OnefishTwofish's 50g breeder upgrade

Hello to All,

Time to take a deep breath and commit myself to doing a bit of an upgrade thread here. If all goes well - I will be replacing my current 29g tank with a 50g breeder.

This will include a bit of a DIY stand mod to make it coordinate with my TekLight & Shelf install project I did a few months ago. I will also attempt my first sump / fuge build as well (20L).

The whole thing culminates in a "take one tank down and put the new one in its place" event. (that is the part that has me nervous...!)

Several of you out there have already suffered through several bouts of non-stop questions in PM/email from me about equipment and so forth. Others have responded to some miscellaneous threads I have posted in context with this project. Everyone's patience, knowledge and encouragement is appreciated more than you know. Thank you all!

Without much further ado - Here are two photos as proof that I really AM going to embark on this! The stand will be addressed first, then I will try to tackle the sump and plumbing etc. Be warned that this will take a few weeks though as I order equipment etc along the way. I will post updates etc as I get them done.

I look forward to your thoughts and comments. Crossed fingers and positive thoughts are also appreciated! One can never have too much luck!

stay tuned!

elizabeth

 

looks like it will be a great setup! Best of luck =)

 

Looks cool, good luck with it.

 

Very nice and good luck. You will love the more room and it looks like an amazing setup i hope you enjoy it and i look forward to more pictures.

 

You'll love all the room you'll have in a metal stand. Good luck!

 

Very nice!! Can't wait to see your progress!!

 

thanks all for the cheers thus far!

I wish i had my own workshop complete with power tools but a second floor apartment limits that!

Off to a friend's place to get some cutting and painting work accomplished!
Home Depot and Lowe's loved me today.

I have the cam for pics etc.

(man i hope this comes out the way i am envisioning this!)

*fingers are crossed* !!!

 

If your 50g breeder looks anything like your old 29, it will look amazing! Just take your time and plan everything out in advance. Good luck.

 

Hello Gang,

I was super busy all weekend - a lot of trips to the usual home improvement stores - inhaled way too many spray paint fumes - but got a lot done nonetheless.

Here is a bit of an update to keep this thread going. There should be a bit more later tonight.

I gathered up all my various materials and set up shop in the living room which included the critical large cup of DD coffee (triple cream no sugar) and my cheering section - yeah that's the bf giving 3reef a shout out from South Carolina via video & voice stream.

I am including a close up of the metal stand - typical painted steel angle construction. This one was purchased from my LFS for about 75 bucks (made by Perfecto I believe). I am partial to metal stands due to the lack of the center post - plus it is giving me the chance to dress it up a bit to match the light shelf that I did in this thread:

http://www.3reef.com/forums/i-made/my-tek-light-installation-80875.html

I bought some more of that simple aluminum angle from Home Depot and had a friend cut it to size for me. The cut pieces were laid into the bottom frame of the stand.

The shelf for the sump involved a nice piece of 3/4" cabinet grade plywood and some black marine vinyl from JoAnne Fabrics. (easy to keep clean! plus adds a little padding for the sump).

I trimmed the corners of the material and stapled it to the plywood. It will then set down into the aluminum channel trim. It is a VERY snug fit yet can be dismantled if I so desire. I am also hoping that it may help a little with any potential vibration sounds.

Next step: back up to the friend's (i was given free reign of his garage - thank goodness!) to start the spray painting.

Thanks for staying tuned

elizabeth

 

Hey, nice TV

Oh wait...this is a tank thread. In that case, keep up the good work