diy

Hello all, I have never plumbed a tank before and was looking for some friendly input. I have done some research but the more input the better. This is my situation: I have a 40G breeder and a 20G sump that I built. I have a Fluval SP4 pump which I realize now is way overkill. I figure I can...

Starting a new project for Simple DIY Automatic Alkalinity Tester for a common man with can be created and printed easily with minimum cost. Currently starting with: -Api KH bottle -Speed Sensor Module - https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32986575618.html?spm=a2g0s.9042311.0.0.26c94c4dlCiga1...

I'm still, after many months, trying to figure out how I'm going to get lights over my tank. The most recent idea is a floating shelf with the lights mounted inside. I'm using 2x 36" dimmable aquatic life hybrids with 4x Kessil A360x lights. I plan to run the cables in the wall behind the...

Hey, guys. Just yesterday I replaced my Coralife 30 HOB filter and protein skimmer on my 20 gallon clownfish/soft coral/CuC tank with an Aquaclear 70 filter modded to be a sort of HOB refugium. Basically, I superglued bits of plastic grid into the back of the filter so that I could fit a basic...

I cleaned parts of the tank where the baffles will go with 70% isopropyl alcohol that is used for cuts and what not, is that okay to silicone onto after cleaning with that or should I clean it with something else?

On the eve of my tank build, I’m getting all of the goodies together and I’ve realized... wow this hobby is expensive I started to comb through my pictures of the stand assembly and thought, this would be a great time to document this somewhere and maybe help someone out in their journey...

Hello Reefers! On my website, I currently sell a sand sifter that allows you to sift your sand bed quite easily. The question here is what other attachments would you guys find useful? The item would essentially be a 36 inch acrylic rod fitted with a handle (just like on the current sand...

After searching for refugiums for my 20 gallon salt tank i found little to nothing that would work or was sold to fit that product need. I was wondering if anyone else has found a company that makes this, or has any experience making their own? I made my own using a breeder box then adding a...

I put this check valve and union on my return manifold, but when I attach the return line into the tank, both unions push up right against the wall of the stand. I am worried that this will cause the pipe in the overflow to leak at the hole of the overflow box. Should I be worried or should it...

Hello All! I can't wait to get a little more involved in the community. Buckle up this is somewhat of a long post but I am seeking advice in the last paragraph if you would like to jump ahead. Starting off I would like to introduce myself. I am a Marine Biologist and had originally hoped to...

I am almost done plumbing my Red Sea 170, and I built a manifold and most of the hard line for the return line. I am not sure if I should do the rest of it, to where it connects to the return pipe, with soft tubing or if I should do it all with hard pipes. Please let me know what you would do...

Hey all. I finally bought a new house, which means that I'll soon be able to set up my new 180 gallon tank. I've got everything laid out except for my return line. I'm having a really hard time finding any information on if I should drill my return into the back of the tank or use a HOB return...

Hey all. I finally bought a new house, which means that I'll soon be able to set up my new 180 gallon tank. I've got everything laid out except for my return line. I'm having a really hard time finding any information on if I should drill my return into the back of the tank or use a HOB return...

I'm planning on making a batch of diy dryrock and cant for the life of me find someone who sells white cement mix in my area. So I was wondering is there a safe colorant or brightener I could add?

After posting about my refugium over in the macroalgae forum I decided why not post up my whole build progression while I'm at it. First off, I suppose this would be considered a budget build by most standards, and/or DIY, nearly everything was repurposed from old builds during my last foray in...

So I went to glue a corner piece to a straight piece of pvc, I made two marks because I needed it at a specific angle. I put on the primer pvc glue on the straight piece of pvc that goes inside the corner connection, and then I wiped it off because it removed my mark I made with sharpie, then I...

Okay we have put the tank on the stand, Very Heavy, had a buddy help. Plumbing is dry fit currently. Would like feedback if everything looks good or if I need to change anything (means ordering more parts, so hope not) It's my first time running a sump so.... My main drain has the gate valve...

Okay we have put the tank on the stand, Very Heavy, had a buddy help. Plumbing is dry fit currently. Would like feedback if everything looks good or if I need to change anything (means ordering more parts, so hope not) It's my first time running a sump so.... My main drain has the gate...

I’ve actually been writing & re-writing this build thread since August. Every time I’m about to post it, I make another major change/addition & put it off by another month. But I finally decided to set it in stone & post! My thread index has the coolest/most unique sections in bold, if...

I currently have a 48" SBox Pro from SB Reef Lights and a 48" T5 in the front as shown. My tank measures 48" long. I'm considering adding an additional 1-2 T5 bulbs on the rear of the tank for better light spread and shadowing issues. Currently, with how far up the T5 has to be mounted to allow...

Well, where do I begin? I'm a student of Architecture in my beautiful 3rd world country Namibia. A geological location that feels pretty much like the butt side of the world in terms of what is available on the other side of the world. Nonetheless we fellow like minded reefers all have what...

Hello everyone, This is my first post on reef2reef! I am looking for help on spacing guidelines for my new display tank. The tank is 10 feet long by 30" wide and 30" tall. I have 5 radion Gen 5 blue lights. The tank will be a mixed reef and I am having a hard time finding any info on sapcing...

Hey everyone! Just wanted to share what I’m now using as an ATO reservoir. I, like many others, have very limited space in my tank cabinet, so finding a reservoir that holds a decent amount of water but also takes up a small amount of space has been a challenge. I have a solid foot of space...

I am plumbing my tank with pipes and unions bought from bulk reef supply and when I put a union onto the pipe it looks like the pipe doesn’t push in all the way. There is some space on the inside, Is this normal? If I use a lot of force then maybe I can get it pushed farther in but my question...

So I am wanting to make a DIY aquarium sump as I am limited by space, now to do this I am going to run a normal canister filter as a pre-filter and send the return to a sump, and then have a second (separate from the canister filter) return pump to the display tank itself. However as you...