Rhodes19 180 Build

[Rhodes19]

Well, with my wife's approval, I picked up a used 180 AGA RR aquarium that I want to set up as a reef tank. I have a wonderful wife!!! Because of time and financial constraints, this will be a slow build. I want to do as many DIY projects as I can for two reasons. First, I like to tinker and build things. Second, with limited financial resources, DIY projects would be a good way of saving money. Well, maybe three reasons. The third reason is it will keep me home and out of trouble.

My first DIY project was to make my own rocks. After reading numerous posts and threads on this website about making my own rock I decided to use crushed oyster shells. I was fortunate enough to find a source of type 3 Portland cement. To make the molds, I'm using crushed oyster shells in some of the boxes and big salt crystals in others. I'm using the recipe of four parts crushed oyster shells and one part Portland cement with one part water. So far the rocks have turned out structurally okay, however, I need to work on the artistic portion of it. At the moment I have a couple of batches already soaking in water and I still have a bunch more to make. All in all I would like to make about 250 to 270 pounds of rock. One thing I notice about the Charleston water is that the pH is a bit on the high side reading a 10 on my digital pH meter.

The second DIY project I am working on is building a wooden stand for the aquarium. After seeing the quality workmanship and the price of the stands available for sale, I decided I'd be better off making my own. RocketEngineer started a thread on how to build a wooden stand using 2 x s it has been a wonderful reference. http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1169964&perpage=25&pagenumber=1 Based on his designs I made my first stand and because of a miscalculation on my part I now have a new workbench in the garage! The second stand turned out much better.

 

[Rhodes19]

Here is the tank I picked up. The side glass was painted black because it was an in wall tank. Using a new razor, I scraped off the paint. Came off fairly easily.

[/IMG]

Here are some of the rocks I made. Not pretty but they will do for the base for now.

Used a glove with this one.

Here is the bag of salt I used. I got it from HD. The first batch of rock I made I used Agronite special blend. At $30 for 15 lbs I could buy base rock. A bag of crushed oyster shell cost $9.

All oyster shell.

[/IMG]

 

[Rhodes19]

Here is my first attempt at the stand.
Bottom frame 2x8 with 2x4 legs.

[/IMG]

I used pocket screws and glue for all the joints. Here are the legs.

[/IMG]

Side view. 2x8 top frame. There was a small gap between one of the legs and top frame but I filled it with a shim.

[/IMG]

I reinforced the frames with end screws to be on the safe side.

[/IMG]

The final framing. Here is where I realized that the opening was 17" and the 55 g tank I will use for a sump/fug is 20" Ops! :eek2:

[/IMG]

 

[Rhodes19]

My second attempt at my stand.
Yes, its upside down. I figured it would be easier to have the 2x8 top frame on the bottom while I attach the 2x4 bottom frame. I used the same construction technique as on the first stand.

[/IMG]

Side view.

I screwed a 1/2" piece of plywood to the bottom, sealed it and painted it to help catch any of my messes. This won't help with major leaking problems though.

[/IMG]

I added louan to both sides and will eventual use good quality pine boards for trim.
[IMG]
[url]http://i685.photobucket.com/albums/vv219/Warrpiper2000/180%20build/DSCN0758.jpg[/url][/IMG]

I added triangular pieces of plywood to the back 4 corners for stability and painted the frame twice with Kils to help act as a moisture barrier and painted the bottom with 2 part epoxy that a friend gave me.

[/IMG]

This is about as far as I have gotten. I still need to finish making my rock, put the trim on, make doors and stain it, make the sump/fug, and set up the plumbing. After that, I'll start making a skimmer, some of the reactors, canapy, and additional lighting. I'll post pictures as I go. :rollface:

 

[chimmike]

let me be the first to tell you, you want at least 8-10" between the top of your fuge/sump tank and the bottom of the upper supprt frame.

I have a 55g under a 65 now with about 5" to play with. Not fun. Not enough room.

looks like a nice plan

 

[buccard]

Really great thread-Making your own rock sounds really interesting. I would love to have 180-really nice tank size. I look forward to your updates-keep posting about the rock-Id like to see how that turns out.

 

[Rhodes19]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14877512#post14877512 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by chimmike
let me be the first to tell you, you want at least 8-10" between the top of your fuge/sump tank and the bottom of the upper supprt frame.

I have a 55g under a 65 now with about 5" to play with. Not fun. Not enough room.

looks like a nice plan

Hi Chimmike,

Thanks. I figured that out the hard way. I wouldn't mind having more room but I didn't want to make the stand to tall. I don't think it would have been less stable, but its current height and where it will be place make it more visually appealing. (I hope). I have 6" between the top of the tank and the bottom of the top frame with 7 more inches to the bottom of the tank. I will have some space to either side of the stand to place a small cabinet that could house some equipment and make it a little easier to work on. But thats down the road a piece.

 

[Rhodes19]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14880078#post14880078 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by buccard
Really great thread-Making your own rock sounds really interesting. I would love to have 180-really nice tank size. I look forward to your updates-keep posting about the rock-Id like to see how that turns out.

Thanks Roger. There is a lot of good information on RC about making rocks. Its a slow process but at about 20 -25 cents per pound verses $2 for base rock to $8 for live rock per pound, I can wait. When I get more pics I'll post them.

