Wes's 100g Build Thread

Hi Guys,

Wanted to start a build thread for anyone interested and maybe get some advice along the way...I've ordered 48x24x17 from glass cages (I know, I know, I've seen the mixed reviews) and building my own stand. I've got some photos of the progress on the stand over the last week and the tank gets in Sunday night. The tank will be completely SPS and the equipment is as follows:

Lights - 48" Tek t5 - 5 x ATI Blue+ and 3 x Coral+

Skimmer - Upgraded to a reef dynamics cs series - can figure out the exact model number (got it off Craigslist, but from my research it is the CS series - for tanks up to 250gal) Came with a bubble master pump which cranks out a ridiculous amount of bubbles

2 part dosing - BRS

Mag 1800 return

Returns - undecided but thinking 2 on either end of the tank

Power heads - hydor 750 & hydor 1050

Overflow - bought a 2400gph overflow from BRS, can't decide if I want to do a bean animal or just have two standard drain pipes

A fair amount of equipment has arrived over the last few days, will update later with more photos




I've added a front and rear center support as well, will add that photo later.

Also, for the foam pad/insulation under the tank, what do people recommend using?

 

looks good so far, I think the dimensions will be BA

 

Nice start.. What type of wood are you using? (oak?) looks red in the pictures..

I can't wait to start building my stand (very soon!!)

also interested to hear what type of foam people use, I heard about it before but forgot to research..

 

If noise is an issue, beananimal is the only solution.

 

Some of the 2x4's are cedar (it was on sale at lowes) so thats where the red comes from - all of the other bits are pine, going to be painting it over the weekend and adding the doors. I am going to go with magnet type catches to hold them on and forget about hinges, i don't have a whole lot of room to work where i'm putting it so the doors coming out will just get in the way.

 

Does anyone have any thoughts on the changeover from my 30gal frag tank into my bigger tank? I'm going to cycle the new tank with live rock from my current tank - should I use some of the water from water changes over that period or just do one complete changeover once the new tank is cycled? I'm also going to use my 30gal as my sump so need to keep that in mind - thanks!

 

Tank came in tonight! Was a little nervous to see the workmanship on the glass cages tank but after giving it a good look, it far exceeded my expectations. It's no Reef Saavy, but it's built like a tank and the silicone is very good. I've heard some stories about wreckless silicone on some of their tanks, but this is the exception.

It is euro braced with 1/2" glass on the top and bottom, and also has 4 corner braces underneath the top brace - the glass is 3/8" all around - I would like to remove the corner braces, does anyone know if that would be ok? I think it is overbuilt as it is, especially with top and bottom braces, I think those are just over the top.

The tank is still in the car, taking it to the LFS tomorrow to drill a couple more holes.





Also, was in the ATL aquarium this weekend and took a couple shots with my phone - really neat place

 

Congrats on the tank. Looking forward to seeing it wet!

 

Did anyone say Bean? lol If I were to build a tank again, it will be Bean animal overflow again. Is the height 17"? I love the shallow look!

Couple things. Mag 18 pump is very powerful. You gonna use it to feed something else? Return pump should be determined by sump's water volume, not the main display. You wouldnt want the dirty water to rush thru the sump. And according to the dimensions, it holds 85 gallons of water.

When I upgraded to my 90 from 29, I kept everything up and running in 29, and filled up the 90 with fresh made water. I had cured the dry rock for a few months, got the bacteria going first in a separate container prior to the build. When the 90 was stable enough, I transferred clowns first and other critters along with live rocks over a week period. I didnt use the old 29 as a sump tho, so you wouldnt be able to leak test etc as a whole, but I dont see as much of difference.

 

Yes height is 17" - I haven't decided what kind of overflow yet, bean animal looks good but I'm trying to decide if I need two return lines or get away with one. There is a hole in the back wall about 2/3 the way up - its big, 1.5" and came with a bulk head so was thinking about getting some loc line and making that the return, maybe with two heads pointing different ways, and set up a bean animal across the side panel with a coast to coast the full 24". has anyone ever made an overflow with glass before, can you find dark glass (not acrylic) and what would you use for the skimmer "teeth".

I'm going to have a ball valve on the mag 1800 so I can turn it down a bit if need be. I'd also like to run lines into a carbon reactor but that isn't going to require much flow. I have a rio 2500 and two 2100s but I wanted something more powerful for this build.