50b Sumpless Mixed Reef Build!

[BigJohnny]

Got my new aqua c remora s protein skimmer today, was pretty pumped until I realized the collection cup was assembled slightly crooked. I called them and the owner answered and said he'd send me a new one for free today and that I could keep the other for back up if I wanted. Great customer service.

I got this skimmer for several reasons:

- it's smaller than my reef octopus bh2000 and has a smaller in tank footprint. I also got the pre-skim box which is basically a feux mini overflow box with weir that pre-skims and hides the intake/output.

-it's smoke black instead of clear which I prefer

-it has an incredibly reliable reputation and extremely small chance of overflow due to its design and this built in drain fitting on the collection cup (awesome):

The main reason was the overflow/reliability. Just scares me not to have the best one for that and my reef octopus (although it is a fantastic hob skimmer) it doesn't have the same reputation/reliability to not overflow.

In fact if you don't have the input/output tuned well on the reef octo in accordance with the water level, it will overflow on initial start-up which it did to me. Once it was adjusted it was fine however that experience turned me off (probably an over reaction). It also limits your water levels due to the length of the pipe and would have required me to trim the output pipe or lower my level below what i like.

 

[BigJohnny]

I also ordered some ELOS sv.M2 pellet fish food, which is very concentrated and does not use phosphate laden preservatives. I plan to mainly feed mysis however I needed pellets for my auto feeder when I'm on vacation.

Also got the hydor slim skim nano for my qt observation tank along with the tunze 3152 nano ato.

 

[Miguelh1302]

Aqua c remora is the best at customer service

 

[BigJohnny]

Aqua c remora is the best at customer service

Yea it was great, and it's not often you get to speak with the owner when something is wrong.

 

[BigJohnny]

So I decided to try and build my own stand for my 20g qt observation tank. Most of the ones available for purchase are either super cheaply made, over priced, or both. I wanted to build one that looked nice and was strong/waterproof (no particle board please).

I'm not done yet, I still need to finish skinning the front, top and bottom platform. As well as fill in all the screws with wood filler then sand and paint/stain. Will probably add a door as well and who knows, maybe even some moulding and routing [emoji6] .

I'm talking about this like I know what I'm doing however this is the first time I have ever tried to build a piece of furniture, I didn't even own a saw......but you can learn anything on the internet.

Here is what I have so far. It's framed with prime grade 2x4s using #9 , 2 1/2" premium exterior coated wood screws (no pilot holes needed [emoji106]). Skin is 1/2" premium primed shop grade blondewood:

Im very pleased with it so far. Pretty good for a newb eh?[emoji41]

 

[Isaacs55]

So I decided to try and build my own stand for my 20g qt observation tank. Most of the ones available for purchase are either super cheaply made, over priced, or both. I wanted to build one that looked nice and was strong/waterproof (no particle board please).

I'm not done yet, I still need to finish skinning the front, top and bottom platform. As well as fill in all the screws with wood filler then sand and paint/stain. Will probably add a door as well and who knows, maybe even some moulding and routing [emoji6] .

I'm talking about this like I know what I'm doing however this is the first time I have ever tried to build a piece of furniture, I didn't even own a saw......but you can learn anything on the internet.

Here is what I have so far. It's framed with prime grade 2x4s using #9 , 2 1/2" premium exterior coated wood screws (no pilot holes needed [emoji106]). Skin is 1/2" premium primed shop grade blondewood:

Im very pleased with it so far. Pretty good for a newb eh?[emoji41]

:thumbdown haha Just kidding lol its really nice man for a newb lol bravo sir! :thumbsup:

 

[BigJohnny]

Haha.............and I just realized I can no longer use one piece of wood for the bottom shelf because I sealed up the sides already! oh well, rookie mistake.

 

[Isaacs55]

Here's mine for my 40 breeder display...still have to finish the doors and and do a second coat to get a darker finish t9 match the rest of the furniture. Also a couple coats of polyurethane over the entire stand and paint the inside white or black not sure yet. I used minwax provincial to kinda give you an idea of stain color

 

[Isaacs55]

 

[Isaacs55]

Haha.............and I just realized I can no longer use one piece of wood for the bottom shelf because I sealed up the sides already! oh well, rookie mistake.

