it was more stay with what i know and like or step out of my bubble and try something new.. atm my bubble is cozy.

wood is fun grew up a carpenters son just hated doing for others ppl are too damn picky... i dont like thata knot in tthe wood and the grain is off from that piece....sorry ill grow a tree and in 100 years ill fix it...so i only build things for myself atm but may have to break that rule if i decide to build ppl custom tanks/sumps on the side. im starting to enjoy this 2 much

slowly chippin away at this had delays due to our little one got the flu.. the final peices to the rockwall have been assembled and foamed just have to wait for warm weather to complete. still no stand building yet hopefully this week. if it keeps raining then ill just start running the wires needed. we will see howthe wife deals with me putting holes in the wall.

heres a few pics for those interested
http://i998.photobucket.com/albums/a...k/100_6652.jpg
http://i998.photobucket.com/albums/a...k/100_6654.jpg
http://i998.photobucket.com/albums/a...k/100_6656.jpg

build looks good.

as for building stands: use laminate, its always perfect and its waterproof

thanks for the compliment

isnt laminate made out of particle board.... thanks for the suggestion but i think hardwood wins over laminate more costly perhaps but im not building just a stand but a piece of furniture that matches the rest of our living room furniture... or close enough match to make the wife happy.

I thinks I agree on that one, laminate is a sponge for moisture unless its sealed perfect along the cut edges. just seems like a headache waiting to happen to me

Rock walls are coming along nicely BTW. can't wait to see it all salty :)

you can never seal it perfecty.unless you soak it in epoxy lol and my wife wont like that smell

thanks i still have floating concerns i forsee attaching glass to the bottom of the structures again. even when its all said and done the true effect will be when the live rock is placed andi t all turns purpley grey. i will have a time period of hateing it untill that happens. i too cant wait for it to be salty its driving my batfish crazy

You can put plastic laminate on anything you want. I build all my stands out of plywood and 2x4 and then wrap them with the plastic laminate(same as used on most kitchen counter tops) Its basically bullet proof

Ahs I see understood... But that's ok if you are going with a solid color like white black or whatever but with wood grain it looks cheap nothing compares to natural wood grain and textures. He inside of the tank will be partly lined with formica/laminate in the sump area for an overflow backup.




Sent from a pineapple under the sea...

I'll show you a few pictures when I get home. The grain and texture is there and looks real

That be cool and ill look into it as well may use that idea on the interior more than exterior tho.




Sent from a pineapple under the sea...

I see Marko meant arborite
I also thought he was talking about wood laminate :smile:

Walls are looking great

yeah its simular but i think its made of a different material than arborite/formica. i havent gotten to lowes yet to check anything out

think of it like laminate flooring and that will give you the best idea.

P Lam (plastic laminate (arborite))comes in a wide range of colors and textures.....while it is somewhat water resistant, its not something I would recommend you do, if you have no experience working with it.....it requires a couple specialized tools and can be a bit of an art form getting it "right"....and at $80- $120 a sheet, you dont want to screw up to often....

+ 1 it is very dificult to deal with as well as difficult to repair of it gets chipped. as for tools that i have i have access to more tools for woodworking door making and general contracting than i can think of.... grew up a carpenters kid. in shop class everyne made stools for thier final project.. i made and elaborite oak computer desk lol.

but i agree it still makes me nervous to use such a product for a fish tank.. i forsee one of my little ones ramming somethng into it and chipping a corner never to be able to be repaired. where as wood in general can ding and you barely notice even if they use it as a chew toy lol

here are a few examples I've made, i think the greatest benefit is that it wont peel if moisture gets on it like lacquer will.
I was just a suggestion :)
http://i579.photobucket.com/albums/s...g?t=1323629161

http://i579.photobucket.com/albums/s...D/PICT4752.jpg

http://i579.photobucket.com/albums/s...at104231AM.png

http://i579.photobucket.com/albums/s...9at65029PM.png

dont get me wrong marko the stands look great but here is the stan dmy father and i build for the 90g ... my wife would honestly hate the look of the laminate based on it wouldnt match the rest ouf our living room furniture we made teh doors and everything from scratchas well.

