42gl to 60gl upgrade

[bump3rb33tl3]

Decided to upgrade my 42gl funky shape aquarium a while ago. Was waiting for a deal and the hubby's green light.

Came across a fixer-upper for a decent price ($65!) a few weeks ago and decided to go with it!

My current set up....

From this I will transferring/re-using the light, heater, mp10's, LR, corals and fish, and 25% of the water. Will be adding another PH and upgrading my current doser.

The new tank will need to be re-plumbed. I really dont like the return line coming up from the center bottom of the tank so I was considering doing a custom foam rock wall with instructions I found on a thread I found here on r2r to hide it. I also want to replace the white pvc with black.

The glass itself is in good shape, no visible scratches. But needs a good vinegar bath and cleaning.

Then there is the stand and canopy. The doors are all removable, but not attached. I was considering hanging them in similar fashion to how barn doors are hung considering what we are thinking of doing.

I plan to sand down the stand and re-skin. The inside will also be sanded, painted, and sealed to accommodate a new sump, skimmer, reactor and uv bar. The canopy is in pieces and will need to also be sanded and re-inforced to handle a mounted reef breeder led light. I havent decided yet if Im going to re-sand and stain or do something fun like what we did in our laundry room....

(example)
So wish me luck! Im not a plumber and Im not a carpenter, so no telling how this will turn out lol!

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[Reefing Madness]

 

[bump3rb33tl3]

So I am way behind on my build thread! Alot has been accomplished since my last post and Im pretty satisfied

So the stand is done. We repurposed old, discarded pallets, used paint and stain we already had available to us as well as extra wood. We framed in an extension onto the original frame work with a removable top for easy access to the fuge section of the sump that doubles as a frag tank. The front and side are boyh removable and are secured by magnets. We used a rubberized spray to coat the inside. At this point in the process, we have not begun work on the canopy. Here are some pics prior to sealing.

 

[bump3rb33tl3]

Here are some pics of the finished product.

 

[bump3rb33tl3]

I built the sump from an old 40 breeder I picked up for free. I broke it down completely and used muriatic acid to clean the glass and remove excess build up. After taking the glass to my favorite glass shop, had them cut an inch off of the bottom and sides to remove chipped corners. Brought it home and polished up the glass.

It is a 4 chamber sump that uses gravity more than anything to carry the current through the fuge and allow for the chaeto to tumble. The fuge section is also where I keep my excess frags. The rtn section is larger to allow for additional equioment or a larger rtn pump in the future.

 

[bump3rb33tl3]

For the main tank, I blacked out the back to help hide the rtn/drain as well as the gyre and keep the focus on the aquarium itself. Before I added the Tropic Eden Reefflakes, I laid some egg crate down under where I planned for the LR to be to help keep sharp corners off my glass and provide some nooks for the tonga branch that is acting as a base to hold up the larger peice. It is a mixed reef tank containing a little bit of everything coral wise, but so far Ive kept the fish stock small and simple with a few clown, firefish, and a very small YT. As soon as he grows another 1/4 inch he will be allowed to go play with the big boys in my other tank.

I dose using Aqua Forest products and my Radion provides amazing light and coverage! Here are a few pics of my favorites

 

[bump3rb33tl3]

Work on the canopy has just begun! Hoping to finish up this weekend!

 

[bump3rb33tl3]

Got the canopy done this weekend.

We made our own mount for the Radion XR15 pro that lights up the tank. I noticed right away how much light I was losing before by just having the light free hanging. With the canopy, nearly all the light is captured and directed down. The tank seems so much brighter now.

Had thought of hinging the front, but in the end just went with a wood hook type of feature so I can easily take the front completely off and on. Will get some pics posted up soon!