DIY 85 Gallon Rimless Reef

[DCaleWorks]

A while back I had to take down my 55 gallon reef and have finally got around to starting a new build. My wife and I have just finished building our house and their just happens to be a perfect spot for a reef! The only thing is it's a super weird size so I figured this was a perfect opportunity to get my hands dirty!

The tank size is going to be 41" wide by 24" tall by 20" deep, see I told you it was weird. I want to build the stand, tank and sump myself and bring in some top notch components. I am planning on using acrylic for the tank and through some really fancy math have determined that 1" Acrylite GP and Weld-On #40 should do the trick. I plan on doing a herbie overflow and possibly a refugium. I'm working on the CAD files now so everyone can get a better idea of what all this madness will look like.

Here are some of the other goodies I am planning to use in the build:
First choice is Lighting, I really want to go LED. I am torn between the Kessel pendants and the AI Vega Color lights. Any input here would be much appreciated.
Definitely going to do the Reefkeeper Elite with the network interface.
EcoTech Marine MP60 - end up having to go overkill to be able to use it on the 1" thick tank...
Could use some suggestions on a skimmer, pumps, dosing and media reactors.

Here are some pics of a cardboard mock-up of the tank with some dry rock from my last tank that I have held on to. Would love any feedback or suggestions!

 

[revhtree Verified Admin]

Looks great! Welcome to R2R!

 

[AsphaltPays]

Looking good I don't think you will be able to turn that mp60 down enough for that size tank Why 1" thick?Those are some nice Toys you have there!!

Welcome to R2R looking forward to your build

 

[DCaleWorks]

Looking good I don't think you will be able to turn that mp60 down enough for that size tank Why 1" thick?Those are some nice Toys you have there!!

Welcome to R2R looking forward to your build

I was worried about that, I might need to contact them and see what they say. The acrylic sides of the tank ate 1" thick to account for it being rimless, so the MP60 is the only Vortech that will go on a 1" thick tank.

 

[revsgirl]

Welcome to R2R!! Looks like it's gonna be a good one!

 

[DeclareYrWar]

Looks like you're off to a great start.

 

[Texasnano]

I would go with a Apex rather than the reefkeeper, I had a reefkeeper for several years and just switched to apex bout a month ago and I wanna smack my self for waiting so long

 

[MaxCanada]

I would go with a Apex rather than the reefkeeper, I had a reefkeeper for several years and just switched to apex bout a month ago and I wanna smack my self for waiting so long

'

whats better

 

[DCaleWorks]

I would go with a Apex rather than the reefkeeper, I had a reefkeeper for several years and just switched to apex bout a month ago and I wanna smack my self for waiting so long

I would totally be curious to hear what you like more about the apex...

Finally finished the CAD drawings for the tank and stand! The rim of the tank will sit 66" high just to give you a reference point.

 

[creefer]

I would go with a Apex rather than the reefkeeper, I had a reefkeeper for several years and just switched to apex bout a month ago and I wanna smack my self for waiting so long

I completely agree with this. I'll be going APEX on my next system without question.

I like your cad rendering. That's going to be a very nice build. I'm looking forward to following this.

 

[coder35]

great imagination

 

[DCaleWorks]

So after talking with Ecotech Marine the verdict is that the MP60 is waaaaay to much for this tank. That being said I have com up with a dry box for the back of the tank that should do the trick and be just the right size for an MP40. I saw this on D2Mini's tank on reefcentral and thought it was an awesome idea.

I also thought it would be awesome to put a hole on the front door of the stand to make the fuge a display fuge, any thoughts on this?

After looking at the Apex more im starting to agree with everybody, looks like it has a ton of versatility in being able to program just about anything you want. I even found a guy who wrote some code for it that does an auto water change program. Pretty cool!

 

[creefer]

I like the dry dock idea. I saw d2mini's tank on RC and it was a sweet building without question. I also like the display fuge idea. Unique macros can really set a system off if done correctly.

 

[saltwaternoob]

If you want to program a controler get a reef angel. I use a mp40 on my 1" tank, for me a dry box would be too much to worry about a leak. I hang my mp40 by its cord, not use the magnets to hold the dry side, all it has to do is spin/ hold the wet side. I don't know if its spinning at Max, but it moves a ton of water.

 

[DCaleWorks]

If you want to program a controler get a reef angel. I use a mp40 on my 1" tank, for me a dry box would be too much to worry about a leak. I hang my mp40 by its cord, not use the magnets to hold the dry side, all it has to do is spin/ hold the wet side. I don't know if its spinning at Max, but it moves a ton of water.

Thanks for the idea, I didn't even know that was possible with the MP40, Might be a better option for sure.

 

[Dumnorix]

Yeah good move on putting in dry box. Display fuge will be really nice, but make sure you have room for all of your equipment.

 

[ifarmer]

great setup... I am going to tag along

 

[DCaleWorks]

Yeah good move on putting in dry box. Display fuge will be really nice, but make sure you have room for all of your equipment.

Ya I plan on laying out the sump in CAD with all the equipment just to be safe! I hope to have the stand going in the next few weeks, once that is done I can get the tank rolling!

 

[ifarmer]

looking good so far