45 Galllon Cube. My dream tank...only smaller!

[chrishayes]

Hi, my name is Chris and im a reefaholic:spin2: After finding a leak in the upper rim of my 28g nanocube resulting in my ato running all the time risking a substantial investment in coral, I decided enoughs enough, im building a REAL tank! Not the 125L ive had in my garage for 10+ years waiting to go inwall but a nice size and shape tank that will still occupy the same basic real estate keeping my wife happy and me satified. This will be a sps dominated reef as was my old tank but this one im going to try to step it up a bit.

So let the journey begin and I hope to keep this thread moving along at a decent clip as im expecting a spinal fusion surgery any month now so I gotta get this thing done or my wife will have to finish it:hmm2:

SO this is what used to be:

And this is what ive got now!

Its a non dilled marineland 45 gallon cube that measures 24x24x18. This will have a 20 gallon high sump. I built a custom stand modeled after RokleM using rocketengineers basic design. I will be utilizing a c2c calfo with beananimals plumbing. I have a SWC 120 cone skimmer and a maxijet 3000 return that will be teed off to a small 70w halide lit refugium. Ill be using a tried and true 250 watt radium halide housed in a lumenmax 2 pendant ran off a galaxy select a watt hqi ballast. This tank will be open top. Havent decided whether ill be going BB or SSB yet but I have all my old live rock that had to be bleached and pressure washed due to a eunice worm that I just couldnt find and refused to take the chance of him entering my new system. THis rock along with 20lbs of clean cooked rock are recooking in a rubbermaid. All my coral and fish are in a temp rubbermaid as well. Theres enough to chew on so lets get on with the build!

 

[chrishayes]

I started the build with a stand. Its constructed with 2x4s and skinned in 1/2" oak.

Due to my flooring throughout the house being uneven slate and the fact that I am using a level sensitive calfo overflow I had to use levelers. These are nice because you mount them to the base then drill holes in the cabinet floor above to access the adjusting screw.

Sure beats laying on your face with a crescent wrench trying to adjust the standard type! Plus you are left with a nice clean install with the supplied caps. They are rated for 600# each so I think they should hold up quite well.

 

[Dana42078]

Lookin good! Think ill tag along for the ride as im upgrading my 20g to a 45g cube.

 

[chrishayes]

Next it was time to drill the tank for the three bulkheads. I ordered a 1 3/4" glass-holes bit and 1" bulkheads. I measured my holes by first placing the height of the holes as far up as I could to just fit the collar of the bulkhead plus a half inch. Then the spacing lengthwise was just a function of where the pipes would enter my sump. Its been quite a few years since I drilled a tank so I was a bit rusty. I decided instead of doing how I used to by starting the bit at an angle to get it started, I would instead just make a simple template.

I just clamped this in place and started the hole with some water. Then removed it and built putty dams filled with water and continued the cutting. Pretty uneventful, got holes?

Test fit the BH just to make sure they fit well and they did so it was broke down, masked and the back was painted with krylon fusion gloss black. Took about 4 coats with 10 min flashes between them. Purty!

Unmasked, looks good.

 

[chrishayes]

While the paint was drying I ordered all my glass. I chose smoked grey for the calfo in 1/4" and 1/4" clear for my sump baffles along with the refugium wall. I am doing a center return sump with a full height fuge to the front so I can view it and the skimmer with bubble trap in the rear. My sump will be running perpedicularly:uhoh2:?? This will allow first for me to view the fuge as another "tank" and second to give me room for my topoff container, 2 part containers, dosing pumps, pc4s blah blah blah blah. I am able to do this because the sides of the stand will be left open as well as the front with doors being an option if I (or my wife)dont like the look. DOnt mind the mess, a bomb went off and im still on hold with fema!

I also got to work on the plumbing. For my open channel pipe I used a drill and tap to thread the 3/8" JG fitting. Ill have to pick up a standard fitting without the knob but this is what I had on hand.

And viola!

 

[chrishayes]

Thanks Dana and JVO. Glad you like and feel free to tag along!

 

[chrishayes]

Heres a fun fact for anyone looking into a swc skimmer, it skims FRESHWATER!

So heres a shot of the light ill be using.

And my current ghetto fish tank!

Lots to do tomorrow, gonna be 100 degrees here so I hope my wife doesnt find out ive been leaving the garage access door open to the house! post my progress tomorrow.

 

[Dana42078]

MOving along .... I know this heat were catching here in the midwest is BRUTAL!

 

[Chris Lakies]

Nice stand build!

 

[chrishayes]

thanks chris! Im pretty good at building things but perfectly square and level are not in my vocabulary typically...but I took my time and made sure EVERYTHING was square, level and exactly the right size! There isnt a single shim used and the top is completely level! I give all the thanks to roklem for the idea.

 

[chrishayes]

Got my glass for the calfo and sump. The guy did a great job and the price was good too! 40$ for all of it, he even cleaned up the edges. I mismeasured the calfos lengths though...dang it, they are about 1/4" too short. Its gonna take some creative silicone work to get them done but oh well:headwallblue:

Going out to the garage, post results when im done. MAN ITS HOT!

