latazyo's official tank build thread

[latazyo]

this will be my official tank build thread charting the progress from the beginning

this first post will cover the basics of my stand and planned plumbing

here are some renderings of the stand done by my little brother (a mechanical engineer) on pro-e and ansys

the first rendering is just a simple layout of the stand

yellow and brown = 1x6
black = 1x10
green and red = 2x4
blue = 1x4

it will be skinned on the sides with plywood and the back will be open to allow for cords/plumbing, blah blah blah

the front has no center brace to allow for maximum access to the sump/fuge area...since I am very bad at making doors I will have one giant sliding panel in a track

the top (since the tank is narrower than the stand) will have two wood boards inserted beside the tank (to cover the area between the green 2x4s and the edges) to produce a table top look with the tank sunk down 3/4" into it



the next rendering shows an ansys simulation in order to calculate stress on the materials...since this thread will be made out of pine, the properties of pine were inserted into the software

we estimated the weight of my tank at 500 pounds, so for this test we used a tank weight of 1,000 pounds to be on the safe side

the rendering shows areas of stress, the red does not indicate danger, it only indicates the location of maximum stress...DMX stands for "max displacement"

as you can see from the rendering with a weight of 1000 pounds on the stand the maximum displacement is .003 inches, so that is safe enough for me...hehe

but what about forces from the sides and front to back....running a similar test with a lateral force of 500 pounds applied, the maximum displacement in any direction was .017"

I am including all of this jibberish in case anyone wants to copy the design and wonders if it is safe

details and additional pics of the stand build process can be seen in my thread in the DIY forum located HERE

enough of the stand...on to the plumbing

in this diagram (mine aren't quite as good as the engineer's) the neon green indicates the return pump...

in the sump the huge middle area void is just there to indicate that I have space in case my fuge idea doesn't fit I can redesign the sump since it is large enough to do so (20 long)

a few notes about the numbered areas on the diagram

1. number 1 indicates a reducing elbow from 1" to 1/2"...this will then connect to a 1/2" ball valve then into 1/2 pipe then to 1/2" flex tubing, this is how I will do water changes....through a door on the side of the stand I will access the tubing, open the ball valve (after closing the other valves on the return line) and fill my buckets that way...I might even get ambitious and hook a 50' hose up to it and put it in the bathroom for draining

2. since I couldn't show the design any further than the top of the tank I would just like to mention that the two 3/4" lines will be Y'd into 4 loc-line flare nozzles to provide plenty of flow to the tank

phew..that took a long time to write

please leave comments and questions...I do pretty much everything DIY so hopefully my thread can help someone out there trying to do the same thing

thanks for reading fellow slash members

 

[toungetwster]

Whew...after reading that I think I need a beer! I bet you're really in need of a couple of :beer: :beer: after just typing it! No really; excellent design! I think you're on your way to a wonderful tank! Keep us informed.

 

[latazyo]

indeed, I treated myself to a bud and a blue moon tonight for dinner

58 views and only one reply...thanks for posting toungetwster

 

[bigmayreefer]

looks like a solid, well thought out set up.

 

[ol'saltybastage]

I have to congratulate you on having what has to be the most technical stand drawing on RC ever. i didnt even read the post will all the pretty pics.

 

[latazyo]

I certainly don't doubt that...haha...we discovered that the stand is weakest when force is applied from front to back...but luckily there's that wall there so sweat remains at 0% available


some dudes at nanoreef are strongly recommending keeping it frameless and going w/ no canopy, but I dont know about that...Ive never done a tank w/o a canopy and I dont really want to start now....dont fish jump out and doesnt the light shine in your face everywhere in the room?

what do you guys think...canopy or no? (the lights did come with legs to stand on the edge of the tank)

 

[MayoBoy]

Screw it into the wall and you won't have to worry about it tipping.

You could probably drop the diagonal braces since you'll be skinning it with plywood. That's why new home construction doesn't need wind bracing let into the studs anymore - the plywood is stronger.

If the lights have legs, live with it for a while and see how you like it. You can always mock up a canopy later to see if you like the look or not.

Edit:

I'd also raise your outside bandboard up by 3/4 of an inch and put a piece of 3/4 plywood down as a base. It will strenghten the entire structure and make it easier to distribute the weight and prevent any rocking or leaks if your perimeter isn't PERFECTLY flat.

 

[latazyo]

well the stand is finally done....full details and a bunch more pics in my DIY thread http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=904230

here are a few pics of the finished stand

the stand turned out great (as far as what I was expecting) and it ended up costing me 100 bucks, twice my stand's budget, but 1x10s and 1x6s killed me...I was hoping to find crappy quality lumber thats all curved and crappy, but they only had those sizes in "premium" so I had to pay 10 bucks each for 1x10s....just the 1x10s and 1x6s alone cost me 40 bucks...destroyed my budget



I am now on to my next challenge...I am trying to figure out a way to suspend this light fixture that I got...I really really really really really do NOT want to hang it from the ceiling

here is a shot of the fixture with the legs on it (I think the legs look absolutely ridiculous)

IM thinking about connecting a vertical 2x4 into the back of the stand and then connecting a triangle brace or something out from that to connect the lights to...I havent ironed out the details of that yet, but I'd really like some suggestions for suspending this light fixture

at this time Im not interested in building a canopy

thanks for looking, and as always comments and questions are appreciated

 

[Chelsey]

Looks awesome Layton! I like the idea of connecting a 2x4 to the back of the stand and then just making a brace...that'd probably be your best option unless you want to have two vertical pieces on either side of your tank and make a brace that way.

