Steelerfan's 120g construction & set-up. (Yes I know, another 120)

[theatrus]

Your stand is about 10x better finished then mine. I have literally a bunch of 4x4s and 2x4s and some cross braces, and then got too much into the tank to care about the stand

[STEELERFAN747]

Well, here are a couple of pics of the right side of the stand. I was able to finish this side atleast.







Everything is starting to move along, hopefully I will be able to finish the left side by Monday at the latest and then I can get started on the canopy.

Right now I'm trying to get this done as quickly as possible as i need to sand down the stand once all moldings are affixed, then I will put one final layer adorning the top trim and then make all preperations to start the staining process.

[STEELERFAN747]

Originally posted by theatrus
Your stand is about 10x better finished then mine. I have literally a bunch of 4x4s and 2x4s and some cross braces, and then got too much into the tank to care about the stand

Thanks theatrus, I appreciate that and may I say your display looks great and the zoos are awesome.

[Zoos]

Hey Ray, everything looks good. by the way let me know when you're bringing me the tank/sump, so we can start working on it.

Felix.

[STEELERFAN747]

Well, after taking Sunday off to go to the Florida keys (Key West) I was back at work, bright and early.

Here is the left side completed.



With that completion, I was able to go on to something else. I went on to working on the interior flooring.




It was a bit of a pain having to cut all the different angles with the jigsaw but all and all, I was happy with the results.

[A\/enger]

tagging on. Looking to set up a 120 soon.

[STEELERFAN747]

Well here is the first picture of the tank on the stand.










O.k. so i am just kidding, that was actually a 50g breeder which I plan on using as my sump/refugium.

Behind the wall where my tank is going, is the kitchen and here in Florida we are not even lucky enough to have basements.

I wish I had a seperate room (like some of you) where I could store all my equipment, but I am just not that lucky.
Unfortunantly all my equipment has to go underneath the stand so a 50g was the largest tank I could fit


Here is a picture of the skimmer inside the sump. There was no actual reason for this except I really just wanted to see what it would look like. (couldnt help it)


Now here is a picture of the sump in it's natural habitat.




Not only did I want to see what it would look like, but I also wanted to make sure it would fit. (the sump is 36" long and I have a 32 1/4" opening)

I was able to breath a sigh of relief once I saw that it fit.


Heres a couple of pics showing the sump and pump.






Now, since the sump and pump take up most of the space, I wanted to make sure I would have some room to store chemicals etc...

[STEELERFAN747]

I was glad to see that I had a molding left over. (every little bit helps)




Actually, I had to go return it and pick up a different on that I had run out of. (so all and all, it worked out)


Well, I have gotten to the point where I can no longer work on the stand (except for sanding, which I will do later) I am wating for the doors (which should be about a week more) and I need to get the wood which will adorn the top rim.

Now, I have run in to a little problem.

I initially took measurements of my current tanks black upper and lower trim and made all needed arrangements for that same size rim.

I have recently measured the new tanks rim and have found it to be 1/4" taller, which means my measurements are off and now I have to find 1" maple instead of 3/4" for the top layer.


Well, on we go to the canopy.....




Here's a pic showing the same moldings present on the stand.

[STEELERFAN747]

Now, I was a little bit disapointed to see that a couple of the pieces on the canopy where a different color shade. (I hope that will not be evident once it is stained)




Here we see the canopy with both side molding inserts installed.

I was thankful to get to this point, taking into consideration all the distractions I had today. (picking up my son from school, running to the store, Mcdonalds and Lowes to pick-up the extra molding)


And here is the canopy on top of the stand. Although the front face is not ready (still needs additional moldings), I wanted to see what it would look like together.




Well, thats all for today. I will try and post again soon, although now it will be a little bit slower since my next day off is not until Sunday.

[Icehockey_whino]

I know that I'm probably being redundant, But are you using 3/4" or 1/2" for the main body of your canopy? I 'm starting to make a new canopy for my 55g reef this weekend. I'm up grading to MHs and redoing things so I have better ventilation and access to the tank.

By the way you must have some good background in woodworking. The tank stand looks fantastic. The trim work is phenomenol. Th eonly reason I'm tackling the canopy myself is that my grandfather was a furniture builder so I kind of grew up in his shop.

Can't wait to see the finished project!!

[STEELERFAN747]

Originally posted by Icehockey_whino
I know that I'm probably being redundant, But are you using 3/4" or 1/2" for the main body of your canopy? I 'm starting to make a new canopy for my 55g reef this weekend. I'm up grading to MHs and redoing things so I have better ventilation and access to the tank.

By the way you must have some good background in woodworking. The tank stand looks fantastic. The trim work is phenomenol. Th eonly reason I'm tackling the canopy myself is that my grandfather was a furniture builder so I kind of grew up in his shop.

Can't wait to see the finished project!!

Hey, thanks for the compliment, I am using 3/4" all around.
I had very little experience in woodworking, but the person whos design I borrowed gave a huge step by step so I was able to piece things together from all the pictures and a couple of questions I asked him.

As for the ventilation (also in his design, I will go with an open back and top. ) There will just be 3-4" strips holding everything together. I have mh's as well so I know heat can be an issue.

I will try and post some additional pics of the canopies progress soon to give you a better idea of what I'm talking about, so keep checking back.

