Southern Guy's 270 Advance Acrylic Build

[krjackso]

Update time...

went to home depot and picked up this nice set of xenon pucks.

I finished up the sump deck and got everything into place. Installed the lights and got em all wired up.

Much brighter in person and adds a really nice touch I think. They are also completely hidden from view and provide all the light you could want. I will be running this system on my Apex controller, but will also be using the DJ strip for a few quick manual on/ offs that I want. Namely the xenon lights with 3 switches 1) sump area 2) the electrical area (cabinet will be build under the stand in that recessed area on the left), and 3) the RO water bin (underneath the electrical area), water change pump, sump powerhead with hydorflo, etc.

The little white touch sensor there is actually a 3 stage dimmer for all the xenon pucks. pretty cool.

 

[krjackso]

Another update...

The moment I have been waiting for for 9+ months now. The tank is in my house, off the floor, and on the stand!!! I know it doesn't seem that earth shattering, but I thought this day would never come with the headaches I went through. Finally got to take the shrink wrap off and see this beauty too. I am really happy, no scratches, looks great.

Its gonna be the first thing you see when you walk in my house.

The hand polished corners came out great too, and I think a nice added touch.

It is eurobraced, but I insisted on maximizing open space on the top. I also insisted on NO center brace. Nothing worse than trying to move coral or catch a fish and running into a damned center brace. All who have had them will know what I am talking about.

 

[TheFishTeen]

Very, very nice tank and home.

 

[pgr11]

That is one sexy tank. Looks very familiar. Lol
glad it up on the stand I have about a week to go and mine should at the same point you are now. Can't wait to see more pics

Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk

 

[poorguy]

Nice setup!

 

[krjackso]

Very, very nice tank and home.

That is one sexy tank. Looks very familiar. Lol
glad it up on the stand I have about a week to go and mine should at the same point you are now. Can't wait to see more pics

Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk

Nice setup!

Thanks so much guys. Appreciate it.

 

[krjackso]

Update"¦

I lined up the tank in its final resting place and mocked up the plumbing so I could drill for the pipe support coming off the external overflow box.

Drilled the holes then cut down the middle. The plumbing will be done and then the other half will be reconnected with padding around the pipes to provide tension and give the needed support to reduce stress on the box.

Then it was time for the leak test!!! I used an old navy trick and tied a bunch of strings from top to bottom, side to side, and corner to corner to do a stress test. If the strings lost tension, then there is distortion and sag. I just wanted to be sure this stand was good to go.

Happy to say everything went great. No leaks, stand, sturdy like bull. Everything is level and good so far.

I then laid down the foam pad and placed the sump underneath and boy is it a tight fit! Planned this one to the millimeter it seems! Couldn't be happier though. Great fit, plenty of room, etc. You can see now why I turned the stand around. The middle brace would have been dead center on the skimmer area where I need access the most. Turned around, the two supports provide nice divisions for the electrical/ RO area, the skimmer/ CAL reactor area, and finally the return section.

 

[bpcardona]

Looking good.....subscribed.

 

[TheFishTeen]

Sump looks great! And that sting trick was very smart! I sense a new hobby custom!

 

[Dustin1300]

Sump looks great! And that string trick was very smart! I sense a new hobby custom!

I'd have to agree, that's a great trick adn I'll use it on my DT once I do some plumbing and another water test.

krjackso, things are looking great and very cleanly done!

 

[explor3r]

I just read the whole tread and Im loving it, tank and sump looks fantastic as well as the stand. Ill tag along to see progress, keep it up!!!!!!!!!!!:bounce1:

 

[eonflux123]

Tagging along!! this is awesome!

 

[krjackso]

Looking good.....subscribed.

I just read the whole tread and Im loving it, tank and sump looks fantastic as well as the stand. Ill tag along to see progress, keep it up!!!!!!!!!!!:bounce1:

Tagging along!! this is awesome!

Thanks so much guys, please chime in with any ideas, etc. Always open to doing something different and learning.

Sump looks great! And that sting trick was very smart! I sense a new hobby custom!

I'd have to agree, that's a great trick adn I'll use it on my DT once I do some plumbing and another water test.

krjackso, things are looking great and very cleanly done!

