A First Plywood Project...
- Thread starter Sean : EbN
- Start date
otterpop510
New member
wow, really impressive work, the plumbing looks crazy.. just like an octopus..
Sean : EbN
New member
HAHA Well those pics woke you guys up huh?? Glad you all like them!
Leon : Great! Can't wait to see it!
Brett : Thanks a lot man!
Carl : Yeah... my girlfriend takes all of the pics for me. She is our photographer at the shop and does FANTASTIC work but she is new with the photographing around glass thing. She'll get great at it I know... just takes practice!
Paverdude : Thanks a lot! Good luck with the wife and the new tank order!
Alphabet : I appreciate the compliments! I have had a lot of building experience but never anything that held water in. I guess I can check this one off of my list of things to build someday!
Covey : I need to tinker with it so I can get a good design down... I want to give more support and flow than anything. Of course rock is expensive but nothing but the best for this tank
I just always hate rock avalanches after you get everything just perfect! If you have any questions about my build, feel free to contact me anytime!
otterpop510 : Thanks! The 8way kicks BUTT!
trottman : Who need just a WOT? After all this work I think I've lost my mind and I'm feeding imaginary fish! Working on the rock vats so I can cure out a bunch for this tank... one step at a time!
SmOkin : I will double check it but as of yesterday I guess the pipe tape and PVC swelled a bit and it stopped leaking. Thanks for the compliments and advice!
reefmanv : Yes it is my first plywood tank but IS IT MY LAST?!? HAHA Maybe if we get a bigger store someday I'll make that 2000 gallon I've always wanted! We'll see...
psusocr : As per other builds that I read of, i used a ScotchBrite pad to scuff the epoxy paint up really good. It acted a lot like #400 wet-dry sandpaper. I also got some Dow Corning RTV Primer from a buddy who builds a lot of plywood tanks and he said to put it on the tank before siliconing so I did. I used 5 caulking tubes of Silicone to make the bead between the tank and the glass and then I used another 5 tubes to make a fillet bead around the whole interior perimeter of the glass. To give you an idea of how wide the fillet bead is... I used the back end of an empty caulking tube as my applicator! Much wider than the standard index finger!
Ok... on with my side project... My prop vats that will temporarily serve as live rock curing vats for this new tank. I worked on this all morning and then again this evening. It ate up some lumber but seems quite solid so I think it will work well.
The tubs are white polyethylene from Aquatic EcoSystems. They are approx. 130 gal each and measure 77x41x12. They were about $200 each delivered via truck freight. I bought 6 of them so I could get the discount and choice of color. I plan to hook 2 of them to the same sump which is a 55 gallon storage tote that I found. I will probably run a Reeflo dart on these for circulation and on this rock unit I plan to run an MRC MR-3 protein skimmer fed by a Blueline 55 pump. On a side note I ordered some stuff from Andy at MRC today. VERY nice guy! I order the skimmer I just mentioned as well as a CR-6 Dual Calcium reactor and large Nilsen Kalk reactor for the main display tank.
Here are the pics of the new rock vats...
A shot of the top tank. It's lip is about 5.5' off the ground. I used a 1.5" bulkhead in the center bottom for drainage. Right now it is just dumping into the vat below it and being pumped back up just so I can make some adjustments.
Oh well... its incredibly late and I'm about to die! We'll see what I get to tomorrow...
LATER!
Leon : Great! Can't wait to see it!
Brett : Thanks a lot man!
Carl : Yeah... my girlfriend takes all of the pics for me. She is our photographer at the shop and does FANTASTIC work but she is new with the photographing around glass thing. She'll get great at it I know... just takes practice!
Paverdude : Thanks a lot! Good luck with the wife and the new tank order!
Alphabet : I appreciate the compliments! I have had a lot of building experience but never anything that held water in. I guess I can check this one off of my list of things to build someday!
