First Tank Build - Learning and (Hopefully) Thriving

[JdubC]

Hi Everyone. I've been thinking about entering the hobby for quite some time and have been spending the past six or so months researching, watching, and learning as much as I can. It's finally time to take the plunge and start my first build.

So, this is my build thread.

Thank you to all those who take the time to offer support and feedback. I know there are lots of ways to succeed and am open to any advice you are willing and able to give.

I'll do my best to post often and be as transparent as possible about my successes...and, perhaps more importantly, failures.

My tank should arrive on Friday (woo hoo!). Thanks to @VintageReefer for the heads up on the tank offer and for doing due diligence prior to notifying the community about it. And thanks to the others who purchased this tank and are starting their own build threads. I believe there are still some available, so check out this thread: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/b...of-2024-whose-looking-for-a-new-tank.1037349/ for more information.

I'm really looking forward to seeing how we all bring our tanks to life.

So, here is the rundown on the tank:

Display Tank
- 83 gallons rimless low iron glass
- 48" x 20" x 20"
- Back panel is black
- Ghost overflow with three drains and full Herbie plumbing kit (3rd drain is capped, but could be modified to a BeanAnimal)
- 1" return tubing and 3/4" lockline nozzle

Sump and ATO
- 26 gallon custom glass sump
- 9 gallon custom acrylic gravity ato with float
- Three 4" filter sock openings (filter socks included) with lid

Cabinet
- custom made cabinet from marine grade plywood covered in faux wood grain laminate

And some pics from the seller as I await the arrival of mine:

I'll post some pics of mine once it arrives.

It will take me a bit of time to get this up and running, but I wanted to start the build thread now so I can share my overarching plans, get feedback, and make adjustments as needed.

My next post will be a description of my planned phased approach and ultimate goal.

I'm finding inspiration from these two builds at the moment:

@Griev https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/grievs-im-200-mangrove-lagoon.761956/

@ralquist https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/new-jbj-45-build-almost-a-year.968332/

And the one highlighted in this TSA video: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/t...inners-10-000-in-prizes.1032747/post-12290909


More to come...

 

[TX_REEF]

Congrats on the new system!

 

[JdubC]

Congrats on the new system!

Much appreciated.

 

[BubblesandSqueak]

Welcome and wish you luck

 

[Giek]

Following along!

 

[Jim Gomoll]

Welcome to R2R. Best of luck on your reefing journey.

 

[ralquist]

Hi Everyone. I've been thinking about entering the hobby for quite some time and have been spending the past six or so months researching, watching, and learning as much as I can. It's finally time to take the plunge and start my first build.

So, this is my build thread.

Thank you to all those who take the time to offer support and feedback. I know there are lots of ways to succeed and am open to any advice you are willing and able to give.

I'll do my best to post often and be as transparent as possible about my successes...and, perhaps more importantly, failures.

My tank should arrive on Friday (woo hoo!). Thanks to @VintageReefer for the heads up on the tank offer and for doing due diligence prior to notifying the community about it. And thanks to the others who purchased this tank and are starting their own build threads. I believe there are still some available, so check out this thread: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/b...of-2024-whose-looking-for-a-new-tank.1037349/ for more information.

I'm really looking forward to seeing how we all bring our tanks to life.

So, here is the rundown on the tank:

Display Tank
- 83 gallons rimless low iron glass
- 48" x 20" x 20"
- Back panel is black
- Ghost overflow with three drains and full Herbie plumbing kit (3rd drain is capped, but could be modified to a BeanAnimal)
- 1" return tubing and 3/4" lockline nozzle

Sump and ATO
- 26 gallon custom glass sump
- 9 gallon custom acrylic gravity ato with float
- Three 4" filter sock openings (filter socks included) with lid

Cabinet
- custom made cabinet from marine grade plywood covered in faux wood grain laminate

And some pics from the seller as I await the arrival of mine:

I'll post some pics of mine once it arrives.

