Leon71 First Saltwater

[Leon71]

So I've been keeping freshwater fish for about 10 years. Early this year, I decided to give saltwater a try. Taking my time, and learning as much as I can from forums like Canreef. This is my journey so far.

End of Feruary, I bought a Marineland 120 Gal RR aquarium and an AquaticLife 4 bulb T5HO.

In March, I had a local aquarium guy build me a 50 gal sump.

Picked up 110 lbs of Marco rock from RedCoralEdmonton. Ordered a SWC160 cone skimmer from Winnipeg. Ordered a Vertex Puratek RO/DI 100 gpd from JL's.

Then in May, I started to build the stand and canopy. It is a basic 2x2, 2x3, & 2x4 construction. Skinned with 1/4" Oak veneer. And then I added solid oak corners, bottom trim, and crown mouldings. Stained with a "Cabernet" oil based stain and top coated with satin clear. Still have to finish the shelf around the bottom of the tank and the corner trim.

Pictures to follow. I need to figure how to attach in the middle of the message.

[Aquattro]

Originally Posted by Leon71

Pictures to follow. I need to figure how to attach in the middle of the message.

Ideally, use photobucket or some other hosting site for pics, then add the IMG link.

[AquaticFinatic]

Can't wait to see the pictures.

[Leon71]

The sump



The stand



The canopy


Stand doors



I needed to add an end door to the stand to be able to put the sump in.

[kien]

Originally Posted by Leon71

I consider them to be small small as they are only slots in the top in a 6" long pattern.

ya, looks small-small to me too :-) Are you forcing air through those vents with a fan?

[Leon71]

Originally Posted by kien

ya, looks small-small to me too :-) Are you forcing air through those vents with a fan?

Damn Kien, that was fast. I could add a fan pretty easy. One vent to intake and one to exhaust.

[Leon71]

As posted in another thread, I am concerned with using glass tops inside the canopy. Or going with just the canopy and ruining my lights with humidity. Here is a pic of the vents in the top of the canopy.

[kien]

I would place fans at either end of the canopy to run lengthwise myself. In the end it is probably a personal choice. The top or the back will work too.

Some people who battle tank overheat will fan their sump as well. You may find that you don't need to tho and can always add those fans later (or find an alternative like central AC or a chiller). The people whom I've seen with fans on their sumps also didn't have their sumps enclosed. I don't think I've ever seen vents or fans drilled into and enclosed tank stand. That doesn't mean they don't exist tho :-) I myself have never had to fan my sump area. I do have a fan in my canopy and central AC.



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[Leon71]

Originally Posted by kien

I would place fans at either end of the canopy to run lengthwise myself. In the end it is probably a personal choice. The top or the back will work too.

Some people who battle tank overheat will fan their sump as well. You may find that you don't need to tho and can always add those fans later (or find an alternative like central AC or a chiller). The people whom I've seen with fans on their sumps also didn't have their sumps enclosed. I don't think I've ever seen vents or fans drilled into and enclosed tank stand. That doesn't mean they don't exist tho :-) I myself have never had to fan my sump area. I do have a fan in my canopy and central AC.



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The ends of the canopy have fake doors on them, so that it looks like the stand.

I am not as worried about heat as this tank will be in the basement. But I do worry about humidity with all that electrical stuff.

[kien]

Oh if it is in the basement then ya you shouldn't need to worry about overheat. You may struggle with heating the tank tho LOL.

I'm actually curious too about people's experiences with humidity in their stands too.. 6 years in this hobby and I have never had any humidity issues in my stand and have never had to fan any of my stands. Most of my evaporation comes off of the display tank where my fans are. Perhaps post a general question about tank stand humidity and venting in the general forum to see what others have to say.



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