Reefing On A Budget - My 29 Gallon Build

[zmazza]

We'll, I've finally decided to start my 29 gallon build thread. For all of those who are looking to build a decent reef tank on a budget, here's the thread for you!

I watched a thread here on reef central for a 37 gallon build and was really impressed and inspired. So, with the approval of my project manager (my wife), I got started!

I started out out by building the frame. I made the stand 20" wide so that I could leave space in the back for running tubing, etc. With the canopy attached, it was going to be an completely enclosed cabinet, except for the front. So that when it's finished, all you could see we're glass and wood.

I would definitely recommend writing everything out on paper. It makes it much easier to adjust measurements as necessary and make sure everything is going to look right.



I used a Kreg pocket hole jig on a recommendation from a fellow reef central member, and I've got to say, I highly, highly recommend it. It makes making joints a breeze, and really makes for a VERY sturdy stand! For $50.00, it's worth EVERY penny and should be a must have for anyone doing cabinetry or looking to make a good, solid joint.



After building the frame, I had my very supportive wife help me lay out all the measurements for the canopy and side pieces. I left the front open so that I could add cabinet doors later on. Hopefully I'll be doing that tonight. I'm going to try and pick up the hinges tomorrow so that I can finish everything up. I've got to empty out the aquarium that I've got into a sterilite container so that I can test fit the aquarium. I also picked up some Krylon fusion to spray paint the back of the aquarium. Dark blue to be exact.



Needless to say, I finally got everything put together and it's ready to be stained. We picked up a can of "natural cherry" stain and some wood putty to make everything look nice. We are going to try and stain it within the next few days.

I know, I know. It's upside down. It's hard to hold the canopy up and take a picture at the same time!





I just ordered my Coralife Super Needle Wheel Skimmer for up to 65 gallons, as well as an additional maxijet 1200 powerhead. I'll be going into equipment specifics in a different post, so stay tuned.

While we we're measuring for the plywood pieces and the canopy, my AH Supply 1x55 watt lighting kit came in! I decided to go with it because it would work so well with my custom canopy and could easily be changed. 18.99 for bulbs wasn't bad either. I'll definitely be adding another 1x55 watt kit so that I can put each of them on seperate timers, but I'm only keeping zoanthids, so there's no rush.



I'm going to be adding the top to the canopy and wiring the ballast and lights for the tank tonight. I'll be painting and test fitting the aquarium Wednesday, as well as starting to stain the cabinet. MAYBE by that night it will be done and ready for water!

[kelley_mc]

Looking good.....and familiar.

Pics are a little small but I look forward to following the progress, nice work.

[gary faulkner]

veeedeeeee inta- reasting

[rivdog]

more, more,.. more....

[zmazza]

Kelley, LOL. I was inspired, what can I say?

The stand / canopy construction is moving along WONDERFULLY. I installed the AH supply kit in the canopy last night and finished it up. I also purchased all of the cabinet hardware. I'll finish installing the cabinet doors tonight and start taking some more pictures. I'm probably going to start sanding as well to prepare for the stain tomorrow.

I've gotta say though, not as good as yours Kelley_MC. I'm still following your thread as well.

PS The overflow box turned out very nice. Even though I'm not using it, it looks really great sitting there on the table. Haha!

[kelley_mc]

Originally posted by zmazza
Kelley, LOL. I was inspired, what can I say?

No explanation needed. One of the reasons to post build threads is to give people ideas and exchange info. I am very happy my thread has helped you out.

Originally posted by zmazza
The stand / canopy construction is moving along WONDERFULLY. I installed the AH supply kit in the canopy last night and finished it up. I also purchased all of the cabinet hardware. I'll finish installing the cabinet doors tonight and start taking some more pictures. I'm probably going to start sanding as well to prepare for the stain tomorrow.

That's great, you definitely have me beat in the time department. Mine has been more thought than action but mine is also moving along. Hopefully the woodworking will be done tomorrow night.

Originally posted by zmazza
I've gotta say though, not as good as yours Kelley_MC. I'm still following your thread as well.

