CyclistMT's 300 Gal Plywood and Glass Build
- Thread starter CyclistMT
- Start date
CyclistMT
More Idiot Than Savant
Thanks for giving me a nudge lusenut! I do have updates but they're not very exciting so I've been procrastinating in posting anything. But you asked for it so this is what you get. 
Electrical is in and fully functional. I installed two 20 amp breakers myself, which was a first for me, but my panel has really easy access and with the help of the interwebs it wasn't too hard to pull off. GFCI outlets are installed first in line on both circuits with downstream outlets protected by the GFCI. You'll see in the pictures I also installed outdoor covers to protect from water splashes. I like the safety they provide but my space is very limited to plug things in so I'll probably be cussing these things every time I try to plug something new in.
I also installed the upper framework that the skin on the stand will attach to. Once complete it will have a floor to ceiling one-piece look. Additionally, I installed my halide pendent hangers. They slide on a very beefy drawer slide so that I can move them out from over the tank to change bulbs more easily. I've got my old mini Lumenarc up there just for grins and giggles. That will not be used on the main tank so please ignore for now.
I've been pouring epoxy in the sump and that's nearly ready. Once that is done it will allow me to start plumbing the system. I also attempted to drill my frag/sea grass tank that was all glass. Of course I broke it. It was a stupid mistake. I know how to drill glass but I got inattentive at the last moment. Anyway that caused me to re-evaluate parts of the system. Because I already had that tank I wanted to use it but it wasn't big enough to provide everything I wanted in it and hold all the potential water when the surge tank fired. I was going to have to plumb in an additional tank just to catch all the post surge water which would have meant drilling two holes in the glass tank, installing multiple bulk heads, and increasing the complexity (and potential plumbing failure points). So at this point I've decided to build a larger frag/sea grass/surge overflow tank out of plywood to make it just one tank and reduce complexity. Even if I have to buy more epoxy it will still be cheaper than purchasing a like sized glass tank and attempting to drill it. I have decided that building a tank out of plywood just for the ease of drilling is reason enough to do it that way.
The next major item I will be working on is ventilation. I need to punch a 4”-6” hole through my house for the vent pipe, install a fan, and wire it up to power and a dehumidistat. Easy-pesy. :hmm4: For those that have more knowledge on ventilation than I do I have a question though. The room the tank is situated in requires a 240 CFM fan, according to internet calculators, to vent properly. However, I could use some more humidity in my house. It's pretty dry where I live in MT normally (especially in winter) so I actually want this tank to add some humidity to the house but not to the point that it causes major condensation in the winter or mold problems. The room the tank is in is also in the basement and has an open door way (no door to this room) so I probably need to really consider a bigger volume when calculating but again, I do want to add some humidity. I've been considering the Panasonic FV-20NLF1 Whisperline but was wondering if I could get away with one size down that does 120 CFM. I don't plan on attaching any other inlets to this fan, just the tank room. Any suggestions/ideas/thoughts?
Well, that's really about it for now. I'm really anxious to get this thing plumbed up so I can get saltwater flowing through it but I'm afraid I might still be a couple of months away from that. At any rate, thanks to all for continuing to tag along on what's turning out to be a multi-year build!
Electrical is in and fully functional. I installed two 20 amp breakers myself, which was a first for me, but my panel has really easy access and with the help of the interwebs it wasn't too hard to pull off. GFCI outlets are installed first in line on both circuits with downstream outlets protected by the GFCI. You'll see in the pictures I also installed outdoor covers to protect from water splashes. I like the safety they provide but my space is very limited to plug things in so I'll probably be cussing these things every time I try to plug something new in.
I also installed the upper framework that the skin on the stand will attach to. Once complete it will have a floor to ceiling one-piece look. Additionally, I installed my halide pendent hangers. They slide on a very beefy drawer slide so that I can move them out from over the tank to change bulbs more easily. I've got my old mini Lumenarc up there just for grins and giggles. That will not be used on the main tank so please ignore for now.
I've been pouring epoxy in the sump and that's nearly ready. Once that is done it will allow me to start plumbing the system. I also attempted to drill my frag/sea grass tank that was all glass. Of course I broke it. It was a stupid mistake. I know how to drill glass but I got inattentive at the last moment. Anyway that caused me to re-evaluate parts of the system. Because I already had that tank I wanted to use it but it wasn't big enough to provide everything I wanted in it and hold all the potential water when the surge tank fired. I was going to have to plumb in an additional tank just to catch all the post surge water which would have meant drilling two holes in the glass tank, installing multiple bulk heads, and increasing the complexity (and potential plumbing failure points). So at this point I've decided to build a larger frag/sea grass/surge overflow tank out of plywood to make it just one tank and reduce complexity. Even if I have to buy more epoxy it will still be cheaper than purchasing a like sized glass tank and attempting to drill it. I have decided that building a tank out of plywood just for the ease of drilling is reason enough to do it that way.
