This old tank...120 Build

cutnup · 01/27/2009, 12:53 AM

So here is what I started off with, an old beat up tank I got for 80 bucks from a LFS that was shutting down. I cut all the silicone out of it and re-did that.

I have decided to go with a coast to coast overflow for superb surface skimming. You can read up on it here on reefcentral (thanks beananimal!), I am also using the same standpipes that are in that thread.

Drilling the tank.

More to come...

cutnup · 01/27/2009, 01:02 AM

Sorry I skipped pics of the building of the 2x4 stand here it is skinned. I also sanded the ugly brown trim and repainted it with krylon fusion. We will see how long it holds up after time. The back is also painted with krylon fusion.

Here it is with some molding

Here it is all stained and with it's clear coat. I custom built the doors at my friends cabinet shop. Nothing fancy. I also made a table top with a routered edge. The inside of the stand was painted white. I saw a guy here on reefcentral who was building a bowfront stand and he painted his white. It looks very clean and sterile.

Side view.

cutnup · 01/27/2009, 01:09 AM

More of stand.

cutnup · 01/27/2009, 01:14 AM

This is the refugium/sump I made out of a 40 gallon breeder. I got the idea from melevs reef.

Here is what each compartment will be used for.

this is where my calcium reactor will dump the efluent at. I will have a ph probe in there. it will then overfow into the refugium.

Here is a flow diagram. On the skimmer side is where most of the water flow will go to from the main display. there will be a ball valve on a tee to regulate some water to the 'fuge.

cutnup · 01/27/2009, 01:22 AM

Here's a pic of the overflows and drains, they have since been painted black with krylon fusion. Again thanks beananimal

Here's a pic of the of the back of the sump.

Inside the sump left (refugium area)

Inside the sump right (drain)

Return line and coast to coast overflow.

cutnup · 01/27/2009, 01:26 AM

I painted all the plumbing black. I also hung the lights. What an experience!! I had to go up in the attic because the beams weren't where I needed them to be. It took about an hour of squeezing and squirming and balancing in this tiny crawl space to get the eye hooks in. I also hit my head on a nail in the roof and it was bleeding. Here is a pic of me totally out of breath and ready to pass out after the whole ordeal. What a workout!

Here's a pic of the end result you can kinda see the black pvc

And that is pretty much where I sit at. I just wanted to thank everyone here on reefcentral. A lot of what I have done is because what I have learned here. If anyone has any questions I will be more than happy to help out. Thanks for looking.

~sp0ok~ · 01/27/2009, 07:30 AM

good job on your diy

8BALL_99 · 01/27/2009, 09:02 AM

Looks great! You will probably end up wishing you left that center brace out of the front like you did on the back. That spacing does make the doors like nice though.

cutnup · 01/27/2009, 09:30 AM

Yeah I already regret it. The only way I can get my sump out is from the back.

cutnup · 01/27/2009, 03:30 PM

Probably will do a fresh water test tonight. How long should I wait for the krylon fusion to dry before I put water in it?

HumbleLobster · 01/27/2009, 04:57 PM

Thats a nice looking stand. Can you offer up any more information on how you made your overflow?

4jlong · 01/27/2009, 06:08 PM

cutnup, that stand looks great!

did you use the design from RocketEngineer? how thick was the plywood you skinned it with? Great job!!

jgs107 · 01/27/2009, 07:07 PM

looks greatis that a tek light.

FFrankie · 01/27/2009, 07:51 PM

Cool! Another over worked 120

I have one also that is very similar. Good job!

brandon2432 · 01/27/2009, 08:45 PM

nice build well worth the work!!

cutnup · 01/27/2009, 10:33 PM

HumbleLobster: the overflow is made of 2 pieces of glass that are roughly 48x4 and 48x6. They were siliconed in a L shape, then siliconed onto the glass. I go the idea from beananimal. Here's the link http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh...readid=1310585
Here is some more close up pics of that on my tank.

