braydonosu's 40 gal

braydonosu

braydonosu

Member
So everyone else has a thread about their tanks I figured I might as well prove that I have one too. As of right now I have a 40 breeder that is set up as a reef. I only have star polyps in it now (I got rid of all my corals when I moved a few months ago)
I custom built the stand and canopy out of red oak - retrofit 6 39 watt T5 HO's for the canopy.
My equipment:
Coralife 125 skimmer
AGA sump (soon to be a fuge)
Coralife 50 gpd RO/DI
6 x 39 watt T5's
4 aquaclear powerheads
~75 lbs of live rock in dt and sump
~50 lbs live sand
I have a 6 line wrasse, a false perc, a damsel, and a firefish plus some crabs and snails and a conch.
I am sorry in advance for the picture quality - my camera bit the big one after too many college parties.
I plan to overhaul the plumbing after the first of the year so I'll get some good pictures then - I promise.
 
braydonosu

braydonosu

Member
My emerald crab is turning white. This picture is not showing it very well, but the top of his shell is fading fading from green to a whitish color - he is still trolling over the rocks picking at algae so I'm not sure if this is bad or not.

He's in the center of the shot - like I said you cannot tell from the picture, but he's turning color
 
braydonosu

braydonosu

Member
So I had a little bit of a scare yesterday - I moved a small rock around and apparently spooked my 6 line enough that he jumped into my overflow. I didn't see it it happen, but when I went to feed last night he was not to be found - and he's usually the first one to greet the hand that feeds him. I looked around for a bit then decided to look in the sump. If you don't know what the AGA sumps look like they have a sealed chamber for the intake with a small hole for the drain and a small overflow/waterfall to allow the water to trickle over the bio balls (which I removed) My wrasse was sitting at the bottom of the first chamber just chillin. I had to disconnect all of my plumbing and use a plastic bag with a wire hanger to get him out because a net would not fit. He seemed to be fine after the ordeal and is back to eating well. I'm pretty sure that after his 'slide of terror' he will be sure to stay away from the overflow from now on.
To update my thread - I plan to transfer all of my creatures to a 29 after the holidays so that I can do all of my plumbing overhaul to the 40. I am also getting a bad algae problem so I am going to 'cook' my liverock too. Hopefully I'll have everything done and some good pics by the end of Jan.
 
braydonosu

braydonosu

Member
New Updates - I found a place in my hometown that drilled my tank for 1/3 the price of anywhere else that I could find, so I had to move my inhabitants sooner than I thought. My tank is drilled - now I'm just waiting for parts. You'll have to excuse the length between posts (this thread will be drawn out) With the economy the way it is every company is looking for ways to cut costs and that's where healt care actuaries come in - I have the wonderful job of telling a company how much they will save by cutting retiree medical coverage - i'm very well liked as you can tell.
Here is my 40 getting cleaned out. I'll get a shot of everyone in their temp 29 later.
 
braydonosu

braydonosu

Member
On the way back to Cincinnati I couldn't resist stopping at my old LFS in Columbus - I picked up a few frags (3 frags for $30 total - can't beat that)
Old GSPs making a comeback

New Zoas (about 7-8 polyps) (I'll get a better pic sometime soon)

New Rics (2 larger and 1 smaller)

A dark red chalice frag (Impulse buy - it was only $8 - anyone have good info on these things?)
 
braydonosu

braydonosu

Member
I'm starting to work on my canopy and since I am retro-ing my T5's in I am going to need to fashion my own reflectors (I can buy individual reflectors, but they are around $15+ each) So I am thinking about getting this from LOWES:

It is Union Corrugated Aluminum mainly used to get a waterproof seal around chimneys. Do you think that this will work? it will be thin enough so that I can bend it however I need - and I'm hoping that since it is aluminum that it will have enough reflective properties to direct my light toward my tank.
Any Thoughts?
 
silencio530

silencio530

Member
i am also thinking of making my own reflectors too where u said u bought that at Lowes>?....if u can post the price id love that ..
i have t5 and 4 bulbs i herd if you individually reflect them tht they put up to 20% more so thats what im going to do except with a DIY reflector too ..
ima folow this thread to see hoe it turns out
 
braydonosu

braydonosu

Member
If you go to lowes.com you can find it one there - I am probably going to pick up a 10" x 10' roll for around $7. It says that it is rustproof which would make sense considering it is used to waterproof the joint between a roof and chimney. I haven't started yet, but should be shortly - I have to make a new canopy that will be a little taller so that I can put in the surge tank that I am planning.
 
braydonosu

braydonosu

Member
Yep - I'll post the pictures tomorrow while I'm bored at work. They actually turned out a lot better than I had expected, but they are not 100% done. I'm finishing the canopy with stain and poly then on to the plumbing.
 
braydonosu

braydonosu

Member
On a side note from this thread - 10 years ago the Nerf Bow and Arrow was the best toy I ever received for christmas. This year my cousin got this - It's a Nerf sniper rifle . . . this thing would kill my bow.
 
braydonosu

braydonosu

Member
Back to the thread - I'm about 80% done with my canopy right now - just waiting on 3-5 coats of poly. I made individual reflectors for each of my T5 bulbs. I guess I still have to drill holes for my fans, but that will only take 5 mins. Here are some updated pics.



 
braydonosu

braydonosu

Member
Here are 2 shots of some randomness.
First - the framing of the actual canopy.

And here is my new power strip that will be mounted on the backside of the stand. Thanks to whoever it was on here that showed me samash.com.
 
braydonosu

braydonosu

Member
New Updates: The stand and hood are about 99% done - my GF and i both had pretty crappy days at work yesterday so we decided to throw back a few and watch the John and Kate Plus 8 marathon instead of doing anything constructive. I've started the plumbing and I am going to get a background attached tonight (I don't trust myself with spray paint + it's cold outside so I would have to do it in my apt. - a big no no)
Here are some of the finishing pictures.
Canopy:

Top view of the canopy
 
braydonosu

braydonosu

Member
Here is the stand:
My new power strip - not the best place to put it, but my sump takes up all the room in the stand.

Some of the plumbing parts drying.

More plumbing:

Hopefully not too much longer and I'll be able to get enerything together.
 
spanko

spanko

Active Member
Everything is looking good. Nice job. Just remember "DRIP LOOPS" on the power center are a must!!!!
 
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