Hello!

Bloke · 06-26-2007, 02:12 PM

Well... What do I say?

I bought a 90g reef-ready tank from Sea Dreams to replace the 55g tank sitting in my family room. I wanted something a little larger without going to a 6' tank. I will be running it with a 45g sump which should give me a nice volume of water. The sump used to run DNGSPOT's 150g setup so it should work great for this 90g. It has already been drilled for an auto top-off and I already have a float valve - therefore, it's ready to go.

For plumbing, I have an Ocean Runner 3500 which pumps ~950gph. I am sure with a single drain that I will have to adjust it, so I plan to use the pump to run a UV sterilizer as well. I have heard nothing but good things about these pumps and best of all, they run very quietly, which is another plus since this tank will be sitting within 3 feet of the TV.

I've already purchased the lighting for it from a place called Catalina Aquarium. I really would suggest checking them out. I bought a 2x250w MH setup including 2 10k bulbs for less than I could find at most other sites including piecing one together. The only draw back is that some sites offer free shipping whereas they do not.

My first chore is to build a stand. The tank footprint measures 48.5 x 18.5 so I added .25" to each and started cutting. I wanted to make certain to have enough support for what will probably weigh somewhere close to 1000 lbs when filled. I also wanted to make it a little taller than most factory stands, so I made it 36" tall. I plan to make the canopy between 12" and 14" tall. More to come...

Bloke · 06-26-2007, 02:12 PM

For the sump, I think I am going to have a place where the water can flow over a filter pad before dumping into the return chamber. You can see the pieces of glass which will be holding up the eggcrate and filter media on the left side. My only concern is keeping the calupera off the media, but if it does, the water will simply overflow the last baffle which is lower than the top of the sump.

This is a 45g (~ 48x12x19) tank. Water will be moving from right to left. The display tank will be draining down from the left side to the right side of the sump. I wanted to reduce the head pressure on the pump so I figured I would have it make the shortest run instead of the drain - does that make sense? The pump plumbing will run straight up about 2 feet is all.

Bloke · 06-26-2007, 02:13 PM

Well, I think I am going to put the skimmer on the intake side (1st Chamber). I know you prefer to put it on the return side, but I will not have the room. The sump is going to fit VERY tightly!

Can you think of somewhere else to put it?

geekdafied · 06-26-2007, 03:06 PM

welcoem to 3reef!

cuttingras · 06-26-2007, 03:34 PM

Welcome to 3reef Post some pics along the way!!!

Otty · 06-26-2007, 06:30 PM

Welcome to 3reef, glad to have you aboard. Start you a thread here Show off your tank and post your progress on your tank build. Looks like you are on your way to a nice set up.

mattgeezer · 06-26-2007, 07:07 PM

g`day bloke and welcome to 3reef!!!!

omard · 06-26-2007, 09:43 PM

To 3Reef!!!

Glad to see you here at 3Reef! --- very smart to build stand base 36" high. Wish I had thought of that while building mine.

Keep us posted, you have our attention now.

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Bloke · 09-15-2007, 05:58 PM

I haven't updated in a while so here goes...

Here's a picture of the progress on the stand...

I've got the majority of the work done, but I'm not finished. I still have some trim work to do on the canopy as you can see, and of course the doors aren't made yet. Overall, I can't compain; it's coming along nicely. To cut the holes for the doors, I used a router with an edging bit. Worked like a charm.

I hope to be finished with everything tomorrow so I can start to stain this weekend.

Bloke · 09-15-2007, 05:59 PM

Well, between visiting with some family friends, talking a while with missile150 (Jim), and watching the race today, all I got accomplished was finishing out the canopy. As you can see, I managed to get the rest of the trim on the canopy, the ventilation holes, as well as the lid and the hinges.

I wanted to make certain that I didn't have to hold up the lid when it was lifted, so I bought spring-loaded hinges; typical to those found on children's toy boxes so that once lifted, it would remain open.

For ventilation, I cut three 3" holes in the back. I will leave the center hole open and install two 3" Sunon fans in the others. I plan to finish out the doors tomorrow.