drummereef's 180g in-wall build

[drummereef]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14630215#post14630215 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by panaboy95
looks great. i am with faz you are going to have to get some stuff thrown around and some sawdust on the floor.

I'll do my best. :lol:

 

[michealprater]

Tag.

 

[crvz]

Some great work done so far, well done! I look forward to seeing this thing up and stocked.

 

[JDL]

looks nice. now come over to my house and finish my in-wall setup.

what type of sump are you going to use, a normal tank or a rubbermaid stock tank?

 

[drummereef]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14632092#post14632092 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by michealprater
Tag.

Thanks Mike!

 

[drummereef]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14632213#post14632213 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by crvz
Some great work done so far, well done! I look forward to seeing this thing up and stocked.

Thanks crvz! I was checking out your thread the other day. Nice work yourself. Great job on that sump. I might try and do one myself but I'm much more hand when it comes to glue and screws. Don't know if acrylic is my thing. There's a good acrylic guy that all the LFS in the area use. I might go ahead and use him.

 

[gradth]

Hey we got the same tank. Looking good, have to hang around and get some ideas.

 

[drummereef]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14632639#post14632639 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by JDL
looks nice. now come over to my house and finish my in-wall setup.

what type of sump are you going to use, a normal tank or a rubbermaid stock tank?

Haha, if I lived close.... As detailed as your pictures show you'll have no problems cutting and framing that hole. My plan is to do an acrylic sump under the display. I'm leaning towards something like 60xs20x14. Water level will stay about 9" for the skimmer. It will be a two zone sump, just skimmer (drain) and return areas. I'm going to plumb a remote refugium tank on another stand to the right of the display in the sump room. It will be fed from the return pump and gravity drain back to the sump.

Once I get a little further on the stand I'll post some pics of the sump. Hopefully I'll get some creative feedback on it.

 

[drummereef]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14634536#post14634536 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by gradth
Hey we got the same tank. Looking good, have to hang around and get some ideas.

Sweet! Do you have it set up yet? I think I'm the one that needs the ideas.

 

[drummereef]

UPDATE:

Had a few minutes today so I continued working on the legs. Still trying to ad-lib the bottom shelf because the floor is so out. I think I got it pretty level, what do you think....

Here's the adhesive I've been using. It's a polyurethane construction adhesive made by PL. Out of all the construction adhesives I've used for projects I can say this one is by far the best. It has a long open time so if you are slow like me it's nice to have. It's not quite as viscous as Liquid Nails so it flattens a lot better when clamped, and won't foam up like Gorilla Glue. It's waterproof and sticks to just about everything. Good stuff.

 

[drummereef]

Tomorrow I'll have the legs finished and start framing the bottom shelf. Planning on the shelf being the width of the room, left to right, and the depth of the stand front to back. That way I'll have plenty of space for the return pump on the right and some free space on the left. Still hashing that one out though...





And for those who think my shop isn't messy... here.

One more progress pic....

 

[crvz]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14634452#post14634452 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by drummereef
Thanks crvz! I was checking out your thread the other day. Nice work yourself. Great job on that sump. I might try and do one myself but I'm much more hand when it comes to glue and screws. Don't know if acrylic is my thing. There's a good acrylic guy that all the LFS in the area use. I might go ahead and use him.

You'll never know until you try, right? I've only made a few sumps, but they've all worked out pretty well and it was a fun experience. Just takes a little effort. Good luck in any case, though. Maybe if you get a quote from your acrylic guy you'll be more motivated to DIY!

 

[drummereef]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14635788#post14635788 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by crvz
You'll never know until you try, right? I've only made a few sumps, but they've all worked out pretty well and it was a fun experience. Just takes a little effort. Good luck in any case, though. Maybe if you get a quote from your acrylic guy you'll be more motivated to DIY!

I hear that, crvz. I might give it a try, we'll see. The size I want is just pretty big so material alone is going to be costly. The biggest thing that worries me is the glue joints. I have most, if not all, the tools I'd need but the getting those joints glued up scares me. You want to make it for me? :lol: J/K

 

[drummereef]

UPDATE:


Got the legs finished this morning and made a run to the orange box to get some plywood for the top. I went ahead and got 3/4" sanded ply. I plan on laminating the top, sides, and back edge of the plywood to make it a little more water resistant. I'll prime the bottom tonight and hopefully get it cut down to finished size in the next day or two. Got to take it over to Pop's house for that. He's got a nice table and fence on his saw.

Told you I'd be updating every step of the way... :lol:



This design called for two laminated 2x6's since I was spanning the 6' length with no center support. I bought 2x8's and ripped them down to roughly 6" then ran them through the jointer a few times to get them really flat. With my 6' level along the front and back side there's no gap the entire span. Turned out pretty nice. Used the PL Glue to laminate the 2x's together then screwed them tight. The tank will be sitting directly over the 2x on the inside of the two. The other 2x is just to carry the load. I did it this way simply because of where the drain/return holes are located on the tank.

 

[crvz]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14637976#post14637976 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by drummereef
I hear that, crvz. I might give it a try, we'll see. The size I want is just pretty big so material alone is going to be costly. The biggest thing that worries me is the glue joints. I have most, if not all, the tools I'd need but the getting those joints glued up scares me. You want to make it for me? :lol: J/K

No doubt, raw materials can be pretty steep. But, so can labor. good luck either way.

 

[drummereef]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14641323#post14641323 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by crvz
No doubt, raw materials can be pretty steep. But, so can labor. good luck either way.

I hear that. I'll let you know what I find out.

 

[drummereef]

Starting to get ideas for my sump. It will be a 2-zone sump, drain/skimmer on the left and return on the right. Planning on a couple bulkheads in the top for the drains. Wondering if I need any baffles between the drain and skimmer? Trying to eliminate bubbles from the start... Thoughts???

 

[crvz]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14642819#post14642819 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by drummereef
Starting to get ideas for my sump. It will be a 2-zone sump, drain/skimmer on the left and return on the right. Planning on a couple bulkheads in the top for the drains. Wondering if I need any baffles between the drain and skimmer? Trying to eliminate bubbles from the start... Thoughts???

the skimmer will produce as many bubbles as the drain, so I wouldnt worry about trying to isolate the two. I don't and it's no issue.

 

[drummereef]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14643754#post14643754 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by crvz
the skimmer will produce as many bubbles as the drain, so I wouldnt worry about trying to isolate the two. I don't and it's no issue.

Gotcha, sounds reasonable. Do you think with the length of the sump being 60", or close to it, I won't have a bubble issue? Those baffles are also 2" apart. Better or worse than 1" baffles?

 

[crvz]

I very much prefer 2" baffle spacing, and actually went a bit larger on the last sump I built. If you can get your hand between the sections, it makes maintenance so much more tolerable.

Regarding the 60", that will help with bubbles, but the real workhorse are the baffles. What is the front/back depth of the sump?