500 Gallon Build - Page 2

foxvalleypcgeek · 01/29/2015, 08:54 PM

Top will be a sheet of MDF. Got lucky and found out that comes in 97x49. I was worried as i knew plywood was just 96x48. And I confirmed i need to actually make the stand 97x49.

Also had to get some 10 foot boards because of that extra inch.

Newbie Aquarist · 01/29/2015, 09:44 PM

Same boards that I used. Except I actually got the plywood for the top instead of mdf.

dave.m · 01/29/2015, 09:54 PM

I hope you seal it well. MDF was never intended to be used anywhere near water or moisture of any kind.

Dave.M

foxvalleypcgeek · 01/29/2015, 09:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dave.m

I hope you seal it well. MDF was never intended to be used anywhere near water or moisture of any kind.

Dave.M

It was either that or particle board. Anything else is an inch short at 96x48

dave.m · 01/29/2015, 10:14 PM

Plywood also comes in 12' sheets. You might check that out.

Dave.M

worm5406 · 01/29/2015, 10:18 PM

I used:

On my stand. Puts a nice enamel gloss coat on it to just wipe away any items.

foxvalleypcgeek · 02/01/2015, 08:38 AM

Last night we got the wood all cut up except for the cross support on the top. Not sure on what the length will be exactly so waiting to do that until the rest is all assembled. Just cut everything up in the dining room and made a mess to dust and vacuum up but much better then going out in the cold. Used my old 210 canopy to clamp the board down to and cut away. I knew there was a reason I still had that thing laying around

Today it should be all put together and probobly get a start on staining it as well.

muttley000 · 02/01/2015, 10:06 AM

What a sweet size I can only dream of! That foundation wall in the first pictures looks to need shored up if that is the same place the tank is going I would talk to someone about the structural integrity there.
If the pics of the other system are any indication this will be an awesome build, looking forward to following!

foxvalleypcgeek · 02/01/2015, 11:31 AM

The exterior wall that supports the joists is just fine. The one you see is only a partial that doesnt even go all the way to the ceiling.

foxvalleypcgeek · 02/01/2015, 09:01 PM

Now after an entires day of work with the stand we have made good progress on it! This thing is huge and heavy. Added in two front legs and 2 back legs for some extra support. As well as needing the front legs anyways to put doors on the stand. There is no bottom inside of it at this point, and I don't plan on it as all equipment will be in the basement.

And here is the progress:

I see the stain looks blue in the phone pics, its a light gray and definitely needs a couple of coats. But we called in quits for the day.

At this point you can really start to see how big of a footrint this tank takes up. It is huge!

scoupland · 02/01/2015, 09:46 PM

Are you going to leave the stand open or do you have plans to skin it? If the later, what are your plans?

foxvalleypcgeek · 02/01/2015, 09:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by scoupland

Are you going to leave the stand open or do you have plans to skin it? If the later, what are your plans?

It will be skinned but not sure what at this point. It will probobly be pushed back a ways as funds will go towards equipment first.

Oldude · 02/01/2015, 10:16 PM

I recommend painting your stand white - mine is black and it really shows dust, salt creep & stains. That said grey should still be a lot better than black.

foxvalleypcgeek · 02/01/2015, 10:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Oldude

I recommend painting your stand white - mine is black and it really shows dust, salt creep & stains. That said grey should still be a lot better than black.

Ya I have used black on a few previously but no more. This gray is very light so not far from white.

Newbie Aquarist · 02/04/2015, 03:10 AM

The stand is looking real good sir. Keep up the good work. I know you found your paint but I used a shower liner type of paint to do the inside of my stand. But all of my equipment is inside also except for the protein skimmer. You could use a shower liner like I did also to catch any spills just for safety since you do have all of your equipment in the basement.

foxvalleypcgeek · 02/08/2015, 08:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Newbie Aquarist

The stand is looking real good sir. Keep up the good work. I know you found your paint but I used a shower liner type of paint to do the inside of my stand. But all of my equipment is inside also except for the protein skimmer. You could use a shower liner like I did also to catch any spills just for safety since you do have all of your equipment in the basement.

Thanks, and I thought about it but not sure if I will put anything down there yet in the bottom of the stand.

foxvalleypcgeek · 02/08/2015, 08:53 PM

Today was a productive day getting the basement fish room cleaned up and in a lot better shape. Previously I left it dirty and was a mess. The paint is so old that it would sometimes fall off of the boards above and land in the stock tank below. Should be no more of that this time around, as I scrubbed it all down, including the walls and painted it all with some leftover paint I found from when we did the dining room 4 years ago.