 

[Rhodes19]

All right, the moment of truth! With the help of some friends we placed the tank on the stand and filled it with water. First, I wanted to make sure the tank sat flush to the stand; second, I wanted to see if the stand can take the weight, and thirdly, I wanted to make sure the tank didn't leak.

The tank sat on the stand all most flush with top of the stand. There was a very small gap between the top of the stand and the bottom of the tank at one side of the stand to the point you could just barely see light. When I barely pulled down on the tank, the gap disappeared. I took a picture of it but you can't see the gap.

We filled the tank with water and the stand held! Yea! It was rock solid and wasn't gonging anywhere.

The tank didn't leak but one of the corner overflows did. I checked for leaks when the tank was on the ground and found the same leak. I cut out the silicone and but new silicone in. It leaked in the same place. We put some red food coloring in the tank to see if we could see where it was coming in but, of course, none of the food coloring filtered through. I guess I will be cutting out the silicone and caulk again. Oh well. It’s a small leak but I don't want it in case we loose power.

Here is the tank almost filled with red food coloring

Here are some friends helping with cleaning and attaching the overflows.

Here is the corner overflow with the leak. It is small and slow but I would rather not have it.

Now that I know the tank sits nicely on the stand, I will start to put the trim on the stand, stain it, and then put poly on it. I will also spray paint the back of the tank with rustolium (black). The black background makes the corals and fish really stand out I think.

 

[Rhodes19]

Here are some pictures of the rock I am making and the containers they are soaking in. I have almost 200 lbs of rock made so far. It will be interesting to see that the aquascape will look like.

The first container I used for my first batch of rock is my utility sink in my green house.

This is 15 lbs of agronite

[/IMG]

The next batch I made with crushed oyster shell and put in an 18 gallon rubbermaid container. I put an 1 inch drain valve on it. Drains rather slowly.

[/IMG]

It bows out a bit. I might make a wooden brace to hold it in.

[/IMG]

New addition. Its a 35 gallon plactic trash can from Lowes. I put a 1 1/2 inch drain valve on it and it emptys fairely quickly.

[/IMG]

Top view.

[/IMG]

1 1/2 inch valve at the bottom of the trash can. Its all sitting on top of a plactic milk crate.

[/IMG]

Hopefully, the next post will be of a completed stand.

 

[buccard]

Its not everyday you see a tank with red water in it!! Thanks for the photos. At least you are dealing with the leak now instead of later...

I know you are taking it slow, I cant wait to see what you are able to make for a rockscape.

Thanks for posting.

 

[Maximiliun]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14965102#post14965102 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by buccard
I cant wait to see what you are able to make for a rockscape.

Me too :thumbsup:

MAX

 

[Rhodes19]

Roger, Max,

Thanks. Its been fun. I am going to try to make as many ledges as I can to put corals on and opened enought so fish ca swim around it instead of just in front of the rocks like in my 29 g.

 

[Reefer2727]

Looks great Rhodes. I will be following along and watching your progress.

Good Luck.

 

[Rhodes19]

Well, its been a while since I had a chance to work on the stand but I finally got some time over the weekend. I picked up some select pine board and used it for some of the trim. Here is what I have done so far.

Front trim

Side trim

[/IMG]

Corner trim build out

[/IMG]

[/IMG]

I'll try to do the finish trim this weeked between celebrating the 4th of July.

Also painted the back of the tank with semi gloss black rustolium (that's what I had on hand at the time)

[/IMG]

It looks like I will have to spend some time cleaning the glass too!!! :eek2:

 

[FFrankie]

Nice build Rhodes! We should get together and compare notes. I don't think we have met yet, I have not been to the local club here in Charleston in a long time but do have a small group of friends that like to talk reef. Let me know Via pm.

 

[Rhodes19]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15286539#post15286539 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by FFrankie
Nice build Rhodes! We should get together and compare notes. I don't think we have met yet, I have not been to the local club here in Charleston in a long time but do have a small group of friends that like to talk reef. Let me know Via pm.

Would love to get together. I don't think the local club is active. PM is on the way.

 

[Rhodes19]

Well, I finally had time yesterday to work on the stand. And when I finished the build out of the corners, I discovered I did it wrong!!! So, I pulled off all the wood I put on and started over. This time I cut 45 deg angles and made the finished joints look better. There are some gaps I need to fill in but over all, its close enough until my wood working skills improve. Some of the problems I think are from the table saw being out of alignment. I'll have to spend some time on my next available weekend to tune it. Now for the pics.

Here are the top corners

[/IMG]

Bottom corners

[/IMG]

[/IMG]

Front shot

I already have some of the molding I can put on. Thats the next step. Then stain, then poly, then move into the house!!!

 

[Rhodes19]

I can't believe it has taken this long to make the stand but I am almost there. I worked on it for about 7 hours yesterday and this is what I've done so far.

Finished trim

top corner

bottom corner

front panel

Unfinished top corner. I was trying to put a top rail about 2 3/4" wide around the top and then ran into a problem. Where I wanted to put the wood and having nice 45 deg angles were not working out (I wish I could remember my geometry).

I finally called it quits for the day because I ran out of wood, nails, time and I was getting tired and was making too many mistakes. I'll have to pick it back up when I get some more time, material, and better ideas on finishing the top corners.

 

[FFrankie]

Looks great Chris! Take your time, a reef is something you need to have patience for.