fjr_wertheimber
Combat-tested Reefer
Okay, guys and gals... So, now that my days of deploying to wonderful vacation spots like Iraq, Afghanistan, Korea, or other godforsaken third-world countries are behind me, I can now start to plan and design and build in earnest, especially since my wonderful fiancée has given me the green light to start building a custom dream tank. Well, pseudo-dream tank, that is. My TRUE dream tank would require scuba gear to clean and service. LOL
So, a while back I saw this tank:
and immediately my mind began to percolate. I LOVED it. It reminded me so much of what it was like scuba diving on the Great Barrier Reef, and really had a dimensionality to it that I hadn't seen before. That, and I loved having the shallower area for massively light-loving SPS, enabling you to run LEDs without spotlight optics, and a deeper shelf for NPS coral, etc. The only thing I didn't like about it was the fact that it was done with acrylic. I'm just not an acrylic fan, mainly 'cause I tend to break and scratch stuff pretty easily, and scratches drive me nuts. So, it would have to be glass.
So, I got to thinking, and realized I can do a similar tank to this, but bigger, and with glass. So, with that in mind, I found a place in Austin that laser cuts plywood up to 1.5" thick and can cut glass using a waterjet. So, with the "how do I get everything cut" at least semi-squared away, here's my idea for the design (it will sit as a room divider, so the plumbing will but up against the wall):
View from the Front angle. The large opening on the side of the stand will have doors, as will the side of the tank for the access to the plumbing.
Opposite side.
Side (skin not shown to show internal structure).
Rear Quarter view. The stand is all two layers of 3/4" marine-grade plywood (so, 1.5" all around, including internal supports).
Side view.
So, the plan is to build it in two pieces, the tank and the stand. All out of 3/4" marine plywood, fiberglass and resin on the inside. 1/2" Low Iron glass custom cut to shape. The shallow area will be 20" deep with a 17" window, with water level will be 1" above window height, and 3" of sand below the window. The sand held at the top of the shelf by a resin/foam/rock structure at the edge. The width of the tank will be 31", so it can fit through a standard front door with room to spare. The depth of the deeper portion is 36", with 32" viewable (once again, 3" below the viewing window for sand on the bottom level, so I can have some jawfish, and/or a pistol shrimp/goby pair).
Total water volume (not counting sump/fuge) should be about 240 gallons. I'm planning on using a BeanAnimal-style drain system. Having quite decided on return pumps, I'm kind of leaning towards a pair of Water Blaster 5000s. Currently, plans are to run a Super Reef Octopus XP-5000 Internal skimmer, unless I can somehow talk Wendy into letting me get a Vertex Alpha 250... ~drool~ Flow in the tank will be a pair of MP-60w pumps on the top shelf (placed below the overflow), and possibly a pair of MP-40w pumps on the bottom shelf from the sides pointed inwards at each other. Lighting will be a DIY LED setup, unless I somehow find an insanely good deal on some AI SOL Blues.
So what do you all think? Any ideas? See anything I got blatantly wrong? Improvements? Thoughts/comments/suggestions?
So, a while back I saw this tank:
and immediately my mind began to percolate. I LOVED it. It reminded me so much of what it was like scuba diving on the Great Barrier Reef, and really had a dimensionality to it that I hadn't seen before. That, and I loved having the shallower area for massively light-loving SPS, enabling you to run LEDs without spotlight optics, and a deeper shelf for NPS coral, etc. The only thing I didn't like about it was the fact that it was done with acrylic. I'm just not an acrylic fan, mainly 'cause I tend to break and scratch stuff pretty easily, and scratches drive me nuts. So, it would have to be glass.
So, I got to thinking, and realized I can do a similar tank to this, but bigger, and with glass. So, with that in mind, I found a place in Austin that laser cuts plywood up to 1.5" thick and can cut glass using a waterjet. So, with the "how do I get everything cut" at least semi-squared away, here's my idea for the design (it will sit as a room divider, so the plumbing will but up against the wall):
So, the plan is to build it in two pieces, the tank and the stand. All out of 3/4" marine plywood, fiberglass and resin on the inside. 1/2" Low Iron glass custom cut to shape. The shallow area will be 20" deep with a 17" window, with water level will be 1" above window height, and 3" of sand below the window. The sand held at the top of the shelf by a resin/foam/rock structure at the edge. The width of the tank will be 31", so it can fit through a standard front door with room to spare. The depth of the deeper portion is 36", with 32" viewable (once again, 3" below the viewing window for sand on the bottom level, so I can have some jawfish, and/or a pistol shrimp/goby pair).
Total water volume (not counting sump/fuge) should be about 240 gallons. I'm planning on using a BeanAnimal-style drain system. Having quite decided on return pumps, I'm kind of leaning towards a pair of Water Blaster 5000s. Currently, plans are to run a Super Reef Octopus XP-5000 Internal skimmer, unless I can somehow talk Wendy into letting me get a Vertex Alpha 250... ~drool~ Flow in the tank will be a pair of MP-60w pumps on the top shelf (placed below the overflow), and possibly a pair of MP-40w pumps on the bottom shelf from the sides pointed inwards at each other. Lighting will be a DIY LED setup, unless I somehow find an insanely good deal on some AI SOL Blues.
So what do you all think? Any ideas? See anything I got blatantly wrong? Improvements? Thoughts/comments/suggestions?
