Frank's 40 Gallon Build

[|Frank|]

Hey folks,

I have a 20 gallon set up now, been feeling bad for my fish and want them to have more room to swim.

So I got them this today!

Going to make or buy a stand (have to see which is cheaper with wood being expensive) The only thing Im replacing is the sand.
I have some carib sea Bahamas oolite, aragonite, and some let over crushed coral from when I was making my aquarium rocks.
Highly debating making my old tank into a sump.
All the equipment I have now was for a larger tank like this. Definitely going to get another light though.
Equipment I have so far:
1 Red Sea 50 led
Fluval HOB
Current pumps/Eflux controller thing lol
Eheim Heater
Thanks for following along if you choose to do so! Its gonna be fun!

 

[Peace River]

This looks like a great start to a build thread. Please let me know if you'd like me to move it to the member's tanks section. Congratulations on the new tank!!!

 

[|Frank|]

This looks like a great start to a build thread. Please let me know if you'd like me to move it to the member's tanks section. Congratulations on the new tank!!!

Thanks I'm excited to get the ball rolling! Yes please you can move it. I wasn't sure where to post! Thank you.

 

[|Frank|]

painted the back last night.

 

[|Frank|]

Also picked up another red sea 50led this morning. Tip for ppl with a rimmed tank and have the tank mounts for the light. I scored three inches on the lip of the rim and the mount fits great!

 

[|Frank|]

Just finished everything!

When the water clears up I'll get some better pics.
Very happy how this turned out. The fish are as well lol

 

[|Frank|]

Also picked up another red sea 50led this morning. Tip for ppl with a rimmed tank and have the tank mounts for the light. I scored three inches on the lip of the rim and the mount fits great!

So aqueon doesn't glue the inside of the rim to the tank.... which caused my lights to droop, so I took some epoxy and glue and wedged it in between the glass and the rim and let it set overnight. It held up really well but as a precaution I took some fishing line and tied it on the mount and wrapped it tightly around the bottom of my tank stand.

 

[kingjoe]

Hey folks,

I have a 20 gallon set up now, been feeling bad for my fish and want them to have more room to swim.

So I got them this today!

Going to make or buy a stand (have to see which is cheaper with wood being expensive) The only thing Im replacing is the sand.
I have some carib sea Bahamas oolite, aragonite, and some let over crushed coral from when I was making my aquarium rocks.
Highly debating making my old tank into a sump.
All the equipment I have now was for a larger tank like this. Definitely going to get another light though.
Equipment I have so far:
1 Red Sea 50 led
Fluval HOB
Current pumps/Eflux controller thing lol
Eheim Heater
Thanks for following along if you choose to do so! Its gonna be fun!

I'd very much recommend using your old tank as a sump. The twin convenience factors of freedom and flexibility will likely come in handy many times over the years.

 

[|Frank|]

I'd very much recommend using your old tank as a sump. The twin convenience factors of freedom and flexibility will likely come in handy many times over the years.

Yeah I'm leaning heavily in favor of this. I'm looking into Hob overflow boxes and all that fun stuff now because this filter I have isn't gonna cut it imo.

 

[kingjoe]

Yeah I'm leaning heavily in favor of this. I'm looking into Hob overflow boxes and all that fun stuff now because this filter I have isn't gonna cut it imo.

It'll be a nicer aesthetic, overall. You'll have most everything down in the sump, rather than cluttering up the tank. I'm surprised my first saltwater tank didn't tip over backwards, given the equipment I had festooned all over the back rim...

 

[61Pitt]

I bet your fish are liking the more room. Also the paint on the back came out really nice.

 

[|Frank|]

It'll be a nicer aesthetic, overall. You'll have most everything down in the sump, rather than cluttering up the tank. I'm surprised my first saltwater tank didn't tip over backwards, given the equipment I had festooned all over the back rim...

Lol main reason why I've held off getting a hob skimmer. I agree 100%, all that stuff in the 20g tank drove me nuts.

 

[|Frank|]

I bet your fish are liking the more room. Also the paint on the back came out really nice.

Yea they are lol. They've been exploring all morning. Thank you! I did a couple coats to make sure everything came out looking good.

 

[kingjoe]

Lol main reason why I've held off getting a hob skimmer. I agree 100%, all that stuff in the 20g tank drove me nuts.

Another good reason- I've had a few HOB skimmers, and none of them were worth the space they took up. I think they worked on a monthly rather than a daily basis.

 

[|Frank|]

Another good reason- I've had a few HOB skimmers, and none of them were worth the space they took up. I think they worked on a monthly rather than a daily basis.

Yea on a 20g I didn't see much use for it. I did try and make a homemade one though lol it looked like some paraphernalia I would've had in high school.

 

[kingjoe]

Yea on a 20g I didn't see much use for it. I did try and make a homemade one though lol it looked like some paraphernalia I would've had in high school.

I had a chem lab special in college. I miss that thing...

 

[|Frank|]

 

[|Frank|]

News on my DIY sump...I have a glass shop working on some baffles for me, they should be ready tomorrow. I was going to use my old tank 20g tall, but I figured a long would probably work better. Silicone comes tomorrow as well.

 

[count krunk]

A long would work better.

On a hob overflow keep an aqualifter hooked up to it with a pre filter. This will ensure suction doesn't break.

 

[|Frank|]

A long would work better.

On a hob overflow keep an aqualifter hooked up to it with a pre filter. This will ensure suction doesn't break.

Thanks for the heads up. Been looking into efficient ways to go about a HOB overflow. You wouldn't happen to have any pics of that would you?