4jlong: Thanks for the compliments! I am not sure about the rocket engineer thing. The stand was basically made by scratch and a lot of debating between me and my friend on how to do it. I believe the plywood on the sides and front was 1/2" cabinet ply and 3/4" on the table top.
jgs107: Yep it's a 48" 8x54W
FFrankie: That is a nice overflow. Did you DIY that? I almost built a cabinet that was the size of the whole wall as well. I am sooo glad I didn't do that after I realized how much sanding was actually involved.

FFrankie · 01/28/2009, 06:45 AM

Yeah, I built the whole tank. It was like the one you have and the front pane got scratched. I ended up removing all the panes and rebuilding it with a Starphire front pane and using the old ones for the rest.
As for the stand, I tore it all down just last week and am putting it on a steel stand now. It was just to big and a pain to work in.
What is that light fixture you have over yours? And what bulb mix are you using?

AG84 · 01/28/2009, 06:53 AM

Looks good. Will the black paint be affected in the tank?

cutnup · 01/28/2009, 03:41 PM

It shouldn't. I know that they krylon fusion is reef safe. As far as it holding up and not flaking off we will have to see. I scuffed the glass with sandpaper for more of a bond. If it flakes off it will eventually be covered in koraline algae anyway..

HumbleLobster · 01/28/2009, 05:11 PM

Thanks for the pics cutnup! Can't say enough good things about your tank.

cutnup · 01/28/2009, 05:51 PM

FFrankie: funny you say that you scratched your tank. I did the same. I am going to fresh water test it tonight. If the scratch bothers me that much I will re-do the front pane. Maybe not in starphire though. Unless my friend with the glass shop gives one sweet deal.
The light fixture is the 8 bulb tek light. The bulbs are as follows
Blue Plus
Super Actinic
Aquasun
Blue Plus
Aquasun
Super Actinic
Aquablue
Blue Plus
HumbleLobster: Thanks man!

FFrankie · 01/29/2009, 07:57 AM

TO be honest, I see no reason to us Starphire. Unless you have two tanks on SP one regular your not going to see the difference. SP scratches easy also. When I built my 61 gallon frag tank recently I used regular glass and it looks just fine imo

speedo2wet · 01/29/2009, 08:16 AM

looks good - I am in the process of building a stand for my 55 and 250 gallon coming up and hope it will come out as nice as yours. lets just say the first stand was rushed and came out like crap.

jasonh · 01/29/2009, 11:04 AM

Nice stand!

I think something like that would go well in my soon-to-be-new-to-me-house, I might have to do something similar for the room-divider tank I want to put in....

cutnup · 01/31/2009, 07:14 PM

FFrankie: I have decided now after filling it with fresh water that I can live with the scratch. I wanted to put salt water in it this weekend but will have to wait till monday when air water and ice is open (only a few miles from my house). That is a HUGE clam!! How big is it?

Well not much to report on...I am really liking the overflow, but I definately need a larger return pump.

Thanks for the comments guys. This is my second DIY stand, but this time I got a little help from my buddy that works in a cabinet shop, actually he just gave me pointers and let me use his shop.

01/27/2009, 12:53 AM	#1
cutnup Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Vero Beach Florida Posts: 674	This old tank...120 Build So here is what I started off with, an old beat up tank I got for 80 bucks from a LFS that was shutting down. I cut all the silicone out of it and re-did that. I have decided to go with a coast to coast overflow for superb surface skimming. You can read up on it here on reefcentral (thanks beananimal!), I am also using the same standpipes that are in that thread. Drilling the tank. More to come... Last edited by cutnup; 01/27/2009 at 01:15 AM.

