# Manzy 40b (update planting started 1/16/14



## Jess123 (Oct 2, 2012)

After the birth of my daughter, I was overwhelmed trying to keep 9 tanks(4 high tech) I took everything down with the exception of two tanks one riparium and one low tech tank too hold 1-2 of each plant species. 

I've kept everything from nano tanks too large tanks. Ive always wanted a 40b but never had one. My plan is too just have 1 really nice 40b I've been collecting stuff for this build for a while now. 

I started building my stand this week. Here's where I'm at. 









I will be doing more work on it this week and I will post updates as I go. Thanks for looking! Enjoy!


----------



## BHolmes (Aug 23, 2012)

That stand is a tank!


----------



## Jess123 (Oct 2, 2012)

Yeah it may be slightly overbuilt, but I wanted to make it sturdier than the average stand. Most of them tend to have some flex. I put 600lbs on it(2 of my larger friends) and it didn't budge. Tomorow I'm going to start skinning the sides with tongue and groove knotty pine paneling.


----------



## Jess123 (Oct 2, 2012)

Only had a little bit of time to work on the stand today. I cut some 1/8" ply and nailed it down to even out everything with the strong ties and screw heads


----------



## Jess123 (Oct 2, 2012)

A little more progress today


----------



## Jess123 (Oct 2, 2012)

Taking a break for now, hopefully I will have the doors built and hung by the rest of the night.


----------



## Bruce_S (Jul 26, 2012)

Looks like it's going to be a real beauty!

~B.


----------



## flight50 (Apr 17, 2012)

Nice stand there. Looks good and sturdy. I am sure the braces cost more than the wood or close to it. It would look just as good if it wasn't skinned. It has a nice industrial style to it with brackets being visible.

I like redundancy when it comes to a tank stand. If you look at it from the stand point that would prefer your tank staying on its stand or on the floor, its a no brainier.


----------



## Jess123 (Oct 2, 2012)

I also really liked the idea of and industrial style stand, if I didnt have a 16 month old running around I probably would have gone that route. 

Yeah the braces may have been overkill. I stole the frame design from someone's 40b reef build I saw while googling, that stand looked really nice and simple so I replicated the frame. I'm in to the whole stand roughly 220$ the brackets ran me around 75$ of that, I had no idea they were so expensive until I got to home depot with my list. I was not exactly thrilled when they rang everything up, I think it will be worth it though.


----------



## Jess123 (Oct 2, 2012)

I need to straighten the knobs out and put a floor in, probably some more trim/moulding work. But I'm calling it a night on this.














Edit: I straightened the knob


----------



## Jess123 (Oct 2, 2012)

And the tank is in place!


----------



## tizzite (Mar 28, 2010)

Great craftsmanship!

And that manzanita is out of this world. so gnarly


----------



## anwin8D (Apr 2, 2013)

Very nice! You're so handy.


----------



## lamiskool (Jul 1, 2011)

I really love that manzy you got! It looks epic.


----------



## mosspearl (Jan 30, 2013)

That is a terrific cabinet.


----------



## hisxlency (Jan 26, 2013)

nice work. Where did you score the manzy?


----------



## Roshan8768 (Mar 18, 2009)

Great start, and nice work on the stand! Also that wood is awesome


----------



## Jess123 (Oct 2, 2012)

hisxlency said:


> nice work. Where did you score the manzy?


eBay


----------



## Jess123 (Oct 2, 2012)

Finished the top,trim,bottom moulding,and the floor. Now I get to puddy sand and seal.


----------



## accordztech (Dec 6, 2004)

Very strong stand. VERY strong.


----------



## mayanjungledog (Mar 26, 2009)

Looks awesome too!


----------



## Jess123 (Oct 2, 2012)

Here's the complete stand with the tank


----------



## Jess123 (Oct 2, 2012)

And the fx5 only had about 1/8" of room to squeeze in but it fit!


