180 gallon LPS reef build

[Chihuahua6]

Sorry to hear about your bird. I lost two dogs this year so I know how sad it can be.
Your work is amazing. I can't wait to see it up and running especially since it will be an lps tank instead of sps.

 

[hobogato]

thanks amanda.

made a little progress today. fabricated some molding. got the doors framed - still have to cut the frames with a router to improve the looks

drilled the two drain holes - 2" bulkheads

and the overflow built and installed

here are some pics of some of the equipment that will be used:

blue line return and skimmer pumps. the 100 will be return only, and the 70 will be split between return and skimmer (still have to make that)

a couple of 150 watt DE HQI setups - we were going to go all t5, but these were too good a deal to pass up.

a couple of hydor #4s to add a little more flow in the tank - dont want too add too much since it will not be an sps tank.

 

[hobogato]

didnt get much done today. bought the rest of the plumbing parts (hopefully all of em) and prepared the back of the tank for the foam we are gonna use by applying a thin layer of silicone on the inside of the glass and all over the overflow. also got some of the molding done on the stand, still have to do some router work and add the crown molding and baseboard molding

 

[Brandan]

Awesome woodworking. Sorry to hear about your loss. I have a Greencheeked Conure, I'd die if I lost him. What type of lori did oyu have? Also, where did you get the bit to drill the holes for the bulkhead?

 

[ricks]

I would change those sch 40 bulkheads to sch 80.

 

[hobogato]

thanks brandon, kia was a yellow back chattering lori - we really miss him. the drill bits came from a guy on ebay, if you want a link, shoot me a pm.

ricks, i would normally agree with you, but these are at the top of the tank, so i think they will be fine.

finished the assembly of the stand today, just have a little sanding, staining and finishing to do on it.

 

[mpoletti]

Very nice work. Is this tank going to have a canopy?

 

[hobogato]

yep, it will match the stand.

 

[hobogato]

here's what we got done yesterday:

got the foam framework built for the fake rock in the tank and finished construction of the canopy.

canopy

some pics of the foam framework made of egg crate and plastic zip ties

 

[hobogato]

we foamed all of the vertical pieces last night while the tank was on its back, then turned the tank upright and foamed the shelves this morning.

nine cans of foam later....

it looks like this

and from the ends

 

[khoivo1]

is this form gonna hold on glass?? i tried my 180g back wall with blackform from dr smith,,,,and it didn't stick to glass after a month with water filled,,,it start flood up and come off,,hope this work for you ,,,keep picture up,,,,i like the stand,,and canopy,,,,

 

[hobogato]

i applied a thin layer of silicone on the glass a couple of days ago, and the foam was then sprayed on top of the silicone.

 

[saltydragon]

great stand and canopy work......

but never was a big fan of the foam thing.....so all that is going to be one piece ?

 

[kurplunk]

Ace- Great Work. Big fan of your build thread. How heavy is your canopy, and does it have hinged doors for maintenance?

 

[woodycb]

Looks good man, love the foam thing. I am building a 125RR right now and I am using the black pond foam on egg crate and going to silicone it to the back wall of the tank.

 

[MAthU]

i like the foam, every thing looks awesome!

 

[mpoletti]

Very nice Ace. Can we get a shot of the front of the canopy? Thanks

 

[hobogato]

thanks for the comments all

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11500436#post11500436 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by kurplunk
Ace- Great Work. Big fan of your build thread. How heavy is your canopy, and does it have hinged doors for maintenance?

not too heavy, but the entire front panel is a door, so we wont have to take the canopy off for anything.

here are some pics of what we got done yesterday. today, we will be water testing the system.

pumps and sump in the stand and plumbed together - forgot to take pics of the drain and return plumbing before i moved it against the wall

pumps up close

tank stand and canopy together

assembling the skimmer - just have a little pvc work to do to finish it.

 

[ricks]

I have a question about the long term effects of foam leaching chemicals back into the system??? Also does the foam work as well as rock for biological filtration?? Great woodwork....

Thanks,

 

[hobogato]

i have a friend who did this in his tank, and now - two years later - you cant tell it is foam and it is one of the nicest tanks around. there will be some live rock in the system as well, in the sump/fuge and a little in the display. i poked tons of holes in the foam to allow the water to penetrate into it, so it should function somewhat as liverock eventually. also planning on lots of live sand in the tank and the fuge.