A Stand and Canopy Done Wright
- Thread starter jlanger
- Start date
jlanger
Get busy living...
Spend a good deal of time on the design. A properly designed project is so much easier to build.
By the time I started the physical construction of the stand and canopy, I had already mentally worked through the process many times over.
Make sure you keep us posted with your build. I enjoy seeing other people's designs and work.
The right tools sure make the job easier.
But I can tell you that you can never have enough tools!
jlanger
Get busy living...
It's quite nice to finally sit back and look at what's inside the aquarium rather than under and over it.
But as I look at what's inside, I'm finding more projects to add to my list.
I think it's time to start affixing the smaller corals and frags in place; as my red tuxedo urchin likes to push them around.
And I need to coax the rose bubble tip anemone to come out front; as it wants to stay on the backside of the aquascaping.
And I really should think about cutting up the big green montipora sp. corals; as they are already encroaching on other corals.
And I'll try to get my brother to come over and take some more photographs show I can post more recent pics.
But here's the ever watchful Randall's Goby.
But as I look at what's inside, I'm finding more projects to add to my list.
I think it's time to start affixing the smaller corals and frags in place; as my red tuxedo urchin likes to push them around.
And I need to coax the rose bubble tip anemone to come out front; as it wants to stay on the backside of the aquascaping.
And I really should think about cutting up the big green montipora sp. corals; as they are already encroaching on other corals.
And I'll try to get my brother to come over and take some more photographs show I can post more recent pics.
But here's the ever watchful Randall's Goby.
mcpiii1124
Addict
beautiful
jlanger
Get busy living...
Water Change Improvements
Water Change Improvements
It's been a little since I posted any new information, but that does not mean I have not been busy.
I have made improvements to my water change maintenance routine.
Since I upgraded from the 45gal to the 120gal system, I purchased a 44gal Brute container for making new saltwater and a 32gal Brute container for moving the water from/to the tank.
The first thing I did to the Brute containers was to thoroughly clean them.
After I cleaned them, I used 5gal water containers to fill the Brutes with water. While doing so, I recorded the height of the water levels for each 5 gallons in the two different containers. I did this so I could quickly measure the amount of water I had available when making new batches of saltwater.
I made a couple of "measuring sticks" using leftover sections of white pvc pipe with vinyl numbers and line markers.
I started with 10 gallons and placed a line at each gallon; with numbers for every 5 gallons.
When I need to know how much water is in a container, I just drop in the stick and have an accurate measurement.
This works well with needing to know how much salt to add, how much water I remove from the display and how much water I need to refill the display.
<a href="http://s32.photobucket.com/user/jason_langer/media/A%20Stand%20and%20Canopy%20Done%20Wright/44-1-FreshSaltwater.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d4/jason_langer/A%20Stand%20and%20Canopy%20Done%20Wright/44-1-FreshSaltwater.jpg" border="0" alt="Fresh Saltwater photo 44-1-FreshSaltwater.jpg"/></a>
Another project was to create a siphon for draining water out of the display.
I created a U-tube Siphon out of pvc parts and hooked it up to a length of 3/4" flexible tubing. The tubing just empties into my 32gal Brute container on a dolly.
<a href="http://s32.photobucket.com/user/jason_langer/media/A%20Stand%20and%20Canopy%20Done%20Wright/44-2-DrainingWater.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d4/jason_langer/A%20Stand%20and%20Canopy%20Done%20Wright/44-2-DrainingWater.jpg" border="0" alt="Draining Water photo 44-2-DrainingWater.jpg"/></a>
I didn't glue any of the parts together so I can make modifications and changes as I see fit.
If I want to siphon out more or less water, I just change to piece of pipe that is inside the tank to a longer or shorter piece.
Once the water level reaches the upturned elbows, the siphon breaks.
When using this siphon, I can be away from the tank to do other maintenance and not have to worry about overflowing the Brute container.
<a href="http://s32.photobucket.com/user/jason_langer/media/A%20Stand%20and%20Canopy%20Done%20Wright/44-3-Waterlevel.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d4/jason_langer/A%20Stand%20and%20Canopy%20Done%20Wright/44-3-Waterlevel.jpg" border="0" alt="Water Level photo 44-3-Waterlevel.jpg"/></a>
With this setup, I remove about 23 gallons of water.
