Banner image

Jeremy's office build or a case of scope creep (1 Viewer)

J

Jeremy P

Senior Member
TCMAS Member
TCMAS Supporter
Joined
Mar 7, 2007
Messages
494
Location
Minneapolis, MN
Until last week, I had a planted 20 long in my office but I decided to replace it with something different and get back into the saltwater game. I've done a 20 long reef before and found it a little limiting in height. I originally thought of doing a 29 gallon (same foot print as a 20 long but just taller) but I realized that I don't like the height to depth ratio of the 29 gallon. After some searching, I discovered that a Marineland 34 gallon will fit nicely on my stand and decided that I would use that tank. However, after thinking about it for a few days I began to wonder if the stand could take the extra weight so I should probably build a new stand. Now that I'm building a new stand, why not go a little bit bigger and build the stand for a 40 breeder. Since I already have a 40 breeder in my basement that has never been wet, I might as well use it, right? At the rate I'm going, it will be a 180 gallon by mid-march and I'm not sure if my boss would go for that.

Livestock: Mixed reef but probably heavy on soft corals/leathers
Fish: Shrimp/goby pair, a blenny, and ?
Tank: 40 breeder
Stand: Built by me and inspired by Jlanger
Overflow: Eshopps Eclipse or Synergy Shadow
Filtration: Weekly or bi-weekly water changes
ATO: Tunze osmolator - I thought about just topping off water manually but I want to keep the salinity as stable as possible and I don't want to come in on the weekend to just add water.
Controller: AC Jr
Sump: I was originally going to use an empty canister filter for water movement and then run it through DIY inline heaters but since I have the space in the stand, I might as well just put in a sump for the heaters and everything.

As for lighting, I'm still debating that. It is likely going to be LED because I don't want to deal with the heat of metal halide and I feel rather lukewarm about T-5. My last tank had T-5 lighting and I was never crazy about it. That said, I have seen some tanks with LEDs that have a pretty significant disco ball effect that I want to avoid.
 
Good luck. Instead of the 40B, you could go with a 65. Same LxW as a 40B, just taller. :) Then use the 40B as the sump underneath.
 
My last tank was a 65 and I don't want to go that tall, at least for this tank. That doesn't mean there isn't room in my house for a fat boy down the road.
 
I think I'm going to like this build! ;)
The 40BR is a great size for a "small" tank.
Keep us posted with your progress.
 
Lol I loved your constant justification to go bigger and bigger on the tank size. I definitely second the auto topoff system. Very convenient and you can dose kalk through your ato reservoir, should you decide to go that route in the future.

Good luck with the build and take lots of pics! You'll thank yourself later for them
 
Fishfoo said:
Lol I loved your constant justification to go bigger and bigger on the tank size. I definitely second the auto topoff system. Very convenient and you can dose kalk through your ato reservoir, should you decide to go that route in the future.

Good luck with the build and take lots of pics! You'll thank yourself later for them
Click to expand...

Yeah, I tend to be my own worst enemy when it comes to talking myself into things.

jlanger said:
I think I'm going to like this build! ;)
The 40BR is a great size for a "small" tank.
Keep us posted with your progress.
Click to expand...

I should say loosely based, because I don't know if I can pull off my vision with the tools I have. Then again, every project is a reason to buy a new tool.
 
If I have learned anything about building stands, you need to start with a good plan. I drafted the conceptual plan in our CAD program at a 1:1 scale. This is what I have come up with and, yes, it does bear a resemblance to a certain other users' stand. :bow:



 
So after six months of working on this in my free time, the stand has been built.


Yes the door panels are a little dusty but it is done and the tank holds water. Pleases ignore the background, that room is a work in progress. The problem is that I'm not sure if I want to lug a 40 breeder and this stand into my office. What I'm thinking is that when it is time to tear down the tank (our office has a year to year lease and the owner could decide to knock down the building at any time), I want to be able to move it in one trip and this set up would take probably two trips. Now I'm thinking of tracking down a marineland 34 gallon and using it on the stand that formerly had my 20 long.
9bdda744b624ef3408a5baf34d016f0f.jpg
 
Last edited:
Hmm, this was much easier before photobucket pulled that jerk move. I thought I could upload from my Google drive but apparently not.

Let's see if Tapatalk works.
 
Last edited:
Thanks. I spent a lot of time on it. At the moment, I'm still trying to decide whether I want to bring it to my office or not. Aside from the size, I suspect that the hum from the pump (eheim 1262) would be distracting. It is only around 30 db (as measured by an app on my phone) which is generally considered to be quiet, it is still louder than my office which usually is less than 10 db.
 
Understandable, I'd generally say if you did that a lower pitch tends to fade away but a higher pitch will become nails on a chalk board.

If you have room I added that cheap pink construction foam sold at Menards and the like and mounted on the back of my cabinet doors. That made a big difference for me.
 
Looks really nice.
Let your coworkers pick something for the tank. ( from a list u make of coarse) and maybe they won't mind the extra noise.:D
 
I'm trying to decide whether I want to go with an internal overflow (drilled through the bottom) or external overflow (drilled through the back). It seems to be easier to find external overflows but I don't like how far you need to keep the tank from the wall. If only they made a 40 breeder with a built in internal overflow.
 
I thought I had added pictures after the installation but alas I have not. This is where it stands today. I wish I could get good color correction without an external filter.

I just counted and I found 8 different types of toadstools.
b074a297955e535a4cc4c6f2a6c1459c.jpg
33c6aa354f6be59098a2a8bc8aeeabb2.jpg


Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Users who are viewing this thread

Total: 2 (members: 0, guests: 2)
Back
Top