Extreme Makeover 65g Reef Edition

[Wes]

Hi everyone, I am making some major upgrades to my tank soon. New stand, canopy, lights, chiller, sump, pump, and other stuff. I will post my progress along the way. But first things first, my new stand and canopy are finished!

They were built for me as a gift from my new father in law. He is really good in the wood shop. He just emailed me the pics so i thought i would share. Much more to come soon. The stand is 36" tall and i believe the canopy is 14" tall but i'm not sure because it's still at my father in laws house.

and here is my new sump that will go in it, a 16" cube custom built from MR's very own Paul from NY Acrylics.

It's going to be quite the project because we are crown molding and painting the apt at the same time, so when i drain the tank to paint the wall, i want to make the switchover.

Thanks for looking,

Wes

 

[1UCKY]

Love the wood work and nice sump:groupflip

 

[KathyC]

Very nice Wes!! Love the color of the wood.
What is you plan for the tank..anything you'll be doing differently from your current set up?

 

[crox99]

Nice stand and canopy:bunny:

 

[pnoyreefer]

Its good to have a handy in law :p.. Nice Wes looks great!

 

[Wes]

Thanks everyone.

Kathy,

Yes there are a few things i will be doing differently that i want to try. I am switching from t5 to MH. I am switching to barebottom w/ starboard, mainly so i can crank up the flow more. Since i will have no sand bed i built a diy denitrator to help w/ nitrates. I have a pressure rated pump that i will be using as a return hooked up to a new Seaswirl w/ a penductor on the end. I have alot of new toys i want to try out. Equipment wise the only things i am keeping are the tank, skimmer, tunzes, and phosban reactor. Everything else is new pretty much. It's almost as exciting as starting a new tank from scratch lol.

I'm going to try to list my new equipment. I've been collecting stuff for a while in preparation, driving the wife crazy w/ all the boxes lol.

New Stuff:

Stand (Custom)
Canopy (Custom)
Sump (NY Acrylic)
Top-Off Reservoir (NY Acrylic)
2x250 MH retrofit using Reeflux 10k SE bulbs, icecap ballasts, PFO reflectors w/ quick disconnect kits. (Thanks House of Fish)
2 36" VHO UVL Superactinics (Thanks House of Fish)
1 mogul mount PFO moonlight (Thanks House of Fish)
2 x 120 mm Panaflo fans for hood ventilation
1 JBJ Arctica 1/10hp chiller
GRI Pump
3/4" Seaswirl
3/4" Penductor (Thanks House of Fish)
DIY Coil Denitrator
New heater (just because i like to replace them every so often)

and i'm sure there are a few other things i can't think of at the moment..Gotta go to HD tommorrow to pick up paint and molding for the condo.

I will try to take a bunch of pictures along the way.

 

[Wingo LEDs]

The color of the wood stain is absolutely bueatiful! But, wait, why are the individuals pcs' color not even. Are they still wet?

 

[Awibrandy]

Awesome Wes! 1 small suggestion although your father in-law probably addressed already. Seal the wood on the inside as well, that is was going to take the most beating from the humidity.
Enjoy!

 

[House of Laughter]

I love upgrade threads - can't wait to see it wet

House

 

[Wes]

Awesome Wes! 1 small suggestion although your father in-law probably addressed already. Seal the wood on the inside as well, that is was going to take the most beating from the humidity.
Enjoy!

Thanks Brandy,

I'm pretty sure he sealed it on the inside but i will double check.

 

[masterswimmer]

Wes, that build is beautiful. I'm looking forward to seeing the progress. Keep those pix coming.

Russ

 

[Wes]

I picked up my custom top-off tank yesterday. It was made by Paul from NY Acrylic. Thank you Paul and thank you Russ for letting me pick it up from your place. It's going to work out perfectly i believe, it takes alot less room than a 5g tank, and I probably wouldn't fit everything under the stand any other way.

The tank is going to be drained and disassembled friday night so my contractor can put up the crown molding and paint the wall over the weekend. The Stand and Canopy will be here on Friday as well. Just a couple pics of me trying to think out how im going to plumb the pump. It's going to be a tight squeeze so I'm not going to know which way it's going to go until the stand gets here.

 

[carpediem212]

Beautiful stand and hood. Was it DIY?

 

[DevIouS]

Beautiful stand and hood. Was it DIY?

They were built for me as a gift from my new father in law. He is really good in the wood shop. He just emailed me the pics so i thought i would share.

Looks great We$......
It's going to be sweet.

I miss my 65:happysad:

 

[Wes]

Beautiful stand and hood. Was it DIY?

Thanks, yes my Father-In-Law built them for me.

 

[masterswimmer]

Wes, you're welcome anytime my friend. Next time leave a few extra minutes so we can have a :beer: together.

I'm just wondering if Tito isn't going to mind the heat from the external pump

Everything seems to be coming together. Can't wait to see the conversion.

Russ

 

[Wes]

The color of the wood stain is absolutely bueatiful! But, wait, why are the individuals pcs' color not even. Are they still wet?

Thanks wingo, i think the pieces that look a different shade are just a visual effect in the pictures because of wood grain going a different direction and poor lighting. It probably looks more uniform in real life. I will find out in a few days.

 

[Wes]

Wes, you're welcome anytime my friend. Next time leave a few extra minutes so we can have a :beer: together.

I'm just wondering if Tito isn't going to mind the heat from the external pump

Everything seems to be coming together. Can't wait to see the conversion.

Russ

haha Tito was not happy about all the racket being made outside of his house tonight.

 

[TimberTDI]

Wes,

Can we (I) get a pic of the seaswirl w/ penductor attachment? This sounds very interesting.

Steven

 

[Wes]

Wes,

Can we (I) get a pic of the seaswirl w/ penductor attachment? This sounds very interesting.

Steven

I'll take a pic tonight Steven, it's not plumbed yet but i have all the parts.

Wes