mightyevil
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:celeb3: :celeb1: YEEEEEESSSS!!!:beer: :celeb2: Too cool Willie, that looks awesome! Its like the deep blue sea in there.
redtop03's 360 gallon plywood adventure
- Thread starter redtop03
- Start date
redtop03
moved slow
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15127148#post15127148 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by MattShack
I don't have the wood yet. I'm not sure if I'm going to buy some wood next week, or just buy the epoxy and fiberglass and buy the wood next month. I really want to get started, but I don't know which is worse. Having the epoxy and not being able to start or having the wood and not being able to finish once I start. hmmm.
21 inches of wasted space that could be filled with water
The flow looks really good from the pics. The OM and the Hammerhead is going to be awsome.
Which Little Giant did you go with?
Which bulbs do you have lit?
it will be bad either way,having to wait on materials to work with,if you get your wood now you could be building the box and maybe by the time you had it done,you could get the epoxy and fiberglass,but it doesn't take too long to do the box itself...
Matt,I have one of your dilemma's,we had a golf ball sized hail storm yesterday that beat the crap out of our '08 HHR,my insurance has a $500 deductible we will have to pay....
on top of that it red....very hard color to match up perfectly.....we have 4 vehicles,thats the only one damaged,that about made me sick,best vehicle we've ever hadthat 21" space on 1 side will be my ro/di filter and 2 brute trash cans,on the other side hopefully all my electrical stuff,and an AC window unit,the back side of the tank is in my closet,I plan to build a wall separating the tank from the closet,so to have a fish room...I need to redo all my electric for the tank
I now have the hammerhead,but it'll be a while on the OM
the Little Giant 4-MDQX-SC is the one I got,1,325 gph.....I'm having major bubble issues right now but I don't have any bubble traps in the sump yet,I still need to figure something out for that
the light that I have on are 2 pheonix 250w 14k with the lumatek ballasts...I need 2 more of each,for the other fixture...those fixtures are the odyssea el-cheapo's,but are half way decent with the up grades
heres my SCWD all plumbed in,it works great,I used flexible tubing and made a little bracket for it to rest in
I still have a long ways to go with the over flow plumbing,just got it cobbled up at the moment,but I had to get some water flowing....I eventually get all the kinks ironed out
redtop03
moved slow
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15127237#post15127237 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by james3370
somebody didn't follow the "meausre twice...cut once" rule
otherwise they'd have a 520g instead of a 360g
LOL
I really considered making it bigger,but I finally decided to make it 300g and screwed up and cut my plywood too big,so I screwed up in a good way :lol: I had so many idea's running through my head,I was going for 32" front to back and made it 36"
mightyevil
New member
Either way you slice it, great monster tank!:bounce1: :bounce3: :bounce2:
MattShack
New member
I have to build the tank in the house because it won't fit through the door. I haven't shared that with my wife yet. 
so, I'm kinda delaying the actual building until I have most of what I need. But it would be nice to actually be working on it instead of waiting. I'm still undecided between 54" from front to back or 60" from front to back. At 54" I can use the external overflow. At 60" I'm going to have to do either corner overflows or get creative. I called a boat repair place today and got a price on them doing the fiberglass, $1200, so I'll be doing it myself
I have to get 3000 lbs of sand also, trying to figure that one out too.
That's a good looking pump. I'm definitely going to have to keep one of those for myself.
so, I'm kinda delaying the actual building until I have most of what I need. But it would be nice to actually be working on it instead of waiting. I'm still undecided between 54" from front to back or 60" from front to back. At 54" I can use the external overflow. At 60" I'm going to have to do either corner overflows or get creative. I called a boat repair place today and got a price on them doing the fiberglass, $1200, so I'll be doing it myself I have to get 3000 lbs of sand also, trying to figure that one out too.
That's a good looking pump.
I'm definitely going to have to keep one of those for myself.
redtop03
moved slow
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15128840#post15128840 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by MattShack
I have to build the tank in the house because it won't fit through the door. I haven't shared that with my wife yet.
I have to get 3000 lbs of sand also, trying to figure that one out too.
