40 Breeder project(s) Thread

suppressivefire

New member
The tank info: 2 brand new 40 breeders with (2) 3/4" returns each and each has a custom over flow with (2) 1" drains. Tanks drilled and worked on by kmagyar aka Keith.
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Overflow shot
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Getting ready for paint.
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More pics to come and I will need your critique as it will be my first large setup:rollface:
These tanks will be my winter porject along with this, And being only 17 its going to be a chore :lol:
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Some progress made,
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As you can probably see i am stacking the systems stacked with a 30 long sump on the bottom. I have started the plumbing to get an idea but I would like some advice on how to plumb the tank. I am planning to use a dart for my pump. So any advice on how i should effeciently plumb this tank?
Heres how it will be used:
Top tank Reef
Lower tank frag system
bottom 30 gallon long sump.
 
Chris,

Setup is looking pretty good. One thing I would suggest is making external durso's on the drains. Also, are you sure four one inch holes will be enough to drain all the water a dart will push?
 
Also, think about maybe draining both tanks into two oversized drains so that you dont have four drains coming into that 30L. This will help save on sump space.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11186134#post11186134 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by belgian_waffleman
are you sure that the shelves can hold 400lbs each ?

That would be my only concern.
 
I think you are going to have a hard time with the amount of flow from a Dart and ditto on the external durso's. Without them you are going to have a very noise setup.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11186308#post11186308 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by suppressivefire
8.33 water weight per gallon x 40 gallon = 333.2lbs
these shelves hold 350lbs or more per shelf.
I Hope

Not sure I would want to find out they will not hold a total of 700lbs by it falling over.

Like the idea of the the set up, not sure about the wire metal shelving.
 
I know that you are not going to want to hear this but I would ditch the shelves. I have them in my laundry room and they might hold the tanks but they will be very very easy to push over. I have old towels, sheets and the like in mine and the whole thing wobbles when I pull one off. Also you might want to take into account how much the tanks weigh plus sand, rocks, lights, all the little extras that people forget to take into account Ill bet that each tank when stocked will be well over 350 each. Ill bet you are looking at more like 1000 lbs when its all put together.

I like the car by the way. What are you doing to it? Rebuilding the engine?
 
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I'm never a fan of overbuilding tank stands, however in this case I'm a bit concerned for your setup for a couple reasons...

1 - Deflection. Just because it will hold 350# on each shelf, does not mean that the shelf won't bend a fairly substantial amount under that sort of a load. The fact that it appears that your tanks overhand the shelves a wee bit in the front and back also give me the heebie jeebies. I'd like to at minimum see a bit more beef to the shelves, either in the form of about 1.5-2" of plywood glued screwed and fastened into a single slab between the shelf and tank. Allow me to explain my cause for concern... for a time I had a set of plastic shelves that were "rated" at 200 lbs per shelf. I had a single 10 gallon tank upon one. It was ok for a time, but over the span of months the 80 lb tank gradually deflected until i could slide a pencil between the tank and the shelf. the tank itself was holding up ok, but again, it was only a $6 tank and a few gallons of water. no huge risk. you have the makings of a very nice looking setup that you have already made some substantial investment in. I'd set that shelving unit on a concrete floor, empty, and measure the distance from the floor to the shelf on each end and in the middle. then put a couple 3 or 4 gallon buckets full of water, on it, then sit on the buckets and have a buddy remeasure from the shelf. I'm hoping you will see a difference of less than a 1/16" or so, but I wouldn't be surprised at all if the number wasn't closer to 3/8" or 1/2".

2 - point loading. Are those 4 spindly little legs sitting on concrete or some other flooring when this thing will be in it's final home? If the floor is anything but concrete, I'd recommend putting something under the leg to spread that load a bit. I'd used a 3 or 4" square of 1/4" thick aluminum or steel under each leg. I would not use wood, MDF, any sort of plastic, or anything that could absorb water. I also wouldn't recommend a patio block or any "concrete product" less than 3" thick.

I'll get off my soapbox now, but I hope you at least take what I said at least under advisement. At the very least, please load up the stand with ~300 lbs per shelf and shake wiggle and measure some stuff before you start gluing pipes together.

Good Luck!!!
 
First - Look at Chrsnwk occupation. He knows what he is talking about and his advise should be strongly considered. :D

I'll add my .02. While saltwater may weigh 8.33 lbs per gallon, your calculation does not include the weight of the tank and it's contents. Some may say that the rock's displace the water, so it's a wash. Most people estimate 10lbs per gallon to cover all of the "extra's". so that puts each 40 gallon tank at about 400lbs, which is more than the shelving unit is rated for.

Like others have stated, I would ditch the rack and replace it with a good home made 2x4 shelf made to hold such weight. You can double up the legs for both strength and to increase the foot print.

If you would like to stop by and see the shelf I built for my sump & refugium, just PM me. I think it's inline with what you should do and it was not complicated or expensive to build.
 
looks like a 70/71 olds stripped of chrome for the track; that thing have a rocket?

I'd worry about that rack racking and the legs might quickly snap.
 
Thanks for all the input, I have used that stand for 30 longs so i thought it would be ok but i guess not. I going to ditch the shelves and build a stand as many suggested. And being new to the plumbing how does the durso work/look like. And I was hoping to get a pump that has a low voltage/ cheaper to run, Im looking to not have to use power heads if possible. Is there an alternative pump that would fit the job?
As for the car im planning to restore it and go pro-street, Its a 72 cutlass/442 with a 350 rocket, a turbo 400 trans and 12 bolt posi.
 
It very well could be; fill the tanks up with fw and judge it for yourself. Cutting the legs short and building a cabinet to set the first shelf on and putting the sump within it could very well lower the center of gravity enough to take sway away letting you keep the nice open rack look. I like the advice to reinforce with plywood shelving. turnbuckels and cross wires would also help for stiffening.
 
I thought it was a 72. Sorry for staying OT, but when I was a kid my older brother had a 72 Cut Convertable. It's been my favorite muscle car ever since. Looking forward to seeing more pics of that as you restore it. Balls to the wall.

Nice tanks too, keep us posted on those as well.
 
Chris,

If you are looking to reduce cost, use cinder blocks and 2x4's to stack the tanks up. That how a lot of the aquarium stores stack their tanks.
All the LFS's around here seem to do it that way.

Waffleman
 
Chris, maybe its the camera angle but it looks like you would need a little more space between the shelves and the tank to get your hands in there, and in case you need to get a large rock in or out.
 
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