Since I know how much water was drained from the display, I fill the Brute container to that same level and wheel the fresh saltwater over to the display.
Using the same U-tube Siphon, I hook up a smaller water pump to pump the fresh saltwater up into the tank.
<a href="http://s32.photobucket.com/user/jason_langer/media/A%20Stand%20and%20Canopy%20Done%20Wright/44-5-FillingUp.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d4/jason_langer/A%20Stand%20and%20Canopy%20Done%20Wright/44-5-FillingUp.jpg" border="0" alt="Filling Up photo 44-5-FillingUp.jpg"/></a>
Since I have the same amount of water in the container that was removed, I don't need to worry about over-filling the display.
Which regardless, wouldn't be much of an issue as my sump has the overflow space available.
Another little toy I picked up was the Bucket Head wet/dry vacuum for cleaning out the detritus that accumulates in my sump.
For about $22, it's a great way to clean out a sump that is too low for a siphon system.
Having a dedicated vacuum and bucket for my tank should eliminate any possible contaminations from other sources.
And since the basin is just a 5gal bucket, it's a breeze to pick up and dump out the waste water.
<a href="http://s32.photobucket.com/user/jason_langer/media/A%20Stand%20and%20Canopy%20Done%20Wright/44-6-BucketHead.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d4/jason_langer/A%20Stand%20and%20Canopy%20Done%20Wright/44-6-BucketHead.jpg" border="0" alt="Bucket Head photo 44-6-BucketHead.jpg"/></a>
Doing these type of upgrades really made my water change maintenance routine a lot easier and not such a chore.
No more guessing about how much water I have.
No more lugging around 5gal buckets.
No more lifting and dumping buckets of water into the display.
No more splashing and dripping water all over the place.
And I can get it all done in less than half an hour.
Water Change Improvements
It's been a little since I posted any new information, but that does not mean I have not been busy.
I have made improvements to my water change maintenance routine.
Since I upgraded from the 45gal to the 120gal system, I purchased a 44gal Brute container for making new saltwater and a 32gal Brute container for moving the water from/to the tank.
The first thing I did to the Brute containers was to thoroughly clean them.
After I cleaned them, I used 5gal water containers to fill the Brutes with water. While doing so, I recorded the height of the water levels for each 5 gallons in the two different containers. I did this so I could quickly measure the amount of water I had available when making new batches of saltwater.
I made a couple of "measuring sticks" using leftover sections of white pvc pipe with vinyl numbers and line markers.
I started with 10 gallons and placed a line at each gallon; with numbers for every 5 gallons.
When I need to know how much water is in a container, I just drop in the stick and have an accurate measurement.
This works well with needing to know how much salt to add, how much water I remove from the display and how much water I need to refill the display.
<a href="http://s32.photobucket.com/user/jason_langer/media/A%20Stand%20and%20Canopy%20Done%20Wright/44-1-FreshSaltwater.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d4/jason_langer/A%20Stand%20and%20Canopy%20Done%20Wright/44-1-FreshSaltwater.jpg" border="0" alt="Fresh Saltwater photo 44-1-FreshSaltwater.jpg"/></a>
Another project was to create a siphon for draining water out of the display.
I created a U-tube Siphon out of pvc parts and hooked it up to a length of 3/4" flexible tubing. The tubing just empties into my 32gal Brute container on a dolly.
<a href="http://s32.photobucket.com/user/jason_langer/media/A%20Stand%20and%20Canopy%20Done%20Wright/44-2-DrainingWater.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d4/jason_langer/A%20Stand%20and%20Canopy%20Done%20Wright/44-2-DrainingWater.jpg" border="0" alt="Draining Water photo 44-2-DrainingWater.jpg"/></a>
I didn't glue any of the parts together so I can make modifications and changes as I see fit.
If I want to siphon out more or less water, I just change to piece of pipe that is inside the tank to a longer or shorter piece.
Once the water level reaches the upturned elbows, the siphon breaks.
When using this siphon, I can be away from the tank to do other maintenance and not have to worry about overflowing the Brute container.