Thanks for the compliment. Yours looks great. However, like you said in your thread title, yours is on a budget. Not that I have unlimited funds by any means, but I have put more cash into mine then I would like to remember.

Originally posted by zmazza
PS The overflow box turned out very nice. Even though I'm not using it, it looks really great sitting there on the table. Haha!

Good, lets see some pics when its done.

Couple other things:
Good choice of skimmer. I have the CSS 125 on my tank and I like it very much. They are a little touchy, but once they are dialed in, they work very well.

Also, is your door opening big enough to fit in your sump/refugium? I remember you weren't sure if you were going to put it underneath or off to the side. If it's not too late, you may want to make the door opening big enough just in case you change your mind later. Just a thought.

Again, looks good, keep us posted.

[neo1013]

I must say I am interested. My 29g reef on a buget ended up costing about $1500 and moved to a 125

[zmazza]

That sounds like me, neo1013, lol.

kelley_mc -

I thought about that, but actually plan on putting the sump in BEHIND the stand. The entire back half is open except for up near the top. I don't plan on doing the sump for awhile. Maybe June. I found other things to purchase with my money, haha! I purchased the CSS65 instead of the 20 gallon sump. I'm also wanting to buy a decent sump. I figured I would be getting in over my head if I went ahead and started drilling.

The great thing is, there's so much room behind the tank that it's perfect for the HOB CSS65, and you can't even see it! Maintenance won't be too hard. The entire top lifts up and is super lightweight.

I ended up purchasing 2 sheets of 9/16" 4x8 plywood, 2 2x4x16's (Which I don't recommend. Get the shorter lengths to avoid warping.) 1 1/4" screws, 2" screws, 2" pocket hole screws, 8ft piece of trim for the top of the canopy, and the stain.

All in all, I bet I've spent $140 dollars if you include the pocket jig. If not, I've probably done the stand / canopy for 100 dollars.

The lights from AH Supply we're 70 dollars shipped, and I've got to say that I'm REALLY impressed. It was super easy to wire up and works like a charm. I may run it to a switch, but I think I'm just going to buy a digital timer / power strip instead and forget about the switch.

I'll upload the pictures I took last night of the lighting install in just a little bit. Check back soon and check them out.

My skimmer and new powerhead come in tomorrow. If I'm lucky, I can get it stained and set up tomorrow. Whoo hoo!

I've just got to stain and paint the back of the aquarium, which if I'm lucky, I can do tomorrow morning and get everything up and running by tomorrow night.

[zmazza]

New pics!

Again, sorry about the small size. I have to take them on my camera phone for the moment.

Canopy Construction and AH Supply Ballast / Lighting Installation -

Installing the ballast:



Ballast Installed / Wiring Run:



Finished!

[zmazza]

[zmazza]

Figured out how to make those pictures bigger! Enjoy!

[zmazza]

What is this? A special delivery from Hong Kong?



Thank you Lau!

My 45mm diamond hole saw finally arrived! Now if I could JUST get around to completing that sump.

[zmazza]

Here's an actual picture of the holesaw itself.

[zmazza]

Well, I finally got around to staining the cabinet. We are putting on the final stain today and it should be finished and up and running tonight. I also put a coat of blue paint on the back of the aquarium.

Here are the pictures:

Top of the canopy.


Front of cabinet:


Cabinet doors:


Canopy - Again, upside down :


Aquarium:


Overflow:


Again, as always, suggestions and comments are welcome.

Hopefully I'll be posting some finished pictures tomorrow! The only thing we lack is the trim to finish the cabinet. Hopefully we'll have that sooner or later.

[kelley_mc]

Looking good, you're really moving. I see you have your drill bit and built your overflow, when are you going to start drilling the tank?

I had to drill my tank and install the bulkheads and elbows before I attached my overflow. With the overflow on, there wasn't enough room to do it.

I assume you have read too that you should paint the inside of the stand an canopy too? Most people use white, I think mostly for its reflective properties. That's what I am going to use.