Also took a trip down to Milwaukee to get some salt on a weekend special. Kind of a long trip (3 hours total) for some salt but felt like going to see what has changed in the store as its been a couple of years. Best Fish is by far the best fish store I have ever been too.

This should be enough to get me started.

It was getting quite dusty with the shop vac on all the concrete. Also worked on removing everything from the room such as the RO unit, and my rigged up board haning from the celing which electronics were previously mounted to.

Here was the wall of the sistern room before:

And after some paint:

Working on doing the ceiling:

A little bit of the paint that fell off while srubbing it with a brush. Vacummed this up a few times.

Painted the other wall in between the orignal basement and, then on the other side of that wall is the newer basment from when the house was added on.

Jack posts and 6X4's all put up supporting the floor joists. Nice and level so they are perfectly vertical.

And an idea of what it should look like minus any equipment. Have to make a support stand to raise the blue barells off the ground. Figured it was a good time to get them off of the workbench where they were used before.

And the stand is completely done with stain, except for the skinning of it, which could be a challenge as I never do haha. Also leveled out damn near perfect after jacking up the floor.

Newbie Aquarist · 02/09/2015, 12:26 AM

Your stand looks good. Love your progress.

foxvalleypcgeek · 02/09/2015, 09:26 AM

Put together a stand for the blue barrels this morning to get them off the ground. Have to add some extra bits on the top to support them better as I made it a little bigger then intended. I dont see them moving at all but you never know, and I dont want one to fall through when its full. And then of course paint that as well so it matches.

I will tie them both together rather then seperate like they are now and put a float in there to keep them full, rather then me carying buckets to them to fill them like I did in the past.

The smaller brute can you see back in the corner is the top-off water, and the larger one to the right is the salt water. Its full to the brim with salt water from over 2 years ago when I had the system up and running. Has had a pump running in there the entire time.

I will do just like before and have auto water changes. Small amounts but every single day.

scubadan206 · 02/09/2015, 01:37 PM

I like where this thread is going. That is a great tank size. I really like the full sump in the basement
FWIW Aquatics unlimited is a neat store. I've shopped their for a long time, but they are really overpriced. We can do better.

Sn8kbyt · 02/10/2015, 01:39 AM

Following along this looks like it could be an epic build!

Where in WI do you call home? I am from Manitowoc and am in the process of my own "big" for me build that can be seen here http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2464238

foxvalleypcgeek · 02/10/2015, 06:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sn8kbyt

Following along this looks like it could be an epic build!

Where in WI do you call home? I am from Manitowoc and am in the process of my own "big" for me build that can be seen here http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2464238

Thanks and I am in Neenah. I had a 210 previously, good size tank!

hobbzz · 02/10/2015, 08:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by worm5406

Make sure you support the area.

I'm from Green Bay, and the stores in the fox valley are not ones you'd want to generally support. The one store in Appleton, likely the closest to him, doesn't believe in Rodi systems or skimmers. The one shop in Green Bay isn't bad, but not much better.

Great start. I want to upgrade to those dimensions when we move to Tampa in a year or two. Love the basket star. Which store did you get it from? I remember one store n Milwaukee that used to get kinda rare stuff in occasion. I picked up a black striated angler from them about 10 yeas ago. I've never seen one since.

So did Wayne find that he needed braces for that span? I saw him mention his "idea", and I wasn't sure what that was.

foxvalleypcgeek · 02/10/2015, 08:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hobbzz

I'm from Green Bay, and the stores in the fox valley are not ones you'd want to generally support. The one store in Appleton, likely the closest to him, doesn't believe in Rodi systems or skimmers. The one shop in Green Bay isn't bad, but not much better.

Great start. I want to upgrade to those dimensions when we move in a year or two. Love the basket star. Which store did you get it from? I remember one store n Milwaukee that used to get kinda rare stuff in occasion. I picked up a black striated angler from them about 10 yeas ago. I've never seen one since.

