Fotocha's BBB (Budget Breeder Build) 40 Gallon

Fotocha · Mar 24, 2019

glb said:
Are you going to skin the stand with wood?

Maybe down the road.

dhof · Mar 24, 2019

Fotocha said:
Oops my mistake that was @dhof 's tank. Curious how he did it.

Not quite following the discussion, but it looks like you guys are wondering how to skin a steel 40breeder stand. I am still incredibly happy with the HDPE I ordered to fit. Attached it with some magnetic tape (but since nothing holds to HDPE, I secured it with stainless staples). It looks beautiful and there is no sign whatsoever of the staples becoming loosened. It's post #14 here if you are interested: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/dhofs-40-breeder-tank-build.441996/

dhof · Mar 24, 2019

dhof said:
Not quite following the discussion, but it looks like you guys are wondering how to skin a steel 40breeder stand. I am still incredibly happy with the HDPE I ordered to fit. Attached it with some magnetic tape (but since nothing holds to HDPE, I secured it with stainless staples). It looks beautiful and there is no sign whatsoever of the staples becoming loosened. It's post #14 here if you are interested: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/dhofs-40-breeder-tank-build.441996/

Sorry, Post #23 has the staple picture. Also thought I'd share the dimensions and routing that I ordered here for anyone interested. I recall it was not cheap, but looks really nice. If I had a wood shop and router I could've picked up a sheet of starboard at Menards and saved a hundred bucks. I think I paid like $130 for both panels (mine is setup as a peninsula)

Fotocha · Mar 24, 2019

dhof said:
Sorry, Post #23 has the staple picture. Also thought I'd share the dimensions and routing that I ordered here for anyone interested. I recall it was not cheap, but looks really nice. If I had a wood shop and router I could've picked up a sheet of starboard at Menards and saved a hundred bucks. I think I paid like $130 for both panels (mine is setup as a peninsula)

What is that blue piece?

dhof · Mar 24, 2019

Fotocha said:
What is that blue piece?

I think you mean the blue piece I have on the end of the peninsula? I found a HD picture of a maze coral and I ordered a sheet of acrylic with the photo on it. Again, not especially inexpensive, but it really make the peninsula look awesome. It glows a bit with my refugium light. I had to cut the sheet I ordered where the horizontal crossbrace is on the stand, and I just hold it in place with 3 or for N52 magnets.

Fotocha · Mar 24, 2019

dhof said:
Sorry, Post #23 has the staple picture. Also thought I'd share the dimensions and routing that I ordered here for anyone interested. I recall it was not cheap, but looks really nice. If I had a wood shop and router I could've picked up a sheet of starboard at Menards and saved a hundred bucks. I think I paid like $130 for both panels (mine is setup as a peninsula)

This is geared for marine, it’s usually over priced for what it does. It’s designed to take a high degree of heat, wear and tear. I used to do auto, marine upholstery and carpentry. If you simply want something that’s water friendly and looks nice You can get the same effect using a sheet of ABS and making it rigid. Admittedly this makes a super material to use but I wanted to share there are alternatives to this.

dhof · Mar 25, 2019

Fotocha said:
This is geared for marine, it’s usually over priced for what it does. It’s designed to take a high degree of heat, wear and tear. I used to do auto, marine upholstery and carpentry. If you simply want something that’s water friendly and looks nice You can get the same effect using a sheet of ABS and making it rigid. Admittedly this makes a super material to use but I wanted to share there are alternatives to this.

Yes, I had considered ABS, however it does get scratched/scuffed more easily than starboard, and most of the ABS I've seen doesn't have the nice texture that Starboard does. I realize there may be better ABS than the stuff I purchase, but nothing of decent quality that I've seen at local hardware stores.

The Starboard is really the more premium option for incorporation in a living space, but something like ABS would be a decent budget option like you mention. A nice inbetween option for those interested could be a sheet of HDPE from a hardware store like Menards which is only slightly more expensive than a sheet of ABS, but comparable in look/durability to Starboard.

Fotocha · Mar 25, 2019

dhof said:
Yes, I had considered ABS, however it does get scratched/scuffed more easily than starboard, and most of the ABS I've seen doesn't have the nice texture that Starboard does. I realize there may be better ABS than the stuff I purchase, but nothing of decent quality that I've seen at local hardware stores.

