My First Saltwater Tank! 46gal Bow Front

JAnderson1

Reefing newb
Do you remember your first car?
Perhaps it was used, a fixer upper. You didn't care, it was all yours! You washed it, waxed it, you added a few touches and made it yours!

That's how I feel!!! I received the wonderful gift from my friends and my wife of beautiful 46gal Bow Front tank!

It's not new, it's used, but I don't care it's mine!! I love it! It's not my first aquarium but I will be my first saltwater reef tank.

Of course I'm not going to jump in and hit the gas, that would be foolish! It WANT it to succeed, I WANT it to be beautiful! So I'm taking my time and learning how to do it right! I've been reading a lot about what I want and what I can have. I'm so excited. I appreciate all the help and advice I will receive along the way! And of course I will be posting pictures along my way.

If I did this right you will see a picture of the tank and stand right after I cleaned some of the old freshwater algae out it it.
The stand has mold from a spill. The good and bad news is, it was untreated wood. Bad because of the mold but good because I plan on staining it once the mold is removed. The stand is solid wood, not particle or pressed board which is awesome! I'm having a friend remove the mold and basically rebuild it to give me a little more room underneath so I can fit a sump in there.
As soon as I get it back I'm going to sand it down and stain it, seal it and put new hardware on it. It will look really nice!

I plan on putting a 20gal long sump which I am building and will need a little help on but I'll get to that another time. Also the glass is tempered and can't be drilled so I will be plumbing it over the back.

As far as the tank itself, I'm not a big fan of the "wood grain" look. So I got some glossy black Krylon Fusion Paint (which I read was fish friendly) for the trim and the back glass as you can see from the pics.

It's an adventure and I'm looking forward to it! Thanks in advance for all the help!!

Justin
 

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Last edited by a moderator:
Welcome aboard! Great group of people for advice! And as always, check out the DIY section of the forum for any advice on doing stuff yourself! Following along :)
 
I sanded down, put kilz on the inside to kill and protect against mold and mildew, pre-conditioned, stained, and glossy sealed my stand! Plus I put on new hardware. What do you think?! I am by far a carpenter and this was the first time i have ever done anything like this but I like it!!

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So things are coming along. Here is a picture of my lights. Aquatic life 4-bulb T5 and also my first fish!!! Sort of!
Still building my sump. Called lowes and they will cut my glass for $2.43 a piece!! I'll be getting that soon!

Thanks for all the comments.

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I have a good friend that is a plumber. He came to help me do some plumbing on the tank. Here is what we have so far. Still tweaking a few things.

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I do have a question about return pumps. It's my understanding that you want the tank to cycle about 5-10 times an hour is that correct? With a 46gal tank that's about 230-460ghp. I've got an Eheim 1250 pump that's rated for 320gph. Do you think that will be enough? I was reading something about headloss having to do with twists and turns of return plumping cutting down the force of the pump. So should I get a stronger pump? Also I'm confused about how to connect the pump to my plumbing. Can someone show me some pictures and let me know? Do I need flex tubing from the pump to my plumbing or what? Thanks for all the help!

Also I've decide I would like to go with the Red Sea Live Reef Base (white) does anyone know where to buy it online? I can't seem to find it. Thanks!!
 
Can I get clarification as to why brass isn't good to be used? Just so I understand. I'll start looking for a PVC one.
 
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