<a href="http://s32.photobucket.com/user/jason_langer/media/A%20Stand%20and%20Canopy%20Done%20Wright/44-3-Waterlevel.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d4/jason_langer/A%20Stand%20and%20Canopy%20Done%20Wright/44-3-Waterlevel.jpg" border="0" alt="Water Level photo 44-3-Waterlevel.jpg"/></a>
With this setup, I remove about 23 gallons of water.
Since I know how much water was drained from the display, I fill the Brute container to that same level and wheel the fresh saltwater over to the display.
Using the same U-tube Siphon, I hook up a smaller water pump to pump the fresh saltwater up into the tank.
<a href="http://s32.photobucket.com/user/jason_langer/media/A%20Stand%20and%20Canopy%20Done%20Wright/44-5-FillingUp.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d4/jason_langer/A%20Stand%20and%20Canopy%20Done%20Wright/44-5-FillingUp.jpg" border="0" alt="Filling Up photo 44-5-FillingUp.jpg"/></a>
Since I have the same amount of water in the container that was removed, I don't need to worry about over-filling the display.
Which regardless, wouldn't be much of an issue as my sump has the overflow space available.
Another little toy I picked up was the Bucket Head wet/dry vacuum for cleaning out the detritus that accumulates in my sump.
For about $22, it's a great way to clean out a sump that is too low for a siphon system.
Having a dedicated vacuum and bucket for my tank should eliminate any possible contaminations from other sources.
And since the basin is just a 5gal bucket, it's a breeze to pick up and dump out the waste water.
<a href="http://s32.photobucket.com/user/jason_langer/media/A%20Stand%20and%20Canopy%20Done%20Wright/44-6-BucketHead.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d4/jason_langer/A%20Stand%20and%20Canopy%20Done%20Wright/44-6-BucketHead.jpg" border="0" alt="Bucket Head photo 44-6-BucketHead.jpg"/></a>
Doing these type of upgrades really made my water change maintenance routine a lot easier and not such a chore.
No more guessing about how much water I have.
No more lugging around 5gal buckets.
No more lifting and dumping buckets of water into the display.
No more splashing and dripping water all over the place.
And I can get it all done in less than half an hour.
sleepydoc
Team RC
Cool idea with the siphon - I may have to borrow it!
One suggestion - you said none of the parts are glued - perhaps glue the external parts and the top 'U' so it won't make a mess if it comes apart on you. You could still adjust the interior parts easily enough.
One kind of elbows are those? They look different than the standard PVC elbows I've seen
One suggestion - you said none of the parts are glued - perhaps glue the external parts and the top 'U' so it won't make a mess if it comes apart on you. You could still adjust the interior parts easily enough.
One kind of elbows are those? They look different than the standard PVC elbows I've seen
jlanger
Get busy living...
I thought about that at first, but with the little pump I am using at the moment it won't burst the tight fit of the plumbing.
If I do upgrade to a larger pump, I'll glue the external pieces. Great suggestion.
Everything is regular Sch80 plumbing parts I had laying around.
Inspired ! Going to build a 60 inch hanging aluminum light rack and want to build a surround that may be wood, the bottom part of your canopy gives me ideas 
.
I am in Southern Calif. and have a few really nice Hardwood suppliers. When I ask about Rift sawn Oak, am I gonna get the Bambi look ? Is it a substantial up charge?
. I am in Southern Calif. and have a few really nice Hardwood suppliers. When I ask about Rift sawn Oak, am I gonna get the Bambi look ? Is it a substantial up charge?
Sonicboom
Addicted to salt
Funny, i made the same siphon using pvc and hose but without the upturned elbows, I will be improving mine, thanks for the idea. As for the wet/dry vac, you may want to rinse it with freshwater as the impeller may rust pretty quick. I have a 25g craftsman i use for the same thing and it's pretty rusted but still works like a champ. The only difference is mine can pull 25g from the sump in under a min, but then it's a pain to wheel anywhere to dump...
jlanger
Get busy living...
Inspired ! Going to build a 60 inch hanging aluminum light rack and want to build a surround that may be wood, the bottom part of your canopy gives me ideas
I am in Southern Calif. and have a few really nice Hardwood suppliers. When I ask about Rift sawn Oak, am I gonna get the Bambi look ? Is it a substantial up charge?
