liveforphysics
New member
Hi guys, I don’t often post here, but I have a project that I think people may enjoy seeing. I had a 90gal SPS/mixed reef (plus a few other tanks). I was running out of room for corals, and I was moving into a house, so I wanted to take the opertunity to make my dream tank. After many years and many different tank setups, I had decided on a few special requirements for my dream tank to have. So, here is the 90gal I was using. It was quite a poor setup, and I really hated how I put the tank together.
I wanted the tank to be large. 6’ x 4’ was the original plan.
No acrylic. I’ve played the acrylic game, and I always loved how they looked for about 2-3months before I covered them in scratches. I wanted a tank that could last me a lifetime and still look good.
No center brace or euro braceing. It certianly works to add stregnth to a tank, but I just hated trying to bend my arm around the braces when I was pulling in and out corals. I wanted a tank that had very open acess.
No tall tanks! I really didn’t like my 27†tall tank! Getting my armpit soaked while on my tippy toes (if even that would let me reach!) anytime I needed to do something was not my idea of a good time at all. Plus, I always felt like a tool for wasting so much light energy just getting light to the bottom area. My aquascaping always made me feel like I was working to make a shorter tank by making a huge pile of rocks in the bottom of it to act as a raised bottom.
I didn’t want to see powerheads or any equipment or cords going in or out of the tank.
I didn’t want to have a canopy, and I wanted to be able to get the lights completely out of the way in less than 5 seconds when I wanted to play in the tank. Definitely sick of bumping my head and shoulders on reflectors and nonsense.
The flow must simulate wave action, use very little energy, and be extremely powerful.
The tank must be whisper quiet. I want to be able to have a quiet conversation without it sounding like I’m talking over a flushing toilet.
The tank must be very strong. I had an acrylic tank I built crack on the brace, and I’ve had 2 glass tanks that I built loose a seam. Thank god I was home for each incident, and managed to relocate live stock to a different tank! I wanted this tank to be something I would never worry about failing.
I hated the idea of drilling glass, or drilling the bottom of any clear material on the bottom of a tank, and I really didn’t want to play the tubes over the top or through the side game. I decided that thick many layer plywood would be the best possible material for the bottom of my tank.
So, trying to reach all of these goals, I set aside $5,000 as my budget, and got started.
First, to make the tank be very strong and rimless, I decided I would make a metal frame for the glass to sit in. I decided to use 304 stainless steel for the frame, and I bought it and cut the pieces and layed it all out at 6’x4’. This looked great to me, but when my girlfriend saw it, she didn’t think having a 6’x4’ monster in her living room would be nearly as neat as I did, so we ended up battling until she agreeed to a 58â€Âx45†tank. Don’t ask me why she wouldn’t let me bring that width up to an even 4’… women are not creatures to be reasoned with…
So, here goes take 2 of cutting and laying out the pieces of the now shrunken frame size.
A little shot of a weld. Not too bad for a vertical weld with stick rod
Here is a shot of a finished corner. I went for a brushed stainless finish because its easy. I may polish it sometime in the future, but I don’t want it being too reflective.
I wanted the tank to be large. 6’ x 4’ was the original plan.
No acrylic. I’ve played the acrylic game, and I always loved how they looked for about 2-3months before I covered them in scratches. I wanted a tank that could last me a lifetime and still look good.
No center brace or euro braceing. It certianly works to add stregnth to a tank, but I just hated trying to bend my arm around the braces when I was pulling in and out corals. I wanted a tank that had very open acess.
No tall tanks! I really didn’t like my 27†tall tank! Getting my armpit soaked while on my tippy toes (if even that would let me reach!) anytime I needed to do something was not my idea of a good time at all. Plus, I always felt like a tool for wasting so much light energy just getting light to the bottom area. My aquascaping always made me feel like I was working to make a shorter tank by making a huge pile of rocks in the bottom of it to act as a raised bottom.
I didn’t want to see powerheads or any equipment or cords going in or out of the tank.
I didn’t want to have a canopy, and I wanted to be able to get the lights completely out of the way in less than 5 seconds when I wanted to play in the tank. Definitely sick of bumping my head and shoulders on reflectors and nonsense.
The flow must simulate wave action, use very little energy, and be extremely powerful.
The tank must be whisper quiet. I want to be able to have a quiet conversation without it sounding like I’m talking over a flushing toilet.
The tank must be very strong. I had an acrylic tank I built crack on the brace, and I’ve had 2 glass tanks that I built loose a seam. Thank god I was home for each incident, and managed to relocate live stock to a different tank! I wanted this tank to be something I would never worry about failing.
I hated the idea of drilling glass, or drilling the bottom of any clear material on the bottom of a tank, and I really didn’t want to play the tubes over the top or through the side game. I decided that thick many layer plywood would be the best possible material for the bottom of my tank.
So, trying to reach all of these goals, I set aside $5,000 as my budget, and got started.
First, to make the tank be very strong and rimless, I decided I would make a metal frame for the glass to sit in. I decided to use 304 stainless steel for the frame, and I bought it and cut the pieces and layed it all out at 6’x4’. This looked great to me, but when my girlfriend saw it, she didn’t think having a 6’x4’ monster in her living room would be nearly as neat as I did, so we ended up battling until she agreeed to a 58â€Âx45†tank. Don’t ask me why she wouldn’t let me bring that width up to an even 4’… women are not creatures to be reasoned with…
So, here goes take 2 of cutting and laying out the pieces of the now shrunken frame size.
A little shot of a weld. Not too bad for a vertical weld with stick rod
Here is a shot of a finished corner. I went for a brushed stainless finish because its easy. I may polish it sometime in the future, but I don’t want it being too reflective.
)
He did tell me he could make it for me again if I wanted more.
