I SHOULD have started a thread here from the beginning as well as on my local forum, buuuut I didn't. I'm going to condense all of my progress thus far into one post, and then update both as I have updates.
09-21-2014
Hey all!
I thought I'd post a brief introduction as well as document my new tank build.
I recently moved back to MN after living in Vegas for about 12 years. A couple years ago I got into the saltwater hobby and absolutely love it! Much like many of you I started out the WRONG way. First I got a little 10g tank and threw a couple of clowns, some live rock, and some softies in it. I'm sure you all know how THAT went. After about 2 months of that I upgraded to a 40g breeder display with 20g long sump. I lived on the 2nd story of a condo complex so that's about the biggest thing I could get. I ran that tank for a couple of years and it taught me a LOT about the hobby.
Before my wife and I moved, I knew I was going to try and find a rental where the ground floor was on the slab so we could get a bigger tank. We are currently renting a town home in Woodbury and my 120g build has begun! Unfortunately I have been met with challenge after challenge.
Let's start from the beginning. I picked up an older 120g (48 x 24 x 24) off of CL that was dirty and needed some love. I hauled that heavy beast home (it was a tank from '95 so it was made with the MUCH HEAVIER 1/2" glass), took some measurements, then went to Home Depot to grab some wood to start building the stand.
The stand build went well (or so I thought), so it was time to focus on buying goodies for the tank. After planning out my plumbing, lighting, electronics, and all my toys, I turned my attention to the tank (don't worry, I'll explain all the fun toys later). Because it was old I wanted to make sure I resealed it before I did anything else so I started cleaning the tank.
As I cleaned I noticed that although it was super dirty, a lot of what I was seeing on the tank wasn't dirt or grime or algae, but was actual scratches and scuffs in the glass! UHG! Don't get me wrong, I know it's fixable, but the amount of time necessary and the cost (not huge, but enough to bug me) got me thinking that maybe it'd be better to sell the tank and overflow, and spend a LITTLE more on a new 120. I shopped around and found out that my new favorite LFS was having a members only sale on tanks (and other stuff) so I grabbed a new 120 that came predrilled with overflow. AWESOME!
I got it home, and had a neighbor help me lift it onto my "awesome" stand. After I got it up there, I fiddled with it for a bit, only to realize that my STUPID stand wasn't square. The top platform matched the bottom platform, but I had somehow created a parallelogram instead of a rectangle (I realize a rectangle is technically a parallelogram but still). While TECHNICALLY this would be fine and would still be strong, I planned on building cabinets along side of the tank stand and if the stand wasn't square, the cabinets wouldn't be either and it would all look like crap. Soooooo the stand had to come apart.
I asked my family who was up for dinner to help me lift the tank off of the stand, and saved that part of this ordeal for another night.
Today after church I headed out to the garage, which is getting awfully full with 3 tanks and a tank stand in it. I started by taping off the old 120, and resealing it (as I know it'll take a few days to dry and I want it to be the best it can be for when I sell it). Once that was done, I tore down the old tank stand and started the rebuild. I know the BEST thing to do would be scrap it and start over, but I feel I found a way that will ensure the structural integrity and save me time and money (but we'll see in the end).
I was able to disassemble and square up the top and bottom platforms, and rebuild the uprights in a way that I feel is cleaner and stronger! I also attached some plywood to the bottom of the bottom platform to ensure it'll stay square while I continue to assemble the rest of the stand. Tomorrow after work I'll pick up some more ply to attach to the top platform, so it'll stay square while I attach the uprights to it. I don't have a TON of pictures as I'm actually in the process of editing the video of my build so far to upload it to youtube, however until then I'll dump in the pics I've got so far.
As I make progress, I'll hop on and let you all know how things are going, and if any of you are around the Woodbury area and want to grab a coke and BS about tanks, or just need someone to help you carry your new stand or whatever, let me know!
