baker.shawn

So previously I posted only about my past tanks, I’m now going to bring everyone up to speed with where I am now and a bit of the process getting here
So about I year ago when I faced a major leakage problem I was faced with the decision to upgrade, I had just bought a vertex IN80 skimmer and on my 20gal it was going a great job I didn’t want to have to buy a new skimmer so that limited me to about 80gallons, I also didn’t want to have to buy new lighting so I was stuck with roughly a 24” length that is when I saw a 45gallon cube tank on RC and decided it was for me.
The first step was my stand construction, I’m not blessed with the fortune of having a fish room so my new 20gal sump had to fit underneath, I decided to go with 36” wide to allow room for other equipment and electrical so that my power strips were not sitting over the sump The stand was constructed from plans I found online modified from 4’ to 3’ long it was originally designed to hold tanks up to 90 gal I believe, the construction is overkill but my parents would have my head if it came crashing down on their floor, the entire construction was 2x4s I sealed each piece individually with a spray to prevent water damage and all that nasty stuff

Once I had the frame constructed I started to think about aesthetics I wanted this to look good! I did not just want to use a piece of plywood for the top of the stand after shopping around for laminate countertop I had a rough quote of $110 which I thought was steep for laminate, I kept looking around when I came across a major counter top supplier here in London I went and asked them what my best bed was understanding i was on a budget they told me I can look through there granite off cuts I was thrilled!!, I ended up bringing home a 5’x5’ slab of black granite 1 ½” thick and it was HEAVY! The best part was it only cost me a 75dollar donation to the children’s hospital (I would have gladly given more but let’s keep in mind I’m a student and a reefer so I gave what I can afford) I then took the sheet of granite to a stone shop to have it cut to size and polished- cost $40 so for the price of laminate I got granite and I sure was happy. I covered the outer sides of the stand in a 6mm Russian birch laminate

My next step was constructing the sump, I could have used my old one but the 1/8” acrylic baffles were bowing and loose so I decided to start new. I used ¼” acrylic this time to prevent bowing and healed them in place with GE silicone 1. Unlike when I uses the AGA silicone in the past, my eyes became extremely irritated by the acetic acid fumes given off by this silicone as it dried and I found myself literally in tears while I secured my baffles


Next I had to buy my aquarium, drill it and install the overflow and hanging the lighting, when I found out how much the tank itself cost I had to put my project on hold for 2 weeks till payday, although it only holds 45gallons it set me back $220 after taxes I bit the bullet and carried on the dimensions are 24x24x20. I apologise for not having pictures. I mounted my 10x5x8 ¼” black acrylic overflow which cost me $60!! dead center in the back of the tank and drilled 2x 1.5” holes for my bulkheads everything went smooth but I was very nervous drilling 2 holes less than 6” apart from each other, high speed and low pressure and a little bit of water to cool and my diamond bit from BRS made it through no sweat

Lighting was pretty easy, I kept my existing 10k XM 150w MH and icecap 2x24w t5ho Actinics and put everything in a box made from 11mm Russian birch laminate I hung from 2 cables attached in to the ceiling, it was just a little tricky getting the light centered over the tank properly but I guestamated my way through it just fine
(You can also see in this picture I stained and sealed everything the beast I could to match our flooring)


After that I plumbed everything together and it was time to add water sand and rock. Because i was fighting cyano and Marco algae in my old tank none of the rock or sand was reused. my water going in to my talk is 1TDS RO water ( I know it should be 0 and I know it should be RODI) and my salt of choice is instant ocean mixed to 1.025. My rock I acquired form a local reefer who had to relocate, he kept his tank pristine so I had no worried of algae of hitchhikers for my sand I used 40lbs of special grade reef sand i was not off to the races and did not worry about a cycle (which never happened...that I noticed)
This brings me to today, my tank is doing great, all my equipment is the same. Underneath I have my beloved RKL informing me my Ph unusually low as always, keeping my water topped off and tank heated as well as controlling the lighting schedule. My skimmer is a vertex IN80, I’m running 2 phosban reactors, one with biobeads (a god sent) the other with GFO or Carbon depending how the tank looks I switch it up usually every month or so. My return pump is a Mag 5 it’s slightly underpowered but does the trick. As you can see I also have my 2 part jugs sitting there which too this day I have only had to use once which is sort of odd ( I’m guessing my water changes are supplying enough Ca+)


Up top in the display i have nothing too special or fancy, i have a little frag rack where im growing out some orange plating monti , pink mili and purple digi to trade or sell. Flow is provided by a hydor 1 and a hydor 750, i really wanted a mp10 but it was just too much for my budget. Sometimes i like to imagine my approach is just SPS and Acans however I admit those are GSP in the back right and I do have some cool pink zoos. Just now nearly 6 years in am I beginning to feel comfortable keeping expensive coral, I’m beginning to slowly ramp up coral purchases and I’m aspiring to get a clam or two. Unfortunately my limiting factor is that the fish stores here in London SUCK!! Prices are through the roof for coral easily triple Toronto’s prices, I’m not allowed to drive to Toronto on my own where the amazing selection is and it’s too expensive to have it shipped to me. So for now I by local from time to time and maybe once a year i convince my non reefing parents to travel 2 hours to the GTA
As for fish I keep 2 purple firefish and 1 rainford goby (I’m looking for another) they all get along quite well. I’m considering getting a small angle or tang to keep temporarily but I’m unsure about it. I’m looking for something that will be compatible with my tank size but i want it to be eye catching and not overdone. perhaps someone can suggest something

(the 8" of granite on each side was originaly where my mom was going to keep some small tropical plants but the cat has kind of taken the spot over as you can see in the pictures, she likes sunning herself in the halides and watching the firefish, the clear mesh top keeps her from swimming)