The Reef Central Corner Club Thread

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14604274#post14604274 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by biowerks
Here is a pic of a corner tank that I designed and set up in virginia beach. The tank is cloudy because I took the pic right after I cleaned it....

140426corner2.jpg
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That's cloudy? :bum: I'm not even going to post mine anymore. LOL
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14606839#post14606839 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by SimonSKL
Wow! What a thread! Took me a long time to glance thru all 44 pages. Given the constrains and challenges of a corner tank I am impressed with all the different designs and great ideas discussed in this thread. I hope I can share with you my experience of starting a 92 g corner tank which I built two years ago.

Here are a couple of pictures of the tank tonight. I will try to find some of the pictures during construction and post them later.

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Wow! I was wondering when your tank was going to show up here, Simon! I have some pictures of how your skin comes completely off, somewhere. You're build-up is one of the reasons I got my corner tank.

Thanks for showing up here! :D
 
Michael - I think you will become less than pleasently suprised soon. The rotating nozzles work good for a little while, if you can stand your flow being cut down a lot, but they tend to stick after a while. I had one just sitting on a powerhead on my 20 gal and it worked for about a month, then i had to start cleaning it every few days to get it to stop sticking. I took it out just because it got so annoying to keep clean, and it's very obtrusive in a smaller tank.

Simon - That stand is incredible! Your tank looks very nice. How long have you had it running? What lighting/filtration/flow/fish/corals? Just fill us in on your specs, Thanks!!!

BigBenji - I guess my hang on must have been 13". I'm assuming the one you found is the one i have. As for the skimmer i've been looking into the Reef Octopus 800S HOB. It's a little pricey, but i've heard good things about the brand. I'm just not sure about this peticular one. Anyone seen one in action? I think DIY fuge would be your best bet, and you don't really need a huge one if you don't want. Anything is better than nothing.
 
well i dont expect too much from it, i added it onto a 1200, i can remove it from the system at any time as all other phs i usually use are also working in the tank as well
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14606892#post14606892 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by flipsideleo
Wow! I was wondering when your tank was going to show up here, Simon! I have some pictures of how your skin comes completely off, somewhere. You're build-up is one of the reasons I got my corner tank.

Thanks for showing up here! :D
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Flipsideleo, I didn't know I was that inspiring. Thanks! I dug up some of the pictures that I took during construction.

I had a freshwater tank for many years and was thinking about starting a saltwater tank with just fish. Then I came across a reeftank in a friend's house and I was inspired. So I started gathering and researching how and where I can put a reeftank in my house. My wife told me whatever I put in the family room, it must be nice and match the decor of the room. Furthermore there was only one place, a corner, that I could place such a tank.

I know the tank will put tremendous amount of weight on the floor. I have no basement and only a crawl space. Since the location of the tank is in the middle of the house. I wanted to make sure the weight must distribute over several floor joists. So I decided to have a plywood base for the stand and the rest of the stand would be constructed with 2x4 and 3/4 plywood. I also put a floor jack in the crawl space to further support the tank from underneath. With my limited woodworking skill I knew I could not build anything curvy. So I decided a pentagon shape. I also wanted a big opening in the front so I can do my maintenance chores easily. Here is a picture of the stand and tank when I started in Jan 07.

IMG_2707.jpg


The inside of the base was coated with epoxy and then painted white so I can contain minor spills and not ruining the carpet. I am glad I did that as I have many "spills" and minor disasters.

Here is a picture showing the plumbing and a 20 gal sump placement.
IMG_2956.jpg


More construction pics and notes to come...
 
hi-simon, great looking stand, i like to see home made stands and cabinets, wish i could do it tbh, welcome to the club by the way, really nice to have you here
 
This isn't a corner specific question, but you guys/gals are all pretty nice, knowledgeable, funny, etc... who's heard of i-tech skimmers? www.i-techskimmers.com. I need to replace my current skimmer and this is something that I was referenced... the 400 model prices in around $650USD... which would be over-sized for my setup... Looks like a well built ATB clone and about 1/3rd the price...
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14608110#post14608110 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Michael
hi-simon, great looking stand, i like to see home made stands and cabinets, wish i could do it tbh, welcome to the club by the way, really nice to have you here
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Michael, Thanks for the compliment.

