cannarella
New member
Several coats of epoxy paint or the acrylic pan. I would go with the acrylic pan since there is not that big of a lip to hold water in the the cabinet in the event of some sort of spill.
Custom Cabinet for 90g Reef (Build Thread)
- Thread starter RedEDGE2k1
- Start date
RedEDGE2k1
Member
I made the Sketchup model myself. The program is free from Google.
It maybe too late for this but did you consider using a piano hinge. You would be able to attach one side to the under the trim by routing the thickness of the hinge on the trim piece. Barrel of the hinge would be visible from the top but considering this piece will be above the eye level while standing, it may have worked. You would still need something to keep the panel open though.
RedEDGE2k1
Member
A piano hinge wouldn't have worked with the trim overlay.
cannarella
New member
He would not have been able to clear the trim covering the hinge opening. It would have binded and ripped the trim off.
EDIT: I think we were typing at the same time...
EDIT: I think we were typing at the same time...
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RedEDGE2k1
Member
Nah I'll just continue on here I think....keep everything in one place.
I added hardware to the cabinet:
1) Magnets to hold the doors closed tight against the cabinet (to block light from the sump)
2) Roller latches inside the access panel door, to keep it closed tight (again to block light, this time from the halides)
3) Lid arm supports, to hold the access panel door in the "open" position.
I'll post pictures soon. Tonight I plan to skim coat the entire cabinet with Elmer's wood filler, as the oak grain has tiny divots everywhere. I'll let it dry really good overnight, and tomorrow night I will start fine sanding.
In other news, my 2x54w T5 actinic retro kit arrived, as well as my shiny new Euro-Reef RS135 skimmer. Last night I drove out to PetSmart and dropped $30 on a 20L to act as my sump, and $15 for a 12g clear container at The Container Store to hold my auto-topoff water. I went with a smaller sump than most people, because I will have a seperate 15g refugium, so the only room I need in the sump is space for a skimmer section, bubble trap, and return section. So the 20L dimensions are perfect. Plenty of room left in the cabinet for calc reactor and whatever else comes along.
I added hardware to the cabinet:
1) Magnets to hold the doors closed tight against the cabinet (to block light from the sump)
2) Roller latches inside the access panel door, to keep it closed tight (again to block light, this time from the halides)
3) Lid arm supports, to hold the access panel door in the "open" position.
I'll post pictures soon. Tonight I plan to skim coat the entire cabinet with Elmer's wood filler, as the oak grain has tiny divots everywhere. I'll let it dry really good overnight, and tomorrow night I will start fine sanding.
In other news, my 2x54w T5 actinic retro kit arrived, as well as my shiny new Euro-Reef RS135 skimmer. Last night I drove out to PetSmart and dropped $30 on a 20L to act as my sump, and $15 for a 12g clear container at The Container Store to hold my auto-topoff water. I went with a smaller sump than most people, because I will have a seperate 15g refugium, so the only room I need in the sump is space for a skimmer section, bubble trap, and return section. So the 20L dimensions are perfect. Plenty of room left in the cabinet for calc reactor and whatever else comes along.
RedEDGE2k1
Member
Hind sight is 20/20, Jason.
RedEDGE2k1
Member
Pictures update...most of these are from last weekend, but the last couple are from today.
I went back to Rockler and bought an extra set of hinges for each of the large cabinet doors, as two hinges weren't strong enough to keep the doors from sagging.
The extra hinges worked like a charm!
Door magnets were added to the main doors also, to keep them closed tight against the frame to prevent light from the sump from leaking out.
To hold the access panel open, I added this $6 lid support from Rockler. I rigged up some support blocks to attach it to.
I went back to Rockler and bought an extra set of hinges for each of the large cabinet doors, as two hinges weren't strong enough to keep the doors from sagging.
The extra hinges worked like a charm!
Door magnets were added to the main doors also, to keep them closed tight against the frame to prevent light from the sump from leaking out.
To hold the access panel open, I added this $6 lid support from Rockler. I rigged up some support blocks to attach it to.
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RedEDGE2k1
Member
To keep the access panel door closed tightly against the frame, I added this roller catch from Rockler. It works very well.
Curiosity got the best of me, so I threw in the tank to see how it would look.
I didn't stop there....I filled the tank with water and planned on testing my VorTech pump, but never got around to it. The stand had no problems with the weight of the filled tank.
