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caas1496's 40 Breeder - One Year FTS!


caas1496

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Most Recent FTS:

Spoiler

12/6/2020:

 

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Updated 11/19/2020:

Tank: Drilled 40 Breeder with Modular Marine Overflow (Bean Animal Style)

 

Sump: 20 Gallon Long with Custom Baffles

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/custom-20g-long-sump-design-feedback-wanted.601665/

 

Filtration: Carbon, Klir Filter Roller, Simplicity Skimmer

Lighting: Aquatic Life T5 and Orbit Marine Pro

                    -2X Blue+

                    -1X Coral+

                    -1X Actinic

Flow: Sicce 2.0 return pump with RFG nozzles

          2X Nero 5 

          1X standard non-controllable powerhead

Dosing: Red Sea Ca, Alk, and Mg on Kamoer X1 Dosing Pumps

Heater: 200W Cobalt Neotherm

______________________________________________________

I have been working on this project here and there for a while but I figured it was time to start an official thread. This tank will hopefully be filled in the next few weeks! 

 

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This tank marks a lot of firsts for me so please chime in if you have suggestions.

 

Does anyone still use Miracle Mud? I was thinking about adding it to my refugium section. I built a tray to hold some substrate in my fuge and am looking for suggestions on what to fill it with. 

 

I'm also gonna go bare bottom with this tank and hopefully grow some montis, zoas, and other encrusting corals all over the starboard at the bottom. I have a lot of montis at the top of the scape in my 20 gallon and I dont want to repeat that mistake. They are fast growers and shade out large sections of the tank. 

 

I am currently working on the plumbing which has given me a lot of appreciation for all the reefers with those immaculate color coordinated PVC works of art in their stands ( you know who you are). I am on at least the 4th home depot run at this point. 

 

Anyways I look forward to getting this tank wet and sharing the progress with everyone!

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Had a bit of a plumbing setback this weekend. I ordered two 3/4 inch ball valves from PVC Fittings Online and one of them just wont fit onto 3/4 inch plumbing. The fittings on each end are too small. But also not the correct size for 1/2 inch PVC. Not really sure what happened there... hoping I can get a new fitting from them. We will see how their customer service is. 

 

I did pick up a couple RFG nozzles. Anyone have experience with these? I was disapointed with the spin streams that I tried for a while on my 20 gallon.

 

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My check valve and gate valve should be arriving this week from BRS and I can hopefully finish the plumbing next weekend 🤞

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Finally got all the valves I need to finish up the plumbing. The red handles were going to bother me way too much so gave them a coat of blue spray paint. Now they match the sump colors nicely. 

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I'm thinking about getting some RGB led strips for under the stand. Want to be able to change them so I have whites for working down there and blues for fun sump effects!

 

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Does anyone think these bubbles in the seam at the front of the tank are cause for concern or are they common with these cheaper glass tanks? I am getting mixed opinions from my research so far. 

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On 11/9/2019 at 8:00 AM, Wonderboy said:

That's normal with some cheaper tanks - don't worry about it!

Thats good news! I kinda figured as much but it helps to get a second opinion. 

 

Finally got the plumbing finished. Really hope there arent any leaks. Getting this tank plumbed was a larger task than I expected. 

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I also siliconed the starboard into the tank this weekend so I have to wait for it to cure before I fill it up. 

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  • 2 weeks later...

There are some very slight gaps at random spots around the tank with about enough space to slide paper under the tank. Gonna get some water in and see if the tank settles onto the plywood. This part makes me very nervous. 

The rock isn't my aquascape. Just there to make sure the starboard doesnt try to float on me. 

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17 hours ago, Sharbuckle said:

Looks like you took your time planning this one. The plumbing looks great, so does the sump. Looking forward to seeing  some progress.

I have been taking it slow. Lots of things to learn along the way with drilling the tank, plumbing it, installing the starboard, etc.

 

It is still slowly filling today. A little over half full currently. 

 

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2 minutes ago, caas1496 said:

I have been taking it slow. Lots of things to learn along the way with drilling the tank, plumbing it, installing the starboard, etc.

 

It is still slowly filling today. A little over half full currently. 

 

The good ole very anxy rodi slow fill

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4 minutes ago, Matteo said:

The good ole very anxy rodi slow fill

Exactly. There is still a gap between the tanks bottom rim and plywood at the front, middle of the tank that is enough to slide a paper under. Its abiut 6-8 inches wide. The corners and short edges of the tank are firmly seated on the plywood. Should I be concerned? 

