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Myka's 100-gallon SPS Reef
This is one heck of a slow build...
In March 2011 I made a comment in a thread about a tank that Concept Aquatics was building - something along the lines of "That tank is almost exactly what I want to build". So Dave sends me a PM, I send him my ideal dimensions and build, and next thing I know I ordered a freakin tank! How the heck did that just happen?! :lol: So I picked up the tank in Calgary in April of 2011. I was still working out of province at that time and knew I wouldn't get around to setting up the tank until late summer when I was back to Saskatoon permanently. Well, summer came and went and I had too many projects on the go. Winter was a write off because I garage was not heated last year (it is now though woohoo). So spring 2012 came along and I got all gung ho and framed a stand while I was making the stand for the 50-gallon LPS tank. I even skinned the stand, but I didn't cut the doors and the project faltered there. Today I finally got my butt into the shop, cut the doors, re-installed one of the panels that I didn't like the corner of, filled and sanded the whole thing, and got a first coat of paint on the inside! Gasp! :eek: The stand is constructed of 2x4s with 1/4" sanded plywood skinning it. I ran the plywood up higher than the top of the stand to cover the 1/2" rigid foam and the bottom pane of glass of the tank. The stand will be painted the same color as the wall it will be sitting in front of which in this case is chocolate brown. My 50-gallon is across the room against a sage green wall and that stand is painted sage green. I really like the look, since little attention is drawn to the stand. The stand itself is finished very simply so as to draw as little attention as possible. So, the tank won't be anything too fancy. I will just be doing a tank transfer from my 90-gallon into the 100-gallon. My biggest complaints about my 90 are that the 18" width is cramped to fit halides with T5s running beside them, and the internal overflow is an eyesore that takes up too much real estate. I didn't actually want a tank much bigger, just a tad wider. So the new 100-gallon is 48x20x24" with polished edges, black silicone, and the front pane is Starphire. There is black acrylic installed on the inside of the tank for a background to cover up the external overflow. There is a centered rear external overflow that has two holes for 1" Herbie drains. There are two return holes drilled near the surface on either side as well. I have an Oceans Motions Squirt collecting dust so I will stick it on there so my return will switch from the left line to the right line for slightly better circulation through the tank. I won't be using my Wavebox in the new tank since SPS don't move in the current I would rather use powerheads and not have that bulky box in the tank. I would like to have a couple large Koralia powerheads and then a large Eheim controllable pump to create diversity in the flow. The tank will be bare bottom. The 90 has a canopy, and the new 100 has polished edges so I do not want to cover them up. I would like to swap out my MH pendants for a MH+T5 fixture that I will hang on arms attached to the back of the tank. I want an SE fixture which is tough to find. I've been looking at the Hamilton Cebu fixture... Equipment: 48x20x24" tank 30-gallon sump 30x16x14" Poseidon PS3 return pump SWC Extreme Cone 180 2x250 watt halides in PFO pendants on Vertex ballasts with Phoenix 14K SE bulbs 2x54 watt Tek T5 retrofit kit with KZ Super Blue bulbs Drew's Dosers dosing pumps TLF PhosBan Reactor with BRS pelleted GFO Tunze Osmolator 2x75 watt Eheim heaters Jebo triple fan (cheap and indestructible!) Livestock: About 40 different SPS corals (10 fairly large pieces) Rose BTA Square Spot Anthias (male) Tomato Clownfish (unbonded pair) Grey Head Wrasse (male) Flame Angelfish 2x Yellow Tail Blue Damsels Tailspot Blenny Black Brittle Starfish (5 years old) Tuxedo Urchin Astraea snails Ring Cowries Various sand-dwelling critters that will need to be removed (Conch, Nassarius snails, Cerith Snails, etc) |
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hehe i like the old nova in background
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That stand looks good! Nice work! What's your estimated date for getting this tank wet?
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48" Giesemann Spectra if you can find one., find 2 and i'll take one :biggrin: - my new tank will be very similar - 48L X 24W X 20H - just trying to decide on wether to go 1 piece euro or go rimless - Concepts too.
Good luck with the build. |
Nice job on the stand! Time to get er going!!
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You know, seeing all that snow in your Mar 2012 picture wasn't a very nice reminder for what will soon be upon us!
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You got me wondering if you are the handiest women in the world their Mindy. Looks like an impressive build.
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Cool, but I think the tanks been dry for far to long :razz:
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Good to see you on the building path with this Mindy! It must be that little trip we're making at the end of the week to Dallas that's got your tank Mojo kicking in again!
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Cool! So I guess we can expect to see a finished stand by say Dec and maybe a wet tank by mid 2013 :wink:
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Yeah the tank should be transferred around July 2014. :mrgreen: In all reality, I'm hoping by the end of October. After I come back from MACNA I'm headed to BC for a week to visit family.
I knew someone would comment about the Nova! :lol: Quote:
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I'm on a roll!!! Got the second coat inside the stand done (white semi-gloss outdoor), and got the first coat of paint on. I just used the paint pot tester I bought when I was picking the colors for the house walls. It's just a flat indoor paint. After 3 coats of this flat paint with light sanding between I will put 2 coats of satin finish polyurethane.
Looks like I will need to do some touch-up filling before I put the next coat of paint on. http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k4...Sept242012.jpg |
Filled, spot primed, and 2nd coat! Roxy photo bombed! :lol:
http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k4...Sept252012.jpg |
Wow Mindy slow down you are going to fast. lol
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I was just looking back at pics. The framing pics outside on the first page were a year ago yesterday and there was no snow in the yard. Today we have 5' piles from shoveling walks and there is a good 2' in the middle of the yard. WTF?!?!?! :eek: |
Welcome to E town Ms M....it will be nice to see another new face at the reefers meetings
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Well, the other half got cold feet - after mortgage pre-approval, after hunting MLS for months, and after two trips to Edmonton to look at houses. *sigh* So, we are no longer moving to Edmonton. Oh well... :sad:
Anyway... I got some progress done today! *gasp* It's been rainy all day so I dragged the tank and stand inside and I've been installing the HDPE board (Starboard), the acrylic on the back, and the eggcrate on the overflow. I also decided I'm going to add a ledge around the top of the stand because I didn't plan the HDPE bottom when I designed the stand and therefore the edge of the HDPE is in plain sight. It's an eyesore, so I think a ledge around the top will look nice anyway. I haven't really decided which color to use for the ledge. I would prefer a stained wood, but I don't think the chocolate color of the stand and the wall behind the tank will go very well with a natural wood color. I don't think it wold look very good the same color as the stand. I'm leaning towards a white finish to match the trim in the house. I still need to finish the doors for the stand too. At this point, I can't actually find the second door... :neutral: The tank and stand are just sitting at the edge of the kitchen for now while I finish it up. The new tank is going in the same place as the old tank, so it's going to be a pain in the butt to do the transfer. http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k4...une1520132.jpg http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k4...ne152013-1.jpg |
Looking good
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Looking great and with sps oh my
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Wow, Mindy, that's a sexy looking box of glass
And the woodworking is very nice Can't wait to see what you do to hide the Starboard :smile: |
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