no budget tank build 150 tall

[three90s&125sump]

Ok here it is my girlfriend got me a tank and stand for christmas. Its a new tank no holes in it or anything so I guess I'm forced to do a no budget build. I do still have my dual 400 watt MHs luckly. Prolly gonna do a reef.



Any ideas? Lol. Its gonna take a long time I may try to get a loan for what I need.


Here's the catch to this thread. The only access I have to the net is her blackberry. So no pictures, till I get connection via PC. I might be able to post some at the library but I doubt it.

I don't know why but I couldnt post a thread untill I added the poll. (coincidence?) So ignore the poll. This phone is painfully slow.

[OneDummHikk]

Take your time, be patient, watch for deals (craigslist), be patient, have a master plan, be patient, and when you run out of patience, be patient.

[Kakalakasha]

Originally Posted by OneDummHikk

Take your time, be patient, watch for deals (craigslist), be patient, have a master plan, be patient, and when you run out of patience, be patient.

+1

[three90s&125sump]

Ok my MASTER plan is to DIY as much as I can (BTW who sells weldon and what number do I need for plexi glass?) Im going to make a rediculouly huge skimmer, a sump, the over flows, a calcium reactor, ETC... I also need to know where to buy clear tube that is 18 inches in diameter X 6 feet long and what size pump(S) would I need to run a recirculating skimmer that size with a 24 X 24 X 24 box on the bottom of it.


What's the going price for base rock and does anyone have any leads on where I can get some?


I think I have decided on a BB/DSB hybred tank with those fancy acrylic rock stands and a spray bar. I'm also like'n the looks of the maxi jet mass flow powerheads for circulation. LPS, clams, a few softies and a few fish.

Like I said my internet connection is very limited so any help would be appreciated.

[Kakalakasha]

I think marcorocks.com has some good rock.
Never gotten it before, but head plenty of good reviews.

[cerobbins]

To run a skimmer with an 18" body alone is going to take some serious pumps. Do also want it to be 6' tall or are you going to cut that tube? I think you are planning on a lot more skimmer than you need for a 150.

[three90s&125sump]

Originally Posted by cerobbins

To run a skimmer with an 18" body alone is going to take some serious pumps. Do also want it to be 6' tall or are you going to cut that. tube? I think you are planning on a lot more skimmer than you need for a 150.

Absolutly!!! I love to feed my tank.

Total skimmer heighth will be about 7.5 feet tall. Not really sure about the diameter. Really just looking for massive amounts of bubbles and a long dwell time.

[OneDummHikk]

Originally Posted by three90s&125sump

Ok my MASTER plan is to DIY as much as I can (BTW who sells weldon and what number do I need for plexi glass?)

Weldon 4 and 16. The 4 is thin, the 16 is thick. But you can make your own 16 using 50/50 WO4 and PVC glue. Not sure where you could find locally in MS that sells it but google Weldon Glue and you can find it all over the web.

Originally Posted by three90s&125sump

Im going to make a rediculouly huge skimmer, a sump, the over flows, a calcium reactor, ETC...

OK, that will save you some serious money.

Originally Posted by three90s&125sump

I also need to know where to buy clear tube that is 18 inches in diameter X 6 feet long and what size pump(S) would I need to run a recirculating skimmer that size with a 24 X 24 X 24 box on the bottom of it.

There is something about the phrase (from the title) "no budget tank build" and "18 inches in diameter x 6 feet long clear tube" that just don't go together.
1/8 X 14 X 60 CAST ACRYLIC TUBE - $791.53

And thats for 14". There went your car budget for next year.

If you want an insanely large DIY skimmer, build a 5 gallon bucket skimmer. Not counting the pump, he has less than 125 dollars in it here.
And he has it on a 125G display setup. If you need more skimmer, simply build a second one. For what the tube you want will cost, you could build three of stugrays skimmers. The ORCA pump he uses is on it is 300 dollars:
http://www.aquacave.com/sequence-ree...pump-1348.html

Or, find a 55G plastic drum with a removable ring lid. Make a cone for it, get a humongous pump to run it. With a drum that size (I can get them in FL for 40 dollars, they sell on Ebay for anywhere from 50-100 shipped), you could run two ORCA pumps and never ever worry about having a skimmer too small. Of course you would end up with about 800 dollars in it.

For a 150 (that you are planning), the bucket skimmer would be an awesome skimmer for it.

Originally Posted by three90s&125sump

What's the going price for base rock and does anyone have any leads on where I can get some?

I looked it up earlier tonight and farco rocks has base florida rock for 1.00 a pound. They have other base rock and if I remember right, it was between 1 and 4 dollars a pound.

Originally Posted by three90s&125sump

I think I have decided on a BB/DSB hybred tank with those fancy acrylic rock stands and a spray bar. I'm also like'n the looks of the maxi jet mass flow powerheads for circulation. LPS, clams, a few softies and a few fish.

For a SB tank, I don't like the acrylic lifts. Mostly because of what you go through if you ever re-aquascape it. For a BB display, they are cool as all get out though. With a SB, I like the PVC pipe lifts better that I saw in Toms (tdwyatt) tank. 4" PVC pipe drilled full of holes for circulation, cut to length. Makes it a lot easier to move them around with a SB in the tank.
I have about 10 1" rods about 16" long that I bought a while back to make a rock lift with and never made it (decided on the PVC lifts instead when I set my tank back up). I think I paid about 3 bucks each for them at Farco Plastics in Jax FL. If you want them, let me know, we will work something out on them. I doubt I will ever use them.