The next major item I will be working on is ventilation. I need to punch a 4”-6” hole through my house for the vent pipe, install a fan, and wire it up to power and a dehumidistat. Easy-pesy. :hmm4: For those that have more knowledge on ventilation than I do I have a question though. The room the tank is situated in requires a 240 CFM fan, according to internet calculators, to vent properly. However, I could use some more humidity in my house. It's pretty dry where I live in MT normally (especially in winter) so I actually want this tank to add some humidity to the house but not to the point that it causes major condensation in the winter or mold problems. The room the tank is in is also in the basement and has an open door way (no door to this room) so I probably need to really consider a bigger volume when calculating but again, I do want to add some humidity. I've been considering the Panasonic FV-20NLF1 Whisperline but was wondering if I could get away with one size down that does 120 CFM. I don't plan on attaching any other inlets to this fan, just the tank room. Any suggestions/ideas/thoughts?
Well, that's really about it for now. I'm really anxious to get this thing plumbed up so I can get saltwater flowing through it but I'm afraid I might still be a couple of months away from that. At any rate, thanks to all for continuing to tag along on what's turning out to be a multi-year build!
Last edited:
Soon I hope to be in the same boat you are. Right now I have a 120 gal tank setup that I did a lot of foam work in. I wanted to try it out before I did foam in a big expensive tank. My future plans when my roommate moves out is to build a 300 gal plywood tank in the roommates old room and put it in the wall with foam rock walls on the 3 sides.
tgunn
Active member
On my former 140g tank I vented the canopy using a 100cfm fan which put the air into the fishroom which had an hrv vent rated around 60 cfm. That prevented the vast
Majority of humidity from going into the living spaces. But some clearly still did. Nothing unreasonable though.
I'd say if you vent from the canopy to outdoors you are in good shape. As long as it keeps the canopy space reasonably cool with all the lights on I can't see why 120cfm wouldn't be enough.
The summer is the time when you will want to be able to ensure most of the moist air goes outside though. Your house ac will have to work real hard to keep up otherwise.
Majority of humidity from going into the living spaces. But some clearly still did. Nothing unreasonable though.
I'd say if you vent from the canopy to outdoors you are in good shape. As long as it keeps the canopy space reasonably cool with all the lights on I can't see why 120cfm wouldn't be enough.
The summer is the time when you will want to be able to ensure most of the moist air goes outside though. Your house ac will have to work real hard to keep up otherwise.
CyclistMT
More Idiot Than Savant
Good luck lusenut! Just kick your roommate out now. You've got a tank to build for goodness sake!
Thanks and welcome to the thread!
I have considered venting from the canopy but it is problematic the way my system is set up. I'll have to take another look at it though. Would definitely like to get by with a smaller fan. And yes, will be venting outside.
Thank you and welcome to the thread!
Thanks for the kind words and I'm definitley looking forward to it too. This build is getting a bit too long even for my procrastinating a..
I just need to get the wife to quit spending all of my bonus money and I don't understand why the kids need straight teeth. Seems overrated to me.
Current Music Selection: Adelita's Way - Sick
CyclistMT
More Idiot Than Savant
Ok, fine. Since no one wants to play along here is what was in the boxes.
Lighting!
Those are Lumenbright larges.
XM 250W 10K for lots of par.
Luxcore select a watt in case I find out 250W won't cut it I can go to 400W. Or maybe I can overdrive my 250s with the HQI setting. Anyone know what the Superlumens setting does? Overdrive for 400w?
48" Evoslim LED for blue suplementation. I got the 3w version and I'm quite impressed with them. It seems to be put together well and is more "beefy" than the online photos seem to indicate. I think these are a great value.
Like a kid at Christmas I had to semi install the lights to see what they look like. I'm nowhere near being ready to use these but what the heck, putting them up was a whole lot more fun than watching epoxy dry. Final instalation of lights will be much cleaner than this.
Here is what the color with the LED's looks like. I'm very happy with the results since this is what I was hoping to achieve. I really liked the color of my 175w Iwasaki's with UVL actinics on my last tank and I think this comes very close with a little bit more blue. I can't wait to see how corals "pop" under this.
And finally, here's a blue only shot. Of course my point and shoot camera cannot accurately capture how this looks but this is close as I can get it. Maybe I need to add a DLSR to my equipment list.
As for other progress, not much to report. I'm epoxying the surge header tank and frag/sea grass tank. The sump is getting closer to done but not there yet. I'm still waiting on my main system pumps and actuated ball valve to arrive and as soon as they do I can begin plumbing. So that's it for now!
Current music selection: Monster Magnet- Superjudge
Lighting!
Those are Lumenbright larges.
XM 250W 10K for lots of par.
