Fishy's 80g SC

[fishyfishy]

Time for another build.

I'm definitely pushing the good will of my wife who has seen me move from a 75 to a 120 to a 150 and now going to... An 80.

Ok, so not going bigger. So she likes that. I've come to terms I want the tank to be a showcase inside and out. And I want everything to work seamlessly by using the experience from the other tanks.

The 75 was good. Hardwood stand, decent sump, in sump skimmer, jeboa wavemakers, black box lights. Good budget build.

Went to 120 when I got a good deal used from someone leaving. Came with a great stand and some nice pieces of kit. Also came with a fish eating carpet nem. Big mistake was accepting the over the top overflow.

Bought the red sea max s 650 next from Dmitri here. Been running great, but I feel a little locked into red seas plan for my tank, and the black stand is not matching our house.

It's little things, but it keeps me wanting to get closer to what I see in threads. Ideally for me, the tank is almost one with the house. Im wall or built in cabinets to frame it to the wall more. Ideally no equipment highly visible, blue light spill kept to a minimum but still showcasing a rimless tank.

The underside is clean, matching, and looks like a lab/space shuttle control center. And everything is easily controllable and minimizes chances of failure.

So size will come down, quality and planning will be top priority so this tank can be amazing inside and out.

 

[fishyfishy]

The tank will frame into a 36" built in cutout in the house. And it's only 24" deep.

The tank is 32" by 24" so it's going to be tight and against the wall more or less. I know I'll have to leave a gap for cords and magnets and such, so likely will extend the cabinet I build out an inch or two to accommodate. The wall to the right of the built in goes a bit further than 24" so it should look like a normal planned cabinet if I build it right.

I'll get pictures of the house plan soon.

I made some major purchases this week for it, ouch my wallet hurts...

The tank SC aquariums 80g

Neptune trident (actually ordered a couple weeks aho) and running now)
Eshopps AF-100 sump (sweet orange color!)

Aquamaxx AF1 filter roller


Also ordered a bunch of blue pvc and unions for the plumbing. I'm one step (or 7) ahead as I need to get started on the stand.

Here we go

 

[civics14]

I’m with you about size. I went from a 60g cube to 65g to a 150g and went back down to a 105g. That was my sweet spot.
Also, I agree 100% about it matching your home. I went with a red sea with white cabinets to match my home. Aesthetics is a big thing for me, especially since my tank is in the living room.
I look forward to seeing your build.

 

[fishyfishy]

Thanks, yea your red sea in white matches your house well. I've seen it once before.

My house is kind of dark in the interior since I'm in a townhouse so the black stand always seemed to be a bit of a shadow in the living room. It also needs a few inches from the wall so stood out a bit taking up a bit too much space.

PS I'll need an acro pack again at some point. I've failed again with them part of this build is to make sure I am bulletproof and have everything in place for super stability, I could never trust my calcium reactor was dripping exactly right and work had taken off so couldn't test enough, hence why I got a trident.

 

[civics14]

I’ll hook you up with some freebies when you’re ready to test out. Just let me know.

 

[fishyfishy]

Got a new toy in from marinedepot. Props to marine depot, order to delivery was less than 24 hours!

Aquamaxx AF1 filter roller. Ready to go when I can catch up with the stand and everything else. Set up was simple, it was already fully assembled, just had to feed the roll and install float switch. 10 minutes tops. Looks like a good design and hopefully it fits in the new sump when it comes

 

[civics14]

are you making your own stand?

 

[fishyfishy]

are you making your own stand?

Yes. Gonna be a simple frame with 2x4's. And then wrap it with nice plywood. Will have to consider it's going to left in there if we move so will need to be able to match well and be built in

 

[fishyfishy]

Removed the shelves in the recessed wall. Need to touch up the drywall and paint.

 

[fishyfishy]

Progress continues...

Got the wall repaired where the tank will go. Removing the shelves left some marks, but nothing some drywall compound couldn't fix. Used the opportunity to make some progress painting the walls the new house color.



Then in to the stand. Picked up 9 2x4s and some sheets of 1/4" and 1/2" plywood. Built the simple frame that probably most are familiar with, by making a top and base frame and guides in the corners, then braced the corners with more 2x4s running vertical. Originally was going to have another vertical in center back, but decided it wasn't needed since it isn't too long of a stand.