With the MJ Mods, I have had trouble with mine wanting to startup properly. One of them comes on just fine, but then while running, switches directions. If I were buying powerheads, I would spend the extra 20 dollars or so and get Koralia 4'es. Or, a CLS with a spraybar.

Originally Posted by three90s&125sump

Like I said my internet connection is very limited so any help would be appreciated.

[OneDummHikk]

Originally Posted by three90s&125sump

Absolutly!!! I love to feed my tank.

Total skimmer heighth will be about 7.5 feet tall. Not really sure about the diameter. Really just looking for massive amounts of bubbles and a long dwell time.

55 gallon plastic drum, weld two of them together vertically, get four sequence ORCA pumps, feed all you want to. Or, just buy a Bubble King skimmer.....

[OneDummHikk]

Originally Posted by OneDummHikk

There is something about the phrase (from the title) "no budget tank build" and "18 inches in diameter x 6 feet long clear tube" that just don't go together.

After thinking about that a few minutes, it made me wonder if I interpreted it wrong. I read "no budget" as in "low budget". Or, was it meant as a "no budget", no limit on spending type thing?

[OneDummHikk]

Being the crazy DIY minded person I am, I know where some 24" diameter PVC pipes at. 55 dollars a foot but you have to buy the entire 20' section. 6' for a skimmer (so no algae grows in the body), then 12" of it for a collection cup. Then you could build a 4' tall dual chambered calcium reactor. That would leave 4' to built a mucho grande phosban reactor with. Need a builder?

[three90s&125sump]

Randy, I can't tell if I'm dazzled or baffled... Lol.

With the price of that clear tube I can just make an octagon (or square) shaped one out of plexiglass. I do plan on about 2 to 3 hundo for the feed pump and another hundred for the recirc pump ( I can add more later) I could also run the overflow to the. skimmer to help minimize the feed pump requirments.

I'm interested in the acrylic pipes you have but I don't think 10 will do much good. Could I weldon PVC to. plexiglass?


Everything under the rock is going to be BB and everything in front of the rock is going to be DSB. BTW what's the best stuff (method) to use to affix plexiglass to real glass?

[cerobbins]

I am all for DIY, but if you are truly willing to spend 300 on a feed pump and 100 on a recirculating pump. Why not just buy a skimmer. You could get a reef octopus extreme 250 with the sicce pumps for the same price. That would be more than enough skimmer for a 150, and you have a product that you know will work out of the box and with a few simple mods could be made even more overkill.

[OneDummHikk]

Originally Posted by three90s&125sump

Randy, I can't tell if I'm dazzled or baffled... Lol.

Probably some of both. The 24" pipe would be an awesome project. I was looking for some a while back and didn't want 1100 dollars worth of pipe. I thought I had some that was going to be given to me but it wasn't so I was hunting a source for it (still am).

Originally Posted by three90s&125sump

With the price of that clear tube I can just make an octagon (or square) shaped one out of plexiglass.

oooooh, I have a link to something like that. Where did I hide it. Sheesh, let me look. Oh, there it is:
DIY Cone for Skimmer
The base he built was INSANE!

Originally Posted by three90s&125sump

I do plan on about 2 to 3 hundo for the feed pump and another hundred for the recirc pump ( I can add more later) I could also run the overflow to the. skimmer to help minimize the feed pump requirments.

Get a Sequence ORCA and build the 5 gallon bucket skimmer. Feed it directly from the drain. Then, you save on a pump but every bit of the water through the drain will go through the skimmer.

Originally Posted by three90s&125sump

I'm interested in the acrylic pipes you have but I don't think 10 will do much good. Could I weldon PVC to. plexiglass?

Weldon40 will glue pvc to acrylic. I believe it will glue it to plexiglass as well as both are extremely closely related products.

I am going back to FL sometime in the next week or so and will check if you want me to and see how many more they have. They were in a box by the front door and I think they are drops from a project but not sure.

Originally Posted by three90s&125sump

Everything under the rock is going to be BB and everything in front of the rock is going to be DSB. BTW what's the best stuff (method) to use to affix plexiglass to real glass?

Glass to plexiglass would be silicone. It doesn't stick to the plexiglass (or acrylic). Sand the edges of the plexiglass where the silicone is going. That gives it a better chance to actually "grab" to the plastic. Even then, it doesn't so much glue them together as it does to simply build a dam of sorts to hold the plexiglass in place. If this is for the sump, you would be better off using glass baffles and silicone them. Glass is cheaper and the silicone actually sticks to the glass. Or, do you have some other place in mind to use it?

[OneDummHikk]

Originally Posted by cerobbins

I am all for DIY, but if you are truly willing to spend 300 on a feed pump and 100 on a recirculating pump. Why not just buy a skimmer. You could get a reef octopus extreme 250 with the sicce pumps for the same price. That would be more than enough skimmer for a 150, and you have a product that you know will work out of the box and with a few simple mods could be made even more overkill.

Did you look at the 5 gallon bucket skimmer? Normally, I would agree with what you are saying about buying one. For the same money, that Octopus 250 stands no chance compared to that bucket skimmer. It is just one incredible setup.