Tank and stand

[Justin74]

Still very raw stages. But with Rafael's help it's coming together nicely and wanted to share the results thus far

The tank:

Closer look, still has the dust from fabrication:

The frame, courtesy Rafael's handy work:

Closed, still need to cut an opening and finish with hinges and doors:

Today I will get the sanding and staining done. Im going to go with a light ebony stain and clear coat with polyurethane. Then middle to later in the week Rafael is going to help me nock out the pipes and fittings and she'll be ready to fill!(hopefully )

-Justin

 

[Kaiden]

Looks Good! Keep up the thread...

One Question though, what the Acrylic is for in the back right?

 

[bluenassarius]

lookin good justin

i believe the back cover is for the overflow

 

[bored4long]

very nice. what are the tank dimensions?

 

[Reefugee]

Nice tank! Give us some info. Size? Who made it? What lighting are you going to use? More details please.

 

[Justin74]

This is my replacement tank. Same exact dimensions as the old one that you've guys seen in the past sittin in my kitchen. That tank is getting retired due to a crack that developed along the back. Along with a multitude of additional problems. We moved one of the desks out of the front room and now I wont be having to make people hang out in my messy kitchen and we can all relax on the leather and check out the 50 and 30.

This tank though will be much more pimped. Yes, those are just lids to cover the central top opening and the surface skimmer/overflow. They will be removed(except the overflow, think I may leave that on.). This tank is 3/8", my old one is 1/4" lovely difference too. The dimensions are 36"L x15W x 20H.
It was made at http://www.worldmarinesystems.com/
The owner, pronounced Yow, but spelled with a G? Little story behind that as well. I gave him the dimensions, which he did beautifully, but there was a major communication breakdown when I ordered no extras and explained I had a HOB overflow and to give me room to hang one, I then followed up with an email that evening because I felt uneasy because of the language barrier. This last saturday I drove down to San Jose to pick it up there it was, built in reef ready and all:eek1: Just too damn pretty and I drove so far, and quickly decided this thing was coming back to Sac with me.

The stand is coming along nicely as well. It's 40"L x 18"W x 36"H, and the ebony stain came out great, and just how I intended. The grain of the maple shows thru and looks pretty sweet. I apparently have to wait at least 8 hours before I apply the poly though, and Im going to do at least 2 coats, hopefully more if time permits.

Thanks for the compliments

-Justin

 

[Reefugee]

When you put on the polyeurathane - don't forget to sand between the first coat and the second coat. You will want to use very fine sand paper (220 grit or better). I would also suggest that you polyeurathane the inside as well so that any water spill won't be absorbed by the wood.

I'd love to see the final pictures when you are done.

Minh

 

[bored4long]

Tack cloth is very nice to use between coats to remove all dust, too.

 

[Justin74]

slow but sure updates

slow but sure updates

Gonna stop when it gets real nice and glassy looking

-Justin

 

[kevin95695]

Niiice.

 

[Fragmented]

Looks fantastic.

 

[Justin74]

Thank you Looks a lot better in person. Almost looks like graphite, and has a tiger eye kind of effect. Wanted to be done with it by now, but between the heat and my laziness I was just plain dragging @$$ this weekend. Hopefully I can knock out the rest soon. Been dying to get water in this thing already!

-Justin

 

[mpoletti]

Looks good Justin. Maybe you can knock it out on the morning of the 4th.

 

[Justin74]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10257447#post10257447 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Marko9
Looks good Justin. Maybe you can knock it out on the morning of the 4th.

I hope so!

-Justin

 

[rafael13]

nice stand

 

[Justin74]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10260119#post10260119 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by rafael13
nice stand

I still havent gone back to Johns to 1" bulkhead instead of the 1.5", and the 2 returns might be too big too. Trying to get it all done before you came.... Just not enough hours in my days..

-Justin

 

[rafael13]

hey Justin, I have my saw all charge up, ready to cut the doors

 

[Justin74]

Im going to call tap plastics today and see what they use to cut holes, in 3/8". I think Steve's glass cutter may be too much friction and may not be appropriate. I thought I saw somewhere that I should be using the same bits that are used on copper and soft metals, I could be wrong though. Im goin to Johns this evening lil bit after I get off work. I'll give you a call between 6:30-7.


-Justin

 

[Justin74]

Spoke to a helpful gentleman at Tap Plastics, and said ideally he likes to use a router but a hole saw/bit would work. There could be some meltage and said using some water to cool the cut would help. Although the hole wont be a clean edged cut, he said it should work without any problems and invited me to come in and pick a scrap piece to practice on. Nice guys. So it sounds like I have my work cut out for me

-Justin

 

[Reefugee]

Justin - what are you trying to do? Are you drilling a new hole or are you enlarging an existing hole? BTW - Steve's diamond bit hole saw bit cannot be used to cut acrylic. It will melt the acrylic and damage the hole saw bit.

Minh