Our 375 Gallon project

[sidewinder770]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7171946#post7171946 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by MSM
I got my 180 stand (the one I copied from Sidewinder770) back from the powdercoater today:

Ahhhhh- the new and improved 2006 model! Looks sweet! You'll never regret going with steel and even more so powdercoating! So much more durable and looks 10x better than paint. Can't wait to see the finished product!

KNUCKLEHEAD- Thanks for the compliments. Only 23 pages......man- it sure seems longer than that! I've always liked the complete build threads and I'm just glad others have enjoyed mine and hope to see lots of people borrow from and improve upon a few ideas I had. And you are absolutely correct- great hobby and a great bunch of people here on RC.

TheCoralReef731- We used the black pond foam- the 'great stuff' is yellow and looks terrible for a long time IMO. The coraline started attaching fairly quickly and is almost completely covered now. The top 3-4 inches is taking the longest but I think that's due to the high light and even if it was just acrylic it would take a while.

Mishap- All in due time . I'll be sure to post some pics of the room once the cabinets are done and I don't have wood and tools laying all over the place. Currently we have a small couch in front of the tank to enjoy the view from. Once this cabinet work is done I will probably be getting a new super comfy couch or a pair of layboys or something to put in front of it. The great part of having the 30" tall tank is you can sit and enjoy it or walk right up to it and see everything without having to bend over. I'll be sure to post some whole room pics soon!

No progress on the stand this week really and I got a very full weekend so probably won't touch it again till next week. I'll be sure to post some pics of any progress.

 

[Satori]

Thanks Scott. But it's more like the "base model".

 

[Galtamar]

Great thread and awesome tank I got a lot of ideas for my project 375G - 400G tank. The foam is a very a nice idea and looks great is a shame i can not do it for my tank since I plan on it being a peninsula dividing 2 rooms. But will copy your sump room since space is a problem for me. I just found this site (u can see this is my first post) great site, thanks for posting ur setup.

Thanks, Gustavo

 

[melev]

Gustavo,

[welcome]

You'll love RC, I guarantee you. We have tons of great people here with lots of imagination, willing to share their ideas with others.

 

[strittmatter]

After reading all 23 pages there is not much to say but WOW. I really like the foam idea, and I read the thread so I am not going to ask about it again. :rollface:


There was someone that posted a couple of times. I hate you. If I knew you better I would say the same thing. I am with out a doubt jealous.

By the way your occupation on your profile has to be wrong. Youââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢re doing a lot of something right to pull this off!!!

 

[Mishap]

http://www.la-z-boy.com/ourfurniture/product.aspx?pid=100

These are my dream tank watchin chairs.... coolers between the seats. Mmmmm.

Matt

 

[melev]

Yeah, I just saw those recently, and they reminded me of seats in the airport or on an airplane. It might look strange in a home - at least my home.

 

[KNUCKLEHEAD]

I build home theatres at times, & those are just the ticket. I like the wedge sections to be able to radius them.
Meanwhile I`m over at MELEV`s post on the acrylic sump build diary or forum. I have those benches bookmarked.

 

[alien9168]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7171946#post7171946 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by MSM
I got my 180 stand (the one I copied from Sidewinder770) back from the powdercoater today:

That looks great!

 

[enamdjd]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7171946#post7171946 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by MSM
I got my 180 stand (the one I copied from Sidewinder770) back from the powdercoater today:

It looks great. I had my welder build a similar one. Just one word of advice, make sure that the ends are covered. I don't know if it's the picture; but it appears that the ends of the tubular steel are open. Try to cap those to avoid corrosion. Again, great job.

 

[Satori]

Thanks. You're right, the ends are open. I didn't have a fancy enough saw to do good 45's. The braces have 45's, but they weren't perfect so there was some filling involved. Fill welds are plenty strong, but I didn't want the main frame to have those irregular joints.

I wasn't going to cap them, but maybe I will if I can find the end caps I'll silicone them in.

 

[annetate]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7212912#post7212912 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by MSM
Thanks. You're right, the ends are open. I didn't have a fancy enough saw to do good 45's. The braces have 45's, but they weren't perfect so there was some filling involved. Fill welds are plenty strong, but I didn't want the main frame to have those irregular joints.

