Mountains of sawdust (360g plywood, LED, Arduino build)

[der_wille_zur_macht]

Are you concerned about the view from the front pane looking into the tank and seeing those two small windows? How are you going to make it look nice and clean from that standpoint?

A good question. I'm not totally sure how I'll handle that, but the epoxy poured over the interior will all be tinted a specific color, so I'll have some control there. Black would probably be the best to help it blend in. Also, of course I'll have to be delicate when doing the silicone work on those panels to keep it clean looking. Plus, the fact that the tank is 48" from front to back should help - that back viewing pane is gonna be FAR away from the front viewing surface. and there will be a 3" plywood lip around the front viewing surface, so the side viewing pane will be partially obscured by that.

In the end, if it looks ugly, I can always just make a nice clean frame from thin acrylic to hide the transition from wood to glass. Several other folks have made plywood tanks with viewing panels on multiple sides (Steve's tank, or Keith from fingerlake's 1000g), and the seams don't really stand out when you're looking at the tank, though of course those viewing panels are all full size.

I think your tank is going to be awesome. It's so funny to me how people have such different ideas/opinions on things. I don't especially care for the "mystery" aspect in most things, I just want to see it all, LOL. So I know if I had the opportunity to come into your home and see the completed tank that I'd probably be frustrated to not be able to see more. Keep up the good work and thanks for sharing.

If we weren't all very different, the world would be a very boring place. I'm sure I'm going to be frustrated looking at the tank for the first few years anyways, it's going to take a loooong time to fill in this much space with interesting corals. I'm DIY'ing the live rock for this tank, and I'm pretty happy with some of the shapes so far, so at least the rockwork will be interesting to look at.

 

[username in use]

I like your concept and design. I think its going to be a very interesting build. Have you given any thought to where the light will be concentrated and what types of corals are going where. For instance, strong lighting in the front with an emphasis on sps, with moderate lighting on the side with an emphasis on lps and moderate lighting on the back with an emphasis on softies. I think you could develop a very realistic reefscape this way, and have the ability to generate a true reef biotope this way. Nice work so far, Im definitely following this one.

 

[der_wille_zur_macht]

username in use, I've given FAR more thought to that sort of thing that should be considered "normal," even for a dedicated hobbyist. :lol: Besides the clear efficiency gains, that's the sort of thing that made LED lighting a no-brainer for me on this tank. I'll be able to control (dynamically, throughout the lunar and solar cycle each day, cloud cover, storms, etc.) the color, intensity, and angle of light in every inch of the tank.

I don't really have the overall lighting and coral-scaping plan at a point where I can describe it yet, but let's say I'm trying to go for "big picture" again, not just stuffing popular corals in every nook and cranny. While I appreciate the dedication it takes to produce some of the tanks envied on these forums, many of them make me cringe because they look more like a supermarket fruitstand than a real reef. With a 4x6 footprint and careful control over lighting, I'm hoping I can create something a little more dramatic and realistic. SPS corals practically growing out of the water and getting blasted with current at the top of the reef, deepwater corals in the shadows below, and peaceful lagoonal corals on a big flat in another part of the tank.

That said, we'll see how well I can transform my vision into reality. I'm sure lotsa people are going to think it's ugly and poorly executed, but as long as I'm happy, I don't care.

 

[lordofthereef]

If this turns out like you plan it should be great. looking forward to this developing!

 

[der_wille_zur_macht]

If this turns out like you plan

If it doesn't, I think I'd just sit down and cry for a few years. Major modifications to my home, a few thousand bucks, and hundreds of hours. It darn well BETTER turn out right. :lol:

 

[lordofthereef]

LOL I was referring specifically to this statement:

"I wanted the tank to look clean and permanent - so throwing a big glass box on a stand was out of the question. But, I wanted to take this look to the highest extreme: I don't even want it to look like a fish tank, I want it to look like a piece of glass floating in the wall, with the ocean behind. So, the stand, hood, etc. will all be flush with the surrounding surfaces in the home, with as small an impact as possible."

That has the potential to be unlike anything I have seen before in a home!

 

[coralnut99]

Have you thought out the heat and ventilation issues yet?

 

[der_wille_zur_macht]

That has the potential to be unlike anything I have seen before in a home!

Ah, gotcha. We'll see how that goes. I've got some thoughts that I'm running by my home-remodeler family member to see if he thinks they're sound. The ply tank and stud-built stand and hood will be easy to "hide" but the one sticking point is doors for access. How do you make them easy to use, yet not give the impression that you just walled in a bunch of cabinets around a glass box?

Have you thought out the heat and ventilation issues yet?

Yeah, though again it's not a problem I've totally solved yet. Ventilation for moist air due to evaporation will be required, but I don't think I want to give up the heat generated. The tank will be in a room that's kept at 68 year-round, and will have very little "accidental" heat - the LEDs will give off far less than any other type of lighting, I'll be using an energy efficient return pump, and very low-watt powerheads for circulation. That's about it. So I'm sure I'll be heat-negative most of the time. I can back this up with experience from other tanks I've had. I've had wildly inefficient tanks with 400w MHs that didn't need chillers, for instance. In fact, I used to have a 125g tank in this same spot, and my energy budget goal for this 360g tank is to hit the same daily power usage I had with that tank.

So rather than running heaters to make up for it, I'd like to use as much of the waste heat from the lights, etc. as is practical. Thoughts or suggestions appreciated. I'll have a DIY controller (Arduino based) so it would be reasonable to switch on different equipment based on different conditions. For instance, if the temperature in the hood is above a certain max value, turn on an exhaust fan, but leave it off if the tank water needs heat. Or, get makeup air to replace what's exhausted from the cool basement if the tank is too hot, but from the warmer living space in the house if it's too cold. Of course I'll have heaters in the tank too, but I'm wondering if tricks like these would help keep them off.

