Hello again r2r. I have been lurking and posted my garage build thread here that took place last year. So this will be my first build documented in "real time" here on r2r I guess lol. Well after a year of running a successful reef and 2 years of ensuring I'm doing justice in the maintenance department with other tanks, I've decided to finally try a SW tank inside my house. This is going in my office where I spend about 10-12hrs a day in the spot I used to have my cichlid build. One of the benefits of my garage buildhttp://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f14/benjamins-75g-garage-build-fowlr-to-reef-184127.html is that I could make a mess and automate a lot of maintenance things like water changes. My office happens to be on the opposite side of the house so water changes will prove to be annoying as most know.
This is a 57g rimless that I got off a guy in our local reef club. He was frustrated with the filtration setup and the DIY stand in his foyer so he finally swapped this out for a nicer stand and longer, shallower rimless setup. This tank was setup with a single 1" nano overflow and 3/4" return.
Here is the tank on our local club's "tank tour" back in October/2012:
And here it is today:
I'm opting for a herbie so it needs another hole drilled and I haven't quite figured this out yet. I'll probably do it between the 2 and down a few inches and make a new overflow that will enclose the return as well. This will have a full syphon and 2nd emergency drain.
My intention is to build this and most likely sell it as a complete setup in about a year. Honestly, I love building this stuff as much as I love the livestock. I'm building the stand with 4 finished sides so it can be positioned as a peninsula or run it lengthwise in a corner. So I'm trying to center the overflow and hide the guts if the future owner wants it as a peninsula. I'm also considering putting it in another spot in our house down the road as a peninsula if I don't sell it. Who knows, maybe I'll love it and have it in the office for years Only time will tell! More to come.
This will be a slow build... I'm looking at this being wet in April. The stand will be what holds everything up.
Equipment...I don't have everything decided on but here is what I'm looking at right now for the setup:
57g rimless (purchased)
1000SSS skimmer (purchased)
Maxijet 5500 (was on my cichlid build)
Custom glass sump. I've got salvaged 3/8" glass and may try to make my own for sh!ts and giggles.
Refugium
Most likely Radion LEDs but I'm also looking at the Vertex Illumina SR 360
MP10ws (purchased)
2 200w Titanium heaters (purchased)
5g ATO (was on the cichlid build)
Fiji pink sand like I have in the 75g (purchased)
I cleaned the skimmer which had been neglected for awhile. It ran great but it was time for deep clean in a vinegar bath and a little elbow grease.
I managed to squeeze this into my current sump so it can get seasoned a bit and when I'm ready to get it wet it will be ready on day one with live sand, live rock and water from a water change on my 75g.
Coral... the 75g was an experiment and learning tool. The corals in the garage tank right now are things I've picked up at meets, traded for or got because or a good deal. It's a true mixed reef without much of a plan. This tank I'd like to scape and hand pick coral. I've decided that I'm going to stay within a red-purple-blue palette with some white here and there. I'm also considering painting the office a cool light gray with a tint of blue/purple in it since it's been the same tan that was here when we moved in 5 years ago. I don't plan on a huge variety here but I'll be hunting for some of these pieces with the end goal of having minimal rock and a few large colonies:
Purple plating monti
Purple monti digita
Red, purple or blue acros
Red, purple or blue zoas
White pipe organs
Pink bird's nest
Pink stylo
Red or pink hammer
Not sure about an anemone (I'm not sure I want the hassle of it's movement)
Fish... to contrast the coral, most of the fish will be yellow or gold in color. I have a few the will blend in as well and pop off the wall behind the tank since it won't be painted (and I'm a fan of no coraline on the glass). I'm trying to find some less common fish. I love chromis (colorful, cheap and hearty usually) Obviously I'm not getting all of this but I want a small school and a shrimp goby pair, a total of about 10 fish eventually. Maybe even less because I don't want avoid as much hostility as I can with the rimless. I'm looking at these:
Yellow & Black Heraldi Angelfish (on the fringe but will be the center piece)
1 School
Trio of Acares Midget Reef Chromis (really like the look of these with the colors)
Trio of Lemon Chromis
Trio of Vanderbuilt Chromis
Trio of Agile Chromis
Trio of Black & White Chromis
A Pair
Black-Rayed Shrimp-goby (a ton of pop)
Flag-Tail Shrimp-Goby (amazing looking)
Clown Goby (probably just go with the blenny)
Red Mandarin
1 of these
Midas Blenny
Tail Spot Blenny
Pair of Black Ocellaris Clowns (they'll pop off the back wall and rimless look)
Here is a sketch for planning the lighting and plumbing. I really want this to be a unique setup and a show piece for what I can build. I also loved how everything floated in place at Charles' so I want this to be as simple looking as possible. I'm planning on making a floating canopy that has all the wiring within the wall. My idea at the moment is mount the LEDs inside a vented enclosure and create a nice cleat for the light to be suspended on. It will literally look like it's floating and be clean like TVs and such these days. I'll also have only one wire coming out of the stand and a power station inside. You can see I'll have a wooden enclosure for the overflow and return which will match the stand.To keep it low profile I'm reverse mounting the bulkheads and trimming them as flush as possible. This can be an issue on larger setups or bottom drilled tanks due to pressure and the way the gasket and nut are designed, but inside a small overflow it shouldn't present a problem... however, it's DIY and an experimentation
wowzo, looks great. Lot of gobys and blennys planned. Dont they get a bit aggressive toward each other? especially in a 57G. Looking forward to seeing you get this together. great looking set up. Really like those Rimless
wowzo, looks great. Lot of gobys and blennys planned. Dont they get a bit aggressive toward each other? especially in a 57G. Looking forward to seeing you get this together. great looking set up. Really like those Rimless
Yes they would but I'm not getting all of those fish (or all that coral). Only 1 of each kind aside for a selection of chromis and then I'll just have 3 of that kind. All in all I will have 10 fish or so down the road.
I stumble onto a deal on a Marzarra P with controller. Mazarra-P LED Lighting System I'm picking it up later this week. If it doesn't turn out to be what I was thinking I can resell it at no loss. It's a shame that it'll be sitting in my garage for a few months still
No not really unfortunately. This build is waiting on our addition and moving my office. I didn't want to setup the tank and then break it down. It's still in the works. I have all the equipment I just need the space.
Anything for you Rev. Almost a year to the date of starting to discuss the addition, we are finally moving. We're on our second contractor, the loan is pre approved, we have plans, surveys, permits and we locked in on our rate Friday. That means we could be breaking ground at the beginning of October and it's estimated to take 2 months. I'll give it 3 and it not wrapping up until mid-January The good news is that I can plan on switching my office with my son's room and getting this tank going. I still have everything I need and now have the 2 old 1260s from my 125g garage setup for a return (just 1 of corse). I've picked up a few corals for this already including the white pipe organs, purple cap (which had a bad encounter with a nudi brach) and some purple zoas.
It's been almost a year since I started this thread. While the build hasn't started, everything leading up to it has. We decided to add onto the house shortly after and this meant switching my office with my son's room. Rather than setup a tank and break it down I put it on hold. Well, the loan process and planning took way longer than it should have and we got a late start. Along the way we debated moving my garage tank into the wall or to do a larger reef on another. Needless to say, it's become a huge undertaking but things are going to get rolling after the holidays. The addition should be done in about 3 more weeks. Here are some progress shots. We are breaking through today. The electrical will be getting a massive overhaul this week and I'm getting 3 new breakers run. 1 for the rimless in the new office and 2 for the 200+ gallon build in the dining room. More to come...
Only time will tell! More to come.
