lastlight's 225
 

Well this one's going to be slow. The wife prefers me to pay the bills and keep our daughter happy so I'll build my new reef on the scraps she tosses me I guess!

Here's what I had planned:

- 225 gallon tank (72x30x24, all 1/2" except 3/4" bottom, black silicone, 3 sides starfire, eurobraced, black plexi back, external overflow)
- Sump (dimensions unknown right now)
- (3) 250w mh in Luminarc III's
- (4) 39w t5 supplementation
- Bubble King 250 Supermarine
- Geo 618 calcium reactor
- Geo Kalkwasser reactor
- (2) Eheim 1262 returns, each feeding a seperate manifold on top of the tank
- (2) Tunze 6101 Streams
- (1) Tunze Wavebox (This is a maybe if I feel brave)
- Profilux controller

Here's what I have actually done to date:

- 225 gallon tank (72x30x24, all 1/2" except 5/8" bottom, black silicone, no starfire, eurobraced, black painted back, external overflow)
- Sump, fuge and water change reservoir
- Sfiligoi Stealth 12x80W
- Bubble King 250 Supermarine
- Dart Gold feeding a seperate manifold on top of the tank
- (1) Tunze 6101 Stream, (2) Tunze 6100 Stream
- Tunze 7095 Multicontroller
- Tunze Osmolator
- Ranco dual-stage temperature controller
- Approx 150lbs dry rock
- Approx 100lbs sand (thanks Coleus)
- 4 stage ro/di (thanks Snappy)

Sunday was my first bit of progress on the build. I went and picked up a bunch of 2x4's, wood glue, 3/4" plywood for the top and bottom, 5/8" plywood for the sides and a whole schwack of screws.

First step was to build the bottom. I assembled the basic bottom frame and then attached it to the 72x30 3/4" bottom to square it up. Every part of the stand is glued and screwed.

http://www.fishbrains.net/images/bui...t-02-46-53.jpg

Next I attached the verticals bits that help align the top frame.


http://www.fishbrains.net/images/bui...t-05-00-53.jpg

Here you can see the top frame which is the same as the bottom one.

http://www.fishbrains.net/images/bui...t-05-01-08.jpg

I temporarily pegged the top frame up before I cut and installed the other vertical 2x4's.

http://www.fishbrains.net/images/bui...t-05-50-37.jpg

There are 2 additional 2x4's pinned around each of the corners. These are the ones actually bearing all the weight. No screws are under load. The weight is on the top frame, then onto the 8 2x4's and then onto the bottom framework. The first 4 2x4's merely serve to help me get the load-bearing ones on straight etc. Things are leveled up by adjusting the height of each corner individually on the 4 guide posts. My floor was not totally level so this fixed that nicely.

http://www.fishbrains.net/images/bui...t-09-27-21.jpg

http://www.fishbrains.net/images/bui...t-09-29-05.jpg

http://www.fishbrains.net/images/bui...t-09-29-22.jpg

Next I cut and put in the floor of the stand.

http://www.fishbrains.net/images/bui...t-10-44-25.jpg

After the floor was in I added extra vertical bracing. Two in the front and one in back. The front ones are spaced as close as possible to allow a 4 foot sump to be pushed in straight.

http://www.fishbrains.net/images/bui...t-11-15-46.jpg

The 3/4" top goes on.

http://www.fishbrains.net/images/bui...t-11-52-02.jpg

And here's two views of where I finished at tonight. The 5/8" sides have been put on. These prevent the stand from moving from front to back. A front will also be put on to prevent shifting in the other direction. I can run at this thing and it budges not a hair.

http://www.fishbrains.net/images/bui...t-13-07-26.jpg

http://www.fishbrains.net/images/bui...t-13-08-27.jpg

Well that's a wrap. Not bad for a 'lazy' Sunday afternoon!

Looks good.

Do you use that fireplace a lot?

Looking good so far. Looks like you found the perfect spot for the tank, but like he's indicating above, watch the use of that fireplace for heat.

Very nice stand is very similar to the one I just built and setup

http://http://www.saskreef.ca/forums...?threadid=5263

Nice build! I love the picture on the wall too!

Looks great.. Look forward to seeing it come together!

Great start.

Building the Reef on the scraps she tosses you looks like it will be top of the line. That equipment list is an impressive start.

