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trukgirl's 65g build

28K views 251 replies 26 participants last post by  trukgirl 
#1 · (Edited)
:-D

Ok... here's a pic of both tanks...

I don't have to paint the back of the tank, it was already painted black, quite well! (i was gonna do blue, oh well lol)
It came w/the 1 light fixture, 3 ft long, 1 bulb. Yeah so it will definitely have to be added to when we get to the coral stage lol.

The stand needed a little help, hubby has it out in his shop. he reinforced some places and has it glued and clamped down for the night. Tomorrow he's going to add some supports for the sump, add some trim pieces, & build a hood for it. (he's off work for a bit since he hurt his knee lol)

I'm trying to figure out how I'm going to configure the sump with how the panels are siliconed in there...any ideas??

 
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#2 ·
This is the protein skimmer I just bought off Ebay earlier today...
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=260597384835&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT
Its a Jebo 182 II. Yeah I did a bunch of research on it... I found out from a really massively long thread on reefcentral that it can be made to whoop protein skimmers that cost 4x what I paid for it with a tiny bit of modding, so a little modding is definitely worth the difference in price!!!!! Its just a little bit more than what I paid for the nano skimmer for my 10g! :D
 
#127 ·
great find congrats
 
#3 ·
Ha ha i c u in da reflecion on the couch, i have a refugium but my panels arnt so close to the edge, i can try and give advice though :D, ok i think you should put your skimmer, thermometer and overflow pipe on the larger side, then on the smaller side just find a powerful enough return pump that is small enough and will push the water back up :D, but if not and you feel like doing extra work it is possible to fit skimmer, and thermometer on small side and have return pump on larger side, for that you have to place the skimmer outside the tank or even on the same larger side witht he return pump but it needs a custom pipe to extend the skimmer to the smaller side, i hope dat makes sence. oh well :( it prbly doesnt i never do
 
#4 ·
Ha ha i c u in da reflecion on the couch
Arr harr harrr!! That's my 16 month old daughter sitting on the step into that room, LOL!!

Well, I wanted to run the water through my skimmer first, but I ended up getting an in-sump skimmer. I actually wanted to do a wet/dry trickle... maybe putting bio balls, etc in the skinny side?
 
#5 ·
its so hard to tell the true amount of space in their until that skimmer arives and is placed in.....r u going to put rocks in there or plants? may b u could put return pump n bio balls on small side and still have heater and sump on big side and may b even sand, algae, and rocks on big side..idk oh wait may b u have enough room to ad one more baffle, you could put sump on big side then measure and put a bafle right against the sump then the middle could hosue algae and rocks....im sure youll figure it out, ima happy watching someone else start a saltwater build the same time as me :D so i can learn lessons b 4 by your exprience, but i only have a mere 15 compared to your 65, your tank will b so nice when its up and running, i should post my build for ideas and opinions too :lol:
 
#6 ·
I suppose I could always add a bulkhead... man there are just so many options........
Hubby does not want to put another light in there for algal growth... I wonder if I should fight him on this? I have seen several really successful big tanks with lights and algae growing in the sump.
 
#7 ·
Yes its really beneficial for the fish, it also can feed them you know pods and all but i wouldnt fight him, he seems to b on board like you said before better to play it safe and show him what you can do, he already let you get a big tank n stuff :D, just sneak it in one day ha ha
 
#8 ·
this is just an oppinion... were it me (and its not!!!) i would remove the baffles carefully and then measure your skimmer.. then i would make the first chamber the in flow from the tank and the spot for the skimmer... now go under and over (baffles) into the next chamber put in a DSB and some LR or rubble rock.... now over and under and over (baffles) into return section.... in large chamber with DSB etc.. add your heater... if you dont want a full light set up for now perhaps using an all glass top with a desk lamp or clip on lamp with a 50/50 CFL bulb (low energy and plenty of light for growth on LR and sand) ..... in fact this is pretty much the plan for the 20 long sump i am starting to build !!! (i just got it free from a friend LOL)
 
#11 ·
Well... I don't think I want to remove the existing walls. I'd rather work with what's already there. I am almost positive the existing spot is large enough for the skimmer. Should I just skip the bio balls and go with a refugium for the macro algae, etc? How would anything be mechanically filtered then?

