I am now ready to begin the build process - 80g cube

reef tank 2.0 · Dec 22, 2021

I recently purchased an 80G "cube" (32x24x24) from SC Aquariums. It has been sitting in my spare room, still in the box, waiting for me to finish painting the room / wall it would go on. That time has finally come. I will be using all the equipment I have which used to be in my 135g.

I have slid the stand in place, and placed shims under it accordingly. Before I go any further, I have questions about supporting the stand.
With wooden floors, and the stand having composite shims underneath it, is there anything else that would be recommended before placing the tank on top?

Since I have a rimless tank, I realize I will need a "pad" underneath the sump, as well as the display tank. I have heard people using many different types of materials for this. Does one work better than the other? The one I received with the tank, is like a foam board that you'd get at a craft store. I don't have much faith in that, so I refuse to use it. Maybe I'm overthinking it, but I I want to make sure I get the right pad.

Here is the stand in place with the shims. I don't want to cut the excess off till I know it won't need to be adjusted anymore.
(ignore the dust on top, it's been sitting for awhile, that will be cleaned

)

reef tank 2.0 · Dec 22, 2021

oh, and I should add.......I removed the plastic nailed in feet that were on each corner of the stand. Right now, the plywood stand is sitting directly on the floor. Nothing to interfere with leveling, other than the slope of the floor

darkside_dave · Jan 24, 2022

I'm thinking of pulling the trigger on this pnp tank as its on sale for $1300 until the end of January. How are things going for you so far?

reef tank 2.0 · Jan 24, 2022

sounds like the same price i got mine for also.......that was certainly the main reason i pulled the trigger on it.

i found that i have misunderstood the reason of a build thread. Not exactly the place to ask questions but more of a this is what i did, and this is how it looks. So I have stopped adding info to this thread. but in a nut shell, i am getting no where fast.

when I bought the set up, I had every intention of leaving the sump under the tank in the stand. Once I got the stand level and the display tank on top, and the inside of the stand sealed / painted, I was ready to put the sump in place. (Um, not so fast speed racer.......the fish gods had other plans). Come to find out, the sump WILL NOT fit into the stand from the front. Even if you remove the center brace at the front. After contacting SC Aquariums about it, they told me to remove the rear back panel of the stand, and the sump will slide right in. That raised a huge red flag for me. The told me that once in place, if I ever had to replace the sump, or remove it for any reason, the whole system would need drained in order to pull it away from the wall (due to weight), just to access the rear. heck no!! so the plands have changed.

Since I have a whole basement that is empty, I have resorted to moving the sump and all it's contents into the basement. In order for me to do that, I have been re-routing the dedicated circuit to the basement, and making the basement "fish ready". I bought a 100g rubbermaid stock tank from Tractor Supply that I will use for the sump now. I have a lot more room in the basement for the sump, and there are definitely more pros than cons in this set up (for me anyhow). After getting the electrical in place, and a general idea of how I will get the water to the first floor, I am able to continue. I have the plumbing layout on paper and am in the process of ordering plumbing fittings online (as of yesterday). Since the pvc pipes / fittings that come with the PNP system are all metric, I decided to not chance it, and tossed the bulkheads aside. I ordered new standard 1" bulkheads. Once those come in, I will proceed to order schedule 40 or schedule 80 fittings. depending on the color scheme I choose to go with.

So the stand will hold nothing other than any dry food / items I would need up here for the display tank.

Plumbing planning is where I am now.

What are your intentions for this set up, if you choose to get it?