 

[reefsurfing]

I mismeasured the calfos lengths though...dang it, they are about 1/4" too short. Its gonna take some creative silicone work to get them done but oh well:headwallblue:

Can you grab some 1/8 plexi and put it on each end or grab 1/4 and put an edge on one side to take up the space?!

 

[chrishayes]

Nah, I just filleted it with silicone. Realistically, this is probably stronger joint than if it were glass to glass seeing as though the weld(silicone) has more contact with the glass...its no different than in boat building where when installing stringers to the hull you have to bed them in a thick layer of resin/thickener mix so that there isnt pressure points where the hard wood and hard fiberglass touch. These spots apply the bulk of the entire load of the stringer to a 1/8" point, not good. I assume its no different here. Who knows, i could get water in it and watch the joints blow out, i dont know but I doubt it.

 

[Dana42078]

Nah, I just filleted it with silicone. Realistically, this is probably stronger joint than if it were glass to glass seeing as though the weld(silicone) has more contact with the glass...its no different than in boat building where when installing stringers to the hull you have to bed them in a thick layer of resin/thickener mix so that there isnt pressure points where the hard wood and hard fiberglass touch. These spots apply the bulk of the entire load of the stringer to a 1/8" point, not good. I assume its no different here. Who knows, i could get water in it and watch the joints blow out, i dont know but I doubt it.

Guess were gunna find out the hard way eh. You didnt take a picture? Kinda wanna see what this looks like.

 

[chrishayes]

Ok, man what a ridiculously hot day! I cant believe its supposed to be HOTTER tomorrow:worried: Oh well, had the air cranked in the house with the garage access door open, shhhhhlove1: my wife). Wasnt too bad in there but probably 85. Better than the 110 heat index outside, after a downpour the sun came right back out and boy, for all you west coasters, just run a mile then crawl up inside your shorts and youre close!

ANyhow, as I said, my glass was 1/4" short for the overflow but thats 1/8" on either side so really I see it as an advantage to get the silicone into the whole joint instead of just a glob on the front and back. I dunno tho.

I started by setting the water height by adjusting the height of the vertical glass. I set the top of the weir at 5/8" below the bottom of the tcanopy lip. this should give me a 1/2" when water flows. Then I squared up the bottom glass with a square and some folded over painters tape to keep it in place, measured the height and square several dozen more times then siliconed her in place.

This is mock up

Then the bottom glass in place.

While that was curing I started the fuge. THis glass fit perfectly, just small enough to allow some silicone to squeeze into the joint. I decided to use a 2 baffle under over bubble trap due to using beans system which produces no bubbles and my skimmers outlet faces away from the trap allowing plenty of time for the bubbles to disipate I hope...I started with the left most baffle which is the under. I used a 2x4 for spacing so its 1.5" off the botom.

You can see my method for keeping the baffle in place while siliconing it. I just used a few scraps of 2x4 and clamps to lock it in place then I put a square on both sides to hold it on the other side.

on to the next, this is the over so its on the bottom. I also used a 2x4 to space this horizontally from the under baffle. You can see I have my fuge wall mocked up as well. I am reconsidering letting it just overflow directly over the top into the return chamber. Its higher than I pictured, about 4" drop. I dont believe in low flow for a fuge so its gonna have some falls. I guess ill have to drill it and order another bulkhead dang it.its gonna have to be a 1" cause im not buying another bit! Anyone know of a diy version? I thought of using a tee just siliconed in the hole but I havent cut any corners yet so i dont know. it obviously doesnt need to be anything special.

WHat do you guys think? let it overflow, get a bulkhead or find something at homey depot to fit..ish?

 

[chrishayes]

I siliconed the face of the overflow on but it needs to cure so I can remove the the spacers in order to seal up the inside so I called it a day.

Oh, this is my silicone smoothie, patent pending. its just a coincidence that it looks like a gun:wavehand:

Back at it tomorrow.

 

[jmccoya]

Tagging along.....

 

[chrishayes]

Hey Jeff! Thanks for checking me out and for the light. Just got a radium bulb in yesterday but havent fired it up yet. Again thanks for looking and stay cool tomorrow! Bet you stay in the car as much as you can huh? I would, for many reasons.

 

[chrishayes]

Ok, another day of sweat, ive got a calfo overflow and a completed sump and refugium! Today was basically just silicone silicone silicone. I finished all the joints in the calfo so its ready to rock.

I didnt like looking at the ends of the overflow so I masked off and painted the outside of the tank black to hide it. As you can see, this system doesnt take up much room at all and is hardly visible once black elbows are intalled in the bulkheads. Even after I debated making the calfo smaller to take up less room but I decided to make it comfortable to get my hand in it for maintainence reasons. I mean if it sucks to do, ya just dont do it!

 

[chrishayes]

And after thinking about trying to hack together a bulkhead for the fuge I decided that since Ive made it a point to not cut any corners so far even a small detail like this needs to be done right so I ordered another bulkhead and strainer for it. Whats another $20? Heres the finished sump, Just need to do a little razor clean up in a few spots and let it cure then ill water test it.

And since I didnt show my glass cutting setup here ya go, this is the fuge baffle. just some plumbers putty filled with water.

Plumbing tomorrow. oh and it is 112 degrees today without the heat index so I assume its in the 120 range. Ive never felt heat like this here!