My little plywood tank

[roun]

Hi guy's it's been a while since I've posted something. here are a few pic's of my small plywood tank I created. Feel free to to through in your comments.

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[hobogato]

what are the dimensions? did you stick with the 400 gallon you had planned?

[roun]

I tried the dimensions are 124"L x 30"D x 29"H. I will be posting more pictures here shortly since it is completed. I am just providing the steps it took. this is the 6" screw I used to screw the front frame down, two 2x4's sandwiched together the top 2x4 was routed 3/4" for the 1/2" glass pane.
13252 13253132541325513254

[roun]

Here are some more pics of the tank
13256front glass frame screwed down
13257side wall being screwed in
13258all the sides are screwed, glued and in place for the water proofing
13259this is the 2 part epoxy I used to glue and seal the inside of the tank
13260that,s me in the inside with my arms stretched out, I'm 6' 1" tall so you can just imagine the length, more pic to come.

[roun]

Here are some more pic's
13264paint i used for the finished coat, i was able to do 5 coats with just 1 gallon
13265paint dries quickly, i was able to finish painting in just 1 day
13266another angle of the finish coat
13267glass pane installed
13268front view of the glass pane, more to come

[roun]

As I said here you go
13269drilled the hole's for the intake and return. 1-1/4" intake (3) and 1" returns (4) with this set up I should easily be able to cycle 4500 gallons per hour
13270here is a picture of one of the returns
13271here is another picture, intake and return
13272doing the water test nerve wrecking as always
13273filled to the top notice the center bracing (2) more to come 5 at a time

[Europhyllia]

well at least you don't have to worry about silicone seams bursting ;)

Where is this beast going to go?

[roun]

this is going in my living room, tore down the 240 so I can drill it and put it in the master bed room
13274picture of the stand and tank filled with water
13275angle view at this point the tank has been sitting with water for 2-1/2 weeks. no leaks
13276water at the edge of the intake
13277picture of the simple plumbing work and of the 55 gallon sump looks kind of small
13278one of the bottom corner returns more await

[CoryDude]

Eagerly following along. I've followed a few of these build types on RC. Good to have one here locally.

What is the expected lifetime of one of these tanks? Like I've said, I've seen build threads but they alway seem to disappear after the work is done.

[paul]

i need to get on the field trip to see that monster tank. nice.:shades:

[Europhyllia]

i need to get on the field trip to see that monster tank. nice.:shades:
Is there an official field trip to see this? too bad there's already water in it! I would have loved to see that epoxy stuff in person

[Scream311]

Hhmm this looks like a terrific accomplishment. I would like to invite myself over to pick your brain. So that in the near future I may finally get my 380 gallon goin. Using this exact same method. Good job sir

[paul]

are you on monsterfishkeepers. i follow lots of threads on there. how are you going to light it. solar tubes or what. what are you planning to put in there.

[Texreefer]

I built one much smaller in 2006, plywood and the same epoxy paint.. had it full for over two years before I tore it down to upgrade.. never had a problem with it

[roun]

okay guy's here are some more pictures. first to answer a few ?s. Paul i am not on monsterfishkeepers , you guy's are more than welcome to stop by and check it out I greatly appreciate any advice I can get. as of now it's just a FOWLR I do want to add coral and all the good stuff. I will be using led lights for the tank, but off course it will be DIY need to save a buck where ever I can. without further delay here you go
13301picture of the stand
13302picture of the inside, notice that the doors slide from side to side, can do a 30" opening or a full 58" opening with both door removed by just un-hanging them
13303here the temporary sump and the fluval filter, getting way to many micro bubbles in the tank, picked up the 120 sump from BBQHILLBILLY the other day modifying that one right now
13304some plumbing work of the return notice the back flow preventer in case of a power outage
13305 picture of the DIY bio sump for now, more pics to come

[Scream311]

Wow thats some beautiful Hardwood Floor, IMO i would have laid down some type of Cupped Liner under the Stand, as spills can and will happen NO MATTER WHAT !