Luxcore select a watt in case I find out 250W won't cut it I can go to 400W. Or maybe I can overdrive my 250s with the HQI setting. Anyone know what the Superlumens setting does? Overdrive for 400w?
48" Evoslim LED for blue suplementation. I got the 3w version and I'm quite impressed with them. It seems to be put together well and is more "beefy" than the online photos seem to indicate. I think these are a great value.
Like a kid at Christmas I had to semi install the lights to see what they look like. I'm nowhere near being ready to use these but what the heck, putting them up was a whole lot more fun than watching epoxy dry. Final instalation of lights will be much cleaner than this.
Here is what the color with the LED's looks like. I'm very happy with the results since this is what I was hoping to achieve. I really liked the color of my 175w Iwasaki's with UVL actinics on my last tank and I think this comes very close with a little bit more blue. I can't wait to see how corals "pop" under this.
And finally, here's a blue only shot. Of course my point and shoot camera cannot accurately capture how this looks but this is close as I can get it. Maybe I need to add a DLSR to my equipment list.
As for other progress, not much to report. I'm epoxying the surge header tank and frag/sea grass tank. The sump is getting closer to done but not there yet. I'm still waiting on my main system pumps and actuated ball valve to arrive and as soon as they do I can begin plumbing. So that's it for now!
Current music selection: Monster Magnet- Superjudge
CyclistMT
More Idiot Than Savant
Thanks for the kind words rp! But compared to some people here (especially in the DIY section) I'm more idiot than savant.
I see a face now too that you pointed it out! The box-like structure is an area WITH sand. I've decided I want to have some tube anemones and I need some place for the wrasses I have planned to crash. Crushed coral wasn't going to cut it for either one of them. So I put in some glass partitions and sand in that area under the rock wall. I still need another bag of crushed coral (poultry calcuim) and another bag of sand to properly fill it up so that you can't see the glass. Might even make some branch rock to cover the top edge of the glass and further define that section.
tgunn
Active member
Haha, sorry I've probably ruined the rockwork for you now!
The crushed oysters you're using in the main area of your tank have a much nicer consistency than the stuff available where I am. Looks just like the crushed coral I've got sitting around.
Neat idea about having another area with finer sand for those creatures requiring it.
Tyler
der_wille_zur_macht
Team RC
Somehow I missed this thread until now and I haven't read it all yet, but I wanted to say - the tank looks amazing so far, and thanks for the O-MAZ-SHG!
CyclistMT
More Idiot Than Savant
Somehow I missed this thread until now and I haven't read it all yet, but I wanted to say - the tank looks amazing so far, and thanks for the O-MAZ-SHG!
Ha! I knew you'd make it over here eventually. You need to get out of the DIY forum more often.
Thank you for the kind words and the help along the way! I was constantly watching your tank come together before I started on mine.
CyclistMT
More Idiot Than Savant
It is crushed coral that's being packaged for chicken calcium. I went to buy crushed oyster shell to make my rock and when I opened the bag I was pleasently surprised to find this. So, I decided to buy a bunch more for my substrate. How do I know it's crushed coral? Well, first off the bag states "Calcium Carbonate not less than 97%". Now I know that can take a couple of diffenent forms so I think this picture is a bit more telling.
Can you figure out which one is Carib Sea Crushed Coral and which one is Coastal Poultry Shell? The piles on the bottom are wet and the top ones are dry but the ones on the left are one kind and the ones on the right are the other. I'll give you the day to think it over before I reveal. :idea:
der_wille_zur_macht
Team RC
Please tell me I'm not the only one who immediately thought of Optimus Prime's cab/chest when I saw this photo.
For reference:
tgunn
Active member
It is crushed coral that's being packaged for chicken calcium. I went to buy crushed oyster shell to make my rock and when I opened the bag I was pleasently surprised to find this. So, I decided to buy a bunch more for my substrate. How do I know it's crushed coral? Well, first off the bag states "Calcium Carbonate not less than 97%". Now I know that can take a couple of diffenent forms so I think this picture is a bit more telling.
Can you figure out which one is Carib Sea Crushed Coral and which one is Coastal Poultry Shell? The piles on the bottom are wet and the top ones are dry but the ones on the left are one kind and the ones on the right are the other. I'll give you the day to think it over before I reveal. :idea:
I'm going to wager the one on the left is the oyster shells, but honestly I can't really tell. The stuff I got locally was very flakey and had a lot of color variation. But we're pretty far from the ocean here
HAhaha, TOTALLY. Poor CyclistMT isn't going to be able to look at his tank without seeing faces or optimus prime's chest now!
Tyler
CyclistMT
More Idiot Than Savant
Well, you would have lost that bet. :bum:
And since tgunn and dwzm are determined to make a mockery of my tank, let's have a little fun with it. :wildone:
Is this the Optimus Prime tank?
The Terminator tank?
Or the Castle GreySkull Tank?