Tom R

We moved into the house in Feb and haven't even turned it on to burn the nasty film off the glass yet. We rarely used our last one either so I'm safe there.

Hey thanks! Im actually selling prints of that if you're *really* interested. Man that was shameless.

Hey everyone starts out ambitiously! I'm sure that list will change when I realize it's going to take me 10 years to get it all together hehe. My wife is actually really excited to have a tank in the house again and she's going to disneyland after waiting her whole life so I plan to leverage that after!

The wave box would be very cool! Go for it!

are you planning on having a removable brace in the front. thats a long stretch with a lot of weight on just a 2x4.

There is a 4 foot span across that opening. I'd really LIKE to put a vertical brace there...it just makes access difficult. Any other opinions on this? I might remove those two front braces and replace them with 1 inn the center and just deal with it. With an opening that's around 30" on each side I might be able to get a sump in there later I'm not sure. I wish I had the sump to test that.

What about this idea: I trim those front two supports shorter and insert another horizontal 2x4 on top of them spanning all the way across the front. So the front would realy be 2x8. Extending this idea to span that horizontal 2x4 across the actual corners would be nice but it's all glued and would be a real chore to rip apart...

Sure I would be interested! :) PM me with a price if you could. I didn't know you were an artists, I'd be interedt to see some of your other work too.

Cool stuff. :)

You could always double-up a 2x6 or 2x8 in behind the front beam maybe if you wanted to keep the area brace free.. I built the stand for my 280g using a 2x6 and a 2x8 doubled up to cover the span and when I had water in the tank I measured for any signs of deflection and could not find anything even after 2 months. I'm not a structural engineer though so I'm not sure if there's a better criteria.

At this point I think what I will do is simply make the center opening narrower. It's a little over 4 feet wide as it is but I'm not sure why i wanted to be able to push a 4 foot sump straight in. If i make that gap say 3 feet wide instead i can still slide the sump in and I don't think a 3 foot gap would be trouble at all.

Don't really see any reason why that wouldn't work either. :)

What do ppl here recommend for a sump? I was thinking a 75 gallon or something. That would be 1.5 feet wide and 4 long. Think i could fit that in there through a 2.5 foot opening given the stand's front to back width of 2.5 feet?

I think I need to rig a cardboard tank and test that one out lol...

So I decided to play it safe and moved the support to the middle. I also added a bit of support to both middles. I should still be able to fit a 72 gallon inside I think.

http://www.fishbrains.net/images/build/DSC_0001.jpg

http://www.fishbrains.net/images/build/DSC_0002.jpg

Probably a good idea on the center brace. Your sump will just have to be a little taller to make up for the length that you can't get in there.

I believe that you screwed the plywood ends on? Maybe you could just unscrew the plywood from one end and slide the sump right in from one end. Then just screw the ply back in place.

maybe have a door on the side so you could put a sump in that way

hey untamed your idea wasnt there when I posted my idea,I swear ,I swear
but a door can be used more than once .If ya like

How about a door on EACH end to make both of you happy?

The sides are screwed and glued. I doubt I could remove them at this point. I'd prefer to only be able to use a sump I can fully remove later if need be. Not sure the need would ever arise but like you said I can go with a taller one. I should have plenty of room as I don't think I'll run a refuge. I have a feeling that any useful fuge needs to be bigger than what I have space for in there.

I had considered placing one on a shelf in the stand. I do have a lot of height to play with. The innner height of the stand is more than 3 feet!

Don't discount the benefit of a fuge. As for size...how is it that CPR can sell a hang on fuge (not big at all) if size/volume is so important? The important part is for the nutrient export and for the opportunity for pods to safely reproduce.

This is just my opinion but I know my numbers got better when I added my small fuge with my sump.

I was reading an article by Eric Borneman in which he said for any significant nutrient export the volume of the fuge would need to be as large or larger than the display to be of great significance. The majority of the same export would happen in the display anyways.

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2003-12/eb/index.php

Myth 13 discusses this.

I do see the benefit as far as pods etc but I'm not sure how many make it alive into the display from an in-stand fuge after passing through a pump. I likely will have one because every little bit counts and it will up my total volume and stability.

Are you thinking about running zeovit on this tank? If so a fuge would actually do more harm than good.

