180 -> 200 gallon build
- Thread starter RokleM
- Start date
oldreefer76
New member
Wow nice tank
Glad to hear you finally got a winner. You have made me nervous. My tank has been wrapped in the bubble wrap, shrink wrap and pallets for 2 months in my garage. I was finally able to start building the stand today using the thread you linked me to. Hopefully the hurricane will not be too bad here tomorrow as I have my brother coming over to help me move things around in the garage and move the tank into place(where I'll inspect after the fact 
)
Taz
)Taz
CaveManNOhio
New member
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13298201#post13298201 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by RokleM
Awwwww yeah.... 3rd time is a charmOnly 1/8th difference corner to corner, panels are nice and square (and properly vertical), etc. Apparently it was inspected quite thoroughly and they took a slightly different shipping technique. This one came boxed, pallets (two actually), protection on top, etc. I'm sure PhishyBusiness is just happy to have it out of the store in one piece
Glad you finally got a good one. Let the fun begin. Can't wait to see things proceed.
Eric -
Did you add any reinforcement bracing in your basement for the tank? At 200 Gallons you're looking at roughly 1600+ lbs., so I'd imagine a little additional bracing would be beneficial.
Just curious...
BTW - You selling your 180? Per our conversation the other day I'm certainly going to buy a new tank for the move.
Did you add any reinforcement bracing in your basement for the tank? At 200 Gallons you're looking at roughly 1600+ lbs., so I'd imagine a little additional bracing would be beneficial.
Just curious...
BTW - You selling your 180? Per our conversation the other day I'm certainly going to buy a new tank for the move.
RokleM
Premium Member
That's on my list of things to do today 
I started painting the tank last night, hopefully having put the last coat on this morning.
Yes, after I migrate everything (could be months easy), I'll get rid of my 180 and stand. I still need to get plumbing done, figure out how to mount my lighting, get a pump, integrate into my sump, figure out rock, etc, etc.
I started painting the tank last night, hopefully having put the last coat on this morning.Yes, after I migrate everything (could be months easy), I'll get rid of my 180 and stand. I still need to get plumbing done, figure out how to mount my lighting, get a pump, integrate into my sump, figure out rock, etc, etc.
RokleM
Premium Member
I used Krylon Fusion as I had some spare, but a number of Rustoleum products work as well.
One quick coat
4 or so coats later (less than a can)
Inside shot
I used 2x 6ton jacks for the floor. The concrete is likely to give way before the floor/jacks do. They appear to be in the way now, but actually won't be with the shop changes I have in store. The toolbox and dust collector will go back in that corner so the jacks won't be in the way.
This is the back wall underneath the tank. If we were upstairs, the door would be directly to the right. The ductwork started out as a nightmare, but turned into a blessing. Since the ductwork is there, nothing is in the way headed up the wall. Typically a 2x4 would be in that location, and it's a huge pain to get through due to the drilling angle. It will be very easy for me to cut a hole in the drywall under the tank, route it next to the ducts, then down into the basement). I'll probably hang my ballasts in this location downstairs as well.
I already cut a couple sections out in the garage while I was looking at the area involved. When I remove the insulation, I actually am looking into the basement near the jacks. It's already been great, as I took the liberty of running an extension cord from one of my shop 20A GFCI outlets to the garage as well. I am constantly popping circuits becuase the two stock basement outlets and lights, garage outlets, and main hallway lights/outlets are on the same breaker (not exactly a brilliant design).
One quick coat
4 or so coats later (less than a can)
Inside shot
I used 2x 6ton jacks for the floor. The concrete is likely to give way before the floor/jacks do. They appear to be in the way now, but actually won't be with the shop changes I have in store. The toolbox and dust collector will go back in that corner so the jacks won't be in the way.
This is the back wall underneath the tank. If we were upstairs, the door would be directly to the right. The ductwork started out as a nightmare, but turned into a blessing. Since the ductwork is there, nothing is in the way headed up the wall. Typically a 2x4 would be in that location, and it's a huge pain to get through due to the drilling angle. It will be very easy for me to cut a hole in the drywall under the tank, route it next to the ducts, then down into the basement). I'll probably hang my ballasts in this location downstairs as well.