09-21-2014
I thought I had more pics than this but apparently I was wrong. Please excuse the general mess in the garage as I had 2 2000 sq ft warehouses before I moved that I've had to condense down into a 1.75 car garage..
09-22-2014
Tonight I plan to pick up some 1/2" OSB for the top of the stand (where the tank will sit), as well as the back and the sides for torsion strength, and some cabinet grade 3/4" maple plywood for the front of the stand to make it look pretty. I also plan on grabbing some maple 1 x 3's, and maple 1/4" plywood to make cabinet doors out of. I'm yet to decide what I want to make the hood out of (what thickness or how I want to build it) but I should probably figure that out so I can pick up the lumber for that at the same time!
09-22-2014
I'm glad to hear that with plywood on the front, back, and sides that it will be plenty strong. With yours and mrbill's recommendations I'll skip the OSB and get some quality ply. The less I have to worry about the better!
Once I have time (between spending time with my wife, trying to keep our new puppy from tearing down the house, and building the stand) I'll get off my butt and edit the videos I'm working on so you can see a bit more than just my textual ramblings!
09-26-2014
I know it's not all that exciting but I FINALLY was able to get the home depot rental van tonight and got a whole mess of wood. I also cut out some nice 1/2" pieces of birch ply for the top and sides of the stand. Hopefully next time I get a chance to work on it I'll be able to cut the piece for the back, and then I've got 3/4" ply for the face of the stand and cabinets. I'll post pics later this weekend when I have time to sort out the explosion that is now my garage.
09-29-2014
Progress was made! Ive got it skinned in 1/2in birch ply and am about ready to take the skinning off again to glue it and reskin it. Once that's done, I'll prime and paint it, and it's load testing time!
Once I get this tank cycling I'll get off my butt and get the video uploaded.
10-01-2014
I know it looks the same, but all the plywood was removed, glued, and rescrewed. I have also put a new piece of ply on the bottom and the bottom interior. Tonight I will prime and paint!
10-01-2014
Got the stand primed tonight, and the silicone off of the 40 breeder. Im a little closer to done!
09-21-2014
Hey all!
I thought I'd post a brief introduction as well as document my new tank build.
I recently moved back to MN after living in Vegas for about 12 years. A couple years ago I got into the saltwater hobby and absolutely love it! Much like many of you I started out the WRONG way. First I got a little 10g tank and threw a couple of clowns, some live rock, and some softies in it. I'm sure you all know how THAT went. After about 2 months of that I upgraded to a 40g breeder display with 20g long sump. I lived on the 2nd story of a condo complex so that's about the biggest thing I could get. I ran that tank for a couple of years and it taught me a LOT about the hobby.
Before my wife and I moved, I knew I was going to try and find a rental where the ground floor was on the slab so we could get a bigger tank. We are currently renting a town home in Woodbury and my 120g build has begun! Unfortunately I have been met with challenge after challenge.
Let's start from the beginning. I picked up an older 120g (48 x 24 x 24) off of CL that was dirty and needed some love. I hauled that heavy beast home (it was a tank from '95 so it was made with the MUCH HEAVIER 1/2" glass), took some measurements, then went to Home Depot to grab some wood to start building the stand.
The stand build went well (or so I thought), so it was time to focus on buying goodies for the tank. After planning out my plumbing, lighting, electronics, and all my toys, I turned my attention to the tank (don't worry, I'll explain all the fun toys later). Because it was old I wanted to make sure I resealed it before I did anything else so I started cleaning the tank.
As I cleaned I noticed that although it was super dirty, a lot of what I was seeing on the tank wasn't dirt or grime or algae, but was actual scratches and scuffs in the glass! UHG! Don't get me wrong, I know it's fixable, but the amount of time necessary and the cost (not huge, but enough to bug me) got me thinking that maybe it'd be better to sell the tank and overflow, and spend a LITTLE more on a new 120. I shopped around and found out that my new favorite LFS was having a members only sale on tanks (and other stuff) so I grabbed a new 120 that came predrilled with overflow. AWESOME!