Rift-sawn material does carry an upcharge.
It's usually about 150% the cost of plain-sawn red oak.
But...
Depending on how much you need and if you can cherry pick through the material, you can find plain-sawn boards that have enough of the rift-sawn grain in them. Since rift-sawn material is considered to have the grain falling in between 30 and 60 degrees, there is an overlap with the plain-sawn material.
So to save a few bucks with a smaller amount of needed material, pick through the plain-sawn material first.
Just look for the boards with the straight grain.
Thanks for the nice words.
Good luck with your build.
jlanger
Get busy living...
Thanks for the tip!
I rinse out the bucket every time, but didn't think of the vacuum.
jlanger
Get busy living...
:wave: Hey Jason!!! I'm still watching you!!!!!
Hey Jesse.
I'm still here. Not much has changed with the system, so not much to update.
Although... I have designed a stand to match this one for a 15gal long set-up.
I would love to have a smaller tank for a Yasha goby pair (with shrimp) and a Pictus blenny.
But I have a feeling that won't be happening for quite some time. I have so many other projects to finish first.
Nice to hear from you.
autodave
New member
Inspired ! Going to build a 60 inch hanging aluminum light rack and want to build a surround that may be wood, the bottom part of your canopy gives me ideas
I am in Southern Calif. and have a few really nice Hardwood suppliers. When I ask about Rift sawn Oak, am I gonna get the Bambi look ? Is it a substantial up charge?
You can try Peterman Lumber in Fontana.
jlanger
Get busy living...
Basement Back Room Update
Basement Back Room Update
Architect approved! Is there a certificate for that?
I'm in the design stages to finish off the rest of the basement in this Arts and Crafts Style.
Need to make custom casing and trim work for the doorways and windows.
Working on replacing the shelf cap for the foundation wall to match the soffit.
There will be a matching entertainment center/bookcase and framed Mucha prints in the family room.
And I'm working on designing two lighted panels that are inspired from the art glass in the FLW Studio in Oak Park, IL.
Here's a pic of how I finished off the soffit that runs the length of the back room.
The aquarium canopy is mounted just off to the right of the soffit.
And a pic of the back room's light fixture that matches the aquarium canopy.
The same design except I used amber mica panels in place of the painted panels.
And I took a piece of polycarbonate and sanded one side to create the look of frosted glass for the light diffusing panel.
I will need to build two more of these for the family room side of the basement. Maybe longer though, this one is square.
The walls are painted a very dark brown color (Chocolate Swirl) and the ceiling is a rich gold color (Charismatic).
When the amber mica shades cast out the warm rich orange color, the room glows with a cozy warmth like a fireplace is in the room; but no fireplace.
Oh... the aquarium stand and canopy are still doing great!
Nothing to really update at this time.
Basement Back Room Update
Architect approved! Is there a certificate for that?
I'm in the design stages to finish off the rest of the basement in this Arts and Crafts Style.
Need to make custom casing and trim work for the doorways and windows.
Working on replacing the shelf cap for the foundation wall to match the soffit.
There will be a matching entertainment center/bookcase and framed Mucha prints in the family room.
And I'm working on designing two lighted panels that are inspired from the art glass in the FLW Studio in Oak Park, IL.
Here's a pic of how I finished off the soffit that runs the length of the back room.
The aquarium canopy is mounted just off to the right of the soffit.
And a pic of the back room's light fixture that matches the aquarium canopy.
The same design except I used amber mica panels in place of the painted panels.
And I took a piece of polycarbonate and sanded one side to create the look of frosted glass for the light diffusing panel.
I will need to build two more of these for the family room side of the basement. Maybe longer though, this one is square.
The walls are painted a very dark brown color (Chocolate Swirl) and the ceiling is a rich gold color (Charismatic).
When the amber mica shades cast out the warm rich orange color, the room glows with a cozy warmth like a fireplace is in the room; but no fireplace.
Oh... the aquarium stand and canopy are still doing great!
Nothing to really update at this time.
DrawnToBeaches
New member
Holy crap your stand and canopy are beautiful. Your title is honest along with bold. Love it and wish I could have it