I already cut a couple sections out in the garage while I was looking at the area involved. When I remove the insulation, I actually am looking into the basement near the jacks. It's already been great, as I took the liberty of running an extension cord from one of my shop 20A GFCI outlets to the garage as well. I am constantly popping circuits becuase the two stock basement outlets and lights, garage outlets, and main hallway lights/outlets are on the same breaker (not exactly a brilliant design).
Tank looks really nice and good call on the braces! You're certainly right the concrete will give way long before the jacks.
BTW - Do you have planer? I'm planning to build a new stand for the new tank this week and as you previously mentioned, the 2x4's from the local stores are horrible.
BTW - Do you have planer? I'm planning to build a new stand for the new tank this week and as you previously mentioned, the 2x4's from the local stores are horrible.
I guess I got lucky. I finally opened mine and put it in place tonight. Checked for imperfections and found none. Checked square also and it was right on. What a relief.
I built 2 stands stands today from the thread you pointed me to. One was for my 120 and one was for the 200, both going in the same room. It was nice and easy following the measurements and putting them together. My brother came over tonight to help me move both tanks into position and was impressed with the way these stands are built. He has a custom 210 and made his stand out of 4x4's. I thought he was going to laugh at my stands, but every time we picked them up and he looked at them he told me how he wished he had known about this build thread.
I am exhausted, that 200 was heavier than my brother's 210, unless I was just tired from the day's activities, but it didn't seem that heavy picking it up at the fish store with the 2 pallets and all crating! At anyrate, I would like to thank you and I will try to get pics up someday.
good luck with yours
Taz
I built 2 stands stands today from the thread you pointed me to. One was for my 120 and one was for the 200, both going in the same room. It was nice and easy following the measurements and putting them together. My brother came over tonight to help me move both tanks into position and was impressed with the way these stands are built. He has a custom 210 and made his stand out of 4x4's. I thought he was going to laugh at my stands, but every time we picked them up and he looked at them he told me how he wished he had known about this build thread.
I am exhausted, that 200 was heavier than my brother's 210, unless I was just tired from the day's activities, but it didn't seem that heavy picking it up at the fish store with the 2 pallets and all crating! At anyrate, I would like to thank you and I will try to get pics up someday.
good luck with yours
Taz
RokleM
Premium Member
No. I rip the sizes of the boards with my table saw, cut to length with a mitre saw. As long as I pick up boards with a mostly straight wide side, that leaves me with pretty close to perfect results. I wouldn't mind getting a planer at some point though
:thumbsup: I truly hope I was the unfortunate one and all the rest of the tanks are rock solid.
RokleM
Premium Member
Nooooot light. I had two of my buddies swing by today during lunch to get it inside and onto the stand.
2 liter and my 13lb female (who was more interested in the Dew) to give you and idea of the size.
As I mentioned before, not a ton of room for making a mistake on the stand. The tank is about 1/8-1/4" from all edges outside. With the 1.5" wide 2x6 top, the bulkhead is 3/16th roughly from the inside frame. I'm assuming they do a standard 1/2" or 3/4" ply stand if you buy the stock one instead of my overdoing things, which would give them more room to be off here and there. Now you start to see why a tank that is way off square just wasn't going to cut it (beyond the fact it's defective).
2 liter and my 13lb female (who was more interested in the Dew) to give you and idea of the size.
As I mentioned before, not a ton of room for making a mistake on the stand. The tank is about 1/8-1/4" from all edges outside. With the 1.5" wide 2x6 top, the bulkhead is 3/16th roughly from the inside frame. I'm assuming they do a standard 1/2" or 3/4" ply stand if you buy the stock one instead of my overdoing things, which would give them more room to be off here and there. Now you start to see why a tank that is way off square just wasn't going to cut it (beyond the fact it's defective).
You can say that again. It was just my brother and myself. I was struggling bigtime. Then to make matters worse, I started sweating and losing grip. We had a long way to go and had to call our wives for backup so I didn't lose it. They were a help, but not much. LOL I wonder how much it weighs?
Taz
White_Ranger
In Memoriam
What was the total cost of the tank, where did you buy it ?
White_Ranger
In Memoriam
"You heard" so you don't remember how much you paid for yours, or you just rather not disclose.
I'm just looking around on the cost for a square that's why i asked, i checked Glasscages.com and for a 240 Square (Rimless)
48 x 48 x 24 Tall, with all the bells is $1490.
Your tank looks good btw, Square's are it these days.
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