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9 minutes ago, caas1496 said:

Exactly. There is still a gap between the tanks bottom rim and plywood at the front, middle of the tank that is enough to slide a paper under. Its abiut 6-8 inches wide. The corners and short edges of the tank are firmly seated on the plywood. Should I be concerned? 

I don't think so. The wood and tank will settle. Think of all the shitty Chinese built stands you get with an aqueon tank from petsmart or petco. No way those things are perfectly level. 

 

Do you have a foam pad between the tank and wood or is just directly in there? 

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54 minutes ago, Matteo said:

I don't think so. The wood and tank will settle. Think of all the shitty Chinese built stands you get with an aqueon tank from petsmart or petco. No way those things are perfectly level. 

 

Do you have a foam pad between the tank and wood or is just directly in there? 

I dont have any foam. I have read that it doesnt really help much with plastic rimmed tanks and is more important with rimless tanks where the whole bottom glass sits on the stand. 

 

I had the same thought about the cheap chinese wood stands. This has to be at least as good as those. At least thats what I tell myself as the water drips in for hours on end haha.

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On 11/8/2019 at 11:06 PM, caas1496 said:

Does anyone think these bubbles in the seam at the front of the tank are cause for concern or are they common with these cheaper glass tanks? I am getting mixed opinions from my research so far. 

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40 breeder is the longest rimmed tank they make without a center brace. Tank will bow a good bit which is why you have the bubbles. I was super paranoid when I had a 40 breeder set up but they are there in every 40b I’ve ever seen.  Looks like a sweet setup.  You have really done it right the first time. Well done.  Looking forward to see it get filled up. 

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2 hours ago, caas1496 said:

I dont have any foam. I have read that it doesnt really help much with plastic rimmed tanks and is more important with rimless tanks where the whole bottom glass sits on the stand. 

 

I had the same thought about the cheap chinese wood stands. This has to be at least as good as those. At least thats what I tell myself as the water drips in for hours on end haha.

I just realized it's a rimmed tank. I think you'll be totally fine! 

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Well plumbing isnt perfect... 😞 So far one leaky glued joint and both threaded joints are leaking. Off to get some pvc to replace the bad sections. Im am very thankful for the unions at this moment. 

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After 2 trips to Home Depot and a trip to Lowes, many plumbing fixes, and a bad ball valve.... the tank is filled and water is flowing!

 

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To all future first time tank plumbers. Use unions. Put them everywhere you can. I wish I had used even more than I did. It saved me a lot of headaches. I have learned so much plumbing this tank but it has been a really fun part of the hobby for me. Ill throw some more lessons learned below for anyone who may be interested.

  • When you are glueing your unions onto your PVC sections dont forget to put the threaded sleeve on first... this happened more times than I care to admit
  • Check your unions at the hardware store to make sure the o-ring isnt missing and check them again before final install to make sure you havent lost it in the assembly process.
  • Combining flex pvc with regular rigid pvc is great for spots where you dont want to worry about getting the rigid pvc lined up perfectly. Its more expensive than the rigid stuff but if you use it in just a few critical spots it can make your life so much easier.
  • I found the glue together pvc fittings much easier to get a good seal than the threaded ones. This is probably due to my lack of experience but just wanted to mention it. 
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On 11/25/2019 at 1:16 AM, Wonderboy said:

Great work - looking slick!

Thank you, so far so good. The bubbles in the seams are still there but havent grown and the little micro bubbles that seem to be common with 40 breeders showed up when it was filled and the front glass bowed a bit. Im keeping an eye on these seams.20191127_192805.thumb.jpg.f04aa711719736c4fb062c23bd6b2731.jpg

 

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Looking good! For what it’s worth, those bubbles look just like the ones I had on my 40 breeders. The seams didn’t give out on me but they’re always there, staring you in the face. 

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23 minutes ago, Poodges said:

Looking good! For what it’s worth, those bubbles look just like the ones I had on my 40 breeders. The seams didn’t give out on me but they’re always there, staring you in the face. 

Yeah... Im sure I am just freaking myself out by looking at them all the time. Need to get the tank cycled so I have corals to distract me haha. 

 

I'm not super comfortable with the thin gaps under the plastic tank and sump trim either but on the other hand Ive seen people throw these tanks on top of cinder blocks unsupported in the middle....

 

On a positive note I am happy with how the refugium/frag section on the sump turned out. Really excited to have a spot for frags thats not in the display15749078511462100343844453126231.thumb.jpg.65c2639d9b67c0945d7707d9ef932f60.jpg

 

The little racks are removeable in the 3 different positions. I am tossing around the idea of making a shroom box that could swap in one of the spots as well. 

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