Sean : EbN
New member
Hello everyone,
I have been a member here at Reef Central for a long time (actually had to re-join at some point a few years ago) and I have always enjoyed lurking around this sub-forum as well as the Large Tank & SPS sub-forums. I recently had the desire to build a tank. Most of my ideas and inspiration has come from a tank that was made by Acro which can be seen at this link...http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=616830&perpage=25&pagenumber=1
Over the last few days I have been working on it a few hours at a time. I'm really trying to be patient (which is SO unlike me) so hopefully it will progress slowly and nicely. The main display volume is about 300 gallons and measures 96 x 24 x 30. The overflow trough volume is about 40 gallons and measures 96 x 8 x 12 making the whole tank "box" 96 x 32 x 30 (minus the rear area under the trough of course)
I decided to use 3/4 inch 10 ply Birch Plywood. The construction of the "box" required 6 full sheets of plywood, including the "euro-style" top that is not in place in these photographs. The front panel is 2 panels thick making it 1.5 inches. I glued the structure together with Heavy-Duty Liquid Nails and Deck King 2.5 inch deck screws.
I will be using the West Systems Epoxy for sealing the wood. Tonight I almost finished filleting all the interior seems with Epoxy mixed with fairing filler. This will put a "bead" (just like silicone in a glass aquarium) in all the interior seems that will be hard as a rock when cured adding TONS of strength to the joints. This should take away the need for any sort of interior corner bracing such as 2x2's which some people use. Once these fillets are finished I will sand them down to a nice smooth contour and then start applying the fiberglass woven cloth to the interior of the tank with the West Systems Epoxy. Once the cloth is "wet-out" I will apply the second coat with the blue resin tint. Then a few more coats I'm sure... I guess I have enough work cut out for me soon.
I will try my best to get a bunch of photos of the project as it goes through the stages. As for the sump, stand and other equiptment... I'll map all that out later. So in the meantime, here are some pics...
A couple photos of me in it for size comparison (I'm not a big fella!)
Thanks a lot for looking and I will be updating this thread as I go! Please let me know if you have any questions/suggestions!
I have been a member here at Reef Central for a long time (actually had to re-join at some point a few years ago) and I have always enjoyed lurking around this sub-forum as well as the Large Tank & SPS sub-forums. I recently had the desire to build a tank. Most of my ideas and inspiration has come from a tank that was made by Acro which can be seen at this link...http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=616830&perpage=25&pagenumber=1
Over the last few days I have been working on it a few hours at a time. I'm really trying to be patient (which is SO unlike me) so hopefully it will progress slowly and nicely. The main display volume is about 300 gallons and measures 96 x 24 x 30. The overflow trough volume is about 40 gallons and measures 96 x 8 x 12 making the whole tank "box" 96 x 32 x 30 (minus the rear area under the trough of course)
I decided to use 3/4 inch 10 ply Birch Plywood. The construction of the "box" required 6 full sheets of plywood, including the "euro-style" top that is not in place in these photographs. The front panel is 2 panels thick making it 1.5 inches. I glued the structure together with Heavy-Duty Liquid Nails and Deck King 2.5 inch deck screws.
I will be using the West Systems Epoxy for sealing the wood. Tonight I almost finished filleting all the interior seems with Epoxy mixed with fairing filler. This will put a "bead" (just like silicone in a glass aquarium) in all the interior seems that will be hard as a rock when cured adding TONS of strength to the joints. This should take away the need for any sort of interior corner bracing such as 2x2's which some people use. Once these fillets are finished I will sand them down to a nice smooth contour and then start applying the fiberglass woven cloth to the interior of the tank with the West Systems Epoxy. Once the cloth is "wet-out" I will apply the second coat with the blue resin tint. Then a few more coats I'm sure... I guess I have enough work cut out for me soon.
I will try my best to get a bunch of photos of the project as it goes through the stages. As for the sump, stand and other equiptment... I'll map all that out later. So in the meantime, here are some pics...
A couple photos of me in it for size comparison (I'm not a big fella!)
Thanks a lot for looking and I will be updating this thread as I go! Please let me know if you have any questions/suggestions!