jthao's 180g tank build journey

[jthao]

So here I go again. I started a 210g build a few months ago, but never accomplished it, and gave up. It was due to lack of time and money. I'm a college student, who's unemployed and so money is tight. But here I go with my 180g. Why did I choose the 180? The dimensions of the two tanks are similar, 6x2x2, and the 210 is 6x2x2.5. So I wanted to stay with the 6' length; I tried getting another 210g, but I couldn't find any that will fit my budget. (I sold my AGA 210 for almost nothing, I regret it now.) Anyways, So I found a 180g acrylic tank that was used for freshwater, no overflows, no holes drilled, also no live rocks=less scratches. The stand was nothing to what I want, so I pretty much trashed it. I have a few pieces of equipment that I saved in case this would happen (wanting another big tank), and also most of the equipment I got, I took around 2 months getting it here and there trying to get a good deal on it. (I'm not cheap, just broke.) So here is what I have so far:

180g acrylic tank with blue back
75g AGA glass tank for sump/fuge
Euro reef cs8-3 (30" I can't find a stand to fit this in, the reason for building my own stand)
om 4 way (closed loop)
sequence dart (closed loop)
iwaki 40rxt (return, or closed loop #2 maybe?)
2 x 3/4" seaswirls (on return maybe, or closed loop #2)
mag 9.5, mag 12, and mag 18 (I didn't know which one to use for return, so I wanted to try all three.)

I haven't set my mind yet on plumbing. I need some help/ advice. I don't want any powerheads inside of the tank. So closed loop is for sure. I just don't know if I should run two closed loop plus return, or just one closed loop. I'm thinking about one closed loop continuously through the bottom, three 1/2" holes, and one closed loop with om4way from the top, then seaswirls on return. does this sound like a good plan?? I don't want any drilling through the back because I want the tank to sit up against the wall as close as possible. I will be building the overflows into the tank later this week. So far I just have the stand done. Any suggestions on plumbing/ flow for the tank? Any suggestions on anything, plss comment. thanks in advance.

oh yeah, just a little background: I used to have a 100g reef tank running for about a year, and broke that down to do the 210g build, but that didn't turn out the way I envisioned.

[jthao]

So for the weekend I built the stand. I don't know how to build one, nor did I ever build one before. So after reading some stuff on DIY stands, and looking at pictures, I decided to go for it. I used all 2x4s. here's some progress pics




Here's the finished stand, without the plywood on top/bottom yet.


Here's the tank on top of the stand.

[SEAN888]

it's looking good, do you think it needs a bit more reinforcement? or are you yet to do that?

[jthao]

well, the two back center 2x4s have another 2x4 each along the back side. the front one has another 2x4 in the inside. so that's a 4x4 in the middle front, and two 4x4 in the back center. and all 2x4 around the edges. under the tank/plywood I have 2x4s going from front to back, and on the bottom piece I will have 2x4s going from front to back. is this strong enough to suppost the 180g?? I don't know for sure, any comments would help. so 10 2x4s as supports, one 2x4 each in each corner and 4 in the middle back and 2 in the middle front. let me know if anyone knows if this will hold. thanks

[swsmr]

I think you should go with 2 closed loops, use the sequence dart on the bottom pushing the water up toward the overflow boxes and the mag 18 on the back to circulate the water behind and under the rocks,

[kaiser]

Looks like a good start. I would do some more bracing on the stand. Adding plywood on both sides will help.

[jthao]

yeah, I was thinking two closed loop and then the seaswirls on the return should be enough flow without using powerheads. do you guys think that I should use the om through the bottom, or on the closed loop through the back? does anyone know if my stand will be strong enough? I just want some reassurance, because I'm scared of my stand breaking apart. keep the comments coming.

Oh yeah, so here's my plan for the stand covers and canopy. I want the actual stand to be in place, but the front/sides of the stand to be able to slide in and out to make maintenance a little easier. I'll get pics of that construction up as soon as I can figure out how to do it.

[jthao]

here's some pics of my equipment:

here's the tank:


here's the skimmer: (I'm thinking about doing a recirc mod on it)


here's the om4way, seaswirls, and the two pumps that I'm planning to run:

[jthao]

oh yeah, here's a pic of my b/w ocellaris, isn't she cute (she even has lipstick on!)

[jthao]

nobody wanna comment huh?? how bout any critique?

[sniggir]

looks good accept for as mentioned the renforcing of your stand... man I wish I had this cash as a student1... lo J/k

[jthao]

I'm pretty broke, it's just that I'm addicted to this hobby, I tried quiting, but look what happened, I slipped and here I am again. It's like drugs or something, I can't stop myself from spending all my money towards my tank.

As far as re-enforcing my stand goes, any suggestions? details on how I should re-enforce my stand to make it stronger.

