Amanda's low budget 280 gal reef build

Chihuahua6 · 12/01/2008, 08:34 PM

Finally after four years of planning the tank is coming together.

Planning:
We built a house from the ground up and planned for an inwall tank. The hole was made in the wall and framed out. The tank would sit inside the large laundry room which is next to the family room and be flush with the family room wall.

Fish room/laundry room:
Built with: floor drain, three sun tubes, ceiling exhaust fan, 2 extra 20 amp circuits.

Tank:
It was supposed to be a custom acrylic 90" x 24 X 30" or something along those lines. After building the house way over budget we had nothing left for the tank. To make a long story short two years later I found a cheap used acrylic tank here on RC. I ended up getting it for free. The tank measures 75 x 30 x 29, about 280 gallons (outside dimensions.)

Chihuahua6 · 12/01/2008, 08:46 PM

Luckily my husband is a big strong guy. He moved the tank from the garage, into the house and set it in place with the help of only a hand truck.
Notice the scratches along the side seam?

Chihuahua6 · 12/01/2008, 08:50 PM

Stand:
Luckily for me my husband has a woodworking shop here at the house. It was easy for him to build the stand. We used the DIY stand build thread as a guide. The front of the tank rests on the wall studs which are 2x6 and the horizontal frame of the stand was made with 2x8s. The whole middle and back of the stand is open. It was topped with 3/4" plywood and 1/2" pink insulation foam.

Chihuahua6 · 12/01/2008, 08:51 PM

Repairs:
The tank's top seam came apart so the guy didn't want to charge me until I was sure it could be repaired. Due to personal problems it sat in my garage for seven months before I attempted to repair it. My husband ended up repairing it by gluing with Weld-0n 1" acrylic strips to the inside and outside of the top seam. It was was left to cure for about three weeks and then water tested for a month.

Buffing:
The tank was horribly scratched along the whole bottom front and side panels and up the side seams. Most of the scratches weren't deep though. The guy gave me an entire buffing kit. After doing part of it by hand I decided to purchase some micro mesh to use with my husband's random orbit sander. The pads cost $25 for all I needed plus extra. I was able to buff it to a shine and it was actually kind of fun with the sander. I used 1500 on the bad parts and 1800 up to 12000 for the rest.

You can see the scratches in the moving photo above.

dougie · 12/01/2008, 08:52 PM

looks good.

Chihuahua6 · 12/01/2008, 08:59 PM

Shiny tank!
I was nervous about using the sander but it was super easy to do. Notice the fresh little hand prints on the outside of the tank?

Chihuahua6 · 12/01/2008, 09:09 PM

Changes:

Since the wall was already cut out and framed for a different size tank we had to come up with a plan to fill the gaps. There was too much space to simply add more molding so I decided we should add small boxes on each side of the tank. The boxes can be used to display simple objects, likely ocean related.

The top will have an access panel that open up so I can easily reach the front of the tank.

This is what it looks like so far.

snorvich · 12/01/2008, 09:09 PM

Looks great. You can also get a scratch removal kit for any scratches in the future. Not difficult but takes a bit of work.

Chihuahua6 · 12/01/2008, 09:13 PM

That's it for tonight. The tank is being filled as I type this. I will update the thread as things come along and explain more of the ways I plan to make this build budget friendly and low on operating costs.

Chihuahua6 · 12/01/2008, 09:15 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by snorvich
Looks great. You can also get a scratch removal kit for any scratches in the future. Not difficult but takes a bit of work.

I still have the hand kit that came with the tank. It's designed so that it can be used with magnets inside the tank.

lilalove · 12/01/2008, 09:18 PM

Wow. Good job with the sander. I would've been terrified to try that too. I'm impressed!

Playa-1 · 12/01/2008, 09:48 PM

I love the pic of you inside the tank with a sander. That's too funny. The tank looks like it's coming along great, I'm looking forward to seeing the progress.

Boyman · 12/01/2008, 10:26 PM

Why is the couch not facing the tank !!!!!!!

Playa-1 · 12/01/2008, 10:46 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Boyman
Why is the couch not facing the tank !!!!!!!

That was making my neck hurt just thinking about it.

redfishsc · 12/01/2008, 10:51 PM

Fantastic!

I used to live in Charleston, that part of SC is so beautiful.

BTW I use micromesh when I am making fountain pens out of synthetic celluliod material. It's an awesome sandpaper, just know that so long as you used it sopping wet, it will probably buff 4-5 more tanks before it expires. Don't toss it out!!!

Lastly, if you really want to put the mother-of-all-shines on this baby, go buy yourself (at an auto-paint store) a product called "3M Finesse-It II"

Be SURE it's "II" and not regular "Finesse-It". You'll only need the pint size, not the quart. It goes a LONG way and you can use it to buff your car later too.