Covey : I need to tinker with it so I can get a good design down... I want to give more support and flow than anything. Of course rock is expensive but nothing but the best for this tank
I just always hate rock avalanches after you get everything just perfect! If you have any questions about my build, feel free to contact me anytime!otterpop510 : Thanks! The 8way kicks BUTT!
trottman : Who need just a WOT? After all this work I think I've lost my mind and I'm feeding imaginary fish! Working on the rock vats so I can cure out a bunch for this tank... one step at a time!
SmOkin : I will double check it but as of yesterday I guess the pipe tape and PVC swelled a bit and it stopped leaking. Thanks for the compliments and advice!
reefmanv : Yes it is my first plywood tank but IS IT MY LAST?!? HAHA Maybe if we get a bigger store someday I'll make that 2000 gallon I've always wanted! We'll see...
psusocr : As per other builds that I read of, i used a ScotchBrite pad to scuff the epoxy paint up really good. It acted a lot like #400 wet-dry sandpaper. I also got some Dow Corning RTV Primer from a buddy who builds a lot of plywood tanks and he said to put it on the tank before siliconing so I did. I used 5 caulking tubes of Silicone to make the bead between the tank and the glass and then I used another 5 tubes to make a fillet bead around the whole interior perimeter of the glass. To give you an idea of how wide the fillet bead is... I used the back end of an empty caulking tube as my applicator! Much wider than the standard index finger!
Ok... on with my side project... My prop vats that will temporarily serve as live rock curing vats for this new tank. I worked on this all morning and then again this evening. It ate up some lumber but seems quite solid so I think it will work well.
The tubs are white polyethylene from Aquatic EcoSystems. They are approx. 130 gal each and measure 77x41x12. They were about $200 each delivered via truck freight. I bought 6 of them so I could get the discount and choice of color. I plan to hook 2 of them to the same sump which is a 55 gallon storage tote that I found. I will probably run a Reeflo dart on these for circulation and on this rock unit I plan to run an MRC MR-3 protein skimmer fed by a Blueline 55 pump. On a side note I ordered some stuff from Andy at MRC today. VERY nice guy! I order the skimmer I just mentioned as well as a CR-6 Dual Calcium reactor and large Nilsen Kalk reactor for the main display tank.
Here are the pics of the new rock vats...
A shot of the top tank. It's lip is about 5.5' off the ground. I used a 1.5" bulkhead in the center bottom for drainage. Right now it is just dumping into the vat below it and being pumped back up just so I can make some adjustments.
Oh well... its incredibly late and I'm about to die! We'll see what I get to tomorrow...
LATER!
Sean : EbN
New member
Hey Covey,
I think I will be happy with the MRC stuff... if anything it's nice to talk reef with nice people and Andy is nice people
I bought these tubs because I was thinking of making a really large snake rack using them. I need a rack system for my collection of large Burmese Python breeders and the boa racks that we purchase are just too small. Here is a pic...
These tubs are 48x30x10" and are thermoformed. I love them but they are not big wnough for the 12-18 ft Burmese Pythons. I got these AE tubs in and they just seems too flimsy to use as snake boxes so I decided to use most all of them for prop tanks in my new shop area. I really like the tubs for the price. There is a guy that posts here on the board that owns ricksreefs.com and he bought some fiberglass "economy" tubs from AE for about $300 each I believe. I would have rathered those but since I already had these they'll do.
I wish I had the room in the shop because a friend of mine build this big plywood tidepool tank in his shop and I love it! Picture a 16 x 4 ft rectangle with a 6ft wide octagonal shape in the center... that's what he made and its cool! Some day...
Thanks for the replies!
I think I will be happy with the MRC stuff... if anything it's nice to talk reef with nice people and Andy is nice people
I bought these tubs because I was thinking of making a really large snake rack using them. I need a rack system for my collection of large Burmese Python breeders and the boa racks that we purchase are just too small. Here is a pic...
These tubs are 48x30x10" and are thermoformed. I love them but they are not big wnough for the 12-18 ft Burmese Pythons. I got these AE tubs in and they just seems too flimsy to use as snake boxes so I decided to use most all of them for prop tanks in my new shop area. I really like the tubs for the price. There is a guy that posts here on the board that owns ricksreefs.com and he bought some fiberglass "economy" tubs from AE for about $300 each I believe. I would have rathered those but since I already had these they'll do.