I bought the tank from our LFS and the owner suggested that I use 1/2" PVC to support the live rocks. Not only it would make the tank appear fill up with more rocks but also improve water flow around the rocks as well as allowing the fish a hiding place behind the rock. So this is my scaffold to support the 100 lbs of live rocks. Holes were drilled into the pipe so I can zip tie the live rocks to the stand.

IMG_2962.jpg


This is how it looked inside the tank. The corner brackets above the tank will support the top panel. Plastic sheets were drapped to protect the walls from saltwater splash. The two sides of the stand were covered with 1/2" foam sheet to protect the back walls as well as making it look clean.
IMG_2967.jpg



Next is to build the front panel to cover the tank and stand. The front panel is not designed to support any weight of the tank. It is just a facade. I used cherry moulding and cherry panel strips from a local home center. The front panel, as Flipsideleo called it "Skin", can come off so I can access the tank and stand. The stand/tank sat about 4" from the walls.

IMG_3076.jpg
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14608001#post14608001 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by rocketlily
Simon,

Very nice. I do like the looks of your stand and would be very interested in seeing more pictures of it. Did you build it?
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Rocketlily, Thanks! I did build the stand and canopy. I hope this gives you and others some idea on another way to cover a corner tank.

This is the initial look of the rockscape but it has been modified since then. The 100 lbs of rock almost fill the whole tank up. I was a little concerned that is not enough room for the fish to swim. But I know there is a lot of room behind the rock for the fish.
IMG_3087.jpg


The whole fascade is very light and attached to the stand by four screws. There are multiple doors that allow access from all sides.
IMG_3126.jpg


The curve ledge is cut from plywood. I found this ledge extremely useful for providing me with a place for my drink (beer), and other objects while I work on the tank.
IMG_3130.jpg



IMG_3111.jpg



This is the top of the canopy. I later cut an opening for my 250W MH HQI light. Most of the weight of the top is bore by the ledge/bracket of the back walls.
IMG_3132.jpg
 
Thank you for posting these pictures. I would have never thought of mounting the power bars above the tank. What a great idea. I hope you don't mind but I will be using some of your ideas for finishing my cabinet.
Thanks again.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14610482#post14610482 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Hookup
SimonSKL: Very impressive... super hero like even...
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HAHAHA!!!! Thats hilarious!!!! But yes simon, i agree that only a genious (you can tell i'm not one from the spelling!) would build a beer spot into thier aquarium cabinet! Very awesome build simon!
 
WOW! No posts since my last one? It's a Saturday night! I at least don't have anything better going on toinght, but i guess i'm the only one!
 
I've got 4 kids, I had my fun years ago. Now I've got to wait another 14 years to do that saturday night thing again. Of course, by then I be too tired and call it a night at 9.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14610101#post14610101 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by rocketlily
Thank you for posting these pictures. I would have never thought of mounting the power bars above the tank. What a great idea. I hope you don't mind but I will be using some of your ideas for finishing my cabinet.
Thanks again.
Click to expand...

Rocketlily, I am thrilled that you can use any of my idea. That is why I want to share my experience with everyone. My power bars are double anchored to the wall brackets as I am afraid they would fall into the tank. The 4" space between the tank and the wall probably will keep the power bar from falling directly into the tank if it does happen.

I envy those who have a fish room or space to place their sump, refuge, and other equipment out of sight. For me finding space for all the equipment that I need under the tank is a real challenge. My tank is located in a corner with dining room behind one wall and the kitchen behind the other. Asking my wife to give up space from any of those two areas is out of the question:(.

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When I started the tank, I didn't have much equipment under the tank except the sump and skimmer. I was using two parts solutions to add calcium and akalinity to the tank daily. I do have output of my RO unit routed to the sump but I had to manually top off the sump each day. After about 6 months of doing those daily chores, I needed some automation. The first thing that I added was a automatic top off (ATO) system. To do that I placed a 4 gal plastic can to store RO water. Using float swtichs / solenoid and a Aqua Lifter pump to replace water loss from evaporation. I refill the plastic can about every 3 days. The picture below shows the 4 gal plastic on the bottom. On top of the plastic can is my 3 gal refugium. Notice the frog water alarm next to the can. It saved me from several major spills.

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