This is a goofy question.... but when I would go to do a water change... would I suck it out of the sump then, or the main tank? Or is it just personal preference, lol.
 
#13 ·
Yeah, that makes total sense. LOL Thanks :)

On a side note... I have a thread going about this exact same thing to get a few more ideas on reefcentral since yesterday... 200+ people looking at their DIY section, and NO body has said 1 word to my thread.... kind of hard to believe... Poo on them....
 
#15 ·
Some pics from yesterday....

Hubby modded and reinforced the stand. It had been sitting and wasn't very well taken care of. He added a lot of reinforcement and added the trim piece that is going around the front 3 sides of the top, to "hold" the tank in better and give it a more finished look.



 
#16 ·
Pics from this morning....

He repainted it (it was already black) with a high-gloss valspar black, and put 2 (3 in some areas like inside where the sump is) THICK coats of polyurethane. It shines like glass now!!!!

And the last pic is the beginning of the brand new hood.







 
#18 ·
LOL! Thanks :D
Actually he IS quite the handyman.... he built his "shop" back there by himself... (that bldg that has Lowe's wrap on it, he just has to put in a cpl windows and the siding)
 
#19 · (Edited)
The hood is done! It looks great. I need to get out there and take more pics but it's raining. :p As you can see by that last pic it was a pile of plywood...now its a nice hood! :D

I bought several "parts" off Ebay... it was THE cheapest.

I got a Jebo 182 II in sump skimmer. Yes I know some people have ripped them but you can't beat the price... plus I think I mentioned this earlier but I found some stuff about slightly modding them with just a little screen and they whup name brand ones of the same size LOL. skimmer link $45 vs $100+

Got a no-name overflow box... but it is designed a lot like some other ones, such as the CPR...
overflow box link $40 vs $100+

I did get a brand name powerhead... got the Hydor Koralia Evloution 750 (like the Koralia 2)
powerhead link I only saved about $3 since marinedepot happens to have this on sale... (including shipping cost on both) but I still got it cheaper and added another rating to my ebay, lol.

I am still on the fence for the type of return pump for the sump. I found one thats 720 gph adjustable.
 
#21 ·
Aw thanks :)
We bought this house 3 yrs ago.. it was BARE. We did all the landscaping, modded & painted the deck... I could go on and on...lol! The kids' playset came from income tax refund lol.
 
#22 ·
Well.....

The 55g is GONE!
All fish and plants have found new homes as well!!

1 step closer!!!!

Today we are going to silicone in the other panels into the sump. Already have the stand and hood sitting in the living room... still have to clean the main tank, and can't assemble it till we get the sump in. The sump takes up so much room we have to put it in through the top. So once the main tank is on, the sump has to be in! I received the Koralia powerhead yesterday and tested it in the 55g.... perfect! Still waiting on my overflow box, protein skimmer, and return pump.
 
#23 ·
Here it is....

No water yet, the silcone in the sump was not dry last night. I am going to water-test it today, and if all is ok, going to install the sump and the stabilizer bar back into the stand. Then I'm going to get some dead sand and rock, some live sand then the water.... then some live rock! All I still have so far as of this morning is the powerhead, so I can't really get the sump going. Also going to look into some macro algae at the LFS... so if they don't have any I have time to order some online.

But the water, the live rock and sand... should be enough to get things starting up in the tank, right?

These are from last night... the handles and the top rail on the stand thats "holding" the tank were not there originally... and the hood, he made completely from scratch......





 
#25 ·
Congratulations!!!! Your tank is coming along so well. I love the shininess of the stand! I can't wait till you finish it because it will be gorgeous!!! I'm so happy and excited for you! :)
 
#27 ·
Thanks so much guys!! :D

Only change for today is that there's 3 20lb bags of live sand, & a bag of reg crushed coral sitting in the tank lol.

Water tested the sump, its installed. Decided to wait to fill w/water till overflow box gets here so we know how far from the wall we need to have the tank. Ups says 19th but I'm crossing my fingers it'll be here tomorrow, lol.
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