40 breeder or...

iambes · Aug 9, 2020

So I finally won the rights to a few feet of space in my office lol... wife let me get rid of a piece of furniture.
3 ft tank seemed like a perfect fit so I have been bouncing between ordering a planet cristaline, innovative marine 75 int, reefer 300xl.
Still may go that route, but wanted a DIY project as a quarantine tank as well .so I picked up a 40 breeder and 20l for the sump on sale at Petco. Built a stand for it today and placed it there to figure out best dimensions to order.
I wasn’t originally planning on putting the 40b in this spot, or trying to make it look nice... but I see potential and really like the size of the 40b/stand for the area.
First time doing any of this, so not sure if I’ll pull it off , but might just turn this into a build thread and keep the 40b there ( If I’m able to make it look good enough).
Any advice to finish the stand nicely or overflow/plumbing tips greatly appreciated!

thinking I will paint back and bottom black
drill for low profile type overflow
colored pvc as close to tank as possible to keep clean look.

Devaji · Aug 9, 2020

40BR are amazing tanks nice and cheap too. best bang for your buck tank out there hands down.
if you are going HOB go life reef 100% the only trusted HOB over flow out there IMHO. the rest are just copies of his work.

if you want to drill it there are a few oprions out there like fiji cube, glass holes, modular marine etc. I have a 50/50 record with drilling them the 1st one 1 cheacked the 2nd one was a success.
you can trim out the stand in plywood and stain or paint it it will look pretty good.
other options depending on your deco I really like patina cold rolled steel with a marine grade sealer. lots of DIY options out there but there all gonna cost of in time and $$

all that said it probably never look as good as a red sea, waterbox, fiji cubes pnp systems
the rimless tanks with nice stand and sump do look amazing.

I have a 40br running right now just as a fish only QT temp tank that turned in to a year long thing as the new house reno has taken 1.5 years. great size tanks for sure.

let us know what you decide to do.

iambes · Aug 10, 2020

Devaji said:
40BR are amazing tanks nice and cheap too. best bang for your buck tank out there hands down.
if you are going HOB go life reef 100% the only trusted HOB over flow out there IMHO. the rest are just copies of his work.

if you want to drill it there are a few oprions out there like fiji cube, glass holes, modular marine etc. I have a 50/50 record with drilling them the 1st one 1 cheacked the 2nd one was a success.
you can trim out the stand in plywood and stain or paint it it will look pretty good.
other options depending on your deco I really like patina cold rolled steel with a marine grade sealer. lots of DIY options out there but there all gonna cost of in time and $$

all that said it probably never look as good as a red sea, waterbox, fiji cubes pnp systems
the rimless tanks with nice stand and sump do look amazing.

I have a 40br running right now just as a fish only QT temp tank that turned in to a year long thing as the new house reno has taken 1.5 years. great size tanks for sure.

let us know what you decide to do.

thanks a lot for the response! Definitely planning on drilling for overflow and returns to avoid having anything over the top.

Will be my first time drilling glass, but have watched tons of videos. hopefully goes smoothly. Has been difficult to find overflows in stock lately.
I do agree the rimless tanks Look super nice and doubt I’ll come close to that,( the innovative marine is on sale too) but it is nice being able to customize everything.

know how those house renos go- I actually just painted the room the tank is in ( about 5 years late lol)

Devaji · Aug 10, 2020

iambes said:
thanks a lot for the response! Definitely planning on drilling for overflow and returns to avoid having anything over the top.

Will be my first time drilling glass, but have watched tons of videos. hopefully goes smoothly. Has been difficult to find overflows in stock lately.
I do agree the rimless tanks Look super nice and doubt I’ll come close to that,( the innovative marine is on sale too) but it is nice being able to customize everything.

know how those house renos go- I actually just painted the room the tank is in ( about 5 years late lol)

dont get me wrong I love LOVE LOVE the 40br tanks! they do make great systems. I just see lots of ppl starting out with them and by the time they get the tank a little mature they want to switch it out. so if you think you or your wife would want that , my advice is just get the tank you want from the get go it will be cheaper and less work.

that said I have need alot of 40br that look clean and sharp.

here is an overflow they look great!

Fiji Cube Low Profile External Overflow Box 600GPH

The external overflow box is a popular overflow option for hobbyist to build their tanks into the next level. Fiji Cube’s external overflow box features a slim and safe design that offers another solution to perform your tank build. Features: Slim and compact design to suit any aquarium set-ups...

www.fijicube.com

I have never used one but have there nano peninsula tank and it beautiful! love it. you might not need the 600GHP but it always nice to have the option just in case you upgrade tanks down the road.

if you have not yet search for DIY stands and skins to get ideas on what to wrap your stand in.
happy reefing!

iambes · Aug 22, 2020

So I ended up finishing the stand , came out pretty nice but was planning on a 20l as a sump and it didn’t fit by 1/4”... one thing I didn’t think to measure lol. I was able to mostly cover the bottom brace of the tank with trim. The center is easily removable for sump access and just put a magnet strip across the top to make sure it doesn’t fall.
My first hurdle on the build and scared me into buying an innovative marine 75 lol, realized I was worried they wouldn’t be on sale anymore and had to just pull the trigger. Happy I decided on something frameless with the low iron glass. Ordered an icecap 30 sump as well.

Was able to sell the tank and stand, will start a new Build thread for the IM 75

( likely won’t arrive for a month or so , have plenty else to order and get ready in the meantime )

Devaji · Aug 22, 2020

iambes said:
So I ended up finishing the stand , came out pretty nice but was planning on a 20l as a sump and it didn’t fit by 1/4”... one thing I didn’t think to measure lol. I was able to mostly cover the bottom brace of the tank with trim. The center is easily removable for sump access and just put a magnet strip across the top to make sure it doesn’t fall.
My first hurdle on the build and scared me into buying an innovative marine 75 lol, realized I was worried they wouldn’t be on sale anymore and had to just pull the trigger. Happy I decided on something frameless with the low iron glass. Ordered an icecap 30 sump as well.

Was able to sell the tank and stand, will start a new Build thread for the IM 75 ( likely won’t arrive for a month or so , have plenty else to order and get ready in the meantime )