[SEAN888]

Well you could add small corner braces at the front and a cross brace at the back or just add some more wood to each leg. I am NO expert though. It's looking great btw.

[cy88]

Tagging along! I always admire the people that can do DIY (like your stand), as I am a sucker in DIY's..

Originally posted by jthao
nobody wanna comment huh?? how bout any critique?

Good luck with that. Everyone is so focus with NanoGurl's thread - http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh...readid=1310238 (you can guess the reason), no other "new-tank-thread" would the same attention.

I soon probably going to give up updating my own thread since no one respond.

[jjakes24]

Originally posted by jthao
So for the weekend I built the stand. I don't know how to build one, nor did I ever build one before. So after reading some stuff on DIY stands, and looking at pictures, I decided to go for it. I used all 2x4s. here's some progress pics




Here's the finished stand, without the plywood on top/bottom yet.


Here's the tank on top of the stand.

Add a couple 2x4's in the corners and you'll be fine. The weight on the tanks will transfer through these 2x4's to the floor. Each corner should have two 2x4's butted up against each other in sort of an L shape so the can support each header (the side and front) if this is making any sense. After that, all you would need to do is dress it in 1/4" plywood just for covering. I just built one for my 120 and it could hold twice the weight. I used 2x6's for the headers but also didn't want to use a center support bar. I could of gotten away with 2x4's.

[jthao]

jakes24: what size board would you recommend for the top piece where the tank will sit on? I got some 3/4" plywood, the nice smooth kind. but don't know if this will hold, do I need 1" plywood?

cy88: thanks for the comments, and for at least taking the time check my thread out. I've been on here for quite a while, I've seen a lot of people's threads and have always seen people give comments. But I'm a little disappointed that no one is really checking out my thread/ giving me some pointers. I'm feeling like this is a waste of my time, and maybe I'll just stop posting my tank build progress. I mean, look at all the comments, I posted most of them!! This site is great because it has a lot of info, and a lot of people that are very knowledgeable, but so far with my thread it's not doing good.
Does anyone know how to make a thread good? Get more people to chime in? I'm posting a lot of pics, but it's not working. I'm also updating often, and giving a lot of details, but still not working.

Sean888: thanks, keep checking out my progress and give me your opinion, cuss that will help me out to make decisions on things.

[Mr..Tang]

My God man, its only been a day!!! Give people a chance to goto their job, earn money and during breaks from the real world, check out RC.

Man, I miss the college years

[jthao]

so here's my stand and canopy idea: it's going to be a two piece, duh, but not a normal stand and canopy. First there's the stand where the tank sits on. then there's going to be a stand cover, the front and sides of the stand, but it's only a cover that can slide in and out. Then the canopy will sit on the stand cover, and can also slide out. the stand cover is going to cover the whole tank, not just the stand. Kind of like a picture frame around the tank. I'll show pics when I'm done, kinda hard to explain.

In the mean time, can anyone share their om4way or any om set ups? I don't know how I should do mines. Also show some closed loop systems, I need some ideas as well. or just post some pics up of your tank plumbing, that'll give me some ideas. thanks in advance.

[jthao]

Job?? I wonder what that feels like...... if it's fun I might just get one.

[sniggir]

lol... naw when you are done school we will just come work for you!

[jjakes24]

Well, I didn't use any plywood for the top but I have a glass tank so all the weight rests on its edges. I don't think it is the same for acrylic so you would need a plywood top. I think if you get 3/4 ply for the top and then add a 1/2 to 3/4 foam on top of that to take in any imperfections to distribute the weight evenly along the bottom, you should be fine. Just make sure you have 2x4's 16" off center along the top to support it. It looks like you already have that from your pictures though.

[jthao]

ok haven't updated in a while. so the stand is done, working on the stand cover this weekend. also I'm working on the tank itself. So I'm stuck right now. the tank don't have overflow. I'm debating building triangular overflow box in the back corners, with 1" holes on the bottom, or should I just do an external overflow box in the middle back, which I will have to put notches in the middle back of the tank. I think the external will be nicer because it's not viewable from the front. What do you guys think?

[Mr..Tang]

anytime you can do it without seeing it, that would be the way to go. but if you use an external overflow don't go the siphon route. go the custom route. you would need to check out some custom builds to get a better idea of what I'm talking about

[jthao]

yeah, I was thinking that the external built into the back would be good. I would need to put notches in the back of the tank itself, then that will drain into the box that is glued/weld on in the back of the tank, then the box in the back will have two 1" holes in the bottom which drains into the sump/fuge.

[jthao]

so I've asked once, but I'll ask again: anyone care to help me out by posting pics of their plumbing, especially closed loops? Or shoot me links to closed loop plumbings? Also I wanna see some custom external overflow boxes, that'll be very helpful. thanks