01/27/2009, 07:30 AM	#7
~sp0ok~ Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Las Vegas Posts: 503	good job on your diy __________________ The great question... which I have not been able to answer... is, "What does a woman want? Current Tank Info: in the works

01/27/2009, 09:02 AM	#8
8BALL_99 Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Toney, AL Posts: 3,724	Looks great! You will probably end up wishing you left that center brace out of the front like you did on the back. That spacing does make the doors like nice though. __________________ The problem with political jokes is they get elected. OK, so what's the speed of dark? Why do we drive on the parkway and park in the driveway? Isn't is it a bit unnerving that doctors call what they do "practice"? Current Tank Info: Custom Starfire 300,92Gallon,35 Gallon Hex,Two 40Gallons,125Gallon,

01/29/2009, 11:04 AM	#24
jasonh Registered Member Join Date: May 2004 Location: Longmont, CO Posts: 1,365	Nice stand! I think something like that would go well in my soon-to-be-new-to-me-house, I might have to do something similar for the room-divider tank I want to put in.... __________________ Jason http://www.jasonhight.net Current Tank Info: Nothing right now. When I stop being poor, I'll set up another.

01/27/2009, 01:02 AM	#2
cutnup Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Vero Beach Florida Posts: 674	Sorry I skipped pics of the building of the 2x4 stand here it is skinned. I also sanded the ugly brown trim and repainted it with krylon fusion. We will see how long it holds up after time. The back is also painted with krylon fusion. Here it is with some molding Here it is all stained and with it's clear coat. I custom built the doors at my friends cabinet shop. Nothing fancy. I also made a table top with a routered edge. The inside of the stand was painted white. I saw a guy here on reefcentral who was building a bowfront stand and he painted his white. It looks very clean and sterile. Side view.

01/27/2009, 01:09 AM	#3
cutnup Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Vero Beach Florida Posts: 674	More of stand.

01/27/2009, 01:14 AM	#4
cutnup Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Vero Beach Florida Posts: 674	This is the refugium/sump I made out of a 40 gallon breeder. I got the idea from melevs reef. Here is what each compartment will be used for. this is where my calcium reactor will dump the efluent at. I will have a ph probe in there. it will then overfow into the refugium. Here is a flow diagram. On the skimmer side is where most of the water flow will go to from the main display. there will be a ball valve on a tee to regulate some water to the 'fuge.

01/27/2009, 01:22 AM	#5
cutnup Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Vero Beach Florida Posts: 674	Here's a pic of the overflows and drains, they have since been painted black with krylon fusion. Again thanks beananimal Here's a pic of the of the back of the sump. Inside the sump left (refugium area) Inside the sump right (drain) Return line and coast to coast overflow.

01/27/2009, 01:26 AM	#6
cutnup Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Vero Beach Florida Posts: 674	I painted all the plumbing black. I also hung the lights. What an experience!! I had to go up in the attic because the beams weren't where I needed them to be. It took about an hour of squeezing and squirming and balancing in this tiny crawl space to get the eye hooks in. I also hit my head on a nail in the roof and it was bleeding. Here is a pic of me totally out of breath and ready to pass out after the whole ordeal. What a workout! Here's a pic of the end result you can kinda see the black pvc And that is pretty much where I sit at. I just wanted to thank everyone here on reefcentral. A lot of what I have done is because what I have learned here. If anyone has any questions I will be more than happy to help out. Thanks for looking.

01/27/2009, 09:30 AM	#9
cutnup Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Vero Beach Florida Posts: 674	Yeah I already regret it. The only way I can get my sump out is from the back.

01/27/2009, 03:30 PM	#10
cutnup Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Vero Beach Florida Posts: 674	Probably will do a fresh water test tonight. How long should I wait for the krylon fusion to dry before I put water in it?

01/27/2009, 04:57 PM	#11
HumbleLobster Should be Quarantined Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Tucson Posts: 432	Thats a nice looking stand. Can you offer up any more information on how you made your overflow?

01/27/2009, 06:08 PM	#12
4jlong Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Contra Costa County, CA. Posts: 349	cutnup, that stand looks great! did you use the design from RocketEngineer? how thick was the plywood you skinned it with? Great job!!

01/27/2009, 07:07 PM	#13
jgs107 Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: morrisville,NC Posts: 442	looks greatis that a tek light.

