The Journey - 300+ Gallon System Build - Picture Heavy

ridetheducati · Jan 12, 2013

bpcardona said:
Okay.... Well I planned on just going to Home Depot...... The 4x4 will be easy to change. I did it this way thinking it would be more stable. Thanks for the advice.

As far as the SPF lumber, do you happen to know if HD, Lowes, or Ace carry that. If not I guess I will need to find a local lumber dealer. If I any get this grade easily, could I build it out of framing lumber, or would you strongly discourage this?

If HD or Lowes are your only choices, go to Lowes and spend an hour cherry picking the 2x4s.

bpcardona · Jan 12, 2013

ridetheducati said:
If HD or Lowes are your only choices, go to Lowes and spend an hour cherry picking the 2x4s.

sirreal63 said:
It varies by region and what deals the buying office has made, which is also regional. You can always ask, but don't expect them to know the difference at the box stores, they will just call it white wood, which could be spf or a large variety of wood species. Look at the stamp on the wood, it will tell you the species classification. Find a real lumberyard that caters to contractors, they will usually have a better idea of what they stock. If you cannot find spf, then the generic white woods classification will work. Dense or heavy woods typically retain moisture longer and will take longer to reach equilibrium with the atmosphere they are in. This is one reason why YP is not a good choice, dried at 19% it will take longer to reach equilibrium, and while it is doing so it will have a tendency to warp, softer woods are less dense and reach EMC sooner and are usually more dimensionally stable. (less movement of the wood)

What great information. This is why I like to do thing myself, I learn so much. I thought a 2x4 was a 2x4. Thanks so much for the lesson.I was able to find SPF wood at Lowes, so I did pick through them to find the straightest ones. Thanks everyone.

Fishystuff22 said:
Looks like a good solid build so far!

Thanks for joining along, please comment whenever you can.

Also the plans have changes some. Be that the sump will be running to the garage, there will no need for a cabinet style stand. So my wife had a great idea of making it into a sort of bookcase style. So here is the modified plans. As you can see I have added another layer of support. This is because I plan on having a false back, with thin sliding wood. The shelves will be removable of course. The only items in the back will be the pipes and electrical items.

sirreal63 · Jan 12, 2013

That's CanFor out of Isle Pierre, not one of their better mills but if you picked through and got good pieces it will do what you want. The only issues I ever had from that mill were excessive wane, still within grade so no worries there.

bwhit1406 · Jan 13, 2013

Have you thought about having access at one or both of the ends to get to your electrical. The bookshelf idea is really cool but it would get old taking it about to to get in there.

bwhit1406 · Jan 13, 2013

On second thought per your drawing looks like the stand will be blocked on the ends

bpcardona · Jan 13, 2013

bwhit1406 said:
Have you thought about having access at one or both of the ends to get to your electrical. The bookshelf idea is really cool but it would get old taking it about to to get in there.

This is the plan:

I want the backing to slide out of the way when I need access. This is the reason I have the second level of supports. I hope this turns out.

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/90102096@N03/8374251167/" title="Screen Shot 2013-01-12 at 9.17.56 PM by elitecoral, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8095/8374251167_716c3e8496_z.jpg" width="640" height="409" alt="Screen Shot 2013-01-12 at 9.17.56 PM"></a>

This is the back closed

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/90102096@N03/8375325474/" title="Screen Shot 2013-01-12 at 9.20.30 PM by elitecoral, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8365/8375325474_a9e7c31cf7_z.jpg" width="640" height="440" alt="Screen Shot 2013-01-12 at 9.20.30 PM"></a>

and opened

Calepy86 · Jan 13, 2013

Taggin along looking forward to seeing how it all turns out... I would like to something similar but my garage is detached. I would like to build a fish room out there with breeding set up and tie it into a 120-200 DT in the wall in living room.

bpcardona · Jan 14, 2013

So here is a progress update! I am pretty happy with how it is turning out. I plan in doing some trim work in the morning and start the staining process. Any recommendations on stain?

fishgate · Jan 14, 2013

The light-blue 2x4s are all in sheer. I suggest you either forget about the notching of the 4x4 (green) at all or notch it deeper to allow room for the red 2x4 and the green 2x4 to both rest on top of it.