I traced out where my lights would go on the light panel, then cut out the excess material. These cutouts took 7.5lbs off the weight of the top section. The four block assemblies are the T5 endcap/reflector mounting blocks.
A close-up of the T5 mounts. Simply a 2x2 and 1x3 piece of oak screwed & glued to the light panel.
I bought a 2-1/2" hole saw bit and drilled two holes for the overflow/return
I drilled an additonal hole to run wires from the sump area to the left cabinet area, where the electrical outlets/Aqua Controller will be.
Curiosity got the best of me, so I threw in the tank to see how it would look.
I didn't stop there....I filled the tank with water and planned on testing my VorTech pump, but never got around to it. The stand had no problems with the weight of the filled tank.
I traced out where my lights would go on the light panel, then cut out the excess material. These cutouts took 7.5lbs off the weight of the top section. The four block assemblies are the T5 endcap/reflector mounting blocks.
A close-up of the T5 mounts. Simply a 2x2 and 1x3 piece of oak screwed & glued to the light panel.
I bought a 2-1/2" hole saw bit and drilled two holes for the overflow/return
I drilled an additonal hole to run wires from the sump area to the left cabinet area, where the electrical outlets/Aqua Controller will be.
kevin95695
Member of the Registry
Great design and build thread.
One question: How did you determine that this structure would hold the weight of the tank/water?
I'm staring at a custom stand build for a 150g and that is THE major thing I'm worried about...
One question: How did you determine that this structure would hold the weight of the tank/water?
I'm staring at a custom stand build for a 150g and that is THE major thing I'm worried about...
RedEDGE2k1
Member
3/4" plywood, when used properly, will support any size tank. Go to your LFS and look at any plywood stand mass-manufactured for 220+ gallon tanks. They're all 3/4" ply, with the tank sitting directly on top of the plywood edges. No 2x lumber, no cross bracing, etc. I followed the same principle with my design.
Additionally, and I'm no structural engineer by any means, but I do have a B.S. in building science so I have ran the numbers first-hand and proved to myself in school how strong wood can be.
A lot of do-it-yourself folks on RC don't really understand just how strong engineered wood (plywood) is....hence all the grossly overbuilt stands on this forum. If it makes you sleep better at night, fine, but in reality all the extra wood does nothing more than that.
RedEDGE2k1
Member
Before priming/painting the cabinet, I primed a test sample of plywood first. The result was frustrating...even after three coats of primer, sanded between coats, the oak woodgrain was still 100% visiblle. This wouldn't suit my tastes, as I wanted a totally smooth look, so I began testing various ways of finishing the plywood.
Through all the trial & error mockups I finally had my gameplan for a smooth finish:
1) Orbital power sander, 120 grit
2) Apply a skim coat of wood filler paste, with water added to the filler to make it a little thinner, to help it get down into the grain.
3) Hand sand, across the grain, 220 grit followed by 320 grit
4) Apply a thick coat of sanding sealer
3) Hand sand, 320 grit
4) Apply primer, with roller where possible, to avoid brush marks
5) Hand sand, 320 grit
6) Apply 2nd coat of primer, same process as before
7) Hand sand, 320 grit
8) Apply acrylic paint, with roller where possible
This process leaves a mirror-smooth finish, totally hiding the oak wood grain. Obviously it would have made more sense to use a paint-grade ply, rather than killing yourself covering up oak grain, but I realized this too late, and well, here we are. It is what it is, and it worked
Through all the trial & error mockups I finally had my gameplan for a smooth finish:
1) Orbital power sander, 120 grit
2) Apply a skim coat of wood filler paste, with water added to the filler to make it a little thinner, to help it get down into the grain.
3) Hand sand, across the grain, 220 grit followed by 320 grit
4) Apply a thick coat of sanding sealer
3) Hand sand, 320 grit
4) Apply primer, with roller where possible, to avoid brush marks
5) Hand sand, 320 grit
6) Apply 2nd coat of primer, same process as before
7) Hand sand, 320 grit
8) Apply acrylic paint, with roller where possible
This process leaves a mirror-smooth finish, totally hiding the oak wood grain. Obviously it would have made more sense to use a paint-grade ply, rather than killing yourself covering up oak grain, but I realized this too late, and well, here we are. It is what it is, and it worked
cannarella
New member
Your holes for the return will need to be bigger unless you plan on putting in the tank with the unions already on it. I had a hell of a time getting my unions good and snug through the access holes I created. It is quite difficult to get a wrench up there when going through the hole.