01/27/2009, 07:51 PM	#14
FFrankie Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Charleston,SC Posts: 766	Cool! Another over worked 120 I have one also that is very similar. Good job!

01/27/2009, 08:45 PM	#15
brandon2432 Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Kimberly AL Posts: 278	nice build well worth the work!!

01/27/2009, 10:33 PM	#16
cutnup Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Vero Beach Florida Posts: 674	HumbleLobster: the overflow is made of 2 pieces of glass that are roughly 48x4 and 48x6. They were siliconed in a L shape, then siliconed onto the glass. I go the idea from beananimal. Here's the link http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh...readid=1310585 Here is some more close up pics of that on my tank. 4jlong: Thanks for the compliments! I am not sure about the rocket engineer thing. The stand was basically made by scratch and a lot of debating between me and my friend on how to do it. I believe the plywood on the sides and front was 1/2" cabinet ply and 3/4" on the table top. jgs107: Yep it's a 48" 8x54W FFrankie: That is a nice overflow. Did you DIY that? I almost built a cabinet that was the size of the whole wall as well. I am sooo glad I didn't do that after I realized how much sanding was actually involved.

01/28/2009, 06:45 AM	#17
FFrankie Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Charleston,SC Posts: 766	Yeah, I built the whole tank. It was like the one you have and the front pane got scratched. I ended up removing all the panes and rebuilding it with a Starphire front pane and using the old ones for the rest. As for the stand, I tore it all down just last week and am putting it on a steel stand now. It was just to big and a pain to work in. What is that light fixture you have over yours? And what bulb mix are you using?

01/28/2009, 06:53 AM	#18
AG84 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Riverview, Fl Posts: 1,192	Looks good. Will the black paint be affected in the tank?

01/28/2009, 03:41 PM	#19
cutnup Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Vero Beach Florida Posts: 674	It shouldn't. I know that they krylon fusion is reef safe. As far as it holding up and not flaking off we will have to see. I scuffed the glass with sandpaper for more of a bond. If it flakes off it will eventually be covered in koraline algae anyway..

01/28/2009, 05:11 PM	#20
HumbleLobster Should be Quarantined Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Tucson Posts: 432	Thanks for the pics cutnup! Can't say enough good things about your tank.

01/28/2009, 05:51 PM	#21
cutnup Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Vero Beach Florida Posts: 674	FFrankie: funny you say that you scratched your tank. I did the same. I am going to fresh water test it tonight. If the scratch bothers me that much I will re-do the front pane. Maybe not in starphire though. Unless my friend with the glass shop gives one sweet deal. The light fixture is the 8 bulb tek light. The bulbs are as follows Blue Plus Super Actinic Aquasun Blue Plus Aquasun Super Actinic Aquablue Blue Plus HumbleLobster: Thanks man!

01/29/2009, 07:57 AM	#22
FFrankie Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Charleston,SC Posts: 766	TO be honest, I see no reason to us Starphire. Unless you have two tanks on SP one regular your not going to see the difference. SP scratches easy also. When I built my 61 gallon frag tank recently I used regular glass and it looks just fine imo

01/29/2009, 08:16 AM	#23
speedo2wet Sharks!!!! Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Apopka, Florida Posts: 472	looks good - I am in the process of building a stand for my 55 and 250 gallon coming up and hope it will come out as nice as yours. lets just say the first stand was rushed and came out like crap.

01/31/2009, 07:14 PM	#25
cutnup Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Vero Beach Florida Posts: 674	FFrankie: I have decided now after filling it with fresh water that I can live with the scratch. I wanted to put salt water in it this weekend but will have to wait till monday when air water and ice is open (only a few miles from my house). That is a HUGE clam!! How big is it? Well not much to report on...I am really liking the overflow, but I definately need a larger return pump. Thanks for the comments guys. This is my second DIY stand, but this time I got a little help from my buddy that works in a cabinet shop, actually he just gave me pointers and let me use his shop.