Anemone tank
Ok so I am starting a new build as I sold off my last setup and have regretted it since the guy drove away with it. But I am doing a bit of a different system this time around. So I got rid of my tank last year and have since built many freshwater tanks since then which helped me find a ton of my saltwater stuff. BOOM new tank time. I for sure want a new build thread though so that i can keep track of the build and pick some brains of course.
So I am using an old 40 breeder which I am going to reseal (never leaked) with black silicone. Just to be safe and improve the looks of the tank. Painted the back of the tank Black already and the bottom as well. YUP Bare bottom time. Below is a few images of the painting process she's still wet as i type this.
First as you can tell this tank is on a giant cinderblock and plank 1 hour built stand. Basically I needed a spot for my tv and the tank in the basement. Second I am buying a new house in 2 years I believe so I am aiming for aged live rock without pests for a much larger tank at that time. So since this tank is going to be part of my building blocks for the new build I decided not to build a fancy stand and make it super easy to work on instead.
Materials for the stand:
I no longer have all of the technology my older tank had and do not plan to get it with this tank either as 40 is too small for future plans. I will be using a kessil a160w tuna blue (since I already have it) and either a second one or a t5 aquatic life hybrid 36" light. I am leaning towards the aquatic life as I had great growth my last go around with this setup. But the main kicker here is that I do not feel like buying a new skimmer and would rather use the one you see on the bottom shelf. Hydor Performer 2005 skimmer. Rated for 500-800 gallon systems. It is a recirculating pump so I do not need to worry about the sumps water level and I can have the skimmer outside of my sump making more room for CHAETO!!!! But we will find out if I can even get this monster to produce skimmate in such a small system.
Oh yea by system I mean 40 gallon breeder and the to be determined sump. I love basic sumps with 3 chambers and may have to see if my LFS will make another custom for me or if they have one that fits my needs. I left 45 inches of space in length and 32 inches of space deep for the sump. Skimmer in or out of sump will be determined by what i can find. Oh and about 34" of head clearance for removing skimmate cup and hanging a h180 or something of the sorts.
Ok so this tank will be a lot of "firsts" for me. This will be my first bare bottom tank and also my first negative space tank. I really want to take my time and make the rockwork look amazing and not have a giant pile of rocks in the center. Also I will not be introducing any pests into this tank (lol hopefully). But as I have named this thread I will only have anemones in this tank. Invertebrates as well but no fish, coral, coral plugs, or live rock. By inverts I mean anemone crabs or anemone shrimp and maybe a few cleanup crew, but nothing crazy. Which of course means the longest ugly phase possible blah.
But here is what I have in mind so far for the build. (Which may end up being bought tomorrow lol.
Oh also I still have an ATO, 9 stage rodi system (7 with some doubles), tropic marin classic salt, salt mixing barrel, small ato container, Huge ato container as well.
has anyone tried those 100 dollar ATO's that are out? I would love to hook an ATO to each of my tanks downstairs from a single 50 gallon barrel. That would shave 200 dollars off just in ATO's.
Well please be nice and let me know what you would change or any advice you have. I will keep this up to date with my progress.
Ok so I am starting a new build as I sold off my last setup and have regretted it since the guy drove away with it. But I am doing a bit of a different system this time around. So I got rid of my tank last year and have since built many freshwater tanks since then which helped me find a ton of my saltwater stuff. BOOM new tank time. I for sure want a new build thread though so that i can keep track of the build and pick some brains of course.
So I am using an old 40 breeder which I am going to reseal (never leaked) with black silicone. Just to be safe and improve the looks of the tank. Painted the back of the tank Black already and the bottom as well. YUP Bare bottom time. Below is a few images of the painting process she's still wet as i type this.
First as you can tell this tank is on a giant cinderblock and plank 1 hour built stand. Basically I needed a spot for my tv and the tank in the basement. Second I am buying a new house in 2 years I believe so I am aiming for aged live rock without pests for a much larger tank at that time. So since this tank is going to be part of my building blocks for the new build I decided not to build a fancy stand and make it super easy to work on instead.
