Another 225 Tank Project!

[Foster]

I have been planning this upgrade for about 18 months, and now I am finally doing it. Im upgrading my 2 year old 100 gallon reef tank to a 225 gallon tank and a 35 gallon surge. I have ordered the tank but will be building the everything else (sump, fuge, surge tank, stand, cabinet, canopy, skimmer.). I decided that I will document the build on my website, and in this RC thread to both share info, and get feedback. I expect this project to take about 2 months to complete. Here were Im at thus far....

10/25/03 - ORDER: I placed the order for the new tank. The tank specs are 72L x 30W x 24H for a total of 225 gallons. I went with a glass Lee-Mar euro polish tank with dual corner 6" x 6"over flows that have 2" bulkheads. The tank should be ready in 4-6 weeks.

11/03/03 - ORDER UPDATE: I have made changes to the overflows, and have requested that holes be drilled in the parameter bracing for the returns, and surge. The new overflows will be 6" x 9" with no slots cut in them, they will be cut flat at the water line, this should allow for 6000 GPH...hopefully. I will be installing a modified 2" durso stand pipe also. Here are some rough plans.

11/08/03 - LUMBER - I picked up my first lumber take for the stand, and will start building it tomorrow.

On my site are some rough plans that will help me wit hthe build.
http://bluechunks.net/reef/225reef

 

[steve68]

30 wide SWEET !!!!
cant wait to see it plans look good.

 

[Foster]

Update

Update

STAND FRAMED: The stand and cabinet have been framed but still needs to be sheared. The top space in the cabinet ended up having enough room for a 16Hx 25 x 23 (40 gallon) surge tank with space for foam insulation to muffle the sound.

The cabinet is 94" tall, and the stand is 44"H x 33.5"W, the whole thing is 8'3" long.....the dining table is gonna have to go

 

[Foster]

another

 

[Foster]

Last one.

 

[Fish-o-holic]

What's the tower on the right suppose to be? Looks great so far. :thumbsup:

 

[Foster]

Look at the pic on my first post.

The tank will be framed in on 3 sides, only the front and one side will be viewable. The side cabinet is going to be a surge, all electrical in the middle , and the pumps below. Under the stand is going to be a 160 gallon fuge/sump

 

[Fish-o-holic]

Sorry I overlooked that.

 

[Clyde]

will it fit thru the door ?

 

[Foster]

!

no - ill have to bring it out the garage door and through the front double doors. It is 2 seperate pieces that bolt together.

 

[Foster]

Progress is slow, I was able to shear the stand and cabinet and install the shelves. I installed a drain that will be plumbed out side. The inlet for the auto top off water was also installed and will get plumbed into a 4 stage RO/DI unit.

<img src=http://bluechunks.net/reef/225reef/drain1.jpg>

 

[Foster]

<img src=http://bluechunks.net/reef/225reef/drain2.jpg>

 

[Foster]

<img src=http://bluechunks.net/reef/225reef/drain3.jpg>

 

[Foster]

<img src=http://bluechunks.net/reef/225reef/drain4.jpg>

 

[Bender]

looks great so far. lease be sure to keep us updated with plenty of pics as you progress.

Bender

 

[Demeter]

Very nice. Tagging along...

 

[H20ENG]

Nice Build Platapus!

 

[Foster]

Thanks People!

Im placing the order tomorrow for all of the bulkheads, pumps, and some of the lighting. The tank should be in either this weekend to 2 weeks from now...so progress is going to be little slow these next couple of weeks, but I will definiatle keep posting progress until it is complete.

 

[Zephrant]

Love the drain!

Zeph

 

[Foster]

Thanks!

11/22/03 - SUMP/FOAM: My garage is packed! Im running out of room. I insulated the stand for sound proofing using expanding foam, this stuff was a little hard to control but seems to work pretty good, for the cabinet I will use insulated panels to save a little money.

<img src=http://bluechunks.net/reef/225reef/foam1.jpg>

<img src=http://bluechunks.net/reef/225reef/foam2.jpg>

<img src=http://bluechunks.net/reef/225reef/foam3.jpg>

SUMP: For the sump Im going with the biggest tank I can fit inside that stand 72x24x24. I priced out precut 3/8 acrylic to make the sump, but found it to be cheaper to just buy a used acrylic tank After searching through the classifieds I was able to score a 180 gallon TruVu standard tank that has some scatches on the front, since its going to be a sump tank, it doesnt matter to me. Here are the plans I have come up with for the sump tank, once the pumps show up I will begin converting the 180 to a sump. Here are some pics on the 180, looks like they came with a hitchhiker I didnt notice before.

<img src=http://bluechunks.net/reef/225reef/sump.jpg>

<img src=http://bluechunks.net/reef/225reef/sump1.jpg>

<img src=http://bluechunks.net/reef/225reef/sump2.jpg>

<img src=http://bluechunks.net/reef/225reef/sump3.jpg>

<img src=http://bluechunks.net/reef/225reef/sump4.jpg>