Stand
so this is the stand, once i worked out the best way of design i went to work as you can see not much to it, but strong as shit, once the stand was built i went to work on the removable sides, unfortunatly i planned on using magnets lstches to hold it on but could not source a magnet strong enough to support the weight, so i had to compromize by just using screws
once the stand was built i went to work on the display tank, i ordered the glass from sydney glass total cost for glass cutting and water jetted holes came to $ using low iron glass, salesmen showed me starfire n low iron and i could not tell the difference,i orded it in 10mm as i didn't want bracing, took a couple days to get made up but once i got it, i glued it all together using selleys aquarium safe silicone, i wanted the water level to be as high as possible sort of like the look of the fluvaal edge, in highnsight i regret it but it is what it is so i constructed the weir and sat it low enough , and the water level sits at the brim of the glass, i opted for none saw tooth as i didn't want to restrict flow or surface skim,
after that i went to work on the inlet piping to the sump, i wanted it as quiet as possiblei constructed the inlet using 1in pvc,adding a tee piece and 90degree piece to curve the pipe downwards added a cap and drilled a small 1/8th hole for air, i added a bulkhead to the sump and ran another length of 90degree bend so the inlet would be submerged under the water, its completely silent, i then went to work on the sump, as this is my first reef tank, actually first saltwater tank too (kept fresh for 14yrs) i wanted to keep the sump design as simple as possible for starters, i opted for a 3 stage first being the inlet that i plan to cram with live rock, then over to my fuge, that at the moment has a sand bed but not deep like i planned as i have read conflicting arguments, and a small amount of cheato, i opted for live rock in first chamber as i intend to put a small power head in there to make sure detritus is at a minimum, then flow over to my fuge where skimmer hopefully catches it, then i created a simple bubble trap and put high flow spounge in between them, then there is the return, i wanted my fuge to be as big as possible so i had to compromise on return, its really just big enough for the pump, courtosy of age of aquariums, and a bag of chemipure elite,
when i selected my pump size i rang age of aquariums, i told them the head height of my stand plus number of bends and there angles, and they told me there 4000l pump would pump out rounghly between 2400 and 2700lph,
the drain pvc has a union to its easily dismantled for cleaning, and also a ball valve so i can adjust flow.
i then went to work on my return line, i used 3/4in pvc for the return, and it tees off to two returns either size of the tank.
once the plumbing was complete i filled the display tank and sump with freshwater and left it for a week to make sure there were no leaks and that the tank would hold under pressure without any bracing, after a week, there were no leaks,
so inside it went, i purchased a 4 stage RODI unit off ebay and a tds meter to monitor, and began filling my rodi water bin with water 18 hrs later i had 60l of rodi water, i put a heater in it and added the recommended amount of redsea coral pro, after a little trial and error i managed to get my salt levels to 1.026, which is what i am currently running, once salt and water was in the cycle began, i went to my local store, marinefishdirect, which i highly recommend and got 10kg of semi cured christmas island live rock, after i aquascaped i left it alone for 8 weeks, cycled way before then but decided there was no rush, once diatoms and green hair algae appeared i tested to make sure i cycled and added my cuc, 6 hermits and a stromb snail, 2 days later the tank was spotless. 2 weeks later i added 2 clowns and a baby tang, and thats where i am now,
at the moment im running my old 4ft ho t5 fitting off an old freshwater tank as i have to wait till the 9th to upgrade my lighting, which i will be getting programmable reef flare 30 led fixture.
anyway guys hope you like and will keep posted as i go along
so this is the stand, once i worked out the best way of design i went to work as you can see not much to it, but strong as shit, once the stand was built i went to work on the removable sides, unfortunatly i planned on using magnets lstches to hold it on but could not source a magnet strong enough to support the weight, so i had to compromize by just using screws once the stand was built i went to work on the display tank, i ordered the glass from sydney glass total cost for glass cutting and water jetted holes came to $ using low iron glass, salesmen showed me starfire n low iron and i could not tell the difference,i orded it in 10mm as i didn't want bracing, took a couple days to get made up but once i got it, i glued it all together using selleys aquarium safe silicone, i wanted the water level to be as high as possible sort of like the look of the fluvaal edge, in highnsight i regret it but it is what it is so i constructed the weir and sat it low enough , and the water level sits at the brim of the glass, i opted for none saw tooth as i didn't want to restrict flow or surface skim,
after that i went to work on the inlet piping to the sump, i wanted it as quiet as possiblei constructed the inlet using 1in pvc,adding a tee piece and 90degree piece to curve the pipe downwards added a cap and drilled a small 1/8th hole for air, i added a bulkhead to the sump and ran another length of 90degree bend so the inlet would be submerged under the water, its completely silent, i then went to work on the sump, as this is my first reef tank, actually first saltwater tank too (kept fresh for 14yrs) i wanted to keep the sump design as simple as possible for starters, i opted for a 3 stage first being the inlet that i plan to cram with live rock, then over to my fuge, that at the moment has a sand bed but not deep like i planned as i have read conflicting arguments, and a small amount of cheato, i opted for live rock in first chamber as i intend to put a small power head in there to make sure detritus is at a minimum, then flow over to my fuge where skimmer hopefully catches it, then i created a simple bubble trap and put high flow spounge in between them, then there is the return, i wanted my fuge to be as big as possible so i had to compromise on return, its really just big enough for the pump, courtosy of age of aquariums, and a bag of chemipure elite,
when i selected my pump size i rang age of aquariums, i told them the head height of my stand plus number of bends and there angles, and they told me there 4000l pump would pump out rounghly between 2400 and 2700lph,
the drain pvc has a union to its easily dismantled for cleaning, and also a ball valve so i can adjust flow.
i then went to work on my return line, i used 3/4in pvc for the return, and it tees off to two returns either size of the tank.
once the plumbing was complete i filled the display tank and sump with freshwater and left it for a week to make sure there were no leaks and that the tank would hold under pressure without any bracing, after a week, there were no leaks,
so inside it went, i purchased a 4 stage RODI unit off ebay and a tds meter to monitor, and began filling my rodi water bin with water 18 hrs later i had 60l of rodi water, i put a heater in it and added the recommended amount of redsea coral pro, after a little trial and error i managed to get my salt levels to 1.026, which is what i am currently running, once salt and water was in the cycle began, i went to my local store, marinefishdirect, which i highly recommend and got 10kg of semi cured christmas island live rock, after i aquascaped i left it alone for 8 weeks, cycled way before then but decided there was no rush, once diatoms and green hair algae appeared i tested to make sure i cycled and added my cuc, 6 hermits and a stromb snail, 2 days later the tank was spotless. 2 weeks later i added 2 clowns and a baby tang, and thats where i am now,
at the moment im running my old 4ft ho t5 fitting off an old freshwater tank as i have to wait till the 9th to upgrade my lighting, which i will be getting programmable reef flare 30 led fixture.
anyway guys hope you like and will keep posted as i go along