Originally framed the whole thing with the 1/4" plywood but couldn't fit it in... I knew it was tight before wrapping it, so should have fixed it earlier in the build. Regardless, the sides are hidden so no worries, and I'll put the plywood in from the inside. Got it in place, and cut out the bottom piece of plywood for the sump area.



I'll probably cut the top and place it tonight before calling it wraps.

 

[civics14]

Is the tank the same width as the stand? Cause... how are you going to place pumps?

 

[fishyfishy]

It'll have an about an inch and a half on each side. Planning on running two gyres from the back, but I could also do them on the sides. No room for an mp40 I don't think though

 

[fishyfishy]

Tank just got delivered! Will post once I move it and fill it up for a leak test.

Stand is coming along with paint and trim complete, still have a little touch up to complete but it's getting close. Sump should arrive tomorrow!

 

[fishyfishy]

Got the tank in the spot! Excuse the project mess... Will fill up from the hose tomorrow to make sure it's all sealed up well. Seams look clean from visual inspection.

Sump should be arriving soon and I can begin thinking of plumbing. Want to create a controller board under the cutout on the left. The upper hole will house the trident and my original plan was to have the ddr under that, behind the controller board, with the whole bottom section pulling out to allow for refill. Still debating the original plan or using that area for top off water. Once the sump comes I can better envision the best plan for the rest of the equipment.

 

[ZapataInc]

Got the tank in the spot! Excuse the project mess... Will fill up from the hose tomorrow to make sure it's all sealed up well. Seams look clean from visual inspection.

Sump should be arriving soon and I can begin thinking of plumbing. Want to create a controller board under the cutout on the left. The upper hole will house the trident and my original plan was to have the ddr under that, behind the controller board, with the whole bottom section pulling out to allow for refill. Still debating the original plan or using that area for top off water. Once the sump comes I can better envision the best plan for the rest of the equipment.

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I would suggest testing it with water outside or in the garage...and let it sit for a day or so. You dont want to find a leak inside. Also letting it sit for a day or so will also help with peace of mind.

 

[fishyfishy]

Yea, I will let it sit for a day or so filled. I'll be at home so will check often and if something were to occur could drain fast.

I do agree I probably could have done it outside and it might have been a slightly safer route, so have no leg to stand on with that other than excitement to get it up on the stand... I'm not moving it again unless I have to (I basically moved it myself)

 

[fishyfishy]

Ok lots of action on the build! Too much going on to keep track, yesterday was full on tank transfer and getting equipment working right.

I got the sump delivered first and was initially very disappointed because I thought they delivered the wrong one. Turns out they just used a box for a different sump and slapped a picture on the front! Wasn't used or anything, but I guess covid has then behind on correct boxes.

Here is what the side had said ( was supposed to be AF100 not ADV)


The AF100 sump is very nice looking and it took me a while to figure out the flow of water through it. Interesting channel design. Getting it in the stand was more of a challenge as I didn't account for getting it around the side beams and had to cut out some wood from the equipment shelf to get it in.




Took care of plumbing after hours of trying to take care of bulkhead leaks and eventually everything was dry and working.

Ordered the kessil AP9X for lighting, as I thought it would be non obtrusive and the BRS video seemed positive for my sized tank and mixed reef.



Realise I don't have many more pictures in between, but working on cleaning up the cables and getting the rest of the equipment under.

 

[dball711]

I see what you were talking about, it looks like a built in. Tank's looking great, how do you like that Kessil for lighting. That mushroom should look and grow nice in that tank!

 

[fishyfishy]

Yes, should look great once I get the cables sorted and get doors on it.

I'm liking the kessil so far, it's on a 14 day acclimation schedule. Everything seems to be doing good for the most part, I had an acro that was necrosing, and that's stopped... I'm sure it's still gone but I think lowering the intensity is giving it a chance. I had it under 4 radion pros before so this is probably a good bit less intense, I was probably overdoing it on light before.

I'll keep the intensity increasing and hopefully borrow a pair meter at some point to zero it in for a mixed reef with acros across the top.

The light is only like 3 lbs and the fan is super quiet, so that aspect is very nice. Hopeful to see corals react positively but haven't been able to tell much yet as it's too new .

 

[fishyfishy]

Haven’t Updated for a while. I’ll try to post details but here is a pic!