Back in the hobby after a 12 year break Marine X 110.4 build

[anen]

Hello all-

I was active here on MR back in the 2009-2013 time frame but I had to take my tank down when I took a job in San Francisco. There I was living in a small studio apartment and didn't have space for a tank. I have since moved to the Vegas area and am ready to get salty! The tank is a Marine X 110.4 and I'm planning for it to be SPS dominant. I'll probably do a thread on R2R but I'm posting here first since this is where I fell in love with the hobby and in case I can reconnect with anyone who I knew from back then.

While the Waterbox tank is nice, the stand was not. The frame was made out of very thin aluminum which I just did not trust. I actually sold the stand to someone who told me they were buying it so they could use the pieces to reinforce their own Waterbox stand because it was swaying . Also, because they had a support piece between the doors I wouldn't be able to remove the sump if I ever needed to. That didn't work for me so I bought this aluminum frame from Alufab.

I am cladding the frame Elos style in marine grade plywood that I sprayed with white poly.

I applied walnut veneer to the doors but I haven't sprayed a topcoat on them yet.

For those of you who are curious I attached the panels to the frame using these things called button fix. They were designed for this purpose so you need to use a spacer. I am using some 4mm standoffs.

I used the Red Sea sump modification kit to cut the baffles out of my sump to accomodate a Reefmat.

That's it for now- plan to get water in this thing next week.

 

[Geraud]

Welcome back! That's a nice stand!

 

[piranhapat]

Welcome back to the hobby. MR is not the same for some time now. But once in awhile I like to check and wish it was making a comeback. Beautiful set up in the making. Keep us entertained with updates. Good luck

 

[wco]

Keep it updated! Following ~

 

[anen]

Welcome back to the hobby. MR is not the same for some time now. But once in awhile I like to check and wish it was making a comeback. Beautiful set up in the making. Keep us entertained with updates. Good luck

That's sad to hear- are you referring to the general decline in forums vs social media or something else?

 

[akma]

Nice, Welcome back. I came back in November and so far I love it.

Unfortunately, MR is much quieter than it was 15 years ago. R2R and social media is where most people I post now.

 

[Noinoi24]

Love the stand…

 

[anen]

Tank is on the stand!

One thing that freaks me out a little is the foam pad that comes under the tank was compressed by the packaging materials probably from sitting so long. There's a good bit of the corners that is not touching the stand. I exchanged emails with Waterbox and they say it is perfectly fine though

Either way, filling the tank will need to wait since I called an audible with my gear. Over the years in my reefing absence I have been cobbling together an Apex system. Given where things are, I'm not sure starting a new tank with an Apex is the right move. I just ordered a bunch of Hydros and Reef Octopus stuff. Once I get my return pump I'll be able to do my plumbing, and get some water in this thing.

In the meantime I have to finish the doors of the stand up and get started on some cabinets.

Behind the tank is an alcove where I will be putting a bank of cabinets. The left wall of the alcove faces a bathroom. The plan is to build a base cabinet where I will store my RODI and plumb it to the drain line under the bathroom vanity. I have cut a hole in the right side of the alcove so I can run dosing lines to the tank. Upper cabinets will serve as storage for all the reefing junk.

 

[anen]

Nice, Welcome back. I came back in November and so far I love it.

Unfortunately, MR is much quieter than it was 15 years ago. R2R and social media is where most people I post now.

Welcome back to you too! I don't get the appeal of social media for stuff like this. Its much easier to search the forums than it is to go through a bunch of FB wall posts. Its a step backwards IMO

 

[Poseidon87]

You can always use pvc board underneath for the extra support they sell it in homedepot I put them under my displays

 

[shinylights]

i do the same but with 2x4s always nice having the extra support, furthermore id love to see rockwork and such.

 

[anen]

You can always use pvc board underneath for the extra support they sell it in homedepot I put them under my displays

I have a 3/8 sheet of LDPE under the tank. Between the frame and the plastic I have 1/8" of neoprene.

 

[anen]

i do the same but with 2x4s always nice having the extra support, furthermore id love to see rockwork and such.

I will post as soon as the rock is in!

 

[dacaptain78]

Looks great. Best of luck with it!. I just ordered an Alufab stand as well. How was the assembly?

I plan on sheathing the stand with wood as well. How are you planning to attach the wood panels to the stand? I was think of attaching with a French cleat so I could just lift the panels off for maintenance, but open to ideas.