Hello!

Hey guys, I've been lurking for a month or so.. figured it was time I said hello!

I'm in the process of setting up my first tank, which will be a 55 gallon mixed reef. I've spent the last month or so reading, reading, buying parts, and reading some more.. but I'm getting close to getting this thing stood up.

My wife had some specific requirements for the height of the stand, so I ended up building my own cabinet/stand. It's built from 2x4's and skinned with birch plywood, pretty simple. It's totally overbuilt, but with 2 little kids I wanted it to be as strong as I could build it.

I bought the 55 gallon tank during Petco's dollar/gallon sale and also picked up a 29 gallon for the sump. I probably would have gotten something a little wider for the sump if I were to do it again, but I think it will work.

Other stuff that I've picked up:
2x Koralia Evo 1050
Octopus Needlewheel 150 Skimmer (probably overkill, but bigger is better right)
RO/DI filter
Eheim 1250 (return pump)
Eshopps Overflow PF-1000 (maybe overkill, but 2 outputs is what I wanted)
50 lbs dry rock (from Reef Cleaners, will seed with some live rock from a LFS)
60 lbs Tropic Eden reef flakes

I'm waiting on an order from Rapid LED, the 36 LED kit and some moon lighting. I'm going to build a custom Arduino controller for the lighting (dimming, timing).

It's all coming together now. As much as I am enjoying the build phase, I can't wait to get to the enjoying my tank phase!

Here are some pictures of my progress so far.

 

Welcome to 3reef,

Looks like a great start, curious to see the 55 gal from Petco.

 

Thanks!

The tanks are Aqueon brand, nothing fancy.

I'm having some trouble uploading pictures to the forum, but here are a bunch more:

Tank Pictures Gallery

There are a few pictures of the tank there during my "water test" on an earlier version of my stand.

 

Very nice quality rock, I like that style.

I have been looking for a larger tank, nothing happening on craigslist so I may give Petco a look. Once you get corals/rock/sand/fish in it, it will just as nice as any other tank, but you did your self and did not pay a small fortune for the tank.

 

welcome to 3reef looks like a great start

 

Welcome to 3reef!!!!!!

 

Hey, Welcome to 3reef. The 55 looks like a fun build.

 

Hello and welcome to 3reef

 

Welcome to 3reef, you have a great start there.

 

Welcome to 3reef