I got it home, and had a neighbor help me lift it onto my "awesome" stand. After I got it up there, I fiddled with it for a bit, only to realize that my STUPID stand wasn't square. The top platform matched the bottom platform, but I had somehow created a parallelogram instead of a rectangle (I realize a rectangle is technically a parallelogram but still). While TECHNICALLY this would be fine and would still be strong, I planned on building cabinets along side of the tank stand and if the stand wasn't square, the cabinets wouldn't be either and it would all look like crap. Soooooo the stand had to come apart.
I asked my family who was up for dinner to help me lift the tank off of the stand, and saved that part of this ordeal for another night.
Today after church I headed out to the garage, which is getting awfully full with 3 tanks and a tank stand in it. I started by taping off the old 120, and resealing it (as I know it'll take a few days to dry and I want it to be the best it can be for when I sell it). Once that was done, I tore down the old tank stand and started the rebuild. I know the BEST thing to do would be scrap it and start over, but I feel I found a way that will ensure the structural integrity and save me time and money (but we'll see in the end).
I was able to disassemble and square up the top and bottom platforms, and rebuild the uprights in a way that I feel is cleaner and stronger! I also attached some plywood to the bottom of the bottom platform to ensure it'll stay square while I continue to assemble the rest of the stand. Tomorrow after work I'll pick up some more ply to attach to the top platform, so it'll stay square while I attach the uprights to it. I don't have a TON of pictures as I'm actually in the process of editing the video of my build so far to upload it to youtube, however until then I'll dump in the pics I've got so far.
As I make progress, I'll hop on and let you all know how things are going, and if any of you are around the Woodbury area and want to grab a coke and BS about tanks, or just need someone to help you carry your new stand or whatever, let me know!
09-21-2014
I thought I had more pics than this but apparently I was wrong. Please excuse the general mess in the garage as I had 2 2000 sq ft warehouses before I moved that I've had to condense down into a 1.75 car garage..
09-22-2014
Tonight I plan to pick up some 1/2" OSB for the top of the stand (where the tank will sit), as well as the back and the sides for torsion strength, and some cabinet grade 3/4" maple plywood for the front of the stand to make it look pretty. I also plan on grabbing some maple 1 x 3's, and maple 1/4" plywood to make cabinet doors out of. I'm yet to decide what I want to make the hood out of (what thickness or how I want to build it) but I should probably figure that out so I can pick up the lumber for that at the same time!
09-22-2014
I'm glad to hear that with plywood on the front, back, and sides that it will be plenty strong. With yours and mrbill's recommendations I'll skip the OSB and get some quality ply. The less I have to worry about the better!
Once I have time (between spending time with my wife, trying to keep our new puppy from tearing down the house, and building the stand) I'll get off my butt and edit the videos I'm working on so you can see a bit more than just my textual ramblings!
09-26-2014
I know it's not all that exciting but I FINALLY was able to get the home depot rental van tonight and got a whole mess of wood. I also cut out some nice 1/2" pieces of birch ply for the top and sides of the stand. Hopefully next time I get a chance to work on it I'll be able to cut the piece for the back, and then I've got 3/4" ply for the face of the stand and cabinets. I'll post pics later this weekend when I have time to sort out the explosion that is now my garage.
09-29-2014
Progress was made! Ive got it skinned in 1/2in birch ply and am about ready to take the skinning off again to glue it and reskin it. Once that's done, I'll prime and paint it, and it's load testing time!
Once I get this tank cycling I'll get off my butt and get the video uploaded.
10-01-2014
I know it looks the same, but all the plywood was removed, glued, and rescrewed. I have also put a new piece of ply on the bottom and the bottom interior. Tonight I will prime and paint!
10-01-2014
Got the stand primed tonight, and the silicone off of the 40 breeder. Im a little closer to done!