[STEELERFAN747]

Well, I went to pick-up may tank yesterday and unfortunantly it came in wrong.

I initially wanted just one overflow on the left side, but was told that on the 120g it would be a special order and that it would be more expensive (I think the owner was just blowing smoke up my ***) so I went with 2 corner overflows.

When I went to pick it up I noticed the tank had 2 rear megaflows, (not to put anyone down but, I just dont like the mega flows. I find they take up too much space) so the owner told me she would re-order it for me.

Today I received a call telling me all they had avaliable was a single overflow and now it seems it would be the same price (things that make you go hhmmmm)

Well, it looks like I will end up with what I originaly wanted. So thats good.

Will post pics once I receive it.

[STEELERFAN747]

Well, I found something that not only is quite interesting but for those trying to cut costs, it will save you some money.

I initially wanted to make my stand & canopy out of solid maple, but when I started to price everything out, I decided to go with maple plywood just to cut costs.

Now this is fine except that if you have ever seen plywood, you know the end grain is not to nice to look at....





Not only are all those layers unsightly but the staining process will never look the same.
What to do, what to do???????????

Well I happened to find this at Lowes and decided to try it out...



It states it is a real wood veneer that comes with glue on one side and is meant to be ironed on.

I started to apply it and was really impressed.

Here is the first strip I applied, you could see the difference it makes. At $5.00 and change you cannot go wrong, and the best part is, it should stain identicaly....




and here is one section completed...




It looks like I will be busy applying these to all end grains and the neat thing is it comes made for 3/4" wood.

Will post additional pics when done with this process......

[STEELERFAN747]

Well I happened to find this at Lowes and decided to try it out...



It states it is a real wood veneer that comes with glue on one side and is meant to be ironed on.

I started to apply it and was really impressed.

Here is the first strip I applied, you could see the difference it makes. At $5.00 and change you cannot go wrong, and the best part is, it should stain identicaly....


My mistake, it actualy $6.00 and change....

[HolyScoly]

rey u also could have gone with a 65 g now that i think about it its just alittle higher hmmmmm think u should go return that 50 to martha maybe shell give u a good deal vasaline at no extra charge.lol

[dodgersfan25]

thats one hell of a stand!

[clekchau]

holy crap that is beautifullllll

[exoticaquatix]

did you order your 120 custom made directly from the manufacturer or did the wholesaler have them? what brand did you go with? i have a connection to get a 120 wholesale but all-glass and oceanic are my only options. great looking stand, wish i had the time, money, tools and motivation to do the same!
-nick

[marino420td]

steelerfan- I just found this thread. Great job so far. I'm sure you are excited to be so close to finishing. It looks great. Keep us posted on the progress.

If you are on the same pace I was you should have water in the tank by about July. LOL.

[ZOKU]

I just found this thread, too.

Wow. What an amazing stand!! I'm really excited to see another 120-gal. being started...

Keep up the great work!!

[STEELERFAN747]

Originally posted by exoticaquatix
did you order your 120 custom made directly from the manufacturer or did the wholesaler have them? what brand did you go with? i have a connection to get a 120 wholesale but all-glass and oceanic are my only options. great looking stand, wish i had the time, money, tools and motivation to do the same!
-nick

Thanks, I appreciate the compliments and the tank is an AGA, hopefuly I should be picking it up tomorrow.

[STEELERFAN747]

Originally posted by marino420td
steelerfan- I just found this thread. Great job so far. I'm sure you are excited to be so close to finishing. It looks great. Keep us posted on the progress.

If you are on the same pace I was you should have water in the tank by about July. LOL.

Thanks Marino, I am quite excited with the way its coming out. I will try to post a few pics once I get the stand and once I have advanced a little more with the canopy.

[servicky]

Ya Know i do alot of reading on here and let me tell you This thread you doing here is very impressive great job on the stand as well I am doing a 150 for a customer and i might be doing the same thing.. Did you use software to spec this stand out and know your cuts or all on paper. If so i am interested in the complete construction on this stand any info would be awesome keep up the good work. Also you need to purchase a 70 tooth blade for your finish work. So you have all lazer sharp edjes on your trim... Keep the pics comming... I wait every day for new ones or info...

[STEELERFAN747]

Originally posted by servicky
Ya Know i do alot of reading on here and let me tell you This thread you doing here is very impressive great job on the stand as well I am doing a 150 for a customer and i might be doing the same thing.. Did you use software to spec this stand out and know your cuts or all on paper. If so i am interested in the complete construction on this stand any info would be awesome keep up the good work. Also you need to purchase a 70 tooth blade for your finish work. So you have all lazer sharp edjes on your trim... Keep the pics comming... I wait every day for new ones or info...

Thanks Servicky, I appreciate that.

No software was used, all measurements were done on paper before getting started. I appreciate the advice on the 70 tooth but I am almost cmpletely done with the moldings so I dont think investing in it now would be a great idea. I wish I'd known that sooner but I dont have any real experience building anything, but I will keep that in mind for future reference.

As far as info, let me know what you need, I will be more than happy to help in anyways possible.

[STEELERFAN747]

Just to keep you guys posted, I did not do much work on the stand today (My wife had a honey do list). I did however work a little bit on the canopy last night and I picked up the tank today.

I will try and post pics tomorrow.