 

[latazyo]

yeah I like the 2x4 idea for mobility, less damage to wall, and its not liek you'll see it because it would be behind the tank...I think that one post up the middle in the back with a little brack coming off of it will hold the fixture, its only a 24" light and its weight is 21 pounds

 

[Im Lon 2]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7931737#post7931737 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by MayoBoy
You could probably drop the diagonal braces since you'll be skinning it with plywood. That's why new home construction doesn't need wind bracing let into the studs anymore - the plywood is stronger.

I could not agree more. I have built 6 stands and going to be starting on my 7th.. Built it with 2x4, and 1/4" Plywood, and you are good to go.

 

[Im Lon 2]

Scratch above post, didn't read the whole thread. Just was thinking the same thing Mayoboy was thinking.


Why are you using so many baffles in your sump? you are going to put your fuge above it right? I made my first sump something like that and ended up taking all the baffles out but two for a bubble trap. Plus the smaller the area your pump is in the more you have to keep up with top off, or the pump will suck air. Unless you have a topoff system, then it does matter. JMO

 

[latazyo]

yeah, the sump diagram is not accurate, that was more a plumbing diagram...since I posted that I have decided not to go with an above fuge...the fuge I was given ended up being too big to fit under teh stand, so Im going to put a fuge on one end of the sump....look for a sump diagram in the coming days

the diagonal side supports were scrapped...check out the stand build thread I have in DIY, it shows every pic I took of the stand and you can see the framing, etc in that thread

and I will 100% have an ATO, with this small water volume, keeping up on top offs is very important

 

[latazyo]

UPDATE:

I have finished the stand and light suspension system (for full details, check out http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=912003 )

here is a shot of the final stand w/ lights in the lowered position

here is a fully current and updated plumbing and flow plan, I have taken advice from others and decided not to drill out my drain hole, because I dont want that much flow goign through the sump anyways....also, the fuge I got was too tall and wont fit inside my stand (*******), so I will have to build the fuge into my sump

here is a pic of the diagram

so, this is what IM going to do, Im gonna order my savko plumbing tomorrow and get started on that as soon as it arrives

thanks again everyone for looking, comments and questions are appreciated

 

[latazyo]

UPDATE:

I have finished the sump and ordered my plumbing

here is the pic of the sump (as you can see I am undoubtedly the greatest silicone artist in the world)

the sump is designed exactly as shown in the diagram in my previous post

for me, being lazy is a way of life and is of utmost importance, for this reason I have designed my system to make water changes easier for me

in doing so I have ordered a DJ power center on which I will control all of the things that need to be turned off during a water change (skimmer, ATO pump, heater, etc)...it is a phenominal device and I recommend eveyrone get one...I got this one

going along with my theme of easy water changes I installed a side door on my stand

behind which lies my water changing station

both nozzles will have about 5 feet of flexible tubing connected to them and rolled up inside the compartment

the nozzle on the left will be the water in line, through which I will pump saltwater back into the sump

the nozzle on the right will be the water out line, through which old water from the sump will be pumped into my water buckets...I would have loved to hook my outgoing water up through a garden hose, and run it outside or to my bathroom during a water change, but my pump does not have those capabilities...oh well..maybe someday

well tomorrow, comes plumbing and mounting of the electrical gadgets, hope to update again in a few days

thanks for looking

PS: I posted a few WTBs and giveaways over in the forum on the slashclub.org website

 

[marino420td]

Great idea on the water changing station. Is that a washer hookup box you used, just turned upside down?

 

[Chelsey]

Awesome! This is a VERY well thought out system...can't wait to see it in action!

 

[latazyo]

thanks chelsey

marino, thats exactly what it is, however the washer box thing also has three equally spaced punch outs on the top, so I could have brought them in from the top and placed it normally, but space is an issue inside my stand so I needed to place it upside down because of the way the bottom is shaped (in a normal set up, you would hook a drain hose to the very bottom to relieve leakage) so there is extra bs underneath it


I have had this tank since about 3 days before the wedding and have had it empty for over a month and have been planning for about two months...I had the luxury of having a tank about 2 years ago and then leaving the hobby for two years...now when I set this one up I have the advantage of previous experience to give me some ideas...not to mention the desire to be ridiculous

 

[Im Lon 2]

Do you have it where you can pump in and out on the same pump?

 

[latazyo]

no...IM looking for a mag 3 or somethign similar to stir my new saltwater for changes and then to pump it into the tank

that is a pump Im in the WTB...I put up a WTB in the forum over at slashclub.org