25 gallon nano build . . . Downsizing =(

After a lot of thought I decided it was best to tear down the 125. It's just too big for me right now to maintain and stock like I would want to. Maybe later on I'll set up a 180 FOWLR but for right now this will have to do. I have been slowly selling off my corals to fund a smaller reef tank build I have had in mind for a while. The tank is acrylic with rounded corners and measures 24" x 16" x 16" . . . looks like a custom job, but I'm cant be sure as I got it used.

It came with a 30" stand in rough shape, loads of locline and an iwaki WMD 40RLT for a great price and today I finally got my hands dirty getting the stand started. Here is a pic of what my mad paint skills came up with a couple weeks ago.



And here is what got done today. The structure is not complete, I plan to beef up the sides and rear and later skin with 1/4" sanded plywood. Also I need to finish boxing in the 5" rear chanel (this tank is drilled in the back making things very annyoing).



Hopefully tomorrow I will get started on the beer ledge and slap some plywood on this thing. Later on I will be tackling a DIY LED array to light up this little guy. If anyone has any experience with LED's I would love to hear it. Right now, the only thing holding me up is the dimming aspect on meanwell "D" series drivers.

~Will.

 

Wow im exited to see how this turns out!

 

Sorry you had to downsize, but your new tank will be awesome!! I'm excited to see its progress!

 

very nice

are you selling your tank set up?

 

Thanks!

I'm selling the tank stand, canopy, 60" T5 lighting retro, powerheads, ATO, etc. etc. Going to keep my skimmer in hopes of one day getting to set up the 180 I have had in the garage for a couple months now. the 125 needs to stay up until I can get the smaller one done as it's going to hold all my favorite pieces that are going into the new tank, and all the extra live rock I still need to sell.

~Will.

 

Got started skinning it today, installed the beer ledge, and beefed up some supports.




I had a fun idea to install my reef keeper 2 on the front of the stand at a 45* angle. not sure how its going to happen, but it will probably get there. Also I was considering tiling the ledge, but I'm not sure I want to go through all that. I'm hoping to get the rest skinned and the front door installed by the end of this weekend.

~Will.

 

Very nice. That has awesome dimensions for a reef tank.

 

you getting any help with this build, iLLwiLL
as its coming together nice and quickly
sad news about the down sizing, but this project is giving you something new and interesting to work on and its looking good so far IMHO


Steve

 

Man, I wish I were closer. I'd help ya get some of those corals and such off your hands

Nice idea on the 25g

 

I'm getting a little help from my stepfather at our shop, but mostly just help to move this thing around as its getting heavy with all the plywood on it. I have been planning this for a couple weeks, so having a game plan has helped immensely.

Downsizing is pretty rough, but all the cash i'm getting in from the corals and fish I'm not keeping is doing an amazing job funding this new project. It's kinda fun getting to cherry pick all the best rock and corals from such a big tank for the new smaller one.

Looks like I'll be doing a 150 halide temporarily while I get the back ordered LED components figured out. Still trying to figure out an auto dimming circuit to give me a 5 minute soft on/off for the LED's . . . I think it will be well worth the extra time invested.

Thanks for all the kind words, I am always open to constructive criticism so if you have any ideas feel free to toss them my way!

~Will.