LoJack's 144 Gallon Reef Build

So I got the stand into the basement without any damage other than a small bit of finish that was ripped off by the painters tape I applied to protect the edges ... pffff hows that for fricken irony. Easy enough to patch though.

The bad news comes now. After getting the tank downstairs the bottom pane is reflecting light at a weird angle ... so I take a closer look ... sure enough I find a big chip in the glass.

I posted pics in a separate thread to find out what others would do, and based on my situation the 11 person decision was unanimous ... it cannot be used.

I'll try to call a glass shop and get a new piece cut and then learn how to replace it I suppose.

What a nightmare!

I guess I'm at a slow down point here ... so much for drilling my tank today

0964f038.jpg
 
Omni26 said:
Sweet. In the process of getting our garage in order and building a wood working shop. It feels good to work with ones hands and see plain stock turn into a thing of beauty yes?
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Heck yes!

LoJack- that stand is slick. I had a hard enough time cutting 45* angles on each end of 1x3" pine to the right length... It really makes me appreciate what some of you guys can do as far as all of the ornate trim work.

Sorry about the tank. That really sucks. I hope it doesn't cost you too much to get it repaired.

I take it you don't have any plans to build any kind of door/covering for the front of the stand to hide the sump & the equipment?
 
Everyones Hero said:
Heck yes!

LoJack- that stand is slick. I had a hard enough time cutting 45* angles on each end of 1x3" pine to the right length... It really makes me appreciate what some of you guys can do as far as all of the ornate trim work.

Sorry about the tank. That really sucks. I hope it doesn't cost you too much to get it repaired.

I take it you don't have any plans to build any kind of door/covering for the front of the stand to hide the sump & the equipment?
Click to expand...

Yes I do plan to cover that area. I have everything to build matching raised panel doors ... I just figure thats a super time consuming project for a woodworking newbie like myself ... and I might as well doing it while the tank is cycling.

I just wanted to get things up and running so that I could do the other stuff like doors, canopy, and lighting while the tank is cycling
 
Haha. That's exactly what I'm doing. Got my stand finished & painted so I could get the tank on it. I figure the doors are an unnecessary accessory that I can deal with later. :p
 
Very impressive stand! I am very envious of your workshop.

As for the tank, I would strongly recommend you remove the center brace and euro brace the tank. And for the chip, don't know what to say. Good luck with that, I hope it doesn't cost you too much.

Again, very nice build.
 
Yeah I intend to replace the bottom pane tomorrow if I can get the glass. Im sure something will come up like having to order 1/2" glass in ... or something of the like.

I'll be sure and keep you guys posted.

And thanks for all the wonderful comments. I truly appreciate the feedback, and am glad that everyone likes the stand as much as I do!
 
Great job! Looks awesome. Are you going to put sides on it? Also weren't you going to fill those holes in the front with dowels?
 
Changed my mind about the dowels because the raised panel doors are going to cover them.

I actually thought that I was going to have exposed holes everywhere ... but after all the trim went into place, only the 4 holes across the front are left, and they'll be hidden by the doors.
 
So we have a delay. I know that a lot of people replied to my other thread about whether or not to continue with the tank I have. I didn't want to bog the build thread down with conversations regarding whether or not to use a chipped tank.

A decision has been made, and my build will be slightly delayed. I'm waiting for a quote from another tank builder as we speak. I'm assured I will have a quote by monday.

a19cfa7b-1.jpg
 
Smart decision. With this amazing stand that you put so much work into, you don't want to be disappointed each time you look at it because the tank is not perfect. Great job!
 
acesq said:
Smart decision. With this amazing stand that you put so much work into, you don't want to be disappointed each time you look at it because the tank is not perfect. Great job!
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Thanks.

Not only that but this will be better also because there were flaws with the tank that I never would have been happy with long term.

The initial tank I wanted built had black silicone and eurobracing. This tank had clear silicone and regular bracing that would have hindered my lighting.

The silicone was sloppy, and the glass edges weren't as clean as they could have been.

Getting the tank rebuilt, by a tankbuilder I trust and used before will make this whole build that much better ... it just unfortunately delays things.
 
This is the prime example of " when you spend less money, you get less quality "

I veered away from using my regular builder because someone with 30 years of tank building experience offered to build it for less than half of my normal guy.

But now with crappy silicone, and two chipped tanks later ... it will end up costing more, because I have to replace the tank all together.

Lesson learned I suppose
 
Well my tank might be broken and I might have that delay. But I still have a lot to get done and worked out before the new one shows up.

I started playing with an aqua scape today. Its my first attempt so bare with me.

I want honest feedback, because once its in, its staying that way lol. I want to make sure I get it right the first time.

This is what I've come up with so far. The joints between the rocks will be filled in much better to looking like one solid piece, I just don't see the point yet until I know what the main layout will look like.

c0d34266.jpg


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I like the openess but I think you would benefit specially your fish if you would create a couple caves for your fish to escape to when being bullied or feel safe! IMO
 
I agree with Jaws.

I don't know how heavily you plan to stock the tank with corals, but you might consider adding a little more rock & more areas to mount them to. I feel so weird saying that because I usually feel like people have too much rock in their tanks. :p

How close is the middle bottom piece to the glass? I'm sure you already know, but if it's too close you could create a dead spot where detritus will build up.
 
Everyones Hero said:
I agree with Jaws.

I don't know how heavily you plan to stock the tank with corals, but you might consider adding a little more rock & more areas to mount them to.
Click to expand...

I think right now its just a little deceiving in terms of scale.

thats 100 lbs of Marco rock ... I should be alright in terms of amount.

As for the arch ... Its the only thing that just isn't looking right for me ... I may have to try something different.
 
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