Materials for the stand:
(24) cinder blocks
(8) 4" blocks
(2) 2 x 12" plank
(1) 2 x 8" plank
(2) sheets of plywood that were leftover in the garage 5/8" thick white pine
So for 80 bucks I have an extremely strong stand but she is in no way shape or form pretty. I may eventually magnet or velcro a nice panel in front of the cinder block just to hide the block but I may even toss some blackout curtains on and call it a day. We will see what future the wallet holds. I will also be using the self leveling mat under the aquarium itself as I do not want to put a piece of plywood on top of the planks. (I like the look) Wider shot of stand below.I no longer have all of the technology my older tank had and do not plan to get it with this tank either as 40 is too small for future plans. I will be using a kessil a160w tuna blue (since I already have it) and either a second one or a t5 aquatic life hybrid 36" light. I am leaning towards the aquatic life as I had great growth my last go around with this setup. But the main kicker here is that I do not feel like buying a new skimmer and would rather use the one you see on the bottom shelf. Hydor Performer 2005 skimmer. Rated for 500-800 gallon systems. It is a recirculating pump so I do not need to worry about the sumps water level and I can have the skimmer outside of my sump making more room for CHAETO!!!! But we will find out if I can even get this monster to produce skimmate in such a small system.
Oh yea by system I mean 40 gallon breeder and the to be determined sump. I love basic sumps with 3 chambers and may have to see if my LFS will make another custom for me or if they have one that fits my needs. I left 45 inches of space in length and 32 inches of space deep for the sump. Skimmer in or out of sump will be determined by what i can find. Oh and about 34" of head clearance for removing skimmate cup and hanging a h180 or something of the sorts.
Ok so this tank will be a lot of "firsts" for me. This will be my first bare bottom tank and also my first negative space tank. I really want to take my time and make the rockwork look amazing and not have a giant pile of rocks in the center. Also I will not be introducing any pests into this tank (lol hopefully). But as I have named this thread I will only have anemones in this tank. Invertebrates as well but no fish, coral, coral plugs, or live rock. By inverts I mean anemone crabs or anemone shrimp and maybe a few cleanup crew, but nothing crazy. Which of course means the longest ugly phase possible blah.
But here is what I have in mind so far for the build. (Which may end up being bought tomorrow lol.
- Sump with large area for chaeto and brightwell bricks for bacteria.
- kessil a160 or aquatic life t5 hybrid fixture. (let me know your opinions on this option. I am leaning towards T5.
- kessil h180 for chaeto. (Had the 380 on a 120 gallon and absolutely loved it.)
- Return pump (May go DC jebao so that I can have 2 pumps for the price of any other brands 1 pump. (opinions?)
- overflow box (leaning towards lifereef if he's not backed up on orders) but if not than eshopps it is. I really do not want to drill this tank as it is like 15 years old and housed a turtle for 12 of those years. (not my turtle until a year ago). So instead of weakening an old tank I will roll with the overflow box until i get tired of it.
- Gyre with foam over propellers for flow and anemone safety
- probably about 300w of 2 seperate heaters maybe on an inkbird or BRS version
- used apex if i can find one soon, most basic one is fine by me actually as I just want the temp on my phone. With the probe in the overflow box and the heater in the sump that will also let me know if the sump is clogged or anything by the temp dropping. I would try other tech but I am used to apex so that just makes life easy.
- all of the other things i am forgetting insert here!
Oh also I still have an ATO, 9 stage rodi system (7 with some doubles), tropic marin classic salt, salt mixing barrel, small ato container, Huge ato container as well.
has anyone tried those 100 dollar ATO's that are out? I would love to hook an ATO to each of my tanks downstairs from a single 50 gallon barrel. That would shave 200 dollars off just in ATO's.
Well please be nice and let me know what you would change or any advice you have. I will keep this up to date with my progress.
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