I wish I had the room in the shop because a friend of mine build this big plywood tidepool tank in his shop and I love it! Picture a 16 x 4 ft rectangle with a 6ft wide octagonal shape in the center... that's what he made and its cool! Some day...
Thanks for the replies!
JustOneMoreTank
New member
Simply Amazing! I read through the entire thread today in two sessions. 7 Pages! Looks great and I cant wait to see the LR and livestock in the tank.
blfuller123
Premium Member
Got any updates Sean?
Ddddrgnfly
Member
Just ran across this thread. Awesome job. Looks like she will be a Beaut when she is stocked. Can you get any pics of your friends Tidepool? Would like to see it as well.
Sean : EbN
New member
Here is the update guys...
Sorry for the delay! Sunday I came down with the Flu or something like it and then Sunday night my 1.5 yr old Doberman Pinscher got hit by a car.
After many hours at the emergency vet clinic he was released with only a little fluid on his lungs and no broken bones?!? I'm telling you that car hit him going at least 20-30 mph How do they do it?? We are just so relieved that he seems like he will be ok. Our dogs are like our children (since we don't have any of those yet) and we would be so lonely without them. So I'm still praying for Bauer (The Dobe) but he gets better every day!
So Sunday while I was sick but before Bauer's accident I was able to plumb up the return manifold with the 4way OM run from the sump by a Reeflo Dart and also I was able to do the framework for the walls around the tank. Here are some pics...
Here is a shot of the top of the tank from the far right end. This view will be impossible once the tank is all closed in...
Another shot of the tank from the front. As you can see from these pics, I ran one output from the OM 4 way on each end of the tank and then 2 in the front about 2 ft apart.
Another top shot...
Here is the rock shelf that I made from 1" PVC. If you look closely, one of the rear footings of this rack is plugged into a 1" bulkhead and that runs the group of 1/2" Loc-Lines attached to the structure. You can't see the underside but there are a few 1/2" Loc Lines that I hope will help blow some of the detritus from under the rock stacks. I still have to finish a similar structure for the left corner of the tank. I got tired of fooling with all the little fittings. Hope it works out or it'll be a huge waste of material and time.
Another angle...
So that's it for the pics tonight. The water in the tank is SALTWATER!
I plumbed up the overflow drain and put my Durso's together tonight. I hooked it up to the sump room tanks and open her up... TONS OF WATER! I think my sump may be too small 
There is a ton of microbubbles but that can be expected with the new plumbing. With the Dart going there is TONS of flow through the sump. I don't see the sump calming down much even when the pipes get slimy. So I'm thinking of some sort of sump upgrade. Any suggestions? I might even make a plywood sump or I also thought about drilling the current sump with a 2" bulkhead to feed a second sump. I'm just not sure. The current sump barely contains the water during a power shut down.
Back to the drawing board on that one I guess. I need to get my live rock order placed early next week if possible. There just seems to be lots of lags and hold ups. I'll enjoy my clean bubbly saltwater for now.
Thanks for reading...
LATER!
Sorry for the delay! Sunday I came down with the Flu or something like it and then Sunday night my 1.5 yr old Doberman Pinscher got hit by a car.
After many hours at the emergency vet clinic he was released with only a little fluid on his lungs and no broken bones?!? I'm telling you that car hit him going at least 20-30 mph How do they do it?? We are just so relieved that he seems like he will be ok. Our dogs are like our children (since we don't have any of those yet) and we would be so lonely without them. So I'm still praying for Bauer (The Dobe) but he gets better every day!So Sunday while I was sick but before Bauer's accident I was able to plumb up the return manifold with the 4way OM run from the sump by a Reeflo Dart and also I was able to do the framework for the walls around the tank. Here are some pics...
Here is a shot of the top of the tank from the far right end. This view will be impossible once the tank is all closed in...
