lockrookies 180g custom build

[lockrookie]

so recently i have done a custom tank build on my local forum but thought i would share here. i am the owner of a locksmith company in regina sask canada. i have been in this hobby since 2009 my first tank was a 90g non drilled life reef overflow reef. then i built for our daycare a 50g peninsula tank for my wifes daycare in the basement ( i will post that thread as well ). but my 90g always disturbed me for its dimentions and how i had to run the sump. numerous leaks and plumbing issues. i decided to build a new tank.

So in jan of this year i luckily found a 180g with a cracked front panel on a local classified site for 150$. i couldnt resist i was going to cut it up and make it fit my old stand. but my loving wife suggest just repairing the tank and re building the 180g.. yes she is a keeper. this tank is on my main floor and after numerous inquireies, tests, fears, i was abe toconfirmmy floor suport for the tank and thebuild was good to go. so i hope you enjoy the tank is almost complete save for skimmer issues and hood.

i most likely wont be ablel to post it all inone day to where im at but i will post as much as i can. i hope you enjoy any questions to reasons for why i did hat i did and yes i know the risks of some of my plumbing.

thanks for looking
jeff

[lockrookie]

my 90g in the beginning



the 180g brought home in jan to be stored untill the snow is gone.

[lockrookie]

btw the dementions of this tank is 72" x 24"x 24" ..standard 180g tank. and since it was winter and no heat i had to panfully ait to start tearing the broken pane out of the 180 and rebuilding the tankso i wa bored and drew up a few renditionsof what i hope to do. could possibly do.. or ended up not doing at all. the tank had the standard center brace which i detested so much on the 90 that i almost smashed it with a hammer. yes i can be destructive. and i wanted a centre overflow on this tank since the tank itself will only sit 1" away from the wall and all plumbing will come up from under the tank. yes i knowloss of interios real estate and would have loved to done an external overfow or even coast to coast. but due to the space alotted this was my best option.

so these are the drawings of my thoughts relatively new to cad so i apologise for the simplicity.

option1 remove centre brace add two smaller center braces


i scrapped this idea completly and decided to go full euro brace. so then i decided to draw out the end result of the tanks and this is what i came up with. the stand will be finished out of natural maple to match our furnature

[lockrookie]

so i picked up 2 used 33g tanks that my lfs was selling and had one laying around. i tore them apart and made a 50g sump out of them. the sump will measure 36 x 18 x 18 and built simular to my 50g's sump(thread to bemade later) just wider. and a bigger skimmer chamber

the skimmer chamber is 12 x12 with a floss chamber 6 x12 where the water comes in. my built in refugium on opposite side. i thought about making the sump bigger but to reduce wieght i figured this is still workable as long as i dont have alot of flow back with power outages. definately worth a test before set up.(which i never really did)

first i drew out my ideas:



another idea i had was to have a carbon bag chamber tomake it easy to replace carbon still undecided which route ill go or if its worth it. (it wasnt worth it)



i should also mention... not that its important to the build... but last july my wife and i (mostly the wife) gave birth to identical twin girls so this build went slow painfully slow sneaking in time between feedings and late nights..so even thou these posts will be fast it has taken me 7 months to get to this point.

ok continuing on the actual sump build since it wasa relatively small tank and it helped pass the winter months.

roughly what the glass looked like before after tearing apart the three 33 g tanks very rough pianted slimey stinky ugly glass.



after hours of cleaning the glass and hundreds of razor blades bottles of vineger i cut the glass myself. assembled the "box"

[lockrookie]

I always water test after every thing i do .. ocd maybe.. more likely tired of water on my floors.. but my next picture is not for the faint hearted as my newly made sump did not leak but had two crackin it..




seriously tho all went well i put the rest of the sump together and added the trim to the top from the old tanks to reduce committing accidental suicide.





and an final water test good to go also painted the back and side black i may have a pic of that later on

[theroryshow]

the sump looks great, I know you put a lot of hours into that puppy. Is the middle L section going to be a refugium?

