New reef in the works, 225g

[Delphinus]

Looks awesome laid out like that. How are you gonna get the pieces into the tank? Man, I can't move a rock and then put it back the way it was 5 minutes later, they never fit together the same way!

Just curious why you want to run UV, what's the goal behind that?

[Finaddict]

wow nice rocks!! great color on them already.

[Dave C]

Originally Posted by Delphinus

Looks awesome laid out like that. How are you gonna get the pieces into the tank? Man, I can't move a rock and then put it back the way it was 5 minutes later, they never fit together the same way!

Just curious why you want to run UV, what's the goal behind that?

I put the rocks back into the bins in groups, left island in one box, right in another, middle in another. And I took a ton of pics so hopefully I can recreate something similar.

The goal behind the tank is to keep it clean, low nutrient, disease free, algae free, cyano free. I've had good luck with UV for many issues in the past & it's like a good insurance policy in my experience.

[Dave C]

The stand is done. I used 1/2" MDF with primer & 3 coats of alkyd paint to seal it. It's a nice charcoal grey. The panels are held to the stand with four 1/2" rare earth magnets. There is a slot for the DJ panel to pop out so I don't have to remove the panel to turn on/off devices. I ditched the other DJ panel and will access those devices through the Aquatronica controller, which is also mounted on the outside of the stand. So I can control everything from the front of the stand.

I made the height of the panels 2 1/2" taller then the top of the steel so it will cover the 3/4" plywood, 3/4" styro and the bottom pane of the tank.

[Delphinus]

The grey sure gives it a cool industrial look to it.

Looks really good. Although I can tell right off the bat that you don't have small kids Man those are some mighty tempting buttonnnnnnnns!!! And an LCD controller? Total finger magnet!

[Dave C]

Originally Posted by Delphinus

The grey sure gives it a cool industrial look to it.

Looks really good. Although I can tell right off the bat that you don't have small kids Man those are some mighty tempting buttonnnnnnnns!!! And an LCD controller? Total finger magnet!

Actually I do have an 8 year old boy. But he wouldn't touch any of those buttons, he's as stoked about the new tank as I am.

[Delphinus]

Ah... 8's not too bad though. I was sorta thinking 3 and under. "Ohh buttons and switches." At least that's how it is in my house... My guy is 17 months and I'm sure my neighbours think my house is possessed with the lights turning on and off all the time. I've learnt to live with it ... But it's something that immediately leaps to my attention, those red switches and the controller... right at toddler height to boot. Oh well, don't worry, at least since we're in different cities you're in no danger of us coming over for a visit and rearranging the on-off thingies in your tank

[Farrmanchu]

I've got a three year old, and I thought she would sabotage my reef for sure. Instead, she's very into fish and corals, and very respectful of the equipment. If they like reef, they learn fast. Now, if I can only get her to stop eating the saltcreep...........
Once everything is hooked up Dave, I wanna try ALL the buttons and controls

[Flusher]

That looks well-built and very tidy. I like that the controllers are visible. The magnet idea is awesome, too. Good job.

I can't help but think that it looks a bit like a server, or maybe a smaller version of ENIAC.

Once the tank is on there, though, it'll look wicked.
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