My 185gal build in progress (lots of pics)

really nice. can't wait to see it finished
 
Allllllllrighty then, so while I was waiting for the polyurethane foam on my 3D background to cure this aft, I had a chance to start building the sump. Originally I was going to use a 50gal rubbermaid bin. It could have been done, but it presented a few issues that I didn't feel like dealing with:

1) making dividers for it would suck because it's a weird shape
2) it's 50 gallons total, but bows a LOT when filled with water, and has drain holes about 3/4" of the way up, where the handles are molded in, so it would only hold about 30gal.
3) Not space optimized for the room I have available.

Anyways, for $21 I bought a sheet of 3/4 spruce ply and slapped together a 70gal sump this afternoon. Sometime down the road I'll start actually putting the dividers and crap in it:

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Epoxying inside:

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Didn't take me long to find a use for the 50gal rubbermaid:

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Good update!
 
Outstanding!
 
This has been an amazing thread... I couldn't stop reading!! I'm on pins and needles to see what you come up with once it's filled and ready for fish!!

Personally, I'd go with mbuna cichlids. Here's a great site chock full of this guy's personal experiences with MANY different species of these gorgeous rock-dwelling Africans. :)

http://www.african-cichlid.com/Lake_Malawi.htm
 
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