45 gal build thread

Cjtabares

PBITAWA
BRS Member
I am in the processes of building a 45 gal reef tank and have all of my equipment together and figured I would start a build thread. I guess I will start with a list of all my stuff.

45 gal marienland tank (24"x24"x18")
Super reef Octopus 1000
Waterblaster 2000
2x 10 gal tanks for sump and refugium
DIY 36 LED fixture
~100 lbs of rock
20 lbs of Marco Rocks sand
BRS doser pump
APEX controller
Steel stand 24"x24"x30"

The plan is to have some softies, a few clams, and a lot of lps (a lot of these lps will be acans). I am going to spend special attention to the rock work, I plan on spending some time placing the rockwork together outside of the tank. The rock should be steril, I finished bleaching them and plan on giving them a hydrochloric bath on my next day off. I also plan a finishing my stand with walnut with a maple trim and building a hood to match, it is kind of hard to explain what I want to do but I will take pics and post while I build it.

I will be drilling the DT and installing a glass-hole overflow. It will be plumbed down to a 10 gal sump which will hold my skimmer. The sump has a 1" bulkhead and will overflow into an other 10 gal tank, I think I may use this for a refugium or I may just leave it empty. I am also looking into the idea of having a 5 gal chamber I can bypass for water canges. I will be using the waterblaster 2000 as a return. I think I may use flex PVC for the return pipes.
 
But dosen't a herrbie work on a syphon? Maybe I will add a 2nd bulkhead a little higher then the one I have now so if for any reason one gets clogged I will have a backup? I could also use this to bypass the 5 gal chamber for water changes.
 
your going to love the Reef Octopus skimmer! I have the 2000 and it pulls so much junk its crazy!!!! Just be sure your skimmer compartment in your sump stays at a constant water level or it will not work the way it should.
 
I had the 5000 on a bigger tank that i use to have i loved it so for this tank i went with the 1000. The skimmer will be in the 1st chamber where the water level should never change. My original plan was to have no baffles in the 1st 10 gal, this tank would hold and equipment I want to house. From there it would flow through the bulkhead into the 2nd 10 gal tank. This tank would be divided by a bubble trap the first section would be a refugium and the 2nd would house my waterblaster to return to the DT. But I am now thinking of dividing the first tank, the first chamber will house and equipment and the 2nd would be my refugium. Then it would flow to a bypassable 5 gal chamber in the 2nd tank to make water changes a little easier. The last chamber would still be separated by a bubble trap for the return pump.
 
But dosen't a herrbie work on a syphon? Maybe I will add a 2nd bulkhead a little higher then the one I have now so if for any reason one gets clogged I will have a backup? I could also use this to bypass the 5 gal chamber for water changes.

I have 2 1" drains, one is restricted with a gate valve that one handles all of the flow, and the second 1" bulkhead is for emergency only. I am going to be using the same setup on my 40 Breeder build but I wont be pushing 600gph through it but I am going with the 2 1" drains and 2 3/4" returns.
 
Ok thanks.

If I go with the idea to drill a 2nd bulkhead into the 10 gal sump dose anyone see any problems with 2 bulkheads in a 10 gal? How far apart should the holes be if it is something I can do. If I cant do 2 bulkheads I might just split the bulkhead I have now, I just wont havr the backup of a 2nd bulkhead.
 
So I moved out of my parents house and am now setting this tank up in my apartment. So I just installed a gl************** overflow, and will be starting to install the plumbing as soon as I get all I need. Hopefully i will have the cycle started by next week. While the cycle is going I will be skinning the metal stand with some wood, hang the LED, and setting up my APEX. Definitely looking forward to having a tank up and running again.
 
Well i cant upload any pictures from my phone so I will try and get my camera from home to post some pics.

I have a question on my plumbing. I set up a 10 gal tank to have a 5 gal section that i could bypass so I would not need to shut anything off to do a water change. I don't know where to plumb the bypass to. The 5 gal section goes right to a bubble trap and to the return. So if I plumb into the return I will get bubbles in the DT. I was going to try to set something up to dump the water into the first part of the bubble trap. Would I be able to set something up to stop the bubbles if I plumb straight to the return section or should I try and plumb into the first section of the bubble trap?
 
Tank is coming along. Plumbing done, rock work done. Just making water to fill it then the cycle will begin. I need to finish the LED lights and hang it and set up and learn how to use the APEX. I figured I could do this while the cycle was going, maybe help with some of the waiting.
 
I still have all the equipment from this build plus 2 MP10w, I want to upgrade the lights to a 24" Aquatic life T5 fixture to start, and probably get a Kessil A360x when I start to add more light demanding coral. Would you upgrade anything else listed?

This is the T5 fixture https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/24-hybrid-t5ho-4x24w-fixture-with-one-a360x-bracket-aquatic-life.html
Pic is of when I first set it up, it was up for about 2 years after that.
451e1f5c.jpg
 
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