http://i998.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/100_6124.jpg

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

so im sitting here thinking i really havent posted an equiptment list for this build. in reality this is more for me that you to make sure i havent missed any aspect and im not sitting with my thmb up my asterix waiting for a part needed lol.

lighting:
aquamedic metal halides 3x150w 2x70w 72" fixture...thanks james..
...will be adding suplimental lighting if needed after tank is running
...leds next year
diy dimable moonlights
coralife refuge light

powerheads
2x1050 koralia
2x750 koralia

return pump
quiet one 6000

skimmer
vertex in-180

ozonator
not sure the brand but i like it

controller
apex lite with pm1 module...thanks corey17...will add a second 8 bar later
i was going to use the reef keeper light...thanks jhammer... but decided on the apex for this tank and will use the rkl on the 50g tank
..ph probe
..orp probe
..temp probe

uv sterilizer
undecided if i will add one yet but i might

calcium reactor
its a coralife reactor btu undecided if it will be running right away i may decide to dose instead again thanks jhammer

heater
300w name brand eludes me at this time

float style auto top of yes i have to be careful with this but it may not work as planned anyways wont know till im there.

i think thats it i may have missed something. the biggest trick will be figuring out the apex programming. i may need to find an apex for dummies booklet online lol.

This is really awesome :) can't wait to see everything in it. You are pretty good at all the DIY! I'm too afraid to mess stuff up :P

Ill tell you a secret.....I'm afraid to do it too but too stubborn not to try..




Sent from a pineapple under the sea...

sooo somebody got motivated today.... i couldnt stand it any more fresh lumber laying around. so i made this for kicks. regretfully im 1 2x6 8' short of finishing the stand framework...

http://i998.photobucket.com/albums/a...k/100_6658.jpg

make sure to put at least 1 vertical brace in the middle. just to be safe

there will be 2 vertical braces in the back of the stand the front will have no brace i doubled the 2x6 and made it a header. more than enough strength there. there is going to be only one removable panel on the front. im tired of doors and ill enjoy the ability to work under tank freely as well the sump conpartment is going to be divided by the equiptment compartment and that divider will add extra support as well. m only real concern is the halide ballasts overheating.but ill figure it out once the rough in work is complete. but thank you for the suggestion.

Great job on the stand!! Looks like things are progressing nicely for you, but seriously......hurry up!!!:lol: this has been a great build to watch!!

I'm trying lol every time I go to do something... Something happens work on rock wall it rains go to do something else and the twins are cranky... Then that thing called work gets in the way too. Being on call 24 hours can be a bugger. I'm still aiming for end of June beginning of July not much left to do. Skin stand run wires put in place plumb the lid will come later.

I'm glad your enjoying its fun for me too


Sent from a pineapple under the sea...

now that the stand is framed and ready for skinning i have come tomy first real hurdle. how to secure the access panel on the front of the tank. with the gurls being more mobile i want the front panel to be easily accessible but secure enough from tiny curiousities. so this is what i have come up with. since i dont want to use regular cam locks and dealing with im going to use (hopefully) my reef controller to actuate an electroning latch. or i may hve a seperate switch. either which way i will have two of these on the stand and custom made strikes to hold the panel in place,

http://i998.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/tanklock.jpg

i know what your thinking cause i am thinking it as well. what if the power goes out and i need in no power no open. i will be having a small back up batery inside the stand as well that will power both the latch and the controller base module in case of power outage this way i can still monitor orp ph and temp of the system forprolonged outages.

in allhonesty i havent worked it out completely but im awaiting the parts and im good at winging it lol