Haha you have no idea how many times I took my stand apart be cause I had to fix it and so the same thing to mine lol also my 20 gallon sump only fits from the sides also which are sealed up lol I actually had to take the top quarter inch ply off and put the sump in from the top of the stand lol the stuggle is real lol
:headwalls:

 

[BigJohnny]

That looks awesome man great job! I love the stain and plan on copying you haha. What did you use for the black trim on the corners? Also, what size/type of wood for the top/bottom trim and what size screws/nails? (I'm a super newb)

 

[BigJohnny]

Haha you have no idea how many times I took my stand apart be cause I had to fix it and so the same thing to mine lol also my 20 gallon sump only fits from the sides also which are sealed up lol I actually had to take the top quarter inch ply off and put the sump in from the top of the stand lol the stuggle is real lol
:headwalls:

Haha good to know I'm not alone. Luckily I looked at the opening in the front and because the stand is so much taller than wide i think ill be able to fit the bottom in vertically through the front.

How did you cut out the opening on the front skin and what size screws/nails did you attach it with? I only bought a miter saw which has been great for cutting 2x4s and will be helpful for trim however it obviously won't do that. I had to have home depot cut my plywood because I don't have a table saw or circular saw (thought about buying a circular saw but didn't think I'd be able to make clean straight cuts). Don't have room for a table saw in my townhouse currently (no garage).

 

[BigJohnny]

That looks awesome man great job! I love the stain and plan on copying you haha. What did you use for the black trim on the corners? Also, what size/type of wood for the top/bottom trim and what size screws/nails? (I'm a super newb)

Bought a circular saw and rented a 16 gauge finishing nailer. Cut the rest of my 1/2" blondewood plywood and am currently in the process of skinning the front with wood glue and the 16 gauge finishing nails.

Bought some 1x3 select pine for the top and bottom trim. Will use my miter saw to fit the corners and wood glue/finishing nails to seal the deal. I would like to attach a corner trim like the black (plastic?) ones you have installed on your stand but I wasn't able to find anything similar. Alternative is just miter jointed 1x2s.

Will then fill in all the holes/joints with wood filler, then sand and paint everything. I was originally going to stain but now that the tank is going in a room with hardwood floors I wanted to mix it up a bit. Haven't decided on a color yet but it will be waterproof/resistant or I will cover the whole stand in a clear coat of that after painting.

I will probably also cut a door and paint then install that as a magnetic removable panel rather than a hinged door.

I will post more pics tomorrow. Meanwhile my display tank is cycling faster. Took about 5 days to process the last dose of ammonia to mostly nitrate. Still waiting on that magical 24hr conversion!

Stay tuned[emoji106]

 

[Isaacs55]

Haha good to know I'm not alone. Luckily I looked at the opening in the front and because the stand is so much taller than wide i think ill be able to fit the bottom in vertically through the front.

How did you cut out the opening on the front skin and what size screws/nails did you attach it with? I only bought a miter saw which has been great for cutting 2x4s and will be helpful for trim however it obviously won't do that. I had to have home depot cut my plywood because I don't have a table saw or circular saw (thought about buying a circular saw but didn't think I'd be able to make clean straight cuts). Don't have room for a table saw in my townhouse currently (no garage).

I used a jigsaw. First drilled pilot wholes in each corner so I could fit my jigsaw in and then just jigsaw away lol super easy. A jigsaw is pretty cheap too. And I used wood glue and then 1" 1/4 screws in all edges, then used poplar and some 1x3 to cover where I screwed everything

 

[Isaacs55]

The black trim I used was just wood poplar in The trim aile?

 

[BigJohnny]

I used a jigsaw. First drilled pilot wholes in each corner so I could fit my jigsaw in and then just jigsaw away lol super easy. A jigsaw is pretty cheap too. And I used wood glue and then 1" 1/4 screws in all edges, then used poplar and some 1x3 to cover where I screwed everything

Oh ok, did you just glue the poplar and 1x3?

 

[BigJohnny]

The black trim I used was just wood poplar in The trim aile?

Oh ok so you just painted it black? How thick was it? 2 inches?

 

[Isaacs55]

Oh ok so you just painted it black? How thick was it? 2 inches?

Yea all the trim I put on was glued and nailed with finish nails. The poplar I just painted black and it's like 2 inches maybe not sure. There's only one size I think...just different lengths

 

[BigJohnny]

I went with 1x3 select pine trim. Here is where I'm at now:

I still need to install the inside bottom panel as well as a hinged or magnetic front door/panel. Then just need to fill in the screw/nail holes and any gaps in the joints, sand, then paint!

I'm very pleased with it so far, especially because it is the first piece of furniture I have made and the first woodworking project I have done since elementary school haha.

 

[Isaacs55]

Right on man! It's looking clean! I had an idea last night for my stand. Instead of trim on it I'm going to take it all off and make it all square without the teim. I'm going to use wood epoxy for the edges so I get a fine finish and then paint it all cuz I want a modern look and I don't like how it looks right now lol. And the doors I'm going to make one big door and hinge it so I can just take it off and on.