That's a good looking pump.
when do you plan on springing the build inside the house on your wife,I'd wait until I had most everything too
I like the external overflow best,preferable the coast to coast,but if you did 'em in the corner on 45 deg.,it would help strengthen the tank,and be less visible plumbing,on the back if you ran the plumbing through the bottom...but I like creative too
1.5 tons of sand. :eek1:
did you tell the boat shop it wasn't a yacht :lol: it ain't that hard,but I'd recommend trying it in a less conspicuous area if you have never fooled with fiberglass before.
that pump is bigger than the one for our swimming pool...
its looking like it'll be income tax return before I can get the OM
I've thought about trying the anthony calfo closed loop system where you run PVC around top of the tank and put in 10 or 15 small jets pointed in different directions,like a jacuzzi ....it don't look very good though and it'd be a lot to figure out how many sprays it'd take to get maximum flow from the pump,not near as neat as the OM,but it might work for a while.....but I haven't figured out my overflow plumbing yet
redtop03
moved slow
I reworked my lights so now each fixture has 1 upgrade bulb and ballast,both in the center of the tank,I'll see how I like that,it may hold me over until I can upgrade the other 2 mh's.....I'll probable change the bulbs for the 14k but use the old ballast for a while......the lumatec ballast put the odyssea ballasts to shame though....a lot brighter
MattShack
New member
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15129519#post15129519 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by redtop03
when do you plan on springing the build inside the house on your wife,I'd wait until I had most everything too
1.5 tons of sand. :eek1:
did you tell the boat shop it wasn't a yacht :lol: it ain't that hard,but I'd recommend trying it in a less conspicuous area if you have never fooled with fiberglass before.
I'm going to tell her when I start building inside and she says "What are you doing?":lol:
Figure I'll be somewhere around 3 tons for sand and rocks, between 8 to 9 tons for the whole system
I told them I didn't want a boat. I said same concept but I want to keep water in, not out. They quoted $9.00 sf.
I know I can do the fiberglass. I just wanted to compare the price of materials with having it done. If it would have been close i would have just let them do it. I'm thinking i want to buy some wood and start building. At least I'll have something to look at.
Calfo design may work, at least temporary, but that's a lot of plumbing for temporary.
redtop03
moved slow
here's before and after reworking my lights.....
the whole tank looks evenly lit in the center in person,but it looks like a darker area in the center in the pic,I think I can live with this change for a while....I'll move my coral to the center and add the other 2 14k's later....none of the coral that I have need that much light anyway
the whole tank looks evenly lit in the center in person,but it looks like a darker area in the center in the pic,I think I can live with this change for a while....I'll move my coral to the center and add the other 2 14k's later....none of the coral that I have need that much light anyway
redtop03
moved slow
thats a lot of sand,it might be cheaper for you to rent a dump truck and back hoe and take a trip to the coast,and call it a vacation :lol:
it goes fairly quick once you start building
the calfo loop is a lot of temporary plumbing I want to avoid,I'll just wait,I've already spent too much on wasted plumbing
MattShack
New member
I think I'm going to use crushed marble for sand. I found a product called Durawhite that is used for building swimming pools that will be about $250 for 3000 lbs. It's sold as crushed marble, the chemical analysis is 94% to 98% calcium carbonate, 2% to 6% magnesium and .02% to .08% silica. I got a sample from them and it looks pretty good. Ph is a little high but I think I can cycle it down. I read somewhere that they use crushed marble almost exclusively in Australia. What do you think?
Here's the link http://hubermaterials.com/saleslit/DuraWhite_brochureFINAL.pdf
Here's the link http://hubermaterials.com/saleslit/DuraWhite_brochureFINAL.pdf
redtop03
moved slow
Matt,I don't see anything wrong with using the marble stuff......how is it used for the pool,is it mixed in the cement.....if so,could it be used as a interior finish coat for the aquarium?......if it'll work like that,it might be great for someone wanting to set-up their tank bare bottom....the look of sand without the mess
redtop03
moved slow
thank you,its now complete yet,my plumbing is still a nightmare for me,but I'll get it figured out soon.
these last few days has about got me down in the back,moving all this stuff.....but the heavy moving is about over now.....so far I've only had 1 casualty,my pearl goby,decided it like the outside of my tank better,and jumped to his death,I found him yesterday morning behind the seahorse tank.....everything else seems to be doing great
mightyevil
New member
RIP lil pearl goby :sad2:
MattShack
New member
I think the lights look good. I like the spectrum. Definitely a big difference before and after.
They use the Durawhite to mix with white cement to make pool walls look white. It's just an aggregate they use, but it looks like it would work for the aquarium. It would cost a few thousand to try and buy bags of aragonite sand.
They use the Durawhite to mix with white cement to make pool walls look white. It's just an aggregate they use, but it looks like it would work for the aquarium. It would cost a few thousand to try and buy bags of aragonite sand.
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