boots' 55gal build.

[awholelota]

so it's time to get started...

haven't had a real reef tank ever. i tried once ten years ago, but everything crashed when i went on a three week trip. keeping a reef tank has been one of my greatest joys and also my biggest defeats when my old tank crashed.


i have a truvu 55gal tank. 36lx20tx18d... i think. picked it up on craigs list and it came with a stand and a tiny florescent light that won’t be used. at the moment there aren't any holes in the tank, but that's soon to change. i want to drill out at least four holes for an overflow and return, and i'm contemplating a cls. not sure if a small tank like mines needs it, but the concept is great.

i've been lurking here for a few weeks, and i've already learned more from here than i ever have from any lfs guy so i'd like to thank you for that. i'll post pics as soon as i figure out how. thanks -Boots

[awholelota]

the tank. it's a little dirty, and as you can see it doesn't have any holes yet...

[awholelota]

the stand.
really needs to be refinnished. leaning towards piano black, but we'll see. i also need to make a matching canopy, but not too sure how tall to make it. possibly a 12".

[toniell]

Nice tank!

[awholelota]

Thanks.
got the doors off and here's a pic of what i'll be using for a sump. 20gal all glass. to think that i was worried the sump wasn't going to be big enough.

[awholelota]

here's the light i'll be using. it's a coral vue 250 ballast with a 20k radium bulb. i'm not too sure it'll be enough, so i was thinking of getting 2 36' t5ho with actinic bulbs. when i fire up the lamp it's bright and blue. does that mean the bulb is old or is that just the way 20k look? never had metal halide before. they're awesome.

[Loverotties]

In 1st pic.Looks like the top piece isn't glued on the back right were the brace is.

[awholelota]

i noticed that, and was wondering what it was. i thought that it was bent due to heat from the lamps.

[dobejazz]

Looks like a good start
The 20K is a very blue bulb

[awholelota]

does that mean i don't need actinic?

[DevilBoy]

Originally Posted by awholelota

does that mean i don't need actinic?

i would say no, not with a 20k

[DevilBoy]

for the height of the canopy, the height will be determined on what kinda lighting you will use. If you run halides, i would say that you want 9" from the bulb to the water. Mine is 10" from bulb to water level.

[LISound]

in regards to height, what about the prebuilt hoods from hamilton and such.
they are ment to be placed right on top of the tank and i assume the bulbs are only a few inches off the water...but they do have a splash guard between them.
good or bad?

[awholelota]

the top of my tank will have a lid unless anyone see an issue with that. i'm not really sure if a few inches off the water would be good or bad. i'm so new to this it's scary.

[awholelota]

my skimmer. it's an oddysea ps160. at the moment it's crap but i've heard you can mod them to run like champs. if not then i guess that's $60 i'll never see again.