Seans deep blue 80g rimless

Greybeard · Jan 11, 2018

Reefnewb said:
Awesome build! I like having the edge too just for the look... of the ledge was too big i would put way to much crap around the tank lol. Thanks for the compliments! Yeah I’m gonna keep it open. And i like the light on your setup! ATI is awesome! I’m planning on an ATI 48” 8 bulb for this build

ATI bulbs, Phillips ballasts, but the fixture is TEK. I bought it used, cheap. Had one working ballast, one dead, but the reflectors and housing looked like new. I replaced both ballasts, cleaned and polished the reflectors, and put in all new bulbs. Total price to light my 60x30" tank... $300, and I like the look way better than I do the ATI unit. The ATI fixture is polished aluminum! Why on earth they don't paint that thing black, I'll never know.

Yes, keeping the shelf clear of debris is a challenge. It's temping to keep foods, test kits, my log notebook, etc there... in fact, there's some of these items there now! Eventually, I'm going to be building 4 shelving units for under the tank... Oak exterior trim to match the surround, white interior, glass shelves, and a little white LED in each. The two on the back side may be dedicated to storing dry foods, test kits, etc. I've actually considered using 3 shelving units, and putting an apartment sized refrigerator under the far back corner for frozen and refrigerated foods. I'm a bit worried about the heat produced... We'll see.

Leishman · Jan 11, 2018

Reefnewb said:
ATI is awesome! I’m planning on an ATI 48” 8 bulb for this build

Mine just arrived from ATI. Check out their 'Scratch and Dent' page. I saved 25% and it took a couple of minutes for me to even find the scratch.

https://store.atinorthamerica.com/search?q=factory-second

ReeferMadness80G · Jan 11, 2018

I have the 48” 8x54w over my 80g and I kinda wish I would’ve gone with something smaller, BRS did a study on this light also and for tanks as shallow as ours the smartest route was a 6 bulb, as far as PAR goes. Let me also add, you’re build is sick! Love it! Following for sure!

Reefnewb · Jan 11, 2018

Greybeard said:
ATI bulbs, Phillips ballasts, but the fixture is TEK. I bought it used, cheap. Had one working ballast, one dead, but the reflectors and housing looked like new. I replaced both ballasts, cleaned and polished the reflectors, and put in all new bulbs. Total price to light my 60x30" tank... $300, and I like the look way better than I do the ATI unit. The ATI fixture is polished aluminum! Why on earth they don't paint that thing black, I'll never know.

Yes, keeping the shelf clear of debris is a challenge. It's temping to keep foods, test kits, my log notebook, etc there... in fact, there's some of these items there now! Eventually, I'm going to be building 4 shelving units for under the tank... Oak exterior trim to match the surround, white interior, glass shelves, and a little white LED in each. The two on the back side may be dedicated to storing dry foods, test kits, etc. I've actually considered using 3 shelving units, and putting an apartment sized refrigerator under the far back corner for frozen and refrigerated foods. I'm a bit worried about the heat produced... We'll see.

My last ATI was stainless steel.... it didn’t look polished at all.

Leishman said:
Mine just arrived from ATI. Check out their 'Scratch and Dent' page. I saved 25% and it took a couple of minutes for me to even find the scratch.

https://store.atinorthamerica.com/search?q=factory-second

I never knew about that!! Those are great prices! Too bad they don’t have a any 48” sun powers

ReeferMadness80G said:
I have the 48” 8x54w over my 80g and I kinda wish I would’ve gone with something smaller, BRS did a study on this light also and for tanks as shallow as ours the smartest route was a 6 bulb, as far as PAR goes. Let me also add, you’re build is sick! Love it! Following for sure!

Thank you!! Why would you want smaller?? Just curious. You can always raise the light. With the tank being 24” you kinda need 8 bulbs to keep sps anywhere you want. Iv thought about doing a 36” but my goal is to do sps dominate

ReeferMadness80G · Jan 11, 2018

Reefnewb said:
Thank you!! Why would you want smaller?? Just curious. You can always raise the light. With the tank being 24” you kinda need 8 bulbs to keep sps anywhere you want. Iv thought about doing a 36” but my goal is to do sps dominate

Well, Simple case of not needing that much light. Even for sps you can have too much. You also don’t need 8 bulbs for a 24” tank to grow sps anywhere. And by all means buddy, get the 48” 8 bulb, I’m not trying to talk you out of it, I’m simply saying you can do just as well with a smaller unit.

revhtree · Jan 11, 2018

Looking good!

Reefnewb · Jan 12, 2018

Tank is all plumbed up! Ordered dry rock and sand from Marco rock today. Now the wait begins...

ReeferMadness80G · Jan 12, 2018

Dope!

Reefnewb · Jan 12, 2018

ReeferMadness80G said:
Dope!

Thank man! You really got me thinking about going smaller on the light lol. I want the 8 bulb because you can do a lot more with color combos, but I’m not sure to go with 48” or 36” that’s where I’m stuck lol

ReeferMadness80G · Jan 12, 2018

Reefnewb said:
Thank man! You really got me thinking about going smaller on the light lol. I want the 8 bulb because you can do a lot more with color combos, but I’m not sure to go with 48” or 36” that’s where I’m stuck lol

If you have your heart set on the 8 bulb, you can always not run 2 bulbs if it becomes too much. Raising it anymore than like 9-10 inches the spillage becomes a lot.

Reefnewb · Feb 24, 2018

Got the skimmer, vortechs, and lights going.

ReeferMadness80G · Feb 24, 2018

Looks so sick man, I love it!

najer · Feb 24, 2018

Nice work, love the butcher block top.

samnaz · Feb 24, 2018

Greybeard said:
When I was planning my last tank, one option I looked at early on was what you picked. 48x24x16. It was the closest 'standard' tank I could find to what I really wanted. I ended up ordering custom, but it was a close call. For what I paid for the extra foot in length, 6" in width, and 2" in height, I could have bought several of the DBP tanks

Great looking stand. You going to leave it open like that? Love the butcher block. I like a 'shelf' around my tanks. Looks like yours isn't really big enough to hold much... maybe a beer Still, it looks great! Nice job mounting the electronics, too.

Here's a pic of what I ended up with. Eventually, I'm going to build bookshelves to fill in under the tank.

This... this is what dreams are made of. I’m in love, and it doesn’t even have full bookshelves yet. Dying to see that. Pm the build thread for this beauty!