This stuff is a final, micro-abrasive buff that will make acrylic shine like a brand new mirror. Trust me, you will gawk at the difference. I use it as the last step on all my celluloid pens and it leaves an optically clear, scratch-free shine.

Just use that same sander but use a cloth buff (you can wad up a bathroom hand towel and attach it to the sander if it has a velcro pad). Keep the cloth wet with a 50/50 mix of water and Finesse-It II.

Chihuahua6 · 12/02/2008, 02:47 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Playa-1

I love the pic of you inside the tank with a sander. That's too funny. The tank looks like it's coming along great, I'm looking forward to seeing the progress.

LOL thanks. It's not the most flattering pic of myself. I think I wanted to prove to myself that I really can use a power tool after all.

Boyman I like to sit on the sofa sideways with my legs across it so I'll have a great view. There are also two chairs at each end of the sofa facing each other. Don't forget there is a tv in the room too although I'm sure the tank will be a distraction for me unless I'm watching UFC or something else just as good ; )

Redfishsc thanks for the tip. I won't be able to try Finesse II on the inside since it's filling with water now but I haven't polished the front yet. In your opinion is it better than Novus?

FutureInterest · 12/02/2008, 06:05 AM

Wow very nice!

redfishsc · 12/02/2008, 06:40 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Chihuahua6
Redfishsc thanks for the tip. I won't be able to try Finesse II on the inside since it's filling with water now but I haven't polished the front yet. In your opinion is it better than Novus? [/B]

I actually haven't used Novus since I get perfect results with the Finesse-It II.

You can still use it on the front and sides, whereas the water inside the tank will do a decent job of hiding any residual scratches, well, until the corraline starts growing in them

Chihuahua6 · 12/12/2008, 04:01 PM

Water is in and most of the inhabitants from my 75, 30, 55 and 29 have been transferred.

The trim around the tank is done. It just needs to be painted white to match the trim of the rest of the room.

Here's a FTS. The picture quality isn't good and the lights weren't on yet but you get the idea.

Chihuahua6 · 12/12/2008, 04:06 PM

Here's a pic of one of the rock towers I built out of one piece of pvc pipe glued to a plastic cutting board.

I drilled holes throughout the pipe and zip tied the rocks onto it. I like this method because if I need to remove a rock for any reason I just snip the zip tie. I also think the rocks interlock in a more natural way than they would if drilled and stacked.

I have more rock coming in to make the tower fuller and add a few more.

I have five Royal Grammas and they all immediately took residence in the tower. I feel it's because it resembles their natural habitat more than a horizontal structure.

The Yellow Tang was placed in this temporary box to see whether or not he and the Purple Tang would get along. I'm thinking they will not get along based on the YT's behavior. Several RC members are interested in him so I hope to have him shipped out to a new home on Monday. I wish I could keep him. He's been a great fish.

Chihuahua6 · 12/12/2008, 04:11 PM

Here's a picture of the room as you walk in to give an idea on the placement of the tank. I wanted it to blend with the room which is why I like the inwall concept so much.

Chihuahua6 · 12/12/2008, 04:14 PM

Here's another whole room shot.

Chihuahua6 · 12/12/2008, 04:20 PM

Here's a pic with temporary lighting, 2 175 watt 12k halides plus actinics from my 55 gal.

mg426 · 12/12/2008, 04:21 PM

That is going to be very nice !!!!

rynon · 12/12/2008, 05:34 PM

Great job on those scratches! I have some scratches I need to fix on my acrylic tank, your post will certainly help. Your new house looks very nice.............so maybe over budget was worth it? I also like how your "hiding" the in wall tank space, looks totally "made to be". Keep up the good work!

12/01/2008, 08:34 PM	#1
Chihuahua6 Premium Member Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: West Hempstead, NY Posts: 2,124	Amanda's low budget 280 gal reef build Finally after four years of planning the tank is coming together. Planning: We built a house from the ground up and planned for an inwall tank. The hole was made in the wall and framed out. The tank would sit inside the large laundry room which is next to the family room and be flush with the family room wall. Fish room/laundry room: Built with: floor drain, three sun tubes, ceiling exhaust fan, 2 extra 20 amp circuits. Tank: It was supposed to be a custom acrylic 90" x 24 X 30" or something along those lines. After building the house way over budget we had nothing left for the tank. To make a long story short two years later I found a cheap used acrylic tank here on RC. I ended up getting it for free. The tank measures 75 x 30 x 29, about 280 gallons (outside dimensions.) __________________ Leah Amanda Current Tank Info: First salt tank 1985, current tank 150 g acrylic