----------



## uBrandon (Dec 15, 2012)

Looks awesome so far! What kind of plants are you thinking about using?


----------



## Jess123 (Oct 2, 2012)

Probably just what I have left in my 10 gallon











Madagascar lace
Crypt wendti 
Hygro polysperma 
Hygro sunset 
Limnophilla aromatica
Rotala rotundifolia
Rotala colorata 
Anubias nana 

And a few others I can't recall the names of ATM.


----------



## talontsiawd (Oct 19, 2008)

Wow, great looking stand. When I saw the first post, I was thinking it was just another DIY build that would be exposed of covered with regular plywood. That looks great, it has style but the trim is not overly done so it's "ornate" while being staying pretty sleek and contemporary at the same time. Manzy looks great as well. 

What are you doing for lighting? Hood, on tank or raised. I think it's one of the few stands of that style where hung light would really fit.


----------



## Jonnywhoop (May 30, 2012)

the wood is going to look beautiful in the tank. can't wait to see the scape. and I agree with everyone else on the stand. Its crazy nice.


----------



## gus6464 (Dec 19, 2011)

FX5 in 40g!


----------



## Jess123 (Oct 2, 2012)

As far a lighting goes my plan is to run 2 ray2's, and a monster ray I will probably hang it from the ceiling or build a hanger out of conduit. 

Fx5 may seem like a bit much for a 40g but I believe in lots of flow I will be running in an inline reactor and heater as well as hard plumbing everything into the stand with PVC. Between all the bends and the reactor a lot of flow will be lost. 

On my 75 I ran this filter and was gettting 600gph, with no reactor and stock hoses. I'm hoping with all the bends and the reactor I will be at 400gph, witch should be perfect for this tank.


----------



## KristenP (Sep 1, 2013)

Agree, that is an awesome piece of manzanita! Can't wait to see it scaped.


----------



## Jess123 (Oct 2, 2012)

Thanks for the compliments on the the stand, I have built a a few DIY ply wood covered style stands that my wife was not happy with. Unfortunately I made this one a little too nice now she wants a matching entertainment center, end tables media shelf, and the hard part a matching stand for her 26g bowfront.


----------



## Jess123 (Oct 2, 2012)

We had some very large gravel(1"-4") at work, I've decided it will work for my hardscape. I took home a 5g bucket of them, I'm probably not going to use more than half of them. 


















Tonight I'm going to test, and bleach them. this weekend I will boil them and get started scaping. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Jess123 (Oct 2, 2012)

Haven't done much but here's a little update

I am currently soaking my rocks in a bleach/water mixture, then I will clean with dawn, rinse over a couple days, then I will be boiling them. 

I purchased some mgopm, and sand.
















I also ordered a 20"x4.5" big blue whole house filter to build my co2 reactor out of. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Jess123 (Oct 2, 2012)

Working on a few things tonight. So far I've painted the back of the tank, and now I'm filling all the cracks in the stand, but I got bored so I figured I'd take a break to update. 


















Lots of sanding, and hopefully staining/sealing to come this weekend! 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Jess123 (Oct 2, 2012)

Finished all the sanding, the stain is on, clears going on tomorow. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Jess123 (Oct 2, 2012)

Keeping my car in the road has been taking up a lot of my time lately. I was able to make time this week to finally finish staining and clearing the stand. Everything is now in the house.
























Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Jess123 (Oct 2, 2012)

I started playing with scape Ideas, I'm thinking something like this. I'll be using mgopm in the back and in the rocks with a sand up front. 

Any and all input would be greatly appreciated 😄


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## discoveringmypath (Oct 9, 2013)

I like the hardscape. I love a hardscape that stands out in a planted tank. I love that wood, and I think it looks great with the rocks in that formation.

Are you planning on having the cracks in the rocks filled with sand or basically this sitting ontop of the substrate?

