Ed's Shallow Reef Build
 

Have been acquiring various pieces over the last 6 - 7 months and decided it was time to start putting the vision into reality. Her are some pics of where I am at. Tank is a custom built glass shallow reef approximately 40 gallons. with a glass sump as well. Overflow is a synergy reef overflow with 1 1/2" plumbing. The floor of the stand is sealed so it can hold water in case of emergency.

You build thos tank yourself

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It was actually built by someone in south florida.

Here's some pictures of the plumbing mocked up. Now I'll be tearing it down so i can begin staining the stand.

Any reason you decided to go up and over on return

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just makes it easier to clean if need be or modify if i want down the road

Nice looking tank. How shallow is it? What is your plan for this tank?

Tank is about 20" tall and plan on a shallow reef

Really? It looks more like ten inches. Well, it should be easy, and less expensive to light. Good luck!

Here are some updated pics of the stand still working on doing the side doors as well as touching up some areas

I'll ride along. Thinking of getting back in... Appreciate the pics... Boy things have changed a whole lot since I got out 8-10 years ago.

Any new updates? I also want to hop back in after 5 year hiatus.

Any specific reason for using check valve on your return?

Sorry have been bad about updating pictures with everything going on. The tank is currently up and running and i will post some more pictures once i get them uploaded. Here's the ones i have from before adding saltwater.Attachment 406855

Attachment 406856

Attachment 406857

I always use a check valve on all my returns as it keeps the tank from draining into the sump and causing an over flow when the return is shut off.

Check valves fail, always. It is just a question on when they will fail. It is not recommended to use them for water control, as when they fail, they fail in grand fashion. It is much safer to make sure you have enough room in the sump for backflow than to rely on check valve.

Marc (Melev's Reef) uses them in reverse, but even then he had issue after 4 years

Video on how it works can be found here
https://www.melevsreef.com/blog/no-sucking-sound

I haven't had 1 fail in 20 plus years of reefing but mine gets cleaned and inspected every 6 months and i always have a backup on hand as i try to have all my tanks plumbed with the same size return. Hence the different size return then the drains on this build. I feel a lot of equipment failures in this hobby can be prevented by routine checks and maintenance on equipment. You definitely wont catch them all but you can at least minimize them.

Nice looking tank. Enjoy the color on the pipe.

very cool!

Ed shallow reef? Did u build one shallow like 10 years ago


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He was based in China .


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No that wasn't me.