A few weeks ago I was actually just planning a 90 cube and intended to use Zeo. With a tank this size I don't want to put that much money out monthly just yet I don't think so initially I won't be. I think having a great skimmer and doing reguar water changes will take me far.

My main reason for wanting to run Zeovit was algae-related. My last tank was choked by the stuff and it frustrated me to no end. I've learned a few things and also plan to use supplemental lighting this time. I found I was running the halides way too long because I wanted to watch my tank all the time. This will allow me to view the tank longer and hit it with intense light for maybe 6 or 7 hrs a day. If I find myself battling algae again I'll reconsider Zeovit.

Not a whole lot different as far as my build goes. I've been busy getting the stand ready for the tank which should be in my hands sometime next week.

This is the completed stand with 3 coats of melamine and all cracks and bottom joints sealed with silicone. You can barely see the 1" drain opening in the back right. The idea is that any mishaps drain directly to the basement thus avoiding the wife's wrath. The stand can hold around 2" of water itself. I will perform water changes by opening a valve that feed a 1/2" pipe hovering just over the 1" drain hole.

http://www.fishbrains.net/images/build/DSC_0382.jpg

Better look at the swissboard backing. The smaller holes are for letting heat out of the back while keeping my cats out of the stand. The large openings are to allow the drain lines to feed the sump. I imagine I might end up using a few of the vent holes as well for running pipes.

http://www.fishbrains.net/images/build/DSC_0383.jpg

A look behind the stand which is set to allow for 6" deep external overflow. I'm not exactly sure what size the overflow will be but I can slide the stand to give me anywhere between 4" and 10" so I have my bases covered.

http://www.fishbrains.net/images/build/DSC_0385.jpg

Looking great so far! Good thinking on the drain.

Tagging along, looks promising and for sure a good tank journal!


Stanley,

just a noob giving his two cents worth but if your wanting to be able to remove the sumps for some reason why don't you run two connected with a 2 inch pipe for leveling purposes that's what i did and i have a refugium in one sump and in the other i have the mixing chamber and the protein skimmer chamber and i still have room for a 22 watt lifeguard UV sterilizer on the end

also another idea is to run an external protein skimmer that way you don't hasve to worry about a skimmer section in your sump and just run it in you water out line that way you can have a bigger fuge which i would never go without and still havew alots of room for other things like calcium reactors ATO section mixing chamber and other things.

PS: i have a tank with the exact dimensions of yours and mines a perfecto corner overflow i don't know what yours is but i run the same dimensions and i run two sumps connected with some pvc

Thanks for the input =)

My plan is to have a sump on the left to hold my skimmer, heaters and pumps and two seperate tanks on the right. One will be the fuge and the other will be my ATO reservoir and my new SW mixing tank.

This sounds similar to what you're talking about. Do you have a thread?

no but i should start one on the build of my tank unfortunately back when i started my tank al i had access to was two megaflow 3 sumps but im going to build my own sumps once i get a router and acrylic because iver done it before but i had it under my 90 gallon and i sold it when i switched the ninety over to freshwater i will start a thread on my tank build

Look forward to it!

And holy cow...say what you just wrote in one breath lol...

i have big lungs lol i have no time for punctuation

You can barely see the 1" drain opening in the back right. The idea is that any mishaps drain directly to the basement.

Just wondering, Is your tank located on a upper floor with a basement under. Thinking about the weight of the tank.

yes the tank is in my main floor livingroom.

I had the builder pour an 8 x 3 concrete footing in the earth and change the two 2x10 laminated beams to FIVE 2 x 14 laminated beams. I then added my own jackposts on top of the footing about 2.5 feet from the beams. so my tank is supported directly under the front and back.

I had the engineers re-enforce for a 500 gallon tank as overkill. In the end the footing was not needed so I added jackposts to add more stability so the footing would not be wasted.

Here's the footing:

http://www.fishbrains.net/images/build/footing.jpg

Here's the beams:

http://www.fishbrains.net/images/build/beams.jpg

This will be a cool tank, I helped setup a display tank at Bayside Corals here in Saskatoon. Very similar, same dimensions, controller, tunze setup, uses BK skimmer and so on. Only picture I have is after initial setup, if you're in the city sometime you should check it out. Super nice tank with all the goodies we all can only dream about.

http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r...s/display2.jpg