I'll be building a larger tank later this year (probably by November. Saktong birthday ni Baby at ng tank ko) to replace my current tank (given to me by roy_gt, which I used when my 20g shallow tank broke). Nakakatakot lang kasi baka bumigay na sa seams yung tank dahil may mga parts na nababakbak na yung silicone. Better stop Murphy's law before it can even begin.
Goal: to have a nice, low-tech, low-cost and low-maintenance, energy efficient and sustainable reef tank. Kailangan magtipid, mahirap ang buhay.
I want this tank to be good looking but still budget-friendly, especially on the upkeep.Same equipments, same livestocks, same liverocks. No additions on the fishes except a small mimic tang (eto ang isa pang dahilan kung bakit gusto ko ng mas mahabang tank - para makapaglagay ng isang tang.
) and a wrasse or two. Corals will be the same. Although I would probably add some rock anemones and a BTA plus some staghorns and some montipora.I will still use my DIY lights but will just add a few more LEDs (3w Cree and Epileds plus the 10w hybrid multichips we are currently waiting for). I am also planning to use a 13w DC pump for my return. Kinda pricey for the initial investment but will be very worth every single peso.
Maintenance would still be the same: 6 gallon bi-monthly WCs, twice daily feeding of fishes and daily top-off with kalkwasser. No fancy crap. Tamad ako eh. I like to keep the system simple and bare-bones/minimalistic to the very core. Principle of least effort, kumbaga.
Anyway, here is my initial plan:
60"x18"x16" LxWxH - around 77 gallons
1/4" (6mm) glass computed safety factor would be around 3. (Standard safety factor is 2.5) If the budget permits, I would have the bottom panel built with 3/8" or even 1/2" thick glass.
Base would be solid plyboard, fully treated and painted plus styrofoam.
Initial plan for the stand:
2x2" Angle Bars, 4.5mm thick.
I found a good example here, which I am planning to follow:
This stand is built for a 300-gallon tank (2x2" angle bars, probably 5mm thick). Take note that my tank is only 77 gallons.
If I can manage to get the C-Channels sp00k3d (Thanks, bro Don. Uwi ka na.
)is offering me, then the posts will be replaced by the big-arse C-Channels.It will be treated with rust converter and will be fully primed before painted with enamel coating and automotive undercoating. Powder coating would be nice, but since it is expensive as heck, undercoating would be the next best thing, as per research on RC and other forums.
Here are the tank, stand and lighting diagrams
Kung nagtataka kayo kung bakit konti lang yung LEDs, hindi ko kasi pupunuin ng bato yung tank. Balak ko sana ganitong scape:
So since 3-4 islands lang ang ilalagay ko, gusto ko sana naka-focus lang yung ilaw sa mga mismong bato. Sadya talaga na may mga dark areas for depth.
Help me choose which layout would be better, option 1 or 2. Hindi pa rin ako ganoon ka-familiar sa LEDs. Lalo ngayon na balak kong gumamit na ng 3w Crees.
Comments and suggestions are very much appreciated. TIA!
balitaan mo kami kung dumating na ang crees, bibili din ako pag ok xp mo hehe