Reefomeez and his 120 "G"s

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#1
So this build started almost a year ago. Last summer I took a vacation for 10 days. I asked our housesitter to top off but didn't ask her to dose since I manually dose and was just afraid she'd get it wrong. The result? A couple of SPS colonies lost along with a clam and some LPS including my rainbow acan. I was bummed. Some of those coral I had since they were nubs and the SPS which were my first pieces were doing really well which made me happy. So after I got over the disappointment I decided this couldn't happen again. I decided that I needed to automate as much as I can since I still planned on going out of town and didn't want to unnecessarily lose any more livestock.

So the original plan was to add a sump to my current tank ( http://www.socalireefs.com/forums/s...t-of-many-reefs&highlight=first+of+many+reefs ) and get a contoller, dosing pump, and ATO. And once I started getting things together I decided to add a clam refugium. I'm a clam fiend. I don't know what it is about them but I love 'em. I once saw a presentation by Scott Fellman at SCRK and he showed a clam refugium and from that point I was sold. So I decided to not sell a 24x24x10 that I had and use that as my clam fuge on a new stand with my current tank next to it and the sump inside. So I started slowly gathering all the gear, patiently waiting for the appropriate gear to be on sale so I could take advantage. And once I started doing that I quickly saw that it would likely be easier to deal with 1 big system than 2 smaller systems...after all, volume would add stability and the space would be there for a nice clam bed. And so began my search for a 4x2x2 that I luckily got a great deal on through someone at RC. So here I go....

This is the tank...lovely, huh? It's sitting in my backyard waiting for me to clean it up but it shouldn't be hard considering the army size vinegar bottle I got from Costco. It has a 1.5" overflow and a 3/4" return. The previous owner said I could take the braces off and go rimless but I figure they were put there for a reason.



The stand looked like a pile of wood nailed together so I took the skin off but kept the frame. The frame was actually in good condition so I just decided to reskin it and add some additional support. I've been working on the reskin for at least a week now.



I got these rocks from Riblet. Ever since the first RAP I went to I've been mesmerized by Cerameco structures. I luckily saw his sale post first and hit him up immediately. 10 minutes later I was handing over cash (very generous deal BTW...great dude) and loading up my rock in the whip. This is how I plan on aquascaping with the big column off center. The space on the sand will be my clam garden. It looks much better in 3D than in this pic. I'm sure I'll play with it a bit but I'm liking this so far.



Here's a diagonal view from what will be the front left. The two most common vantage points will be the front and front left. Mostly I took the pics to remind myself of how I want them situated once I put them in the tank.

 
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#2
Here is the stand reskinned. I think my lil pumpkin thought it was a clubhouse.




There's actually the top trim missing that will create a ledge on the top. You'll see it in the next pictures. The reskinning was fun to do and it made this stand much nicer to look at. I didn't do the doors yet because I can't have swing out or slide out doors. I don't have the room for either. I'm planning on installing doors that come completely off but haven't decided on a plan for them yet. I also need to get this build going before my vacation in August so since the doors weren't in the critical path I'll leave them until later. I might do it sooner if my kids decide the sump makes a great swimming pool...



And here's the first coat of stain, mahogony. I did it last night because it was the only time I have so some spots came out darker than others but I think it looks pretty good regardless. I'll give it another coat tonight and then likely call it done (minus the doors).








I'm pretty please with the stand. I haven't done furniture in a long time so this was fun. I really wanted it to look nice since it'll be in my living room and I'll be looking at it everyday as well as every person that walks in my front door. What do you think?
 
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#5
Thanks guys. I originally was going to leave the stand alone but it really looked mickey mouse. So then I was just going to redo some and add trim...but once I started taking wood off I just kept going. I'm glad I did. And then I was going to paint it black but when I realized what nice wood I'd gotten I knew only a stain would do.

Gear List:
120g tank
Wooden stand by Reefomeez Carpentry
40g Breeder for a sump
BM Nac6 skimmer
Aquaticlife 48" 8 lamp programmable
Marine Magic Doser (triple)
Apex
2 Jebo WP40s (might only end up using one)
Rio Hyperflow 26 (this is to hold me over...going to order one of the new Waveline DC6000 pumps when they're out)
Autotopoff.com ATO (pricing reservoirs right now)
 

pgr11

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#6
Looks great. Nice work on the stand. I'm very curious to hear more on the clam fuge
 
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#7
Looks great. Nice work on the stand. I'm very curious to hear more on the clam fuge
Scott's point was that clams are amazing filter feeders and contribute greatly to cleaning the water. His presentation was about filtration and how there are many different ways of achieving good filtration. The clam fuge was just one example. I'll see if I can find some articles or something.

They're so **** purty that I couldn't stop thinking about doing it. I got a nice maxima from Steve (Six2Seven) and another from Andy (MarkASmith405) and figured they'd be a great start. I also just traded some gear for a B&W maxima. From here on I'm going to be looking for really good looking clams and adding them to the current crew.
 
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#10
A remote display clam fuge would be fricking awesome.
That was the original plan. But I like the change in plans. Now I can get some fish that even with the 2 tank system I couldn't have kept.

Or, maybe in a year I'll spring the idea up on the wife again, lol! She'll be thrilled I'm sure!
 
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#11
Great start!! If u need any help let me know!
You mean more than you already have? Will do! lol

I'll probably need some muscle getting the stand and tank inside. And I should have you and Mike (Solitude) over for beers so we can talk sump design and plumbing. And maybe guns.
 

Riblet

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You mean more than you already have? Will do! lol

I'll probably need some muscle getting the stand and tank inside. And I should have you and Mike (Solitude) over for beers so we can talk sump design and plumbing. And maybe guns.
Sounds good lmk
 

solitude127

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You mean more than you already have? Will do! lol

I'll probably need some muscle getting the stand and tank inside. And I should have you and Mike (Solitude) over for beers so we can talk sump design and plumbing. And maybe guns.
I'm in. Lmk
Sumps, lenses, bulbs and now guns. What more do we need? :)

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy S III
 

Six2seven

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#14
I've been waiting and waiting for a build thread and didn't realize you out it up hours ago. I really like the stand. You made it look very nice. I'm in for some muscle help when you need it. I'd like to see this all in person. Congrats on the upgrade!
 
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#15
I've been waiting and waiting for a build thread and didn't realize you out it up hours ago. I really like the stand. You made it look very nice. I'm in for some muscle help when you need it. I'd like to see this all in person. Congrats on the upgrade!
Thanks bro. I'll def take you up on that. And if you don't mind bringing the foam with you I'll take you up on that too.
 
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#17


Final coat of stain on the stand is dry. And the tank back is painted black.



This baby is ready for the living room!

Now...who's with me!?
 

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