Brand new 180 gallon build after 12 year hiatus.

[freebyrd]

Hello Friends new and old!

I want to reintroduce myself and document my journey back into the hobby after a 12 year absence. Long story short (since that's what people prefer nowadays, thanks tiktok/reels/shorts) I moved from a house with a basement that was full of aquariums to a house that really had no good place to put a sizeable aquarium. Since I was most interested in New World cichlids, if I couldn't go big I just let it go all together. I have since moved again to a house my wife and I custom built, we had a room with a wall built to perfectly place a compromised size tank!

I started researching and wanted to do it right the first time. I landed on www.Customaquariums.com because I wanted a glass tank, and liked this one because it had an aluminum frame, and I could customize the holes drilled for a sump. There were other little features that I liked as well, which we can get into later. They were very easy to deal with and their process was pretty easy. I took delivery curbside and I live in a very rural area on a farm. So here is what I've got so far and I will edit, and post as I take more photos and document this exciting time for me getting back into it! Enjoy

 

[jjohnwm]

Finally! Someone has realized that chipboard/particleboard has only one use when it comes to aquariums...and that is to construct a crate to ship an aquarium in! As I scrolled down and that big sheet of chipboard loomed into view I could already feel my blood pressure going up; what a relief when the entire picture series appeared.

Looking forward to following along with this project.

 

[Backfromthedead]

Thats a fine tank, stand, tractor, dog, and property! Is there a sump already in that stand?

 

[freebyrd]

Looking forward to following along with this project.

Thanks! I was done trying to be cheap and get stuff off Craigslist or used. No more for me, I'm frugal but not cheap

 

[freebyrd]

Thats a fine tank, stand, tractor, dog, and property! Is there a sump already in that stand?

Why yes there is we will have to see!

 

[puffers4puffers]

6’x2’x2’?
Tagging along...

 

[tlindsey]

Welcome back!!!

 

[OutbackJack]

I was 15 the last time I had an aquarium. That was 17 years ago.

I was on FB Marketplace one night and found a 150 gallon aquarium + stand for 300 bucks. Couldn't resist getting back into it.

Dude who sold it to us also gave my fiance a really nice 25 hexagonal tank as a bonus. It's so nice to be back "in the game" lol

So, welcome back bro.

 

[freebyrd]

And so I did get the seamless sump! This evening I started rinsing the sump sections out, and dry fitting some of the plumbing. I plan on going to the big box store tomorrow for overflow piping and tubing for the returns.

The first section has two filter socks that will spill to the bio media basket chamber and then to the pump chamber. (With the holes on the top and plug grommet.) The next section is the evaporation chamber, but will house additional bio media. I'm also considering putting some potted plants or pothos in this chamber. Maybe some mangrove cuttings? I'm also big on permaculture, so I may put some sweet potato slips in bundles in here and see what happens. The final chamber will be the refugium section, that will host soil and live plants. I'm looking for fully aquatic nitrite eating machines, so I'm open to suggestions here on what to plant. I do plan on setting up a led grow light on a timer for under the stand, I have experience growing vegetables indoors with grow lights and light cycles so I will play with this as well.



My son and I climbed under the house and added some supports to the floor joists. I used pole jacks from the big box store, and some 2x4s from the shipping materials on the aquarium. I put 3" screws into the joists under the tank, and then placed the pole jacks on another 2x4. I used screws to lock in the jack pads so they can't move side to side. I screw them out enough to touch flush with putting slight to no pressure on the 2x4 attached to the joists. This probably wasn't necessary as I calculated about 2000lbs as the total weight and a footprint of 12 sqft. It comes out to a little over 160 lbs per sqft which should be no issue considering it's located on the outside wall and about 36" from the main load bearing joist running the length of the house.

 

[tlindsey]

View attachment 1533471View attachment 1533472View attachment 1533471

And so I did get the seamless sump! This evening I started rinsing the sump sections out, and dry fitting some of the plumbing. I plan on going to the big box store tomorrow for overflow piping and tubing for the returns.

The first section has two filter socks that will spill to the bio media basket chamber and then to the pump chamber. (With the holes on the top and plug grommet.) The next section is the evaporation chamber, but will house additional bio media. I'm also considering putting some potted plants or pothos in this chamber. Maybe some mangrove cuttings? I'm also big on permaculture, so I may put some sweet potato slips in bundles in here and see what happens. The final chamber will be the refugium section, that will host soil and live plants. I'm looking for fully aquatic nitrite eating machines, so I'm open to suggestions here on what to plant. I do plan on setting up a led grow light on a timer for under the stand, I have experience growing vegetables indoors with grow lights and light cycles so I will play with this as well.

View attachment 1533474

My son and I climbed under the house and added some supports to the floor joists. I used pole jacks from the big box store, and some 2x4s from the shipping materials on the aquarium. I put 3" screws into the joists under the tank, and then placed the pole jacks on another 2x4. I used screws to lock in the jack pads so they can't move side to side. I screw them out enough to touch flush with putting slight to no pressure on the 2x4 attached to the joists. This probably wasn't necessary as I calculated about 2000lbs as the total weight and a footprint of 12 sqft. It comes out to a little over 160 lbs per sqft which should be no issue considering it's located on the outside wall and about 36" from the main load bearing joist running the length of the house.

View attachment 1533473