DYI 600g + -
 

I decided to post my tank build. It will be around 600g with a 120g sump. Since i cant find the sump in the die mentions I need I will build it myself.
I'll start with the room first. Engineered to hold 18,000 lbs, its a bit over done but ya never know. I like movement in my tanks so it will be full of some softies and a few anemones. The fish will have a great view. Prob going with a few smaller fish. Gobies, Jawfish and a few Clowns to round out the 3 ring circus.

I really like the location for the tank. It's going to look great in that "corner".

I had a 150 cube in the corner of my wall . This makes me miss it ever more

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Looks amazing. Fish room seems small for the size tank you're planning and I'm not sure how much room you'll have under the tank for the equipment you'll need/want. I'd also recommend you leave access panels in the front. I had a 150G that was closed in the front and now have a 350G that I can access, it is a whole lot easier and better.

Got the room painted with 4 coats of high gloss water proof paint. Very chiney.
Put up some FRP panels to help against splashes in key areas. Placed the reactors on the wall. Decided to put the small ones further away since the large ones will require some adjustments. Attached the UV unit to the wall. It all seems to be ok.

Oh wow, this looks like the start of something very awesome.
Any tank details? dimensions? 6'x6' footprint? :):)
Looking forward to seeing this progress

The tank will be aprox 5'x5'x3', coast to coast overflow with a bean animal. All my reactors are are GEO. He modded the small ones for a bottom up flow with no tubes down the middle (two little fishes). Not having to deal with that center tube will be a blessing. He does great work.
The manifold is done and hooked up to the reactors and UV unit. Unpacked a box marked fish stuff from the move and found my Apex. Put it on the wall. I should unpack everything and see what is what. Placed an order for the sump acrylic. More fun on the horizon.

Good pick on the UV unit, I believe I have the exact same one. What brand/ where did you get it from?

DYI ..... Do Yourself In? Sounds about right with big tanks :lol: Will you make the tank yourself?

The UV is a Pro Pond 110v. Got it from a place called American Aquarium.
I bought most of my stuff about 2 years ago before I retired and moved. I'm not sure if they are still around, The UV unit was the best one I found that fit my application.

The tank, funny you should ask. We designed the house about 6 years ago. I priced out a tank then. Got quoted around 10 grand. Well fast forward to now. The economy is running at full steam and everyone is making money. People have more work than they know what to do with I guess. I priced out the tank again and got quotes in the 20 grand range. Ouch... a bit out of my range. So looks like I make it myself. I am familiar with acrylic but not 1" stuff. From quotes I got on the acrylic, it will cost me 3 to 4 grand with cement and stuff. This was not part of the plan but ya gots to do whats ya gots to do. If I mess up the first one, I can build a second and still be ahead.

check out fishtanksdirect. They just built me a 450 out of 1" acrylic. Work quality was very good and it didn't cost a fortune.

Thanks

More spaghetti stuck to the wall. I hate those Kessel bricks.

oops lost the picture try again

Yep that's the same one I have. Looking forward to following along

I could not find a solution to the way to many Kessel bricks issue. They run an odd power output. I decided to put them in a box and hang it on a wall.

Few more updates. The salt mixing tank is in place next to the skimmer. Made a stand for the skimmer and mixing tank. Used 2" pvc for the legs, capped with those rubber pipe caps. Shimmed inside the caps with rubber to get them level. Got the RO/DI up on the wall over where the sink will go. Epoxied the floor. I think it came out good. Wife hates the flakes. Out of site out of mind. The house has concrete floors. I had them sink the fish room floor 4" and put in a drain, in case of any spills. Never happens to me.....

Following

Mounted the Water Saver Kit from BRS and changed out the old membrane. Mounted a solenoid to control the output of RO/DI unit. I hate putting holes in pipes so I found a solution to getting water to my RO/DI unit without a saddle clamp. I did not have anyway to use a normal hose "Y"* like you would use at the washing machine connection. Since I live quite aways from anything, I go to the local hardware store. You need these Ace Hardware part numbers if you have 3/8 water lines from the wall shut off to your faucet.
Add -a-Tee 3/8 - 3/8 - 1/4 #4308995*
Compression Sleeve 1/4 Delrin #41284
Compression Insert 1/4 Brass #41288 (you need this to keep the 1/4 plastic tube from collapsing)
Compression Nut 1/4 Brass # 41222

great choice on the GEO stuff....I love mine, including my 48x48x24 custom cube he built for me! :)

corey

Placed the skimmer, mixing tank and others to check for fit. Was good to go, I plumbed the skimmer.

Sump time. Kinda like hammer time. Here is my little garage set up. Nothing fancy here.
Got the acrylic from the supplier. All cuts look good. Will route the edges. Since I'm going to be building the aquarium out of 1", I decided to use weld-40. The sump will be good practice. I think I will have less bubble issues in the tank seams and 1" stuff is heavy. Kinda hard for 1 person to pin and weld. Might not be as strong as M/C but the tank is kinda being over built.
So "what me worry?" to quote Alfred E Neuman.

Have you considered a plywood style tank, where you just have glass panels on the two 'showroom' sides?

They are good but require a lot of coatings ect...and glass is very heavy. One reason I will not make this size tank out of glass. I would rather not make a big mess with a lot of sticky stuff and just worry about a little bit of glue. I hate painting stuff. My brother is a painter and if it needs to be painted I hire him if he is avail. Now if it was a big tank, I would prob do wood or pool concrete.

Messing around with the acrylic just to get re-acquainted. Routed some edges. Needed to see what #40 smells like. Made the sock holder. A small probe holder. The old tools work ok.