Again, looking good. Keep us posted!

[zmazza]

Hmm. I never thought about painting the inside. With the reflector, I'm not sure much is going to be reflected back into the canopy. Not a bad thought, though. I think we've got some white paint. We we're going to leave the inside of the cabinet unfinished.

I went ahead and built the overflow since I had the glass. I'm not going to install it just yet. I'm going to wait until I can purchase my 20 gallon tall sump and return pump. Hopefully I'll have that done by June. The drill bit was ordered so that I could be somewhat prepared.

I think I might try it like it is, and if it doesn't work like I want it to, I'll take it off and paint it.

With the Ah supply kit, it includes an awesome reflector, so I think it's going to work really well.

Hopefully, I'll be posting pictures tonight.

[kelley_mc]

Just be sure to do something in there, either poly, paint, etc to seal it. Otherwise, the wood will not be water resistant and it will absorb water and could warp.

I agree that white paint is not the best reflector. (My light also has a reflector.) The benefit is that of all the paint choices, white has the potential to reflect the best. I also like its nice appearance and how easy it is to clean.

[zmazza]

Might be an idea. I'll call the "painter". LOL.

[zmazza]

Finally finished with the stand and canopy! Everything is stained and ready to go! The ballast was re-wired last night and everything was hooked up to make sure it was working. My brother in law and I hauled it up to the house and placed it in it's permanent spot in the living room.





This morning my wife is filling it up and getting the rock placed.

Needless to say, it looks great! I'm going to be uploading some more pictures tonight with the fish in the tank.

Keep checking back because I've got a lot of plans for this little tank. I'm going to be working on a sump, which i'm really open to ideas and suggestions if anyone has any, or some tips and tricks on getting it all set up. I'm also going to be ordering some LED's so I can create some moonlights.

[illal]

looks like a bootleg version of kelley lol j/k but seriously it looks amazing cant wait to see it filled up

[zmazza]

Originally posted by illal
looks like a bootleg version of kelley lol j/k but seriously it looks amazing cant wait to see it filled up

Don't be fooled. It is.

I was so impressed with his stand/canopy design that it was exactly what I was looking for. It really hides everything well. I highly recommend it. If only I had the woodworking skills of kelley, I'd be set.

It didn't cost much to build though. Less than one hundred dollars.

I got all my tips and suggestions from Kelley. He does have the sump set up though. All I've got is two powerheads and the coralife 65 skimmer.

Call it a wanna-be clone.

Thank you kelley_mc for the inspiration!

Just a quick update-

My wife filled the tank up and got it up and running in record time. Less than 30 minutes!

I'll post some pics of it filled up here in a little while.

Again, I'm open to suggestions on sump setup / design, fish additions, etc.

[zmazza]

Complete with fish:

[kelley_mc]

Wow. it looks great! Very nice job.

I really am happy that you liked my work so much that you used it as an inspiration.

Stand and Canopy Design by kelley_mc®!
I very much appreciate the sig line, but it is unnecessary.
I have received a lot of help and inspiration from other people here on RC, too many to give credit to. You took an idea and made it work for you. I hope others like what I have done just as much.

Be sure to keep us all posted on your progress and again, thanks for the kind words.

[zmazza]

No problem.

No problem with the sig line. Call it free advertisement to a great stand/canopy design. Don't be surprised if you see a bunch of kelley_mc design stand/canopies around. You should trademark it, lol.

I can give a great testimony as to how great this stand and canopy are working out. I'm much happier with it than any store bought stand.

I just ordered my 160 gal mix of reef crystals, my digital coralife power center, and my single GFCI outlet. I'll post my reviews.

[Travis L. Stevens]

Hey Kelley and zmazza. If this is "on a budget", where is your cost totals? I, too, have been working on a reef tank on a budget for about 8 months now. I've invested less than $500 for a 75g tank. You should check these out. Maybe you can get a few ideas to save some money.

55 Reef on a Budget by adnup
Reefing on a Budget: 75g Tank Build by Travis L. Stevens