The basket star was from Best Fish in Milwaukee, which is where I get most of my livestock from. Coral this time around will be different as local buddy of mine no longer is in the coral business. The store in Appleton has gone down hill terribly from since they moved to a new location. There is another that has great fish but a high price tag as well. I have been to green bay a few times and its decent, and also one in oshkosh as well.

foxvalleypcgeek · 02/10/2015, 09:01 AM

Added some leftover 2x10 to the top today for more support under the barrels and painted it. Now just have to get them tied together and RO hooked up to them. I need new filters and both membranes replaced.

01/29/2015, 08:54 PM	#26
foxvalleypcgeek Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2015 Location: Wisconsin Posts: 478	Top will be a sheet of MDF. Got lucky and found out that comes in 97x49. I was worried as i knew plywood was just 96x48. And I confirmed i need to actually make the stand 97x49. Also had to get some 10 foot boards because of that extra inch. __________________ Live fish cams and apex statistics @ foxvalleyfishgeek.com

01/29/2015, 09:54 PM	#28
dave.m Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Canadia Posts: 4,276	I hope you seal it well. MDF was never intended to be used anywhere near water or moisture of any kind. Dave.M __________________ My Gawd! It's full of corals! Current Tank Info: None. Nil. Zip. Nada.

01/29/2015, 10:14 PM	#30
dave.m Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Canadia Posts: 4,276	Plywood also comes in 12' sheets. You might check that out. Dave.M __________________ My Gawd! It's full of corals! Current Tank Info: None. Nil. Zip. Nada.

01/29/2015, 10:18 PM	#31
worm5406 Not afriad to admit wrong Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: South of WashDC in Maryland Posts: 7,774	I used: On my stand. Puts a nice enamel gloss coat on it to just wipe away any items. __________________ Stock:LPS/SPS\|1 hippo\|4 OC Clown\|4 Pepp shrimp\|2 Brittle Star\|3000+ Copepods\|10+ MiniBrittle\|8+ Bristle Worm\|2 Anemone\|100+ mini-feather\|4 boys 14,21,22,22 Current Tank Info: Tank:300g Mixed Reef 300+lb LR\|4" LS\|5x MP40W\|75g fuge\|5x RadionPRO\|RO DB250 skimmer\|Apex

02/01/2015, 10:06 AM	#33
muttley000 MTS Sufferer! Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: NW Ohio Posts: 1,926	What a sweet size I can only dream of! That foundation wall in the first pictures looks to need shored up if that is the same place the tank is going I would talk to someone about the structural integrity there. If the pics of the other system are any indication this will be an awesome build, looking forward to following! __________________ Next step on the system is adding A 90 gallon! Current Tank Info: 475 multitank system is now running! Several hundred gallons of additions planned!

01/29/2015, 09:44 PM	#27
Newbie Aquarist Reefing is my middle name Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Clearwater, FL Posts: 5,796	Same boards that I used. Except I actually got the plywood for the top instead of mdf.

02/01/2015, 08:38 AM	#32
foxvalleypcgeek Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2015 Location: Wisconsin Posts: 478	Last night we got the wood all cut up except for the cross support on the top. Not sure on what the length will be exactly so waiting to do that until the rest is all assembled. Just cut everything up in the dining room and made a mess to dust and vacuum up but much better then going out in the cold. Used my old 210 canopy to clamp the board down to and cut away. I knew there was a reason I still had that thing laying around Today it should be all put together and probobly get a start on staining it as well.

02/01/2015, 11:31 AM	#34
foxvalleypcgeek Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2015 Location: Wisconsin Posts: 478	The exterior wall that supports the joists is just fine. The one you see is only a partial that doesnt even go all the way to the ceiling. __________________ Live fish cams and apex statistics @ foxvalleyfishgeek.com

02/01/2015, 09:01 PM	#35
foxvalleypcgeek Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2015 Location: Wisconsin Posts: 478	Now after an entires day of work with the stand we have made good progress on it! This thing is huge and heavy. Added in two front legs and 2 back legs for some extra support. As well as needing the front legs anyways to put doors on the stand. There is no bottom inside of it at this point, and I don't plan on it as all equipment will be in the basement. And here is the progress: I see the stain looks blue in the phone pics, its a light gray and definitely needs a couple of coats. But we called in quits for the day. At this point you can really start to see how big of a footrint this tank takes up. It is huge!

02/01/2015, 09:46 PM	#36
scoupland Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2009 Posts: 47	Are you going to leave the stand open or do you have plans to skin it? If the later, what are your plans?

