Christy's 180 build

[christyf5]

man not even one sarcastic comment

More progress.

So this is the tank room, not the fish room but the nice relaxing spot to watch the tank.



Yeah theres a whole ikea kitchen in there. Thats also why the next photos suck so hard. Its hard to balance on various boxes while taking photos


Hmm, didn't take any photos of putting the paneling up. Oh well, imagine what its like putting paneling up, with swearwords and stuff.

Got the tank framed. This color we used in our bathroom and since we had a whole can I thought I'd try it on the frame. I didn't really like it. The frame is MDF and weighs a ton but it was only $2 a foot compared to the lovely other real woods I had picked out which were $20 a foot So the MDF is screwed into the wall and then wood puttied over the countersunk heads.



Then I went to the store and bought the color I originally wanted (it sucks buying those halfy cans of paint, they're so pricey!). Got the low VOC paint so I didn't have to turn off the skimmers.



So the original plan was to copy Dez's tank frame idea, it was perfect except for the fact that my tank is longer and we don't have an Ikea here (but mail order is fun, you should try it with a kitchen sometime!). However, my husband announced that he couldn't do the dowels so he wanted to use hinges to provide access. Of course that didn't work either because you can't lever up the pointy parts of the frame (they get really tight before they start to flip upwards). So we ended up having to make a couple of cutouts:



And the lid now louvers up via 4 hinges that allow the lid to be raised 170 degrees. Of course it weighs a ton so it doesn't stay up on its own. I gotta find a big stick somewhere.



So ya, thats about all that got done. Now I just need to get the light rack built and I can move stuff over

[Mrfish55]

Looking good, need to do something about the kinky hose on the wavy, and I would cover it to slow down algae growth, big difference with the panelling and trim. How are you making out with the light rack?

[christyf5]

Originally Posted by Mrfish55

Looking good, need to do something about the kinky hose on the wavy, and I would cover it to slow down algae growth, big difference with the panelling and trim. How are you making out with the light rack?

Yeah that kinky hose was just temporary to get the tank going. I'm going to replace it, likely with a piece of the same hose, unkinky and covered in electrical tape. Cuz thats how we roll here

My light rack builder is MIA, hopefully he emails me in the next few days or I'm gonna have to find me a pro-fessional.

[lastlight]

I'm not sure I am seeing this right. So you cut the corners off your frame? Why not mount a few full extension drawer slides vertically so the top frame piece slides up and out of your way?

[christyf5]

Originally Posted by lastlight

I'm not sure I am seeing this right. So you cut the corners off your frame? Why not mount a few full extension drawer slides vertically so the top frame piece slides up and out of your way?

Yeah apparently that wasn't an option. Unless its something I can buy ready made by myself, I just get what I get. This is what I got.

[Lance]

I really like the colours on the panels and trim. Very nice. You should be able to find some kind of heavy duty hinge to hold up the canopy lid. I don't like the stick idea: too easy to knock it loose and have the lid come crashing down on you or the tank.

[Dez]

Nice progress Christy. Just wondering on the same lines as Brett, are the corners that were cut out screwed and glued back in then, or are they gonna be permanently missing. Your husband didn't have to use dowels, he could've just used some nails.

I bet you're glad you have front access though right?

[christyf5]

The corners were cut out and are removeable. I have to remove them before I flip the lid up. Its really not a huge deal just annoying. The frame is painted dark enough (and the room has crappy lighting) so you don't really notice it.

I had suggested that we square off the edges in a more contemporary design having the top overlap only one of the sides and rest on the other (bloody hard to explain). IMO it would have looked better and been more functional but oh well, like I said, I get what I get.


Yeah the front access is nice, I wouldn't have gone this route if I couldn't have access to the front, the tank would have stuck out into the room in that case.

[Dez]

Originally Posted by christyf5

The corners were cut out and are removeable. I have to remove them before I flip the lid up. Its really not a huge deal just annoying. The frame is painted dark enough (and the room has crappy lighting) so you don't really notice it.

I had suggested that we square off the edges in a more contemporary design having the top overlap only one of the sides and rest on the other (bloody hard to explain). IMO it would have looked better and been more functional but oh well, like I said, I get what I get.


Yeah the front access is nice, I wouldn't have gone this route if I couldn't have access to the front, the tank would have stuck out into the room in that case.

You explained it well. I know exactly what you mean because I was going to do the same thing without mitres on the corners, just flat. I sort of illustrated it at the beginning of my tank journal. But I got what I got as well seeing that Ikea made it

Looking forward to seeing this reef grow!

[cygmark]

Aww that looks so good, i am going to get my tank soo, i ordered a 180 gallon with external baffels and a sump, can't wait to get some tips and tricks from ya , love it you did such a nice job!

Josh