks. I did this with a 75g for years with no issue. Perfectly level (probably more level than my $350 wood stand). Link to comment
1.0reef Posted December 2, 2013 Share Posted December 2, 2013 when i contemplated a sump for my frag tank i was thinking about one of these: http://www.katom.com/007-FG424288BLA.html?CID=Nextag&utm_source=Nextag&utm_medium=CSE&utm_campaign=CSE&zmam=29342707&zmas=1&zmac=3&zmap=007-FG424288BLA could work for you, but you'd have to take into account the depth of the container. This + sunlight = badass softie fuge with some cool livstock Link to comment
Chew_Magna Posted December 2, 2013 Share Posted December 2, 2013 There's also the option of building a plywood tank. Since it'll be in the basement it doesn't have to be purdy or anything. That way you could make whatever dimensions you want. Link to comment
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