Monkeyboy's DIY 600 DT in wall build.

pdxmonkeyboy · Aug 15, 2020

Thanks for the bump. Well i hit a really rocky patch and it was a nightmare.. the key elements of the story are: 15 new anthias started dieing, the terrible decision to put them in my 240g QT. Velvet outbreak, terrible water quality, bacterial infeftions, moved to DT to bomb with CP. Too much live rock to keep CP high enough. ..blah blah blah, copper, dead achilies, naso, and monster desjardini.

BUT.. Tank is finally moving along nicely. Have some dino issues but not too worried. Put my dragon soul and big clam in there. .

Here are some pictures of the room. Still need to do some cord management....soo many cords. Also check.out my super secret power brick holder

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NautiTang · Aug 22, 2020

Sorry for your losses. You will come back stronger. Whats the timelines on your coral coming back and what's the plan for dosing CA Rx?

DSEKULA · Aug 22, 2020

Holy awesomeness!! Glad to meet someone who likes to diy their house as much if not more than I do

My latest acrylic build was a 155 curved drop off lol. included ripping up carpets and refinishing floors and making the basement useable. I'd love to tackle something this large but don't have the room. Good luck and just keep on pushing through! Following along

NautiTang · Aug 22, 2020

I really like the paneling you have around the tank.
Do you still have the jig you uses to hold the sides at 90*? Could you explain that a little please?

pdxmonkeyboy · Aug 23, 2020

The jig is pretty simple. I used MDF because it is dimensionaly stable. It is simple two boards that are longer than your tank is tall. They are connected by two triangles with the points cutt off.

I was going to make a series of videos on how to build acrylic tanks and only made the first one.

If you are familiar with the tools of the trade you can skip to the end and see the jig. I will say the mortise gauge is VERY useful when lining up the sheets.

NautiTang · Aug 23, 2020

Thanks for the answer, and in video form, even better.

Glass Algae · Aug 23, 2020

yoooooo this is awesome!!!!

GBRsouth · Aug 24, 2020

Just read through your whole thread. A diy project to truly be proud of! Sorry to hear of your recent losses. Looking forward to watching your system mature.

pdxmonkeyboy · Aug 24, 2020

Thanks everyone. Just recently bought a grip of frags and really started to get everything finally installed and running and dialed in.

pdxmonkeyboy · Sep 18, 2020

well, things have finally been chugging along nicely since the last update. Levels have been really steady. I have been dosing lanthium chloride to keep phos in check but with over 400lbs of live rock, that ia too be expected. Fish are healthy and my first group of frags are doing well.

Scored a colorado sunburst nem..which is sooo cool. Also finally got off my but and started building a roller mat that can handle 3,000 gph flow.

Familyof3 · Oct 4, 2020

Really looking forward to your build. Love the wife bringing home chickens mine did the same one day. All for the diy as I have done a lot to my house....not sure if I would have tackled a tank of that magnitude though. Congratulations on how nice everything turned out.

pdxmonkeyboy · Oct 5, 2020

Thank you for the kind words. While not an easy project by any means, certainly doable. You just have to break it into managable pieces. It is however, a staggering amount of work. I am still mounting things and refining things but such is life with a reef tank.

I am going about stocking the tank a little differently this time. In order to keep track of everything and maintain the ability to sell frags in the future I have mounted all my frags to tiles in the frag tank. Once the grow out and color up I can take a frag and put it in the aquarium. It is quite scary diving in and spending several thousand bucks on frags but I am also trying to avoid constantly adding new stuff to the system.

I have 44 acros, 4 high end torches and some mushrooms.

mattgsa · Oct 5, 2020

Great build, thanks for sharing.

Glass Algae · Oct 5, 2020

pdxmonkeyboy said:
Thank you for the kind words. While not an easy project by any means, certainly doable. You just have to break it into managable pieces. It is however, a staggering amount of work. I am still mounting things and refining things but such is life with a reef tank.

I am going about stocking the tank a little differently this time. In order to keep track of everything and maintain the ability to sell frags in the future I have mounted all my frags to tiles in the frag tank. Once the grow out and color up I can take a frag and put it in the aquarium. It is quite scary diving in and spending several thousand bucks on frags but I am also trying to avoid constantly adding new stuff to the system.

I have 44 acros, 4 high end torches and some mushrooms.

Hey when you DO start fragging let me know Ill definitely grab some frags!

MERKEY · Oct 5, 2020

Loving the build, thank you for sharing!

blstravler · Oct 12, 2020

Great build. You have taken DIY to a while new level. I’m about to get my first acrylic tank and was wondering what you use to clean both the inside and outside of your tank?

pdxmonkeyboy · Oct 12, 2020

A STRONG magnetic cleaner... like the kind that will make you loose a fingernail if you don't keep them apart.. and magic eraser sheets that is what I use for the insides. The outsides is microfiber cloth. One to wipe off water and smudges, and then finish with another, completely dry microfiber and novus 1 acrylic cleaner.

blstravler · Oct 23, 2020

pdxmonkeyboy said:
A STRONG magnetic cleaner... like the kind that will make you loose a fingernail if you don't keep them apart.. and magic eraser sheets that is what I use for the insides. The outsides is microfiber cloth. One to wipe off water and smudges, and then finish with another, completely dry microfiber and novus 1 acrylic cleaner.

Thank you for your advice - I really do appreciate it.

I think I’m going go with the Tiger Shark Float Plus by Algae Free they say it’s for both glass and acrylic. It s rated for a thicker tank so it should be plenty strong. Did you have any concerns about the dry side magnet having a soft enough pad?

I found the Novus 1 cleaner. Do you clean with the Novus only as needed or anytime you get a drop you always use it? I’ll also stock up on Magic Eraser Sheets.

Any other words of advice on Acrylic tanks? I’m not that worried but I figure it can’t hurt to ask. Thank you again.

Arthacker87 · Oct 23, 2020

pdxmonkeyboy said:
Ok. Still working on plumbing and have to run electrical but I decided to finish the in wall part. The top 24" above the tank hinges up for access. Pretty stooked in how it turned out.

Neat....... ;Drool

Arthacker87 · Oct 23, 2020

pdxmonkeyboy said:
A STRONG magnetic cleaner... like the kind that will make you loose a fingernail if you don't keep them apart.. and magic eraser sheets that is what I use for the insides. The outsides is microfiber cloth. One to wipe off water and smudges, and then finish with another, completely dry microfiber and novus 1 acrylic cleaner.

Magic eraser sheet inside aquarium? W livestock in it? Doesn't have chemicals that'll mess w reef system?