Ready ... Set .... Reef ! My first 65g Mixed Reef build.

[FreakPrism]

Stained the outside black and 2 coats of epoxy inside. I think I will need to sand and apply another coat of black stain. Then onto canopy, doors and plumbing.

 

[FreakPrism]

Products used. Appliance epoxy I got from another build thread here and it looks great.

 

[FreakPrism]

Trying to decide on lights to determine canopy height. Might just go with 12in. So much choice and price difference in lights.

 

[FreakPrism]

Applied second coat of stain to stand and looking better and darker. Although stained the doors but not shown. Will work on canopy next then onto plumbing.

 

[FreakPrism]

Busy week as was staining and installing doors on the stand. Also built the canopy which took longer than expected as needed more trim than expected so trips to Home Depot.

The front door opens, you see the notched out area for piano hinge in trim. Back 2 holes for return plumbing and allow me to still remove canopy if needed. Sits on the rim of the tank.

Top middle is for ventilation and where I plan to mount the Photon V2+ light. Yes likely going with this light. Now to stand and paint the canopy.

 

[FreakPrism]

Landed on buying the reefbreeder photon v2+ 32in along with 2 QPS9 pumps.

 

[FreakPrism]

Plumbing finally done. Harder than it looks. Now for the water test...

Green tape in 2nd picture to prevent pipe to move at top. Will be hidden by canopy but canopy will be removable so cant strap to out.

 

[FreakPrism]

Water test a success. Thanks to God no leaks and no issues. Drained tank out again and now to paint the hallway before moving tank to its location by the wall.

 

[Sleeping Giant]

Looks great, thank you for nominating my build

 

[Sleeping Giant]

Water test a success. Thanks to God no leaks and no issues. Drained tank out again and now to paint the hallway before moving tank to its location by the wall.

Just make sure you have access to the piping in the back in case of any issues down the road

 

[JaviNap90]

Wow man. This is bad butt! great job on the stand. I was really worried when i didn't see any kind of support legs in the inside, but this looks a lot harder now.

 

[revhtree Verified Admin]

Somebody has skills! Nice!

 

[FreakPrism]

Wow man. This is bad butt! great job on the stand. I was really worried when i didn't see any kind of support legs in the inside, but this looks a lot harder now.

Thanks! Through this build I have learned the box structure using pocket screws is really strong and can support more weight than our tanks can produce. I wanted to use glue as well to strengthen more but just forgot. I could have removed the screws, put glue and screwed again but I figured why weaken the wood. It got reinforced with the molding trim as well.

The reason why I went with the box structure vs the 2x4 frame with skin is it maximizes the inside space a lot. This was the only way I could squeeze in an Emerald 34 sump. I wanted as large sump as I could fit.

 

[FreakPrism]

Lots done today.

1. Painting hallway
2. Ran wiring and pump controls inside sump area.
3. Activated DI part of system to fill Brute section. Installed float valve. My water out of RO is between 2-4 TDS.
4. Plumbed gate valve to extract RODI water from Brute can.
5. Moved and adjusted aquascape inside aquarium.
6. Setup and installed skimmer in sump. Will be off for at least 1st week as cycle is established.

Plan tomorrow is to figure out mounting of light within canopy and finish back side of mid stand. Then, to load in the sand and mixing of salt water. Getting closer and closer ....

 

[JaviNap90]

Thanks! Through this build I have learned the box structure using pocket screws is really strong and can support more weight than our tanks can produce. I wanted to use glue as well to strengthen more but just forgot. I could have removed the screws, put glue and screwed again but I figured why weaken the wood. It got reinforced with the molding trim as well.

The reason why I went with the box structure vs the 2x4 frame with skin is it maximizes the inside space a lot. This was the only way I could squeeze in an Emerald 34 sump. I wanted as large sump as I could fit.

That makes perfect sense! I really like it. it looks modern and very well built.

 

[FreakPrism]

Busy painting the hallway this weekend. Thankfully it is done. Had to build a "stand" for myself to reach the upper wall where the staircase curves. The brute can below in top picture will be used to mix salt water and the orange bucket to lug water from the RODI (another Brute) unit in the basement. Maybe next project is to create a mixing station in the basement.

In the basement, this is the RODI water stored in the top Brute can.

 

[FreakPrism]

Finally the stand and canopy is done and in its final position. The canopy opens from the front and is completely removable as well. The canopy has a "ledge" on each side to support the Photon v2+ 32 light. You will notice the trim on the left is removable as it is held by a magnet on top and sits on the ledge on the bottom.

I removed the aquascape to wash the rocks so next step is to restore my scape ...

 

[FreakPrism]

Sump area all things hooked up and ready to go. The return pump coming back to the sump is for future expansion as the 90 there is not glued. ...

 

[FreakPrism]

Return area and refugium. Likely putting in some small rock pieces, Matrix and leftover Fluval biomax rings to start. Not sure if I will run a light in the fuge from day 1.

 

[FreakPrism]

I also washed my caribSea Fiji Pink sand. Glad I did as you HAVE TO WASH it! Took me a while to get the "Creamy white" residue out. I must have washed it like 10+ times with a hose.

I read some walks washed it for "hours" but I was not interested in doing that. Hopefully the 10+ washes will help greatly.