12/01/2008, 08:46 PM	#2
Chihuahua6 Premium Member Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: West Hempstead, NY Posts: 2,124	Luckily my husband is a big strong guy. He moved the tank from the garage, into the house and set it in place with the help of only a hand truck. Notice the scratches along the side seam? __________________ Leah Amanda Current Tank Info: First salt tank 1985, current tank 150 g acrylic

12/01/2008, 08:50 PM	#3
Chihuahua6 Premium Member Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: West Hempstead, NY Posts: 2,124	Stand: Luckily for me my husband has a woodworking shop here at the house. It was easy for him to build the stand. We used the DIY stand build thread as a guide. The front of the tank rests on the wall studs which are 2x6 and the horizontal frame of the stand was made with 2x8s. The whole middle and back of the stand is open. It was topped with 3/4" plywood and 1/2" pink insulation foam. __________________ Leah Amanda Current Tank Info: First salt tank 1985, current tank 150 g acrylic

12/01/2008, 08:51 PM	#4
Chihuahua6 Premium Member Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: West Hempstead, NY Posts: 2,124	Repairs: The tank's top seam came apart so the guy didn't want to charge me until I was sure it could be repaired. Due to personal problems it sat in my garage for seven months before I attempted to repair it. My husband ended up repairing it by gluing with Weld-0n 1" acrylic strips to the inside and outside of the top seam. It was was left to cure for about three weeks and then water tested for a month. Buffing: The tank was horribly scratched along the whole bottom front and side panels and up the side seams. Most of the scratches weren't deep though. The guy gave me an entire buffing kit. After doing part of it by hand I decided to purchase some micro mesh to use with my husband's random orbit sander. The pads cost $25 for all I needed plus extra. I was able to buff it to a shine and it was actually kind of fun with the sander. I used 1500 on the bad parts and 1800 up to 12000 for the rest. You can see the scratches in the moving photo above. __________________ Leah Amanda Current Tank Info: First salt tank 1985, current tank 150 g acrylic

12/01/2008, 08:52 PM	#5
dougie Registered Member Join Date: May 2006 Location: NSW AUSTRALIA Posts: 607	looks good. __________________ Steve Irwin, still my hero, and never forgotten. Current Tank Info: 210 gal, 7x2x2, LED, mp60's. mixed reef.

12/01/2008, 08:59 PM	#6
Chihuahua6 Premium Member Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: West Hempstead, NY Posts: 2,124	Shiny tank! I was nervous about using the sander but it was super easy to do. Notice the fresh little hand prints on the outside of the tank? __________________ Leah Amanda Current Tank Info: First salt tank 1985, current tank 150 g acrylic

12/01/2008, 09:09 PM	#7
Chihuahua6 Premium Member Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: West Hempstead, NY Posts: 2,124	Changes: Since the wall was already cut out and framed for a different size tank we had to come up with a plan to fill the gaps. There was too much space to simply add more molding so I decided we should add small boxes on each side of the tank. The boxes can be used to display simple objects, likely ocean related. The top will have an access panel that open up so I can easily reach the front of the tank. This is what it looks like so far. __________________ Leah Amanda Current Tank Info: First salt tank 1985, current tank 150 g acrylic

12/01/2008, 09:09 PM	#8
snorvich Team RC member Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Outlander Posts: 40,953 Blog Entries: 46	Looks great. You can also get a scratch removal kit for any scratches in the future. Not difficult but takes a bit of work. __________________ Warmest regards, ~Steve~

12/01/2008, 09:13 PM	#9
Chihuahua6 Premium Member Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: West Hempstead, NY Posts: 2,124	That's it for tonight. The tank is being filled as I type this. I will update the thread as things come along and explain more of the ways I plan to make this build budget friendly and low on operating costs. __________________ Leah Amanda Current Tank Info: First salt tank 1985, current tank 150 g acrylic

12/01/2008, 09:18 PM	#11
lilalove Registered Member Join Date: May 2008 Location: Miami, FL Posts: 462	Wow. Good job with the sander. I would've been terrified to try that too. I'm impressed! __________________ Karina For mad scientists who keep brains in jars, here's a tip: why not add a slice of lemon to each jar, for freshness? - Deep Thoughts by Jack Handey Current Tank Info: 180 gallon reef, 55 gallon sump and refugium

12/01/2008, 09:48 PM	#12
Playa-1 Moved On Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Laguna Niguel, CA Posts: 7,497	I love the pic of you inside the tank with a sander. That's too funny. The tank looks like it's coming along great, I'm looking forward to seeing the progress.

12/01/2008, 10:26 PM	#13
Boyman Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: New York, New York Posts: 327	Why is the couch not facing the tank !!!!!!!

