Melonbob's doing another!

Melonbob

Reef enthusiast
Well, getting rid of the 180 was a big mistake......I'll be going up to a 120 again in good time, but for now I decided I had to get a tank going, and fast. Also, seeing as I have been on strike since mid July, it had to be done cheap.

This was pretty much all done with stuff I had lying around. Other than the plumbing parts, so far I've managed to do this without buying anything. I took down my rack of three small aquariums as it never worked well and I pretty much hated it. I'm down to just the 48x22x14 frag tank, and this endeavor.

So anyways, the tank is a 50, dimensions are 36x16x20. I built my own stand again. Lighting is a 4 bulb tek, I also have a 4 bulb nova and am considering running both! I drilled my first tank too, smooth as silk, put a 1.5 drain in the bottom right corner. I didn't feel like spending a fortune on an acrylic overflow, so I decided to try something a little different. The overflow you see is simply a piece of 4" PVC pipe, I cut grooves in it with a hand grinder, and siliconed it around the bottom and two sides. My return pump for this 50 is a mag 7.5, and I had to dial it back just slightly so the overflow could keep up.

The sump is a pre made job I picked up with a bunch of other stuff. It's made by ETSS and is called protean 400. It has a built in sump buddy skimmer. The skimmer is supposed to be rated for 180g, but I can't seem to get it working really well, although for the price it is more than acceptable. It's supposed to use 8-10 mini bio-balls, and of course I can't find those anywhere up here, so I am using 3 big ones. Thats probably half my problem. It is also very temperamental to level changes in the sump. It is also not efficient at all, it requires a mag 7, but I have a 9.5 on it as thats what I had lying around.

On the other side of the sump, you can see my ingenious ATO setup. I wanted everything inside the cabinet(it will be closed in) and did not want a separate cabinet for my top off water. I found this recycling bin, it measures 7x11x16, and holds over 4 gallons, so I'm pretty happy. The ATO unit you see is by JBJ, I had it on my tanks downstairs for a few months, with zero problems and so far zero buildup or salt creep of any kind, I highly recommend it!

The rest is pretty standard stuff, white oolitic sand, standard fuge, rock and everything is still downstairs but will go in tomorrow.

Finally, don't mind the biowheel up front, I always do that starting a new tanks cause I'm too lazy to rinse sand!

Thats it for now folks, hope you enjoy the pics, and its nice to be back!!!!!

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well yote, it's not the 180, but it will do for now....at least until I'm back at work and I can talk the wife into a 120
 
Welcome back Melon!

That custom overflow is AWESOME! looks a lot better than those giant acrylic ones. You can build around that a lot easier.
 
Couldn't stay away for long, could you? ;) Looks like you're off to a great start! The nice thing is all those little "mistakes" or things that you hated on your old tank, you have the chance to do over and correct with this one!
 
yup, I'll never have an undrilled display tank again.....lol! Glad to be back too, expect to see more of me.

I have a 48x22x14 frag tank stuffed right now, but its nothing like having a full display....can't wait to get started
 
Well, the rock went in today. Its some stuff I had lying around. Really nice stuff, but covered in Aips! As soon as I know for sure everything is stable, I'm gonna throw in a half dozen peppermint shrimp, and hope for the best. Other than that, she's up and running! everything on timers, looking nice and low maintenance. The only thing I'd change about the overflow is I'd find a more uniform way to cut the grooves, perhaps a router, and put in alot more so it could keep up a bit better.


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Thanks guys, remember this all came from other established tanks in my house, so it was easy to work on. Unfortunately, I haven't made it down south to get a bunch of peppermints, and the Aiptasia are taking over.....sigh
 
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