Tank Build

[Idlemind]

Ok so Ive been outta the fish for awhile and I have seen some really nice aquariums for sale with some pretty steep prices..
Well I had some sheets of glass laying around and I thought hmmm...
So I went and got some silicone and a few beers and sat down to designing, and so far this is what I have...It is 33 1/2 X 27 1/2x 11 inches deep

and the leak test lol it didnt leak and dont mind the silicone a made a mess with that stuff, note to self just cause Imma welder dont mean I can run a bead of silicone

Now I have been thinking about making a refugium along the back wall inside the tank and was wondering if there was any negative things I should know before I do that, I know I would kinda lose some of the open area for the fish but I think it would be a benifit overall as I wouldnt have to do alot of plumbing and kinda make this a self contained unit..
anyone have any thoughts on doing it that way? I have never seen it done and not sure why noone else has made their tank with an built in Refugium..

 

[jtnova13]

what an odd looking tank! Just kidding, you've done way better than I would have.

Many of the all-in-one systems utilize what you are doing... ie JBJ, biocubes, redsea max.

You could have an in tank fuge that also houses your skimmer, rowaphos, LR rubble etc. I'd make a weir comb at the top so it can overflow into the fuge and then have a powerhead on one side to return water to the display section.

I'd also paint the panel you are going to put in to hide the fuge from view.

 

[Idlemind]

I was thinking a weir setup like your talking about, and to hide the back panel I was thinking about hiding it with LR epoxied to the glass all the way along the length of it from top to bottom, Its not a very deep tank and I figure its only a little more than 40 gallons, but Im thinking of a couple Gobies and a few damsels, and of course the CUC, I started adding water today and by the weekend I should have the LR in,
It is a odd shape but I was doing as little glass cutting as I had to lol cutting glass makes me nervous lol and these pieces were actually shelves from a display cabinet I had sitting in my way lol now they actually have a purpose, I was kinda worried about the bracing in the top, but I think itll be ok as the glass is 3/8 thick..
I was thinking about a DSB but that will take alot of my depth so I am playing with the idea of putting some dividers in and keeping some area as a DSB..
or I may just go with about 2 inches and be happy with that lol

 

[seffieuk]

That is looking cool - what do you plan to keep in it?

I would forget the dsb but deffo go for the weirs at the back = pop into your lfs and have a look at the tanks suggested, that will give you an idea on how to do it

Seffie x

 

[Idlemind]

Well Ive been looking at a Blenny or two and maybe a couple damsels,I do like those Porcelain crabs, and just a CUC, not sure I wanna mess with corals yet or even anemones, For sure they will be things that dont need a deep tank. I kinda been looking at some Chromis , something that likes to school so there is some action going on,
My daughter wants a shark but Im thinking she is gonna have to just enjoy going to the aqaurium in Myrtle Beach to see them lol looks like way too much involved in keeping them but it would be neat to have one or two lol and she wants Seahorses lol not sure I wanna jump into caring for those yet either, I`ve had a couple of those before and I enjoyed them but they pretty much keep you from having anything in the tank that eats faster than they do(which I think everything eats faster than a Seahorse lol...
still reading up on some types of fish so it may change as I read more about whats available.

 

[Idlemind]

Well this is going to have to get pushed to the front of my priorities, I wanted to take my time and get it really nice and was looking to have it done by spring (March or April)
BUT lol when I got out of the shower and walked by the tank I saw salt on the bottom rim, I thought hopefully I just spilled some when I changed water and missed a little, as my luck runs when I wiped off the salt it was wet, so tomorrow I reckon Imma have to make a transfer and reseal the old tank and hope I dont have a catastrophe .
I am thinking I should be ok by just moving all my LR/LS straight into this tank without causing a major die off

 

[Idlemind]

Well here goes nothing lol today is the tomorrow I was talking about yesterday fixin to make the "big move"

 

[jtnova13]

Oh no, a leaky seal. Those can be such a pain to repair. I had a leaky seal on one of my sump baffles. Took ages to find the leak and fix it.

Good luck, hope it works out.

 

[Idlemind]

Well got everything transferred to the new tank and so far no losses, everything is eating and doing its thing, I might not go back to my 30 gallon lol This new tank looks so spacious and I am pretty sure the fish and critters are enjoying a much larger swimming area...

 

[Idlemind]

Well it aint like I wanted but its working as a temporary home for the critters, heres a few pics of the inside but I am not at all happy with it right now, I hate having to rush but I had to move everything as a leaking tank is nothing to fool with lol...

Now I can fix the 30 gallon and get back on track,

 

[Idlemind]

I also found a nice suprise when I moved the gravel, I found about a half dozen small Brittle Stars hiding in various places as I moved things over, most were cream colored but there were 2 that were black with white stripes or white with black stripes and they were a good bit larger than the cream colored ones.

 

[Idlemind]

Well last night I was sitting here watching the tank and critters to see if they were all acting normally,( I set up some red leds for night vision) and low and behold out from a big LR I see something new, a mantis shrimp!!! now I gotta figure out how to remove him.. Is there any use for these things should I catch it or are they just bad news all around?

 

[seffieuk]

Looking good so far

As for the mantis, click, click if you dont want him advertise him for sale - there is more and more interest in keeping this interesting shrimp

Seffie x

keep the updates coming