[lockrookie]

middle L section is actually the return area the floating mini tank is the refuge for macro algea. i like big return sections if my Ato stops working there is enough water in that section to last 3 to 5 days depending on humidity in the air without having to top up the tank with FW. pics of all that running to come. but thank you for the compliment there were alot of hours indeed but i enjoyed every moment save to f the paint scraping. it was the first time i put a tank together from scratch too my other bulds all i did was re silicone. fill and modify this tank is inspired soly from my 50g tank build i will post after im up to speed for everyone on this one.

last post for the evening coming up shortly.

[lockrookie]

as you can prolly tell by now im really into the whole diy aspect. i figure if someone can do it why cant i..my biggest critisism of my own work is my siicone work.. i need to work on those skills a bit. with a contractors kid background i have to much of a slop and go mentality lol. this is prolly my last post for the night getting tired of typing and sorting through pics

so around march with the help of my 70 year old father, god bless his soul, we got the tank in the house so that i could finally get this beast repaired and modified. i tell you 2 ppl taking in a tank that wieghs 380 pounds is no laffing matter.. but once it was in place the stress was lifted and all was well with the world.

and on a side note those plastic furnature sliders work great to move the tank from spot to spot if needed i may have a pic of one in use love them.

ok just a couple comparison shots of the old tank and future tank trim removed off the top already. my back was in great pain from getting it in the house. the last picture is of the immence crack that got me the tank dirt cheap..150$. and the cause for this fun build to come. please dont mind the getto light stands on my 90. my 60" hood wont fit with my 72" fixture i purchase for the new tank used.





now i need to take a moment and vent trying to get eurobracing in this city was a nightmare. i called 6 companies got prices from 4 the highest was 800 bucks just fro a 24" x 72" pane...REALLY.. and most of them and noone wanted to cut 4" x 72" bracing they refused. this proces almost caused me to scrap the whole project.
it goes to show the kindness of ppl in this hobby tho i hd one reefer in another province offer to get it in his city from a tank mfg and ship it to me, but thankfully another local reefer worked at a glass company that notonly agreed to cut the bracing and the front pane the final cost was like 250 bucks.. yeah!! back on track i had gone back and forth about starphire but in the end i stuck with regular glass, i decided its not the clarity of the glass that makes a tank (although everyone likes the shiny including me) it was my design and plan for this tank that will make it outstanding to the point no one willcare what glass its made of..as well im a cheapskate on a budget .. my twins come first hobby second wife third ...lol j/k wife second hobby last. so now at this int i got the glass and commenced operation glass casket. (if i screwed up i was told id be burried in it)

also when doing big projects like this measure properly i made an assumption that the glass whent straight down and butted against the bottom pane and measured without taking the trim off the bottom of the tank.. to my dismay when the glass arrived it was 1/2 to high. i ordered 23.5" when i should have ordered 23" the front pane actually sat on the bottom.. who knew.. oops but it worked out anyways i just butted the top brace against it and all is level all is good crysis averted..

put tank in our guest room.. let the fun begin



glass removed silicone removed ready to replace


VIOLA..operation glass casket back together without breakage


thats it for tonight.. to be continued tomorrow.. trust me it gets interesting...if this rookie can do it anyone can

thanks for tuning in

[lockrookie]

the part of this project scared the #$%& outta me but it had to be done for this to work.. notching the eurobrace for access to the overflow. i am only notching out 2" of the 4" brace.by 20" long .the overflow is going tobe 18" x 5". 1/2" of that will be sitting on the glass to leave me with a total opening area of 3 1/2" not alot of room but enough if the need arises to dig around and fix issues it needed to be done. ive seen this done professionally but i lack all the tools needed to polish and make it purdy.

what i did was draw out area to beworked on with painters tape drilled 2 large holes with diamond hole saws. and connected the dots so to speak with an angle grinder with a diamond blade.

the following are pictures of what transpired .. luckily it worked the firt time as i didnt have a backup piecce of eurobracing.. slow and patient is the key and a fresh new blade.lots of water.






after this was done i took the time to drill 3 holes in the bottom of the tank. return, drain and emergency drain.



then installed tHE eurobrace.. the two side pieces are from the old bracing on the tank trimmed to fit with the angle grinder

[Aquatron]

Hello,
Nice work! You may think about running you carbon thru a reactor alot of good information on that You can then work with acrylic!

