I picked up my new 135 today from Paradise Pets! Many thanks to its owner Kevin and his assistance. 1/2" glass all sides & 3/4" glass for bottom. 48" long x 24" wide & 27" tall. 2 return & 2 drain - looks like 1.5" for returns & 2" for the drains. I'll start on the stand Saturday - there is 48 feet of heavy wall tube steel along with some angle iron in my shop waiting to be cut up and welded. 135
I started on the steel stand and have made some progress. The top support for the tank is heavy wall 2" tube steel. I fiddled with it the longest time to order to get is square & level. I used the top of my table saw as a work surface as its the flattest surface in my shop and I was able to use welding magnets to hold the steel in place while a tacked it. Once that was done I turned my attention to the base which is just angle iron. I drilled holes and welded 3/4" nuts for the adjustable legs. I have some 3" wide plate to distribute the load on the floor from four 3/4" bolts. I would have liked to finished up the basic structure with the legs between the top & bottom welded in place but it was too hot in my shop and I called it quits.
Making some progress Finished up on the doors and put everything together on the stand for first time. It will all come back apart tomorrow to start final sanding & finish. The canopy does not have a top as I can finish it later depending upon the LED fixtures I use. The base cabinet is just a shell with rollers on the back and leveling feet on the front.
Very nice. You do great wood work. Between you and Kevin Koplen I am ashamed of the things I make lol
A bit more progress Completed the finish & moved to the house today. I'm moving along somewhere between the speed of a sloth & a Koala bear but at least I'm making progress. The interior of the canopy has a nice coat of gloss white to help reflect light. The next objective is to get my RO/DI setup & tank plumbing.
Curious what lights you plan on using? Please give us some livestock details so we can all live vicarously.
An update of my sloooooooow progress... I've been cycling for about 24 days now. Ammonia is about 1.5ppm and has been slowly dropping the last few days. Nitrites are looking stable at 2 ppm and Nitrates are at 20 ppm and have really taken off the last 3 days. When should I start up a skimmer and what about water changes? So far all I have done is tweak salinity to get to 1.026 and just added make-up H2O. I settled on a Reef Octopus skimmer. Water blaster pump & two Sicce Voyager 4s (very quiet) for power heads. I have LEDs from Steve's LEDS for a DIY LED build but plan on building an ATO first. I'll try to get some pictures up Sunday. Very happy with my plywood sump (epoxied) that holds 75 gallons with enough reserve to accept the display tank overflow with a power loss.
That stand is unbelievable. I'm jealous of your carpentry skills. Did you have any live rock or all dry? I just filled my new DSA Tuesday and had the first hint of Nitrite today. What's your stocking plan? SPS or mixed reef? I can't believe how many reef keepers there are in Faulkner county.
Thanks for the compliment on the stand. I have some live sand (Caribsea) and some seed live rock in the sump. Everything in the main tank started off dry. I'm still not sure what I going with. I bought enogh LEDs to support SPS.
Latest Cycle continues. Less than 1 PPM ammonia, Nitrites down to 1 and Nitrates about 60 (Between colors). Attached some pictures. Slid the base away from the stand to show a side view of the sump. Pink board is held to steel with magnets - took the side down for the picture. Plan on starting up the skimmer soon but need a adjustable base to get its level right. Other tasks ahead - ATO & LEDs. I can live without an ATO for now as I only need to top off about every three days. View attachment 10514