Another shot of the tank from the front. As you can see from these pics, I ran one output from the OM 4 way on each end of the tank and then 2 in the front about 2 ft apart.
Another top shot...
Here is the rock shelf that I made from 1" PVC. If you look closely, one of the rear footings of this rack is plugged into a 1" bulkhead and that runs the group of 1/2" Loc-Lines attached to the structure. You can't see the underside but there are a few 1/2" Loc Lines that I hope will help blow some of the detritus from under the rock stacks. I still have to finish a similar structure for the left corner of the tank. I got tired of fooling with all the little fittings. Hope it works out or it'll be a huge waste of material and time.
Another angle...
So that's it for the pics tonight. The water in the tank is SALTWATER!
I plumbed up the overflow drain and put my Durso's together tonight. I hooked it up to the sump room tanks and open her up... TONS OF WATER! I think my sump may be too small There is a ton of microbubbles but that can be expected with the new plumbing. With the Dart going there is TONS of flow through the sump. I don't see the sump calming down much even when the pipes get slimy. So I'm thinking of some sort of sump upgrade. Any suggestions? I might even make a plywood sump or I also thought about drilling the current sump with a 2" bulkhead to feed a second sump. I'm just not sure. The current sump barely contains the water during a power shut down.
Back to the drawing board on that one I guess. I need to get my live rock order placed early next week if possible. There just seems to be lots of lags and hold ups. I'll enjoy my clean bubbly saltwater for now.
Thanks for reading...
LATER!
bkiba
Premium Member
sean, what are you using that clamp for? It is on your top frame by the crossbeam, it looks like it is partially submerged as well. Also - this may have already been addressed: are you worried about corrosion of the crossbeam? It seems like an important structural element I wouldn't want it to weak at all with time.
You may want to coat it - the make a product called plasti dip that should work, and it comes in blue
also on the microbubbles, turn your flow down and see if that helps, if so you may want a bigger sump, or just add some more baffles in the existing sump. Also you may want to put some bends in your return line (easy if it is flex), this worked for me. It seems like the water makes a lot more microbubbles when it comes crashing straight out of the tank directly down into the sump, if you angle the return a bit the flow is a little smoother.
good luck!
You may want to coat it - the make a product called plasti dip that should work, and it comes in blue
also on the microbubbles, turn your flow down and see if that helps, if so you may want a bigger sump, or just add some more baffles in the existing sump. Also you may want to put some bends in your return line (easy if it is flex), this worked for me. It seems like the water makes a lot more microbubbles when it comes crashing straight out of the tank directly down into the sump, if you angle the return a bit the flow is a little smoother.
good luck!
Sean : EbN
New member
bkiba : The spring clamp on top of the tank is actually just holding that length of poly hose which is connected to a Mag 5 which was dropped in the overflow trough to move water from the trough to the main tank. This is all gone now.
As for the threaded rod assembly... it has all been coated with the West System epoxy which is clear. So I think that should cover its corrosion.
I can't turn down the flow because then it would be pointless to have the Dart running the circulation. I am thinking about a bigger sump. There are several 90's in the tank's drain leg but they are long turn DWV type fittings that aren't very restrictive. That Dart is just moving a ton of water which looks great for the motion in the main tank but the extra 3000 gph in the sump is going to have to be dealt with. I hate to run a smaller pump on the circulation but if I have to I will. We'll see...
Alpine : Thanks! I'll keep posting!
LATER!
As for the threaded rod assembly... it has all been coated with the West System epoxy which is clear. So I think that should cover its corrosion.
I can't turn down the flow because then it would be pointless to have the Dart running the circulation. I am thinking about a bigger sump. There are several 90's in the tank's drain leg but they are long turn DWV type fittings that aren't very restrictive. That Dart is just moving a ton of water which looks great for the motion in the main tank but the extra 3000 gph in the sump is going to have to be dealt with. I hate to run a smaller pump on the circulation but if I have to I will. We'll see...
Alpine : Thanks! I'll keep posting!
LATER!
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