02/01/2015, 10:16 PM	#38
Oldude Premium Member Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Calgary, Canada Posts: 4,479	I recommend painting your stand white - mine is black and it really shows dust, salt creep & stains. That said grey should still be a lot better than black. __________________ ______________________ Greg ~ June 2015 TOTM ~ ~ April 2010 TOTM ~

02/04/2015, 03:10 AM	#40
Newbie Aquarist Reefing is my middle name Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Clearwater, FL Posts: 5,796	The stand is looking real good sir. Keep up the good work. I know you found your paint but I used a shower liner type of paint to do the inside of my stand. But all of my equipment is inside also except for the protein skimmer. You could use a shower liner like I did also to catch any spills just for safety since you do have all of your equipment in the basement.

02/08/2015, 08:53 PM	#42
foxvalleypcgeek Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2015 Location: Wisconsin Posts: 478	Today was a productive day getting the basement fish room cleaned up and in a lot better shape. Previously I left it dirty and was a mess. The paint is so old that it would sometimes fall off of the boards above and land in the stock tank below. Should be no more of that this time around, as I scrubbed it all down, including the walls and painted it all with some leftover paint I found from when we did the dining room 4 years ago. Also took a trip down to Milwaukee to get some salt on a weekend special. Kind of a long trip (3 hours total) for some salt but felt like going to see what has changed in the store as its been a couple of years. Best Fish is by far the best fish store I have ever been too. This should be enough to get me started. It was getting quite dusty with the shop vac on all the concrete. Also worked on removing everything from the room such as the RO unit, and my rigged up board haning from the celing which electronics were previously mounted to. Here was the wall of the sistern room before: And after some paint: Working on doing the ceiling: A little bit of the paint that fell off while srubbing it with a brush. Vacummed this up a few times. Painted the other wall in between the orignal basement and, then on the other side of that wall is the newer basment from when the house was added on. Jack posts and 6X4's all put up supporting the floor joists. Nice and level so they are perfectly vertical. And an idea of what it should look like minus any equipment. Have to make a support stand to raise the blue barells off the ground. Figured it was a good time to get them off of the workbench where they were used before. And the stand is completely done with stain, except for the skinning of it, which could be a challenge as I never do haha. Also leveled out damn near perfect after jacking up the floor.

02/09/2015, 12:26 AM	#43
Newbie Aquarist Reefing is my middle name Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Clearwater, FL Posts: 5,796	Your stand looks good. Love your progress.

02/09/2015, 09:26 AM	#44
foxvalleypcgeek Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2015 Location: Wisconsin Posts: 478	Put together a stand for the blue barrels this morning to get them off the ground. Have to add some extra bits on the top to support them better as I made it a little bigger then intended. I dont see them moving at all but you never know, and I dont want one to fall through when its full. And then of course paint that as well so it matches. I will tie them both together rather then seperate like they are now and put a float in there to keep them full, rather then me carying buckets to them to fill them like I did in the past. The smaller brute can you see back in the corner is the top-off water, and the larger one to the right is the salt water. Its full to the brim with salt water from over 2 years ago when I had the system up and running. Has had a pump running in there the entire time. I will do just like before and have auto water changes. Small amounts but every single day.

02/09/2015, 01:37 PM	#45
scubadan206 Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2013 Location: Kenosha WI Posts: 985	I like where this thread is going. That is a great tank size. I really like the full sump in the basement FWIW Aquatics unlimited is a neat store. I've shopped their for a long time, but they are really overpriced. We can do better.

02/10/2015, 01:39 AM	#46
Sn8kbyt Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: Manitowoc, WI Posts: 607	Following along this looks like it could be an epic build! Where in WI do you call home? I am from Manitowoc and am in the process of my own "big" for me build that can be seen here http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2464238 __________________ 220 gallon DT and 90 gallon sump, all DC powered, APEX gold with DOS, feeder, and a few extra modules, Avast Marine swabbie on Skimz Monster 258, 6 Rapid LED Onyx fixtures, BRS dosers, 4 Jaebo RW-15. Current Tank Info: 220 Gallon, 29 Gallon, 2-20L QT, and a 20 gallon tall octogon tank waiting to be setup for a seahorse tank.

02/10/2015, 09:01 AM	#50
foxvalleypcgeek Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2015 Location: Wisconsin Posts: 478	Added some leftover 2x10 to the top today for more support under the barrels and painted it. Now just have to get them tied together and RO hooked up to them. I need new filters and both membranes replaced.