I need help figuring out what to do

[Sethdarkus]

To sum it up I want a tank at least 36inches long and and at least 18 wide. I’m thinking of buying and plumbing a 40g breeder however equipment wise it seems more expensive than a all in one. I prefer having lids on my tank since all the fish I like namely Falco Hawkfish like to jump. Petco has a half off sale on 40gal right now so it be like $55 after tax, 300 for a sump, 160 on my lighting, 120 for a overflow drill kit, like 200 for a protein skimmer, and I’m assuming it be like 100 dollars to plumb it with thread piping and probably like another 200 for a return pump because I want at least a 120-800 gallon turn rate per hour. I will be building my own stand but man if someone can find me something within $790 dollars after tax that be grand or equipment and tips on how to do it that fit within a $790 dollar budget

 

[KMench]

300 dollars for a sump?? You can cut that to 50 easy. Buy yourself a tank and a few pieces of glass and silicone baffles in however you would like them. It’s super easy and allows you to do it exactly as you want. Definitely spend the money on the important stuff like lighting and protein skimmer since quality there is important.

 

[Sethdarkus]

300 dollars for a sump?? You can cut that to 50 easy. Buy yourself a tank and a few pieces of glass and silicone baffles in however you would like them. It’s super easy and allows you to do it exactly as you want. Definitely spend the money on the important stuff like lighting and protein skimmer since quality there is important.

I like the flow https://m.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=4845&ref=dfs causes where it diverts water into 2 separate chambers anything similar?

 

[KMench]

So it’s got two lines that come down from the tank basically? You’d just cut a glass divider and plumb two of them in yourself. For my sump, I don’t have it divided like that. I have the line from the tank drop in where my skimmer is, then a nice big refugium section, then a set of bubble baffles and the return pump.
If you’ve got a decent glass shop you can take them the dimensions and they’ll even cut it to the sizes you want. Just be sure to map it out before hand and have it close enough in size. You can always fill a small gap with silicone. I used a 40 gallon tank for my sump that my mom had in her basement and just siliconed my own baffles in for under 20 bucks. Works like a charm

 

[Sethdarkus]

So it’s got two lines that come down from the tank basically? You’d just cut a glass divider and plumb two of them in yourself. For my sump, I don’t have it divided like that. I have the line from the tank drop in where my skimmer is, then a nice big refugium section, then a set of bubble baffles and the return pump.
If you’ve got a decent glass shop you can take them the dimensions and they’ll even cut it to the sizes you want. Just be sure to map it out before hand and have it close enough in size. You can always fill a small gap with silicone. I used a 40 gallon tank for my sump that my mom had in her basement and just siliconed my own baffles in for under 20 bucks. Works like a charm

I’m in rural upstate NY and I think my towns glass shop went out of business unless Lowe’s 30min away can make the cuts

 

[KMench]

Ehhhhh, do you have a Lowe’s? They sell picture frame glass you can use. It’s thin.... but you could always double it up if you wanted. It’s what I used honestly, but the edges can be a bit sharp. Should’ve sanded them before I installed them. I think I spent 10 bucks on glass total.

 

[KMench]

Or else you could get acrylic sheets and cut them yourself and make acrylic baffles.

 

[Sethdarkus]

Or else you could get acrylic sheets and cut them yourself and make acrylic baffles.

I’m thinking if I do this of using a 20 Long

 

[KMench]

If you manage to find a petco dollar per gallon sale, or a used tank on Craigslist, you should be able to get one for 20 bucks or less. There’s plenty of good plans out there on how to DIY a sump too.

 

[Sethdarkus]

If you manage to find a petco dollar per gallon sale, or a used tank on Craigslist, you should be able to get one for 20 bucks or less. There’s plenty of good plans out there on how to DIY a sump too.

I kinda plan to do 790 max on PayPal credit due to 6month interest free and & $500 in cash max to set it up without breaking the bank lol

 

[KMench]

Well there you go! Just trying to help you save a couple bucks. I DIYd my sump and bought cheap lights etc at first. About 6 months later I changed my mind and bought AI lighting and a RO regal skimmer. It just makes life so much nicer.

 

[Sethdarkus]

Well there you go! Just trying to help you save a couple bucks. I DIYd my sump and bought cheap lights etc at first. About 6 months later I changed my mind and bought AI lighting and a RO regal skimmer. It just makes life so much nicer.

I’m thinking of doing 2 fuval sea lights of course plan to start off with just one lol, may get a second later or switching to more powerful lighting if I decide to get coral or a anemone lol

 

[Sethdarkus]

Petco dose have a dollar off gallon sale tomorrow I’m going to Lowe’s after work to get some wood bought and hopefully cut to my dimensions lol, 4 2by4 cut to 36inches 1/8th long, 4 2by4 cut to 31inches, gonna need to measure the width of the wood to know the other dimensions I need along with the 8 pieces total I gotta cram in the sides