I wasn't going to cap them, but maybe I will if I can find the end caps I'll silicone them in.

you shouldnt have a problem with corosion because they are powder coated right?

 

[enamdjd]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7213128#post7213128 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by annetate
you shouldnt have a problem with corosion because they are powder coated right?

The powder coating does not extend inside the lumen of the pipe; hence, my recommendaton to seal.

 

[Travis]

I think sealing the ends would be a good idea. I have been using this stand:
<img src=http://sio.midco.net/cdshelton/website/stand/standpc3.jpg>
on my 280 for about 17 months. What I did was used Great Stuff foam in the ends to make them water sealed. I do agree that if saltwater got in those ends it could pose a problem. Ideally, the best seal would be pieces of steel welded over the holes before the stand is powdercoated. I am getting a couple very small rust spots on my stand. These are in the areas where welded joints are. Not sure if the powdercoating just doesn't adhere to these areas as well or what the deal is. There is barely any rust so I'm not really concerned but just sharing my experience so far.

 

[nine9d]

Can we see a close-up of the back wall? Maybe a couple of varied shots. I would love to see how it looks close and how the corals look on it. Thanks.

 

[sidewinder770]

I would try to plug the end as well otherwise it will still rust from the inside out. I welded caps on mine before it was powdercoated to help prevent that. I also had to drill a few holes to mount the canopy to the stand and I did that before powdercoating also. Once it was powdercoated I used stainless bolts to attach it and used rubber washers under the stainless washers on each side of the bolt to help 'seal' the hole made for the bolt. I have not and will not drill any holes in the steel once the powdercoating is done as I don't want to take a chance of rusting anywhere. So far so good and my welds are holding up just fine with the powdercoating- not sure why that spot would make much of a difference unless some welding splatter was still there or something but I grinded all my welds and had the whole thing sand blasted prior to the powdercoating which may have helped as well.

Galtamar & strittmatter- Thanks for the compliments and welcome to RC and my thread. I try to post lots of info and pics and I'm be sure to post more as it continues.

Mishap- Those are some cool chairs. I am still undecided on what to put in front of it but I know the crappy leather loveseat and wicker chairs in front of it now have to go. I may get another loveseat with some built in recliners, something like what you posted or maybe just a pair of laz-y-boys or something. I haven't given it a lot of thought just yet but hopefully that will be in the next few months.

nine9d- I'll try to get some close-ups of the back wall- it's kind of hard to get a good clear shot but I'll see what I can do. I think I might have one somewhere that turned out pretty good so let me see if I can fin that one as well.

I haven't made much progress lately but hopefully we will make some good head way this weekend and be one step closer to a finished stand. I'll be sure to post some more pics once I make some more progress.

I think powdercoated stands are the way to go and as you can see there are lots of colors and designs to choose from- it makes the stand part of the whole design and I think it looks much better and lasts much longer than wood. Feel free to post any more steel/powdercoated stand pics as well!

Since this seems to be the "powdercoated stands" section of the thread I thought I'd post the pic of my stand again- obviously this was taken over a year ago and we have a different colored wall now


Here it is in pieces before the powdercoating-

Here is after

 

[Satori]

That's a great idea with the Great Stuff foam. It's obiously too late to weld caps on, so I'll just seal them with the foam and maybe a little silicone.

Scott, I missed five days of working on my skins, so you may beat me yet! Also, I was expecting to have my new tank back this week but it doesn't look like that's going to happen. I may still tear down the 55 this weekend to make room for the 180.

 

[sidewinder770]

That sounds like a good idea to me- at least it should prevent any inside-out rust and you'll never see it with the skin on it. And don't worry- you'll probably still finish your stand before I do- I got at least 2-3 weeks left before it's even close to being done.

There seems to be a trend around here lately- no one is getting there tank on time! Clkwrk barely made his deadline, Fliger is about a month behind and now you!!!! I feel your pain and hopefully you will all get your tanks soon. I can't wait to see pics of them all up and running Clkwrk's looks amazing so far- he's beating all of us .

 

[clkwrk]

Yup I am only trim away from being done but I haven't had much sleep either.

 

[Opcn]

So where is the AC ducting going to come in? I'll bet that thing is doing horrible things to your house, especially seeing as how a the Vaopr/draft barrior is probably on the outside of your insulation (assuming you have one) since you are in airconditioning country.