Build is lookin' awesome, as always ...
I'll suggest something that doesn't come up much on this site ...... but don't ever lose the key :smile:

http://www.leevalley.com/en/hardware...=3,41399,41403

Just a suggestion, but maybe it'll give you something to think about :wink:

that thing would annoy me having to look for them all the time as well i would have to attach bothside to open wheni can just press a button to open. i do realise the risk but the risk over wieghs the possiblity of the girls getting hurt and the look im hoping to achieve. not to mention i like gadgets.

ps i neverhave wo worry bout lost keys magnetic or otherwise :) hence the name if i can break into a bank(yes they asked me to) then i can get into thetank. there will be a third safeguard. that ive thought of since posting

Well then, make your own secret panel, Mr Smartypants :razz:

I look forward to what you come up with, but it better be something stellar now as you've just set the bar ....

Locksmith, Craftsman ....

:mrgreen::mrgreen::mrgreen::mrgreen::mrgreen:

Its not secret I just posted it lol but I have built secret compartments for ppl



Sent from a pineapple under the sea...

Better be secret from the Twins at least :razz:

from what i understand the controler has a keypad lock so it should be a ok

I'm not sure what type of keypad you're thinking of, if it's battery operated, make sure you change them regularly. We had one on our front door because the kids kept losing house keys, batteries died while we were in Vegas, parents had my keys, it was -30 when we got home at 1 am and our ride had left. Locked out. My brilliant boyfriend didn't want to wait for a locksmith so he kicked in the door.....

ah yes the battery operated door locks are a pain i avoid installing them on ppls homes. but can be handy. the system im puttingon the stand isnt operated by the battery but 12v power the battery is for backup power only the controller itself has a keypad lockonitfor sticky fingers so that ppl cant mess with the programming by accident

so finished up the framing on the stand then i figured it would be a great idea to test the sump under the stand for fit.....the sump is too @#$%%%# tall lol oops. it can still work just not a whole lotta room for working in and the skimmer will need a bit of strategic manouvering to get in. but at least the sump will set in place. i wont be upgrading the skimmer any time soon unless its external.

i may rework the bottom of the stand to add some height tho. if there is a will there is a way just means the tank will sit higher up. i forsee a step stool in my future. ir maybe investin some elevator shoes lol

I think a pair of Gene Simmons-esque boots would be stylin!......I feel for ya tho.....my first sump was made from a 55g tank that was 18" tall and it was a PITA to work in....so much so that I ended up having a custom sump made that was lower and wider.....made things much easier for working in the sump....

I don't think ill rock the boots but its a thought... At this point for another 10 bucks in 2x6 ill remove the bottom of the stand and stretch it a couple inches and that will give me enough room to easily remove sump. Or just use a sheet of 3/4 as base on the bottom and remove the 2x6 I have now and it will drop it enough ill have to try it tonight.

Sent from a pineapple under the sea...

stand reworked... i now have enough clearance.. yeah!!! but i think i chipped the corner of my sump oops... whats a tank build with out a few oops's.. they say it comes in threes so i need one more then im done. lets hope its before i try and lift the tank myself onto the stand. heheh.

im hopeing to find time to pick up the raw maple and plywood tomorrow... thanks to a customer whom is too kind :) may get my ph probe i got for 19 bucks from hong kong my koralia 750's and my orp module for the apex. which reminds me id better check ups to make sure they are shipping it to the right place.. oh yes and the rock wall is complete here is a pic of it together minus the frontal rockwork too lazy toset in place for the pic

http://i998.photobucket.com/albums/a...k/100_6660.jpg

soooo not going to get alot of sleep tonight, free time willing, im moving the 90 to its temporary location in our kitchen. i hope there is minimal problems andthat the wife and i can accomplish this task without tipping the tank over. or stressing the fish too much. realy stresses me out but here it needs to be done. but once its in place it wont be long before the new tank is in place. after tank move painting varnishing and preping the stand the rest of the weekend

did i mention i am stressing lol hopefully happy pics of the move tomorrow

Hope it's going well