new frag tank, all DIY

[zapata41]

ok well just finished building that darn thing and only thing i can say is whew !!! no leaks.

i built the tank from 1/4" cast acylic, used a 3" euro bracing. tank size is 4'x3'x1'
lighting is by one 400w SE 20K XM for 3.5hrs a day and natural sunlight
flow is by 50% mak4 return pump, 2 mj1200 maxi streams.
over flow is a coast to coast style.
light rack is fully adjustable, legs were made so i can raise or lower the light by a foot by simply unscrewing a thumb screw, raising the leg, and screwing the screw back in. works great
ok well here are the pics.

top down

cost to cost overflow

all the plumbing to the sump, what a mess heh

straight on

PBT in his new home

took a few days do build everything and only firday night and yesterday to plumb and switch everything over.

Tim

 

[bassnman11]

Great job!! Leave a glass of milk and a plate of cookies out at night and the wiring fairy may come and spruce up your mess haha.

 

[zapata41]

hahaha, not soo much wiring but plumbing. but i guess that is what is expected when you dont plan on having "other" things plumbed in and have to improvise on how things get plumbed. but yes, the milk and cookies will be out, some for the frag fairy too

Tim

 

[hahnmeister]

Nice eductor on the lok-line, and MJ1200 streams, and that coast to coast overflow is trick.

 

[zapata41]

thanks hahn, the thing on the locline isnt meant to be like an eductor, have those lying around if i needed them, just something i had lying around.

Tim

 

[hahnmeister]

Oh, I see now...the one pic from above the water makes it look like its a flared outlet...but below it I see its just a barbed fitting.

 

[zapata41]

yeah just trying to increase the velocity from the returns some. the nice thing with a pressure rated return is that you can do that.

 

[slevesque]

Nice! I'm still impress to see how much water such a thin acrylic can hold!

 

[zapata41]

well it is only 12" tall and has a 3" euro brace. there is no bowing at all. my stand does need a center leg installed as it is bowing a little.

Tim

 

[elliotklinger]

Can you give me cost breakdown of tank? I'm planning on making one soon- 48" x 18" x 12". I'm not exactly sure if I want to go with fiberglass container or make the acrylic tank myself...

 

[zapata41]

acrylic was 160 shipped to my door from San Diego plastics. they cut everything for me for 5$ , well they cut one 4x3 and 5 1x4 pieces. shipping was like 35$ so plastics was only 120$.

m59 ballast, local 80$
xm20 400w , premium aquatics 70$
3 mj 1200, 17$ ea
stand, freebie, hence the job title
reflector, 130$
i had the weldon 3 and 16 lying aound from a past project so i didnt have to buy that this time.

all the pvc, a few 20$'s

HTH

Tim

 

[zapata41]

acrylic was 160 shipped to my door from San Diego plastics. they cut everything for me for 5$ , well they cut one 4x3 and 5 1x4 pieces. shipping was like 35$ so plastics was only 120$.

m59 ballast, local 80$
xm20 400w , premium aquatics 70$
3 mj 1200, 17$ ea
stand, freebie, hence the job title
reflector, 130$
i had the weldon 3 and 16 lying aound from a past project so i didnt have to buy that this time.

all the pvc, a few 20$'s

HTH

Tim

 

[elliotklinger]

Not bad... I have many parts lying around, I'll just have to buy acrylic, weldon, and woods then I can start.

 

[elliotklinger]

Did you ordered the acrylic pieces slightly larger to compensate for loss of size from weldon curing? I'm curious how much acrylic pieces would cost me if I order from same source as yours. What's their telephone number or should I ask at local glass store? I'm thinking about making 2 of 48" x 18" x 12" tanks, same style as yours- maybe with 2" euro-brace.

 

[zapata41]

i just told them to cut one piece to 4x3 , ups charges a bunch more to ship anyhting larger than that, then i told them to cut the other 4x4 piece into four pieces that were all the same size as the scrap from the 4x3 piece. worked out very nice actually. i let one side of every side f the tank run past then next, this way i could glue everything then trim the scrap of the four sides, then glue on the euro bracing and trim everything. i dont have a table saw but this method worked very nicely.

Tim

 

[elliotklinger]

Cool, I'm going to embark on my project sometime next month. I'm working on getting parts for the frag tank. Which weldon should I use for my project?

 

[zapata41]

i like weldon 3, kicks very fast, 4 is the same only kicks a little slower.

Tim

 

[RichConley]

what made you chose the 20K?

I'd think for a frag tank, you'd just go with a 6500k or 10K for the increased par/growth.


Other than that, great job. What is that skimmer? It looks like a monster.

 

[tangyreefer05]

Great job, that is inspiring work

 

[zapata41]

i went with the 20k so i could keep the great color in the corals that you dont really get with the 10k, but i am thinking i might switch to a 10k soon.

that skimmer was a prior DIY project. and eys it is a monster