Old School SPS Reef v5.0
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OP
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spsick
Valuable Member
Hey Tim, thanks!
Yeah I built it myself. Probably only about $400 in materials but a good hundred hours of labor lol
Tank was built by Midwest Custom Aquariums. Went with acrylic for weight savings and associated ease of moving, strength in the face of a toddler possibly hitting or throwing stuff at it, cost, and just to try something different.
OP
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spsick
Valuable Member
Final Update to this thread. The tank was a huge success after 3.5 years. 75g has always been the sweet spot for me. Hundreds of frags sold and not a single acro lost other than the 2 colonies from the tank move! Let‘s hope the new tank brings this much growth and health.
I attribute this mostly to stability. Auto water changes, 2part with Tropic Marin Part C and Elements A- and K+ kept trace elements really stable in the face of massive coral growth. No changes in lighting, no mechanical filtration other than a protein skimmer.
You really see the size of the colonies when you take them out and try to arrange them again.
Orange passion 12” across even though it’s had 100 frags cut from it.
Sneaky Oregon Tort was hiding in the back almost basketball sized.
And a glance at the new tank
Cheers and happy reefing!
I attribute this mostly to stability. Auto water changes, 2part with Tropic Marin Part C and Elements A- and K+ kept trace elements really stable in the face of massive coral growth. No changes in lighting, no mechanical filtration other than a protein skimmer.
You really see the size of the colonies when you take them out and try to arrange them again.
Orange passion 12” across even though it’s had 100 frags cut from it.
Sneaky Oregon Tort was hiding in the back almost basketball sized.
And a glance at the new tank
Cheers and happy reefing!
fishface NJ
7500 Club Member
LOVE the new tank! Best wishes 
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OP
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spsick
Valuable Member
I got a screaming deal on some blemished cabinet-grade oak plywood so I bought 4 sheets and made 2x4 laminations to build a rocket engineer style frame and then skinned it in solid oak.
In hindsight it made a lot more work and I would have been better off just making out out of thicker solid oak but I don’t have a jointer or planer so getting stock that is flat and square makes it possible for me to make nice furtniture.
Here’s a few pics as it progressed.
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OP
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spsick
Valuable Member
Yes. Didn’t snap any pics of the process but just used Freud tongue and groove router bit set and then a rabbet bit so the doors sink in to the stand and look more flush.
Here’s a better pic.
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drawman
2500 Club Member
That's awesome! I really want to try those quanta bars when I upgrade. Tank looks very evenly lit my friend!Holy Christmas this Quanta bar puts out a lot of light! Went from 300 to 450 in the middle of the tank. Had to throw in a 6500k bulb to balance out the blue.