It will take me a bit of time to get this up and running, but I wanted to start the build thread now so I can share my overarching plans, get feedback, and make adjustments as needed.

My next post will be a description of my planned phased approach and ultimate goal.

I'm finding inspiration from these two builds at the moment:

@Griev https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/grievs-im-200-mangrove-lagoon.761956/

@ralquist https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/new-jbj-45-build-almost-a-year.968332/

And the one highlighted in this TSA video: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/t...inners-10-000-in-prizes.1032747/post-12290909


More to come...

Def following along! I’m super jealous of that beautiful new tank, I’ve looked that them more than I would like to admit but no room so I’m going to live vicariously through your build

Thank you for the compliment in providing a little inspiration, I’m more than happy to help anyway I can but know I’m still very new to this and learning every day so keep that in mind

Best of luck and can’t wait to see what you create!

 

[JdubC]

Anyone else played with the scape-it.io online simulator? It is a bit limited, but kinda fun to mess with.

I've put together four variations of a general layout I am thinking about. Going to be fish and LPS dominant in the long run. Flow will come primarily from a beefed up RFG in top right corner.

Bit hard (for me) to capture depth with the simulator, but the larger left-side structure would be further back in the tank and the smaller right-side structure further forward.

The ledges would be offset to address potential shading

The arches would be at different orientations

The overall feel would be "upward" movement from front to back and right to left.

Thoughts? (I am not an artist)

 

[BubblesandSqueak]

Anyone else played with the scape-it.io online simulator? It is a bit limited, but kinda fun to mess with.

I've put together four variations of a general layout I am thinking about. Going to be fish and LPS dominant in the long run. Flow will come primarily from a beefed up RFG in top right corner.

Bit hard (for me) to capture depth with the simulator, but the larger left-side structure would be further back in the tank and the smaller right-side structure further forward.

The ledges would be offset to address potential shading

The arches would be at different orientations

The overall feel would be "upward" movement from front to back and right to left.

Thoughts? (I am not an artist)

it looks cool but not much hiding places. just a thought. add more crevices/caverns or something on one side. probably left side. unless you choose only clowns. my damsels, basslet, shrimp, and mandarin all need a place to sleep. and, my fish tend to sleep in the middle so you could still have it raised above the sand like a pillar.

 

[JdubC]

it looks cool but not much hiding places. just a thought. add more crevices/caverns or something on one side. probably left side. unless you choose only clowns. my damsels, basslet, shrimp, and mandarin all need a place to sleep. and, my fish tend to sleep in the middle so you could still have it raised above the sand like a pillar.

Thanks! I will definitely be looking to add more crevices. Hard to show in this, but am planning to use the HNSA method and break up a bunch of marcorock and build out the overall structure with tons of hiding spots and crevices.

I really appreciate your feedback.

 

[ralquist]

Anyone else played with the scape-it.io online simulator? It is a bit limited, but kinda fun to mess with.

I've put together four variations of a general layout I am thinking about. Going to be fish and LPS dominant in the long run. Flow will come primarily from a beefed up RFG in top right corner.

Bit hard (for me) to capture depth with the simulator, but the larger left-side structure would be further back in the tank and the smaller right-side structure further forward.

The ledges would be offset to address potential shading

The arches would be at different orientations

The overall feel would be "upward" movement from front to back and right to left.

Thoughts? (I am not an artist)

Never used that but very cool! My favorite so far is #4! Agree with bubbles on the hiding places, one thing I wish I could go back and adjust just a little on my main structures! So exciting to get to this point and something fun you can do while waiting! Have you ordered any rock?

 

[JdubC]

Never used that but very cool! My favorite so far is #4! Agree with bubbles on the hiding places, one thing I wish I could go back and adjust just a little on my main structures! So exciting to get to this point and something fun you can do while waiting! Have you ordered any rock?

Yeah, I'm leaning toward #4 as well. In terms of the hiding places, are you and @BubblesandSqueak suggesting more caves and arches, or more nooks and crannies, or both (my assumption is both/all)?