Best of Luck!

[lockrookie]

Originally Posted by Aquatron

Hello,
Nice work! You may think about running you carbon thru a reactor alot of good information on that You can then work with acrylic!

Best of Luck!

thank you for the compliment i do plan on running carbon and gfo reactors. but first i need to replace my skimmer that has been doing nothing but spewing micro bubbles for the past month and a half. i would like to work with acrilic once i have all my glass work done. it is in the books to try.

[dave.m]

It's not the clarity of Starphire people pay for, it is the lack of green tint in the glass. Low iron-type glass is uncoloured, whereas regular glass has a definite green cast to it, and the thicker the glass, the greener it becomes. Acrylic is even clearer than Starphire glass, but has the inherent difficulty of scratching so easily.

Nice looking box. Let's see some water in there!

Dave.M

[lockrookie]

Originally Posted by dave.m

It's not the clarity of Starphire people pay for, it is the lack of green tint in the glass. Low iron-type glass is uncoloured, whereas regular glass has a definite green cast to it, and the thicker the glass, the greener it becomes. Acrylic is even clearer than Starphire glass, but has the inherent difficulty of scratching so easily.

Nice looking box. Let's see some water in there!

Dave.M

this is true i do find if you look length wise its greeny but im used to it and not to concerned. as i say im a cheapskate and decided to go green lol. starphire as well (im told by a tank mfg scratches easier as it is a touch softer. besides this is a used tank previously, the two ends have a couple scratches as well. when i win the lotto ill just build bigger

thank you for the compliment the tank actually has water in and is running at this time. im just going through it step by step to get to the point where it is at this time.. more fun to come trust me. more diy

[lockrookie]

well im happy to say at this point my career in glass mfg is at an end and i am now into acrylic mfg of the overflow comb. i had a bit of a mishap with cutting the overflow box which delayed me a bit the side pieces chipped up to crap the first time i cut them with my cut off blade. it seemed to have gotten dull. so i bought a new one and had success the second time around. i used glass from the broken front pane as well as the old centre brace piece to build the overflow all in all was happy with the turn out. even though i added more wieght to the tank than it had originally. i will never have to fear the overflow breaking or cracking any time soon lol. but the broken front pane came in handy. waste not want not

here are a couple pictures really kinda boring but all was cut with the angle grinder



so.... at this point its late march and the tank part of the build is complete. added the overflow comb, i had to free hand notch the comb, i couldnt find a part for my dremel.. but all in all i think it worked out quite well. this is the most repair/ rebuild/ diy i have ever done with a fish tank since i have been keeping fish when i was 19 (freshwater in the begining).
and again pics of the overflow and complete tank. i had a wide space in the middle that didnt work uniform with the notching so i added my personal touch.. my initials lol

[lockrookie]

oh yes i almost forgot the infamous water test to make sure yu didnt fudge everthing....womp there it is no leaks... (was before i added the over flow teeth) also had to test 2 of the four powerheads for the system

[lockrookie]

now i had to stop stop working on the tank and still too cold outside at that time of year to work on the stand in an unheated garage ( yes im canadian and a wussy (i dislike the cold) as well my build room was being taken away from me since the inlaws where visiting for a month from NY. but even with them out i did manage to start the next stage of the tank itself.. the DIY rockwall...

i had done so much research on building these and added my twists to it. i first built one on a small scale on the 50g (to be posted later) so on this build i had to go bigger. as i really really dislike scraping the back wall. my wife doesn't like the tank to look dirty so i always had to scrape and clean the back wall of my 90. it was irritating. forever breaking corals irritating corals. not my fave thing to do. so the 3d rockwall will cover that and never will i scrape again other than build up on sides and front pane.

now im a bit of a risk taker especially with such a large water volume on my main floor but this idea had worked well for 2 yeas on my other build that i had to modify and reinvent from numerous googled ideas. you see i hate seeing filtration in the main display.. ideally all i want to see is rock and fish maybe some crustations. idontwant tosee my powerheads orat least minimally i want decent flow but not over powering. i do not want to see my return outlets but want themto help with the flow of the tank.