The Starboard is really the more premium option for incorporation in a living space, but something like ABS would be a decent budget option like you mention. A nice inbetween option for those interested could be a sheet of HDPE from a hardware store like Menards which is only slightly more expensive than a sheet of ABS, but comparable in look/durability to Starboard.

You're spot on. It's a nearly perfect material.

I wish that actually carried these at Petco it would be easier to go with something like these.

https://www.petco.com/shop/SearchDi...searchKeyword=&searchTerm=Imagitarium++panels

dhof · Mar 25, 2019

Fotocha said:
You're spot on. It's a nearly perfect material.

I wish that actually carried these at Petco it would be easier to go with something like these.

https://www.petco.com/shop/SearchDi...searchKeyword=&searchTerm=Imagitarium++panels

Those panels from Imagitarium have just awful reviews around the web. Beware of them. Most say they really don't fit the imagitarium steel tanks. Weird.

Fotocha · Mar 29, 2019

Well I wanted to share a small update. I went ahead; since Petco's Sale $1/ Gallon Sale is still on, and Purchased a 20gL for my sump.

I wanted to show you how much space was left over, once it was fit into the bottom. I'm also not too overly worried about spills on this, my basement floors are tile and the floor is slightly slanted to drain to an under basement sump roughly about 7 ft away. So flooding shouldn't be an issue. You can also see the water channels (looks like a white pipe) on the edge of the walls leading to the sump.

I also stopped by Home Depot and picked up a Power strip ($24) and used zip ties to mount it to the right rear leg.

I knew I would also be needing a Saltwater storage container. My space limitation was an issue, but I found a shorter and more narrow Brute can (20gallons) for around $20. My girls are calling him Stubby.

That should give me enough storage for maybe 2 water changes more or less. My plans are to modify it a bit and mount a EJ 50w heater, 240 power head for mixing, and a Cobalt mj1200 pump with a 3 ft 3/4" tubing sliding directly into my sump and programmed with smart plug that I can control the fill with my iPhone. Not sure if the siphon will hold on the overflow box so I can do that or perhaps I need to put the tubing in the display just when needed???

Fotocha · Apr 1, 2019

Well my wife shot down the idea of having the mixing station near the aquarium. So far she’s been a good sport. Time for a new plan.

Going to put a pin in this one for the time being. I’m too eager to get this aquarium cycled.

Fotocha · Apr 1, 2019

I got the next few items from amazon today. I needed a few supplies anyways so ordered quite a large order. Some how in the confusion I ordered the Sicce Silent 3.0 and went my LFS and bought one there. Maybe a little over excitement?

Jump the gun and ended up just buying an eheim jager 150w heater (the pump I mentioned earlier), and 3/4” clear tubing. I’ve heard this could possibly cause trouble down the road with algae.

I ended up returning the locking rings. The clear tubing is very tight fit, more so than black vinyl tubing would have been.

The u shaped return elbow didn’t fit quite flush with the aquarium rear wall. I cut a small piece of tubing; about an inch long and used 2 ratchet ties and made so it would rest, the elbow against the glass

Fotocha · Apr 6, 2019

Progress has been moving forward and steadily ongoing.

Installed the Eshopps PF-300 Overflow box. Bought another Jebao OW-10 wave makers and attached them to a few wireless plugs that can be controlled via my phone. The other plug system will be setup for the T5 fixture.

I went to Walmart and bought 4 panels of Black "Elmer's Sturdy Foam Board Sheet" priced at $ 2.97 per sheet (used 4) which is made of polystyrene. Hopefully that should be usable. Attached it with some magnetic tape and I had a cheap cover to hide the sump. I thought it was better to let it over hang a bit (didn't trim the front panels at all) it was a perfect top to bottom. I'll likely get a piece of velcro to attached the center joints to keep tiny hands away from the panels edges.

I attached the Ink bird temp controller I already had and attached 150w heater to it. I'm going to run a backup Cobalt Neo Therm 50w on its own thermostat. That's it for now. I have my sump Baffles, Sand and Rock coming in next week.

count krunk · Apr 8, 2019

Coming right along it would seem.

I am also doing a budget breeder build.

You can see it at the link in my sig as well as a bunch of other good info in the other tabs