This is my first tank and I am using dry rock so I can take my time and make adjustments.

Was going to check with my LFS to see if they have rock for sale. Currently have 70lbs of MR and 2 medium MR base rocks (4-5lbs/rock) in my cart on BRS. This should give me about 80lbs total for an 83g DT. Enough? Planning to place rubble and any extra whole rocks in sump.

Sadly, a recent surgery has delayed me a bit. I am in the middle of finishing my basement and have a spot for the tank already, including close access to plumbing, sink, and newly installed dedicated 20A outlets.

 

[nuxx]

This should be fun, following

 

[BubblesandSqueak]

nooks, caves and crannies. As they grow they will need a bit bigger. try to think about future inhabitants and coral growth with shading. Of course flow but you have it for what your pictures are.

 

[Gumbies R Us]

Following along!

 

[ralquist]

Yeah, I'm leaning toward #4 as well. In terms of the hiding places, are you and @BubblesandSqueak suggesting more caves and arches, or more nooks and crannies, or both (my assumption is both/all)?

This is my first tank and I am using dry rock so I can take my time and make adjustments.

Was going to check with my LFS to see if they have rock for sale. Currently have 70lbs of MR and 2 medium MR base rocks (4-5lbs/rock) in my cart on BRS. This should give me about 80lbs total for an 83g DT. Enough? Planning to place rubble and any extra whole rocks in sump.

Sadly, a recent surgery has delayed me a bit. I am in the middle of finishing my basement and have a spot for the tank already, including close access to plumbing, sink, and newly installed dedicated 20A outlets.

Really both if you can swing it, when building mine I didn't take that into consideration. The few hiding spots that I have are aggressively defended, it would be much more peaceful if I had more area for them to hide.
Like you said, you have dry rock and can take your time so that's a big bonus! 80lb sounds like enough but very nice to have extra either way. If you are breaking it up to form your scape I would think the 80lb would go a long way and give you the freedom to adjust anytime!
I would start to play with that rock, maybe cut some cardboard to the tank dimensions and do some arts and crafts! That is if you have room during your construction lol! Might give you some more ideas while playing around, I changed what I wanted to do constantly for weeks every day clear up to the day I put water in lol. Heck still changing it!
Hopefully your on the mend and doing better, that's so exciting new finished basement and a tank!

 

[JdubC]

Really both if you can swing it, when building mine I didn't take that into consideration. The few hiding spots that I have are aggressively defended, it would be much more peaceful if I had more area for them to hide.
Like you said, you have dry rock and can take your time so that's a big bonus! 80lb sounds like enough but very nice to have extra either way. If you are breaking it up to form your scape I would think the 80lb would go a long way and give you the freedom to adjust anytime!
I would start to play with that rock, maybe cut some cardboard to the tank dimensions and do some arts and crafts! That is if you have room during your construction lol! Might give you some more ideas while playing around, I changed what I wanted to do constantly for weeks every day clear up to the day I put water in lol. Heck still changing it!
Hopefully your on the mend and doing better, that's so exciting new finished basement and a tank!

Thanks! I appreciate the well-wishes and ideas.

I am going to (try) to take my time and do things “right” before moving to the next stage, but, that isn’t always in my nature.

I’ll be getting rock soon and setting up a mock tank in the garage (pvc or cardboard) and play some. Will post pics as I go.

 

[Devisissy]

I don't think I have many hiding places but the holes in the rock are so large everyone has their little cave. The clowns made themselves a cave, so I like your arch theme a lot.

Well only thing left to do, throw some black and white aquarium gravel in there and full send. <--if you know you know.

 

[JdubC]

I don't think I have many hiding places but the holes in the rock are so large everyone has their little cave. The clowns made themselves a cave, so I like your arch theme a lot.

Well only thing left to do, throw some black and white aquarium gravel in there and full send. <--if you know you know.

Thanks!

Not sure I know, but I know.

 

[Danthefishman]

Any update?