 

[AcroSteve]

One thing I'm starting to worry about with those smaller viewing panels is if the plywood will flex around them too much. In a traditional fullsize viewing panel, the "frame" the glass is in is reinforced all the way around by the bottom, sides, and eurobracing. In my design, the long bottom edges of those panels will be "in the middle" of those two sides of the tank, so there will be no immediate support. Thoughts about this from anyone experienced in wood tanks would be appreciated.

I can understand your concern. At a minimum, I would double the plywood on the sides that you will have the viewing panels in.

Double them and cut the viewing hole in the outer piece and then cut the hole in the inner piece of plywood larger to so that you have at least an inch of surface area for the silicone.

Sort of like this on my tank - but I routed this out of a single sheet. Yours would be a total of almost 1-1/2" thick. You could tune some dimensions and get your glass flush with the inner surface of your tank.

The the glass on the inside of my overflow is within 1/16" of being flush. If you use some masking tape when you silicone the glass in, you can get a very neat job.

Here is how I installed mine.

 

[der_wille_zur_macht]

I remember the basketball. Creative to say the least. you vacuum bagged fiberglass over that area, correct? I sold my vacuum bagging rig years ago unfortunately. Still up in the air on the smaller viewing panels, so we'll see where it ends up.

On another note, the sump is assembled:

18 x 18 x 48. No bracing on the top yet. Rather than do eurobracing, I'll probably do one or two narrow cross braces, once I decide on the baffle layout.

 

[AcroSteve]

Yes, I did vacuum bag that area, but with the right cloth and conditions, i think you could do something similar without that.

 

[lordofthereef]

This is pretty exciting. I have never seen a build thread of a plywood tank. I know it isn't a new concept, but the idea of making a fishtank out of wood is pretty cool to me. More pics!

 

[der_wille_zur_macht]

Lordofthereef, search around a bit - there are two or three others that are active right now. Steve's is amazing. And MattShack is in the middle of a 1000g tank.

Think of it like building a wood boat, only inside out.

I've got a few more pics but I'm trying to spread them out since progress is so slow. That last one of the sump is about a week old. I worked on it for about 2 hours last night, too.

 

[salty joe]

In fact, I used to have a 125g tank in this same spot, and my energy budget goal for this 360g tank is to hit the same daily power usage I had with that tank.

QUOTE]

Have you cosidered insulating your tank and plumbing?

 

[RyanEG]

Dwiz, not to be a negative Nancy, but have you really thought out the woody sump? Even with my stand being extra tall (42" if memory serves me) I still look through the sides of it nine times out of ten. Especially if a fish happens to make it down the water slide. Even when I need to look at it from the top down it takes some contorsionist moves to sqeeze my admittedly large head into the opening I have. Just trying to help alleviate some frustrations in the future.

 

[warlock_king]

You're my hero.. Now build me one! lol Good job on the tank! cant wait to see it finished up

 

[der_wille_zur_macht]

Have you cosidered insulating your tank and plumbing?

I can't quote this for sure, but I'm guessing the plywood construction will be better insulated than glass or acrylic by default (it's thicker for one thing, and will be sheathed in some sort of finish material, too.) By rough guess based on the other tanks I've had, I have a feeling I'll be able to get close enough to heater-neutral by careful air control and equipment choice.

Dwiz, not to be a negative Nancy, but have you really thought out the woody sump? Even with my stand being extra tall (42" if memory serves me) I still look through the sides of it nine times out of ten. Especially if a fish happens to make it down the water slide. Even when I need to look at it from the top down it takes some contorsionist moves to sqeeze my admittedly large head into the opening I have. Just trying to help alleviate some frustrations in the future.

I have thought about that, for sure. I guess I'll try to live with it at this point. I'm not going to have much in the actual sump, since most equipment (return pump, maybe skimmer, etc) will be external. Despite being gigantic, this is going to be a pretty simple tank by some accounts. Worst case, I'm doing each step first on the sump, so it's good practice. I can always use it as a frag tank or something if I hate it.

You're my hero..

Thanks! This stuff really is easy and fun, anyone can do it.

Though, assembling the tank is probably going to require assistance - I struggle to lift some of the panels alone, as it is, and it's only gonna get tougher when they're put together and the epoxy and glass has to go in. Luckily I've got lots of local family/friends.

 

[der_wille_zur_macht]

Cutting the viewing panel in the end of the tank:

I went with 8" tall by the "whole" width (that is, leaving just a 3" frame on the top and each end.)

I haven't cut the viewing pane in the back of the tank yet, but will probably do 8" tall and only half the length, or less. This will help contribute to the aesthetic impact I'm looking for. Referencing back to the home's floorplan:

The "front door" is down the hall between the stairs and the front bedroom. So as people enter through the front door and come down the hall towards the aquarium, they will first see the end panel and the small viewing panel on the back. The end panel pretty much reveals the full 4" dimension of the tank, but the back panel will only reveal two or three feet of that dimension. So, as visitors approach the tank from the front of the house, it will appear as if it is an average 75 or 90 gallon aquarium built in to the wall.

 

[username in use]

What about a small viewing window in the bathroom. With creative rock and coral placement, it could be obscured from the other panels so no one can see someone in the bathroom. Could be a great touch though. I know Ive always wanted an inwall in front of the toilet. better than a magazine.

 

[Skeptic_07]

can't wait to see this one done.. GL!