Iron's 4x2x2 slow build

[IronVulture]

I have been collecting the equipment for this since June 2015 but haven't started a thread yet because it will be a very slow build. I am getting close to having all my equipment so I will start to leak out some of the things I have already purchased a little at a time. I hope to get this tank cycling by late January or early February.

Here it goes the biggest tank I could get approval from my wife for was a 120. I didn't spend much on the tank because once it is running I'm sure I can talk my wife into an upgrade. So all the equipment that follows will be purchased with that in mind.

The tank and stand.

The paint was thin and poorly applied especially on the inside of the stand so I added 3 coats of black to the outside and 5 coats of white to the inside. White so it will be easier to see when I have to work under the tank.

More to come soon.

 

[Brian Kim]

Nice paint job

 

[gerards_reef]

I see the tank isn't drilled. What do you have planned as far as overflows?

Following along

 

[IronVulture]

I will drill it myself and install an overflow from one of the sponsors hear @Exotic Marine Systems @TaylorPilot
There are a few reasons I chose to go with this overflow instead of cheaper more popular overflows. First he has an inventive spacer on the rear box that allows it to sit even with the top rim of the tank instead of below it like all other models. Second it is almost coast to coast so I will have the noise reduction from a very long weir but still have room on each side to mount power heads and let the almost disappear in the shadows. Last but not least he is fairly local to me in The Houston area and I love to support local small businesses.

Pics of overflow before install

Notice on the first pic how the rear box sets higher than the inside box eliminating a chance that water would flood out of the box in the event of some disastrous problem. I have not seen any other overflow that can sit like this on a rimmed tank. This is the 35 inch model he also has a 24 inch and a 60 inch.

 

[TaylorPilot]

Looking good. I can't wait to see it up and running. Let me know when you get ready to plumb it up. I have a few suggestions setting it up so that it runs as quiet as possible!

 

[Chknsamich]

Good luck with your slow build... and good luck with convincing your wife for any future additions to your tank. lol

 

[IronVulture]

So I have decided there will be no rock in my tank. @gooch @The Alternative Reef has hooked me up with my main structure.

Two xl magnetic shelves that are designed to hide a power head each.

And this awesome wrasse din that will hold the only sand I will have in the tank.

Tomorrow I will be ordering black starboard to place in the bottom of the tank and black vinyl to put across the back and possibly the two sides as well.

 

[Aussie paul]

I'm in the same boat same size tank and taking forever to get done. Its looking good keep the updates coming

 

[hatfielj]

This is going to be a very unique build. Cool!
Why are you using vinyl for the back/sides? I would just paint the back of the tank if you want to black it out. Much easier and cheaper in my opinion.
Also, are you going to have live rock anywhere in the system? I would recommend it if not. You can have some in your sump for instance. I'm not sure ceramic will be good by itself. But, hey, you can give it a shot if you'd like!
I like the wrasse den idea, however keep in mind that sand will likely find its way all over the bottom of the tank. I guess if its in a slow flow area it might not get blown around as much, but the wrasse may disturb it enough that it gets blown out at least some.
What are you planning for lights?
Anyway, I'm going to be following this one! One of the most unique ideas I've seen in a while! I like!

 

[IronVulture]

This is going to be a very unique build. Cool!
Why are you using vinyl for the back/sides? I would just paint the back of the tank if you want to black it out. Much easier and cheaper in my opinion.
Also, are you going to have live rock anywhere in the system? I would recommend it if not. You can have some in your sump for instance. I'm not sure ceramic will be good by itself. But, hey, you can give it a shot if you'd like!
I like the wrasse den idea, however keep in mind that sand will likely find its way all over the bottom of the tank. I guess if its in a slow flow area it might not get blown around as much, but the wrasse may disturb it enough that it gets blown out at least some.
What are you planning for lights?
Anyway, I'm going to be following this one! One of the most unique ideas I've seen in a while! I like!

Using vinyl because it will be easy to remove or change later if I change my mind.

I have 2 8"x8"x4" marine pure blocks that will be in the sump and I will probably at least have some rubble in the fuge.

As far as lighting goes you'll just have to stay tuned[emoji4]

 

[trido]

Very interesting build to say the least.. I'll be interested to follow this one as it comes together. The bacteria bricks are a cool concept I've never seen before. Do you plan on keeping a fairly small fish load due to the lack of rock?

 

[IronVulture]

Very interesting build to say the least.. I'll be interested to follow this one as it comes together. The bacteria bricks are a cool concept I've never seen before. Do you plan on keeping a fairly small fish load due to the lack of rock?

Actually no I plan on having a very high bio load. Each block has 23,000 square feet of surface area which is more surface area than I would have if the tank was stuffed with rock and I have 2 of them. Not to mention the sculpture, shelves, and wrasse din are all ceramic as well, which is not porous like the blocks, but they will definitely promote beneficial bacteria growth on the surface. The only reason for adding rubble to the fuge is to give certain macro algae a place to attach.

 

[usernam invalid]

Cool build following along

 

[hatfielj]

Well, all I can say is good luck on the build and I can't wait to see how it turns out...especially after a couple of years of operation.

 

[Brian Kim]

So I have decided there will be no rock in my tank. @gooch @The Alternative Reef has hooked me up with my main structure.

Two xl magnetic shelves that are designed to hide a power head each.

And this awesome wrasse din that will hold the only sand I will have in the tank.

Tomorrow I will be ordering black starboard to place in the bottom of the tank and black vinyl to put across the back and possibly the two sides as well.

How heavy are those rocks on the side of your tank? Looks like they are being held by magnet.
I would suggest putting a piece of eggcrate directly underneath them ASAP, in case they drop. You wouldn't want to crack that beautiful tank lol

 

[IronVulture]

How heavy are those rocks on the side of your tank? Looks like they are being held by magnet.
I would suggest putting a piece of eggcrate directly underneath them ASAP, in case they drop. You wouldn't want to crack that beautiful tank lol

Oh they won't drop they are held up by 3 sure grip 100's they were made by The Alternative Reef a sponsor here if you haven't seen any of his stuff before I highly suggest you browse his threads. I will have a piece of black starboard installed in the bottom hopefully by next week though.

 

[Brian Kim]

Oh they won't drop they are held up by 3 sure grip 100's they were made by The Alternative Reef a sponsor here if you haven't seen any of his stuff before I highly suggest you browse his threads. I will have a piece of black starboard installed in the bottom hopefully by next week though.

Awesome, it looks kinda scary though lol

 

[booth2010]

Good looking build so far, I think I might look into getting one of those overflows for my next build, its gonna be a 150g however its gonna be freshwater lol. Good luck, cant wait to see how this progresses.

 

[renato120]

Nice build!

 

[IronVulture]

So got my sump 36 Trigger ruby elite

I like it but if I could do it over again I would probably go a different way possibly custom. Anyway it came with 1" bulkheads and my return has 1.5" drains. I was going to use reducers at first but they take up too much room so I decided to drill out the bulkheads and install my own 1.5" bulkheads.

After installing the new bulkheads I went ahead and started a little plumbing. I have been collecting all the parts for quite some time.

Got the drains dry fitted you can also see the matching ruby 10 gallon ATO container [emoji3]

And I put together the manifold but ran out of steam

I will work on a way to mount the manifold and work on return plumbing next week.