so i will have 4 power heads a not so quiet one 6000(to be changed at a later date) mixing things up but as things gro you will not see any of it just a tank andfishies sparling away..

so this starts my rockwall build you may not agree and in thebackof your mind think is he crazy or stupid.. wellmost likely both but i like it and thats what counts.

to be continued...need to help wife with the twins for a bit

[reefermad619]

Awesome build! Got a Q for ya. I'm sending in my 180 tank (6'x2'x2') in to have a silicone seam replaced. It's not leaking, just ugly and they're doing it for free. I have 2 braces the go from front to back on the tank. One brace roughly every 2'. I asked how much they wanted to convert it to a euro brace, so I can have an open top like yours, and they said it wasn't safe to have a euro on a tank 6' long. How do you feel about that? And I can't seem to find any tanks with our dimensions that are euro'd.

[lockrookie]

Originally Posted by reefermad619

Awesome build! Got a Q for ya. I'm sending in my 180 tank (6'x2'x2') in to have a silicone seam replaced. It's not leaking, just ugly and they're doing it for free. I have 2 braces the go from front to back on the tank. One brace roughly every 2'. I asked how much they wanted to convert it to a euro brace, so I can have an open top like yours, and they said it wasn't safe to have a euro on a tank 6' long. How do you feel about that? And I can't seem to find any tanks with our dimensions that are euro'd.

thank you.. it is a fun build i cant wait till everything is done. and i can waste a crap load on corals.

well you see howmine is done. i consulted a specialty builder in canada who does this alot and have seen a 404 g tank euro braced on another forum im a part of you just have to use the right thickness of glass with the proper measuments. for example my and your tank is made of 1/2 in glass and i used 1\2 glaass for my braces.. 5/8 would have been better for strength but i was told id be o with 1/2 at 4" wide. basically your using the glass to make it like a piece of angle iron to stop the flex once siliconed on it aint movin. i just looked at mine for your sake and there is maybe a touch flex in theglass so miniscule it wont cause any issues. my cut brace is irrelevent due to how my overflow is made the overflow alone stops any flex.

your tank depending on how its made.. corner overflows or im assuming center overflow and you have a black trim that has the bracing accross at the 2' mark (i have a buddy who has one). the only issue you may have is the back brace covering your overflow so you cant work in it unless you have it cut like mine. but some tank mfg's use plastic or acrilic overflows with no glass support underneath and it may cause strain to your tank with a notched brace.. too much strain and the brace will snap as so could your back pane. its best to have a tank builder inspect the tank to ensure safety.. thats alot of water to clean up and alot of rock to store incase of a crack. if my tank wasnt broken already i may not have done as much as i have done or built in the same way. if a reputable tank builder feels its safe then go for it eurobracing is a god send. but has some downfalls.. with an open tank you risk your lights ..depending on how you mount them.. falling in thetank.. it happens i've done it on my 50

all in all if it aint broke dont fix it does come into play as well. i dont want to discourage you. maybe pm me a pic of your tank and overflows and i can give you some ideas.even tho center braces suck the ones you have are not as bad as the one this tank had full on centre you still have alot of room to work. try reacking under and 18 inch wide panel in the center of the tank never mind try and net a fish. and if you dont have to spend 200 bucks or more with labour to add euro..save it towards leds or an awsome skimmer. evenbetter fish and corals.

[lockrookie]

so im not going to babble alot here just pictures and let the pics do the talking just list of materials. as always any questions feel free to ask..

the 6' 3d rockwall:
zip ties
dry rock
sledge hammer(beat the rock to submition andgete thecunks you want)
sand/shell mix any color you desire
great stuff insulating foam
latex gloves to keep foamof fingers bugger to clean off
fiberglass resin
a well ventilated area and time to let rock ai rout sinks like a well it stinks bad.
a hose to wash the bird poop off it cause you kept it outside to ventilate
pvc pipe



the 4 holes are for the power heads fyi...two tall pipes my return plumbing.