12/01/2008, 10:51 PM	#15
redfishsc Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Wake Forest, NC Posts: 3,696	Fantastic! I used to live in Charleston, that part of SC is so beautiful. BTW I use micromesh when I am making fountain pens out of synthetic celluliod material. It's an awesome sandpaper, just know that so long as you used it sopping wet, it will probably buff 4-5 more tanks before it expires. Don't toss it out!!! Lastly, if you really want to put the mother-of-all-shines on this baby, go buy yourself (at an auto-paint store) a product called "3M Finesse-It II" Be SURE it's "II" and not regular "Finesse-It". You'll only need the pint size, not the quart. It goes a LONG way and you can use it to buff your car later too. This stuff is a final, micro-abrasive buff that will make acrylic shine like a brand new mirror. Trust me, you will gawk at the difference. I use it as the last step on all my celluloid pens and it leaves an optically clear, scratch-free shine. Just use that same sander but use a cloth buff (you can wad up a bathroom hand towel and attach it to the sander if it has a velcro pad). Keep the cloth wet with a 50/50 mix of water and Finesse-It II. __________________ "The measure of a life is not its duration but its donation." Corrie Ten Boom “The tyrant dies and his rule is over, the martyr dies and his rule begins” -- Søren Kierkegaard Current Tank Info: ghetto grad school reef.....11g rimless tank, 36X9X9, lit by Cree and Rebels scobbled together. Stocked mostly with free stuff I got from panhandling my fellow reefers.

12/02/2008, 06:05 AM	#17
FutureInterest Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Georgia Posts: 68	Wow very nice!

12/12/2008, 04:01 PM	#19
Chihuahua6 Premium Member Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: West Hempstead, NY Posts: 2,124	Water is in and most of the inhabitants from my 75, 30, 55 and 29 have been transferred. The trim around the tank is done. It just needs to be painted white to match the trim of the rest of the room. Here's a FTS. The picture quality isn't good and the lights weren't on yet but you get the idea. __________________ Leah Amanda Current Tank Info: First salt tank 1985, current tank 150 g acrylic

12/12/2008, 04:06 PM	#20
Chihuahua6 Premium Member Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: West Hempstead, NY Posts: 2,124	Here's a pic of one of the rock towers I built out of one piece of pvc pipe glued to a plastic cutting board. I drilled holes throughout the pipe and zip tied the rocks onto it. I like this method because if I need to remove a rock for any reason I just snip the zip tie. I also think the rocks interlock in a more natural way than they would if drilled and stacked. I have more rock coming in to make the tower fuller and add a few more. I have five Royal Grammas and they all immediately took residence in the tower. I feel it's because it resembles their natural habitat more than a horizontal structure. The Yellow Tang was placed in this temporary box to see whether or not he and the Purple Tang would get along. I'm thinking they will not get along based on the YT's behavior. Several RC members are interested in him so I hope to have him shipped out to a new home on Monday. I wish I could keep him. He's been a great fish. __________________ Leah Amanda Current Tank Info: First salt tank 1985, current tank 150 g acrylic

12/12/2008, 04:11 PM	#21
Chihuahua6 Premium Member Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: West Hempstead, NY Posts: 2,124	Here's a picture of the room as you walk in to give an idea on the placement of the tank. I wanted it to blend with the room which is why I like the inwall concept so much. __________________ Leah Amanda Current Tank Info: First salt tank 1985, current tank 150 g acrylic

12/12/2008, 04:14 PM	#22
Chihuahua6 Premium Member Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: West Hempstead, NY Posts: 2,124	Here's another whole room shot. __________________ Leah Amanda Current Tank Info: First salt tank 1985, current tank 150 g acrylic

12/12/2008, 04:20 PM	#23
Chihuahua6 Premium Member Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: West Hempstead, NY Posts: 2,124	Here's a pic with temporary lighting, 2 175 watt 12k halides plus actinics from my 55 gal. __________________ Leah Amanda Current Tank Info: First salt tank 1985, current tank 150 g acrylic

12/12/2008, 04:21 PM	#24
mg426 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: maryland Posts: 6,923	That is going to be very nice !!!! __________________ I found a way to make a small fortune running a reef tank. Start with a large fortune. Unofficial President of the SEACLONE haters club Current Tank Info: 125 mixed reef 110 lbs LR, 1x250watt XM 20K MH 2x175watt XM 20K MH on Magetics 2X96 watt actinic PC, 220 watt VHO actinic, 30 gallon refugium, closed loop system powered by Sequence Dart MSX 200 skimmer 38 gallon sump, Oceansmotions squirt

12/12/2008, 05:34 PM	#25
rynon Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Posts: 686	Great job on those scratches! I have some scratches I need to fix on my acrylic tank, your post will certainly help. Your new house looks very nice.............so maybe over budget was worth it? I also like how your "hiding" the in wall tank space, looks totally "made to be". Keep up the good work!