Thanks yall. Suppose you could always measure and check for variances, but thats not quite as fun.

 

[krjackso]

Update time...

WHAT A MORNING! So darn stressful.

Between the time I ordered my tank and now my plans for a canopy have changed and I no longer intend to have one. This will be open top tank. I originally planned to have the return pipes come up through the external overflow box, run the pipes over the eurobracing, and into the tank. This avoided having any holes of any sort in the back of the tank (with the exception of the routed out teeth for the external overflow box). Since I am going open top, this will prolly look like crap now and I want to maintain the clean look. So I have to drill some holes in the thing. Get quite nervous as usual when drilling. I have done glass but never acrylic.

Went back and forth on whether or not to do it, what bit, etc. Needless to say, I ended up drilling two holes in the back of this thing, right next to the overflow teeth, but not without incident.

I managed to get the first hole done in about 25 minutes or so. Way to long. Well, after popping the cut piece out the hole saw I now see what was wrong. The darn pilot bit broke off in the middle of the hole saw. Thats why it wasnt drilling through easily. I was pushing solid acrylic with a nonmoving bit and the offset holesaw blades could barely make contact! Im lucky this thing didnt crack.

so unto the next one, half way through, the unthinkable happened. after I stopped spraying water the bit seized up in the hole. I read over and over I was in trouble at this point, but I was able to get it back out after a few nervous moments.

all in all, I am happy its over, but learned I am not made for drilling large aquariums. These holes should have never been as much trouble as they were.

 

[krjackso]

Here is a shot of the final outcome. I think it came out nicely. Well spaced and even on both sides of the overflow. Should be high enough to not cause too much back siphon either.

 

[krjackso]

nice setup

appreciate that!

Update time...

Well plumbing this thing was not fun! In the past I have used soft plumbing and it allowed me to get away with less than precise measuring. Not this time around. Using all hard plumbing schedule 8o, and have very limited room, you have to be precise or mistakes will get expensive fast.

So whats really frustrating! Getting into plumbing and realizing you need another 90 or bulkhead right. Stop order more from BRS (4th time!), wait a few days.

Well, I found something even more frustrating, I actually planned fairly well and acquired all the parts I needed over the last 7 months of waiting and just misplaced them! haha, now that is frustrating. I was just thinking to myself, damn I thought I had enough, went back and checked my previous orders and sure enough I did. They were hiding in pile of fish stuff number 4 in another room. So now I have another $80 worth of plumbing I dont need. enough griping, just the moral is keep all your supplies in one spot.

all in all, I think it came out really well. Nice and clean for the necessary maze and monstrosity that bean animal overflows create. I also think the plumbing support came out well enough. I ended up putting some weather stripping around the pipes to add cushion and really pull this thing tight together. You can see from the pics, not much room for error.

 

[pgr11]

Very nice work .Looks real clean. Im going to start plumbing this coming week. So seeing your get's me motivated

 

[CUZ]

Really like the plumbing support idea!! I was just pondering how to secure my valves so they could be used with strain against the bulkheads!!

 

[Dustin1300]

Looking great. I feel for you on the SCH 80 plumbing. I went ahead and ordered lots of extras and still had to put 4 orders into BRS. Now I'm regretting ordering all the extras through BRS as they have been a joke to deal with on the refund as I've been given the run around on where my $200+ refund is and still waiting on it from return a month ago. (Just a heads up)

 

[krjackso]

Very nice work .Looks real clean. Im going to start plumbing this coming week. So seeing your get's me motivated

get on it bud! I want to see yours come together!

Really like the plumbing support idea!! I was just pondering how to secure my valves so they could be used with strain against the bulkheads!!

thanks, cant claim the idea as my own, but thats why these forums are so great. knowledge and idea sharing at its finest (sometimes)

Looking great. I feel for you on the SCH 80 plumbing. I went ahead and ordered lots of extras and still had to put 4 orders into BRS. Now I'm regretting ordering all the extras through BRS as they have been a joke to deal with on the refund as I've been given the run around on where my $200+ refund is and still waiting on it from return a month ago. (Just a heads up)

haha, yea I think I ended up with 5 orders total by this time just for plumbing. sucks about the refund, I thought those guys would have taken care of you by now.