6'3d rockwall complete or as complete as it will be untll it is in the tank.


yes you may have noticed the return lines are low in the tank ..bad very bad ..not safe DANGER.. well i do have a syphon break in the line that is almost fool proof but m working on a backup system not yet completed for this as well. as somem of you knwo and some dont . with returnlineso low you risk draining half your tank ontoyour floor and in my case basement as well.. it happened to my 50 regretfully a couple weeks ago and im rectifying the issue next week. it is nto a fun experiance but for running 2 years and onehiccup cause its dork owner got lazy and didnt replace airline.. i cant complain.. this tank hopefully will not fail that woudl suck. but as it is .. i dont lose and 8th of tank water to the sump. pics and possibly a vid after ive cought upp to present day.


and finally the reason for the water hose spray the rock wall every day to rince it off and to get what this lilguy left behind..

[TheFishTeen]

Wow, looks like you've put a ton of hands-on time into this build. Must of been hard considering you two cracks to deal with

[lockrookie]

Originally Posted by TheFishTeen

Wow, looks like you've put a ton of hands-on time into this build. Must of been hard considering you two cracks to deal with

yes there was lot of time .. but usully i work faster and could have had this whole thing completed in reality in 3 months not 7...and still counting.. but with my two little cracks.. keira and sara... there were weeks on end i didnt get to work on anything. not that im complaining we love our twinkies.and cherish every moment with them.. they are only little once.
and i dont want to miss a thing.

[lockrookie]

so to this point i have worked on everything and completed everything other than the stand. now there area few things i wanted for this stand.. one to look like the rest of ourfurnature nour living room. we have natural maple furnature.. so thats what it will look like. secondly has to be sturdy yest functionable.. i didnt want to have doors per say but more of a removable access panel that looked like doors. and child safe i didnt want the tank inhabitants tobe easily fed baby cookies or the twins to get hurt by equiptment. i put alot of thought into this since the begining.. drawing research .. then i put my woodworking skills into effect
this is what the result is.

the stand is out of 2x6 the front is built like a header with 2 2x6 sandwiched together as i dont want a center support.. back to my ocdof having things get in my way.. after put it together i found i screwed upand didnt have enough internl height for my sump and skimmer so i tore the bottomoffit and extended it 2 more inches with plywood. which made it work out perfect so happy i caught that early.

first attempt. bottom 2x6 was removed and rebuilt foradded height



after that i painted the 2x6 and plywood black and the interior black after i had put 2 2x6 suports along the back and boxed in the sump area. i did this so that i could laminate the sump compartment and seal it with silicone. in hopes that i would havve an opps overflow resevoir. that would hold aprox 20g of water before it landed to my floor.. ( it was a good theory and kinda works. i should have pre tested before i filled the tank it has a leak somewhere. so when i get a chance i have to reseal it. then i started to skin the stand with 1/2" maple



on this end i made a little compartment for electricccal in hopes to keep it all high and dry



theni made the panel and the electonics door



then i sanded polished laquered the stand and had my father help medrag the stand in the house i moved my 90g from the spot and to its temp location in the kitchen it was kinda fun to watch teh fish swim about while we had steak and shrmp for supper.. her eis teh stand in its new home




to be continued...

[Patricklong]

Very impressive build.

[lockrookie]

Originally Posted by Patricklong

Very impressive build.

thank you

[lockrookie]

at this point i ran wires and a 50' 1/4 line to my furnace room in the basement which was noeasy task with a finished basement drywall ceiling. but having the tools for home alarm installations i made quick workk of it drilled a hole in my floor and ran along the beam to a cold air return in the master bedroom and straight down to my ro/di unit a few john guess fittings and we are in busness. put the tank onits own breaker. i had issues with overloading the other breaker with the 90g and decided that it was never going to happen again. wired the stand for power.

and mentioned earlier i wanted childl save so i attached a flat piece of alum on the botom of the front panel toholdit inplace on the bottomof the panel and added three electronic locks to hold it and theelectrical door in place wired it to its own power board with battery backup in case of power outage. and for a third back up i can lift the panel and pull off the panel as well so that ill neverbe locked out so to speak but esSentially all i have to do is press a button and the panal falls away and another button and the elec door pops open..