So couple of years back I purchased this 75g tank of someone for ~100 for stand and tank, it ran for couple of years as fish only, then 6mths ago I changed it to a reef
It is not done, but I felt it was coming together enough to show off some pics
I have pulled this together on the cheap, I made or was given almost everything. It is lit with LED's 12k and Actinic. These LED's were just 15usd per ft and as you can see after 6mths of use fish and coral seem to be growing well. Although I have seen some lights that others have that blow my little LED DIY effort
I picked up used IV drip machines from a hospital and use 3 of those for dosing the various things including as an ATO
My sump is a second hand tank with 2 baffles and the skimmer (not sure make) but was $10 second hand from Pure Reef (bust, but I managed to repair it myself)
So what did I learn with this first tank - 1) It still costs far more than you ever thought and 2) NEVER go with Acrylic. Scratches way to easily and then algae builds inside those micro scratches.
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Now I am starting my next tank - my wife told me I could not have a second tank so this a secret, so dont tell her
I am being a lot more adventurous with this one. I may wish otherwise later. I am hiding it in my home office in the basement
So it will be a 150g (48x24x30)
However I am building it from scratch
I have built the stand from scrap wood - way over engineered (it is soooo heavy)
I.E. 5 pieces of glass 1/2" thick that I salvaged from other busted tanks. a Frame that cost me $50 for top and bottom, I am going with a coast to coast overflow - fabrication ran me $75 and now I am starting the plumbing. I am also running two lines to the outside to facilitate water changes.
I have all these parts and almost finished silicone it all together, I used a lot of silicon, I know its ugly but it will be covered up by sand and rock.
Long way to go. Next step is to figure out how I lift it onto the stand it is heavy for one person to lift to that height, or to any height
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It is not done, but I felt it was coming together enough to show off some pics
I have pulled this together on the cheap, I made or was given almost everything. It is lit with LED's 12k and Actinic. These LED's were just 15usd per ft and as you can see after 6mths of use fish and coral seem to be growing well. Although I have seen some lights that others have that blow my little LED DIY effort
I picked up used IV drip machines from a hospital and use 3 of those for dosing the various things including as an ATO
My sump is a second hand tank with 2 baffles and the skimmer (not sure make) but was $10 second hand from Pure Reef (bust, but I managed to repair it myself)
So what did I learn with this first tank - 1) It still costs far more than you ever thought and 2) NEVER go with Acrylic. Scratches way to easily and then algae builds inside those micro scratches.
Now I am starting my next tank - my wife told me I could not have a second tank so this a secret, so dont tell her
I am being a lot more adventurous with this one. I may wish otherwise later. I am hiding it in my home office in the basement
So it will be a 150g (48x24x30)
However I am building it from scratch
I have built the stand from scrap wood - way over engineered (it is soooo heavy)
I.E. 5 pieces of glass 1/2" thick that I salvaged from other busted tanks. a Frame that cost me $50 for top and bottom, I am going with a coast to coast overflow - fabrication ran me $75 and now I am starting the plumbing. I am also running two lines to the outside to facilitate water changes.
I have all these parts and almost finished silicone it all together, I used a lot of silicon, I know its ugly but it will be covered up by sand and rock.
Long way to go. Next step is to figure out how I lift it onto the stand it is heavy for one person to lift to that height, or to any height