Calepy86 · Jan 14, 2013

Since already built you could add some corner braces under the 2x4s on the sides to add some strength and rigidity or even a vertical 2x4 under them.

bpcardona · Jan 14, 2013

So here is what I got done this morning:

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/90102096@N03/8380644973/" title="Untitled by elitecoral, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8468/8380644973_4a40461f07_z.jpg" width="640" height="480" alt="Untitled"></a>
Base

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/90102096@N03/8380646355/" title="Untitled by elitecoral, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8365/8380646355_d289fa1a15_z.jpg" width="640" height="480" alt="Untitled"></a>
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/90102096@N03/8381728922/" title="Untitled by elitecoral, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8378/8381728922_592d0aff99_z.jpg" width="640" height="480" alt="Untitled"></a>
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/90102096@N03/8381730784/" title="Untitled by elitecoral, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8360/8381730784_0c603b1100_z.jpg" width="480" height="640" alt="Untitled"></a>
Some Trim

Calepy86 said:
Since already built you could add some corner braces under the 2x4s on the sides to add some strength and rigidity or even a vertical 2x4 under them.

fishgate said:
The light-blue 2x4s are all in sheer. I suggest you either forget about the notching of the 4x4 (green) at all or notch it deeper to allow room for the red 2x4 and the green 2x4 to both rest on top of it.

Thanks guy for keeping the amateur safe. As you can see once I got your message I pulled off the skin and added a brace.

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/90102096@N03/8380651555/" title="Untitled by elitecoral, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8080/8380651555_59f99ff7b3_z.jpg" width="480" height="640" alt="Untitled"></a>
Brace
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/90102096@N03/8380659545/" title="Untitled by elitecoral, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8218/8380659545_497aef953c_z.jpg" width="640" height="480" alt="Untitled"></a>
Trim on base
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/90102096@N03/8381736180/" title="Untitled by elitecoral, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8491/8381736180_b3a108edff_z.jpg" width="640" height="480" alt="Untitled"></a>
Final Product

screamingibis · Jan 15, 2013

not to get far off topic, but with that much money you're putting into this system, don't skimp on a good backup generator.

bwhit1406 · Jan 15, 2013

That is a sweet looking stand. I was not really understanding what you had planned for the shelves but now after seeing your picture it all makes sense.

MilkWeed18 · Jan 15, 2013

nice to have a local on here. I live a few min from you. Looking forward to your build.

asudavew · Jan 15, 2013

That looks really nice!

I'm starting a 55 gallon.......
My second try at SW.

bpcardona · Jan 16, 2013

screamingibis said:
not to get far off topic, but with that much money you're putting into this system, don't skimp on a good backup generator.

This is certainly not off topic! You make a great point and I have looked into a few. Thanks for the suggestion.

bwhit1406 said:
That is a sweet looking stand. I was not really understanding what you had planned for the shelves but now after seeing your picture it all makes sense.

It is always difficult to translate someone else ideas. I think the stand came together quite nice! I can't wait to stain.

MilkWeed18 said:
nice to have a local on here. I live a few min from you. Looking forward to your build.

Thanks for the comments. I have met several locals during this project and have been impressed with everyone gratuity.

asudavew said:
That looks really nice!

I'm starting a 55 gallon.......
My second try at SW.

Thanks for the comment. I wish you the best of luck with your setup. Are you going to do a Thread on your build? If so you should provide a link here.

bpcardona · Jan 16, 2013

With the stand almost complete, I have turned my some of my attention to the next phase of this project, Plumbing. To be honest I am not looking forward to the segment in the build. I believe this will be the slowest and most irritating. :headwally: However, with that said I look forward to the conversation and suggestion of those following/joining. To get this part started I have design a concept sump. Below are the diagrams showing the potential project. The tank that will be used is a standard 55 gallon (thank you petco for your 1/gallon sale). The layout will be as follows.

The return pipes will be submerged in the first 2 inches of this chamber. The water will then be forced to pass through the 4 filter socks (4"). Below the sock will be a chamber that allows water to overflow into the refugium. It will then pass through a final bubble trap into the return camber. I believe I want to have an external pump so this chamber will likely be drilled on the side.

sirreal63 · Jan 16, 2013

A couple of things to note on the design and materials, if the socks clog the sump will overflow, you need a bypass in case that happens. Also, off the shelf 55 gallon tanks are typically tempered on all panes of glass, no drilling will happen on a tempered tank.

bpcardona · Jan 16, 2013

sirreal63 said:
A couple of things to note on the design and materials, if the socks clog the sump will overflow, you need a bypass in case that happens. Also, off the shelf 55 gallon tanks are typically tempered on all panes of glass, no drilling will happen on a tempered tank.

Some good points made here. In regards to the overflow problem. This can be solved simply by leaving the top section of glass short. Regarding the tempered glass. I did some research before buying and everyone seemed to state that the bottom was tempered and the side were glass. However upon your questioning, I call Aqueon. They have told me that the standard is for the sides to be all glass. She did how however recommend for me to do a lens test before drilling. So with that said, I will document that when I get to that point.

As always thanks for the comment.

bpcardona · Jan 21, 2013

So here are three coats of stain. I went with a "golden oak" stain. I have put three coats on and i am fairly happy with the color. I sanded by hand between coats using 220 grit. The only portion of the stand I dont like is the trim peice on the bottom. It doesn't seem to want to soak up the stain. I maybe should have sanded this with a lower grit before starting. I only have to wait 8 hour then it gets 2 coat of polyurethane.

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