Brett's minimalist shallow reef

brettb2020

brettb2020

Joined
1 Feb 2009
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Location
Amanzimtoti
Its been 3 years since my last marine aquarium and I am so excited to be back in the game! well almost, my new tank is not even built yet :tt2:

The passed 2 weeks I've been doing a lot of research and browsing online and I must say that in the passed 3 years there have some fantastic developments in marine aquarium technology. I was blown away! Although I must say that I am quite disappointed to that there is no specially designed LED chips for aquarium use. Never the less, CREE LED's seem to be doing a good job :thumbup:

So here we go.

With this aquarium I am aiming towards the minimalist look, for the display tank that is. I am a sucker for the latest tech though so the sump area will be the complete opposite.:blush: I will be building the tank and stand myself.

Tank

Tank: 600 x 600 x 300. 10mm bottom, 6mm opti white all round.
glass: 10mm bottom, 6mm opti white all round.
sump: 550 x 400 x 400
overflow: oceanlife v2 overflow. You dont get more minimalist that this!
silicone: Clear

Equipment

Lighting: Ecotech Radion PRO :yeahdude:
Flow: Vortech MP10W ES
Return Pump: Waveline DC 3000
Chiller: Hailea 150A
Skimmer: Bubble Magus NAC 3.5
Controller: Reef Angel. gotta love open source!
TopOff: DIY

Live stock

2 Picasso clowns
inverts.
thats all!

Coral

I plane on Keeping softies and LPS. I might give SPS a go but I love my softies.

Design

A lot of inspiration and ideas came form these 3 setups:
TheDoogan's Shallow Rimless Reef
Neto's DIY 20g Shallow
37G Shallow illuminated Reef tank

and here is what I have so far. I will only build the tank for now and design the rest later when my equipment arrives so everything will fit 100%

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Hmmm, i like it...
What is your reason dor the wooden cabinet stand?
Will tag along for this build!
 
Hi Brett , Welcome back and I really like the idea of the shallow tank. I would however look like to add a small shoal of fish with the clowns , mayb cardinals
 
Nice tank, my new tank is pretty much the same dims. I finally plumbed the tank now I just need to build a stand for the darn thing. Maybe I should do that this weekend or else I will delay it forever.
 
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Afsal said:
Hi Brett , Welcome back and I really like the idea of the shallow tank. I would however look like to add a small shoal of fish with the clowns , mayb cardinals
Click to expand...

Thanks man. Its good to be back! Your tank is looking great. I should pop in some time and have a look.

MistaOrange said:
Welcome back Brett nice I like a shallow reef tank.
Click to expand...

Thanks :thumbup:


Update

Picked up my glass and timber today. I am rather using 68 x 68 timber intead of planed 2x4. Hopefully I finish the stand this weekend then I can start designing the sump.

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What do you guys think of the oceanlife overflow? here is a review.

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Welcome back Brett, looking forward to seeing this one up and running.
How much is that overflow going for and where are you getting yours from?
 
brettb2020 said:
Its about R1500 which is actually ridiculous but its what I want. :tt2:
I have had to import as its not available locally, only in the UK. it very new on the market.
Click to expand...

Thought so. It's not that different in price to the reefocto, and looks much better.
 
How does it break syphon? Looks like a very neat overflow.
Just have to make sure the overflow doesnt ever get blocked.
 
Yo I feel like I failed next to your progress in a weekend. I fitted a perspex backing and thought I was doing well :)

My tank is 10mm opti white glass all round, was pretty cheap through work so I just ordered all of the glass out of the same glass. Returns and just flexible hose and the downpipe is a pool hose. I think ill paint or wrap the clear hoses with black vinyl. Black flexible pipe seems a bit tricky to find locally last time I checked.

Good luck with the rest of the build
 
I do not like that overflow, first it is expensive and secondly you need to have the two holes perfectly aligned.
 
RiaanP said:
I do not like that overflow, first it is expensive and secondly you need to have the two holes perfectly aligned.
Click to expand...

It is very expenisve. I'm giving it a try though, see how it goes. It's got very good reviews.
The holes have to have a tolerance of 1mm. Very tight!! I've made a template for the guys drilling it.

Where can I get some decent clear silicone in the Durban area?
 
Dude your tank is going to be great, tagging along for this one!!! Keep it up and welcome back to marines!!!!
 
awesome!!!
i love the overflow, the external bean animal/herbie overflows are the bomb!!!

great DIY
 
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