I think it would look cool to have the rocks filled in with sand, so that some rocks are half covered, while others are more exposed. 

Either way, it looks good; look forward to seeing that manzanita in the tank.


----------



## Jess123 (Oct 2, 2012)

Yeah I plan on having sand going up into the rocks and dirt filling in the back. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Jess123 (Oct 2, 2012)

Update time 










Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Jess123 (Oct 2, 2012)

I've decided to go Lo tech with this tank, I just don't have the time, money or desire for high tech anymore. I would like to be able to sit and relax instead of trying to figure out nutrient deficiencies every time I see the tank. 

And I can get it up faster since all I need is lights and a heater now. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Melted (Nov 22, 2013)

Subscribed, must see the progress in this tank! I have to agree with everyone in that the manz is amazing. Really enjoyed staring at the latest update photo for a while.


----------



## Jess123 (Oct 2, 2012)

I flooded the tank and hooked up the fx5, I figured I may as well get it cycling. 

Next on the list is a 36" current satelite plus. 
















I also added all the rocks I had. Flooding messed up my sand, I'll have to fix that soon. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## maxwellag (Mar 30, 2012)

That's really nice looking driftwood. Where did you get it? I am looking for driftwood similar to that but I haven't had any luck finding the right piece yet.


----------



## Jess123 (Oct 2, 2012)

maxwellag said:


> That's really nice looking driftwood. Where did you get it? I am looking for driftwood similar to that but I haven't had any luck finding the right piece yet.


Thank you, I picked it up on eBay. It's actually 2 peices. It's sandblasted manzanita from a seller in peru(I think). It ran me roughly 120$ shipped. 

If you search for it on eBay there is usually 20-30 different pieces available from this seller and they include measurements of everything.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## vanz (Dec 16, 2013)

Nice looking manzanita. I just won something like that which should be arriving any day soon. Let me dig up the auction to post. It's going into a 40g too! I'll be following your progress. I'm new to freshwater so wish me luck. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## vanz (Dec 16, 2013)

*Manzy 40b (added more rocks and flooded!)*

Here it is, what do you think?

















Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Jess123 (Oct 2, 2012)

vanz said:


> Here it is, what do you think?
> 
> 
> 
> ...



That's pretty awesome, link to your journal? 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## vanz (Dec 16, 2013)

I haven't started a journal but more pics are in the aquascape section under help with manzanita aquascape. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Jess123 (Oct 2, 2012)

Updates coming soon! upon the arrival of my current satelite plus led light and finnex titanium heater! 

I'm exited 😁


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Jess123 (Oct 2, 2012)

Update time 

I got the new light hooked up, just got my heater, and controller in the mail today. 

A few days ago I planted some crypt wendti and hydrocotle japan
























Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Jess123 (Oct 2, 2012)

Quick update today. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## parrottbay (May 14, 2012)

That wood is sick!


----------



## Jess123 (Oct 2, 2012)

Here's a little update. 
Just a tad over a month 
I've added some more fish 
12 harlequin rasboras
5 furcata 
3 bosemani rainbows










Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Asu1776 (Mar 5, 2013)

AWESOME scape. Must be even better seeing it in person.


----------



## lamiskool (Jul 1, 2011)

Very beautiful scape! Any closeup pics?


----------



## Shawn123 (Jan 24, 2013)

Awesome driftwood! The tank looks great


----------



## Couesfanatic (Sep 28, 2009)

any updates


----------



## Jess123 (Oct 2, 2012)

A few updates, been a while since I've been on the forum, the tank is in desperate need of a trim


----------



## Jess123 (Oct 2, 2012)




----------



## MadRiverPat (May 3, 2013)

I really like your rock work a lot. Gives it a really natural look. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Jess123 (Oct 2, 2012)

MadRiverPat said:


> I really like your rock work a lot. Gives it a really natural look.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk



Thanks! I was trying to make it look like some of the beaches we have here in oregon


----------

