The 57gal Rimless Reef -- My Build Thread!

[phytofish]

Still have to paint the stand.. painting it black to match the coffee table and end table

 

[phytofish]

What does everyone coat their stand in? I'd prefer something that didn't take weeks to cure. I heard polyurethane takes up to two weeks to cure.
I painted it with two coats of enamel black latex paint.

 

[phytofish]

Moved into my new apartment.. asked the maintenance guy if that was a load bearing wall because I want my aquarium to go there.. he said "you want to hang your aquarium on the wall????"
Uhm no..... but that would be pretty cool!

Then he told me that they poured concrete between each story and assured me that I'd be perfectly fine.

The roommates want me to switch the aquarium and the tv stand but I don't think I want my aquarium in the corner and in front of a window.. any thoughts on that?

 

[Sobo's Reef]

General rule of thumb for aquarium placement is not to have it in any direct sunlight.. causes more algae growth so I'd say leave it where it is

 

[phytofish]

General rule of thumb for aquarium placement is not to have it in any direct sunlight.. causes more algae growth so I'd say leave it where it is

I agree. I'm pushing for it. I also don't like the caddy-cornered look

 

[phytofish]

Also found some water based polyurethane i'm coating the stand in. Hopefully it works well

 

[phytofish]

Tomorrow will be 2 weeks with the rocks cycling in the brute and ghost feeding dried brine shrimp..
Do these numbers look fine for where I am in the cycle? I know API isn't always the most reliable but it's all I have for now..
Ammonia - 4.0ppm
Nitrite - 0.50 ppm
pH - 8.0

 

[phytofish]

I have the stand finished and the tank will be going on it tomorrow. Then it's starting on plumbing! Bulkheads won't come in until Thursday or Friday though so there isn't too much I can do in the mean time other than plan it out

 

[phytofish]

I've been thinking about stocking.. anyone had any experience with multiple wrasses in a tank together? Say, 4 or 5?
I want movement and color varieties and wrasses seem to provide plenty of both!
Yellow coris, green wrasse, yellow fin fairy wrasse, hoeven's wrasse, six line wrasse? Such beautiful fish!

 

[phytofish]

A couple picture updates.. made a wall for my controllers. Need to do a little cord management now though!

A picture of the sump as well..
This weekend i'll be doing the plumbing.. wish me luck :/

These are my plumbing plans.. the pvc is backward in this picture though, the manifolds and refugium Tee will be on the right and going toward the right.

Once the plumbing is done, we can get this baby wet!

 

[phytofish]

Sorry, added the same pic twice.. here are the mounted controllers.

 

[Sobo's Reef]

What size pvc are you using??

 

[phytofish]

What size pvc are you using??

1" on the drain and 3/4" on the return

 

[Sobo's Reef]

I plan on buying colored pvc from BRS so I wasn't sure.. what do you plan on having to connect the pvc to the ends of the bulkheads? Since they're barbed.

 

[phytofish]

I plan on buying colored pvc from BRS so I wasn't sure.. what do you plan on having to connect the pvc to the ends of the bulkheads? Since they're barbed.

I bought new bulkheads from brs.. i bought slipxthreaded. Then i'm adapting it back to slip for the rest of the plumbing

 

[Sobo's Reef]

I bought new bulkheads from brs.. i bought slipxthreaded. Then i'm adapting it back to slip for the rest of the plumbing

Hmm yeah I'm not sure I like the barbed bulkheads to be honest. Might go with what you did or slipxslip

 

[Daddy-o]

I've been thinking about stocking.. anyone had any experience with multiple wrasses in a tank together? Say, 4 or 5?
I want movement and color varieties and wrasses seem to provide plenty of both!
Yellow coris, green wrasse, yellow fin fairy wrasse, hoeven's wrasse, six line wrasse? Such beautiful fish!

I would skip the six line (too aggressive) and get a Christmas Wrasse.
Cheers!

 

[phytofish]

Here's what i've got.. what do you think?? Haven't glued yet.. still need a couple more pieces.
Is the purple primer necessary?

 

[phytofish]

Plumbing is what i'm asking about btw ^^

 

[Daddy-o]

I skip the primer and use Christy's Red Hot Blue. Also, put a drip loop on the white wire on the right. And to be honest, I am not a big fan of how close all the electric is to the water. Between salt creep and splashing I am really nervous about your set-up.
Cheers! Mark