My Reefing Journey/Build (Plenty of Pics)

[IridescentLily]

Originally posted by will16
The town bully

Goodness. That's the most gorgeous creature I've ever seen in my life.

[spleify]

Will, everything looks really good!!
It's great to see you are finally able to do a "build thread"!!

Where did you get the fan control, for you're cooling fans? I also have 4 in my canopy, and two in my sump, but they are just plugged in. I would love to be able to conrtol then like you have it set up.

Thanks for sharing you're build with us

Spleify

[will16]

Originally posted by tomtoothdoc


hmmm...that looks kinda familiar there...lol. i don't suppose i'll be getting that back.

When you pry it from my cold dead hands

I am "holding" this piece for Tom

[will16]

Originally posted by OwNeD162

Very good !
That is what I shall resort to after testing mine, lol...
Cheers

A LOT of towels

[will16]

Originally posted by IridescentLily
Goodness. That's the most gorgeous creature I've ever seen in my life.

My poor goby doesn't think so

[will16]

Originally posted by spleify
Will, everything looks really good!!
It's great to see you are finally able to do a "build thread"!!

Where did you get the fan control, for you're cooling fans? I also have 4 in my canopy, and two in my sump, but they are just plugged in. I would love to be able to conrtol then like you have it set up.

Thanks for sharing you're build with us

Spleify

Thanks! Here you go...

http://www.frozencpu.com/products/59..._IXA-FCEX.html

Works great.

[will16]

Moving day.

Water ready to go


Living room cleared out. Old tank emptied.


Livestock


Believe it or not, there are 7 fish in there.

[will16]

[will16]

As with anything else, everything took much longer than originally thought. Had some plumbing issues. My friends made a run for plumbing parts. All told I think we were at it for maybe 11 hours?

Everything finally in and running.


Unfortunately there were a few casualties from the move. 1 cleaner shrimp and a coral beauty .

[will16]

Few shots the first night with the sand still settling

[will16]

Morning after

[crvz]

A chore of a transfer, but well done. Really cool night shots.

[will16]

Thanks.

Now for a butt load of more recent shots

[will16]

[will16]

[will16]

[will16]

[puttyman]

Originally posted by will16
heh.. this is the one part I cheezed out on (thanks for pointing it out ). I had the doors made for me . Honestly at that point the build was taking its toll on me. I had priced out what it would cost to buy all the tools I would need to make raised panel doors and it was actually a little cheaper to just order them. It was too easy and I did.

I do regret it now since I have a few friends that I am helping them to build their stands and could have used the tools to make doors for them too.

Great build thread, really informative. I have built a stand frame just like yours, I assume you used the template from rocketenginer's thread as well.? I have about as much room in the area I'm building my stand as well and I can feel you on the jigsaw puzzle part. I was wondering what tools you looked at buying for building the doors. I have been going the buy the tools route, so far I have bought a used table saw and a miter saw.

Also, what kind of luck did you have buying the pre dimensioned wood? Did you get it from HD or the like? A lot of the boards I look at there are twisted, bowed, cupped etc. I am trying not to buy a joiner and planer. I think I'm going to end up with a lot of cool power tools and no money left for rock and corals, lol.

Again, awesome build thread and beautiful tank!

[will16]

Thanks. Yes I used rocketengineer's plans. Most practical. The table saw and miter saw are a must. I also have a router table that was handy. To make the raised panel doors, I was going to buy the rail and stile bits as well as the raised panel bit for the blanks and make them on the router table. Also I wanted to use the blum concealed hinges so would need the boring template and bits to do that. I was also going to get a clamping system to get it together properly.

I did purchase all of my wood from HD. You are correct. A lot of their lumber is not exactly straight. You have to be real careful in selecting boards. Check them from all sides. Also there are different grades of wood. Their cheap pine boards are terrible. The sanded 4 sides are much better. I found that the other species were typically better. I went with poplar and had an easier time selecting boards. I did not use a planer or jointer (wish I had the room for those thought ) If you can not find good pieces there, you may want to check out a lumber yard/supply.

No matter what you do, you will never have every piece of wood straight and true. You always have to do a little manipulating. Clamps are a must. The more the better.

Other tools that I used that were real handy:
pocket screw jig (for concealing the screws)
power sander (You do not want to do it all by hand!)
nail gun
countersink drill bit
biscuit cutter (for joining wood to make wider boards. Used that for the top of the canopy where I needed a 14" wide board.)
Plunge router
Clamps Clamps Clamps!

Good Luck!

[will16]

Oh and also, different Home Depots apparently carry different things. There area 2 near me that pretty much carry the same things. I stopped by a different one a little further away and they had a lot more stuff. They had maple boards (the others only had pine, poplar and oak) and 2 x stock in all species (that's cool!). Look around.

[footbagger311]

Did you take those night shots with LED moonlights?

[will16]

Originally posted by footbagger311
Did you take those night shots with LED moonlights?

Yes. LED's and cloudy water makes some cool effects

[footbagger311]

I can't wait to order some again for my tank. I'll just have to pick up some that I found at this store in Chicago.

[will16]

[will16]