[SoLiD]

If those check valves are the Lowes\Home Depot type, they have metal springs and will be eaten up in no time by the saltwater, and cause your Check Valve to "FAIL". You are going to want to be 100% percent sure or it will be a bad day when the springs do wear out. Also the metal is not something I'd want in my tank.


http://youtu.be/GaZGkSfwgWY

Bulkreefsupply.com (http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/store/products/pumps-and-plumbing/plumbing-sumps-drill-bits-overflows-uniseals/schedule-80-plumbing-fittings-and-valves/check-valves)

Home Depot (http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Search?keyword=check+valve&selectedCatgry=SEARCH+ALL&langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053&Ntpc=1&Ntpr=1)

Lowes (http://www.lowes.com/pd_103896-33599-P32S+1/2_4294765355+4294821425_4294937087_?productId=3354 602&Ns=p_product_prd_lis_ord_nbr|0||p_product_qty_sale s_dollar|1&pl=1&currentURL=%2Fpl_Check%2Bvalve_4294765355%2B429482 1425_4294937087_%3FNs%3Dp_product_prd_lis_ord_nbr% 7C0%7C%7Cp_product_qty_sales_dollar%7C1&facetInfo=Check valve)

Americanvalve.com (http://www.americanvalve.com/pdf/plastic16.pdf)

Aquacave.com (http://www.aquacave.com/swing-check-valves-true-unionbr-clear-pvc-socket-connection-479.html)

SoCalTropicalFish.com (http://socaltropicalfishoutlet.com/catalog/plumbing-parts-c-30.html?osCsid=ktll32al799oppsmdl72skt7e0)

[roun]

thanks SoLiD good to know, I do have the flapper type a guess i will have to test them periodic to make sure they are working. Sceam311 appreciate the concern on the wood floor, once the new sump is in place i'll install a shower liner underneath. my wood floor has been thru a lot, the 240 i had was in the same spot came home one day from work to find it completely empty no water and no survivors :cry_smile: took months to get the smell of Padre island out of the house. here are some more pics.

13381 pic of the pump doing it's job
13382 pic of the inside
13383 some of the top plumbing work
13384 inside corner view of the returns
13385 pic of the opposite end more to come

[Europhyllia]

wow you are moving along fast! Are you related to Ace or something?

[roun]

her are some more pictures of the tank at where I'm at what do you guy's think
13390 the before
13388 the after
13389

[Europhyllia]

so how long did that all take? start to finish? do I see fish in there already too?

[roun]

started the tank in October the tank was up and running a week before Thanksgiving. before I started the tank I had to make sure I had everything I needed so i would not be at a stand still. i do have fish in it already, i was able to use the water from my 240 tank i took down and made some fresh mix turned out pretty good I've had no fatalities.

[clownfishgems]

looks great, keep the pics coming!!

[buck27]

Any updates with this tank?

Sent from my SGH-T959V using Tapatalk

[roun]

I did remove the 55 gallon drum an installed a 125 gallon sump that i picked up from BBQHILLBILLY
14803measured 24h x 17D x 72L soon to change does dimensions to 17H x 24D x 72L

[roun]

here are the rest of the pics of the sump
15198 side glass pane removed
15199 had the glass cut down to size
15200 reapplied the glass pane and resealed the whole sump
15201 clamps and the rest of the molding removed
15202 closer look at the seams

[roun]

15203 sump in place
15204
15205

[SoLiD]

Nice looking sump. I like how you are still evolving the tank as time goes on. Any new FTS?

[koa25]

Any update on this beast? Curious how it is doing. How much did it all cost roughly to get the tank together? Ball park.

[roun]

I am currently working on led lights for the aquarium
16619as you can see on the left side that's were I have install only 12 led lights
16620there are six white and six blue

I'm planning to install 60 high power led lights, 30 white's and 30 blue

[sdunn90fowlr]

I really like your tank. I have too considered building one out of plywood. Just seems like a real fun project, and you save some dough as well. WIN! WIN!

[roun]

Thanks sdunn90, The tank is going on a year already and maturing great. This was a great and fun project to built and it was a money saver as well. The good thing about this project was that it was easier than it looked. The only regret I have is that I wished I would have made it 12' long instead of 10' this way it would cover the whole wall. If you do decide to build one fell free to pm me for advice if needed?

[sdunn90fowlr]

Will do on the PM for advice. I think I am going to build a small drop off tank in the near future out of plywood. Somewhere in the 40 or 50 gallon range. I just need to gather a few tools first like a small table saw, router, etc. It will be 3 side viewable if I do build it. I will also consider DIY rock so I can make the scape exactly what I want with holes precisely where I want to place frags. I have the vision in my head and need to put it on paper and plan it out.

[koa25]

Update pics?

[allan]

Yeah, I just read over this thread again, got me thinking that perhaps instead of buying my next tank I can build one. I'd be very interested in seeing some updated pictures of it.

Would it have been possible to build two chambers on either side hidden from view to act as the resovoir chambers for a wave maker?

[koa25]

Yeah, When i get to Hawaii i was thinking about building a large FOWLR tank seeing as i will be severly limited on corals. Stupid Hawaiian laws and regulations. The wave chamber idea would be pretty sick.

[allan]

Dude, will you be living on or off post? Those houses there weren't very big. Hey, do you know a cW3 Mabberly?

[koa25]

Off post. I am single so don't get priority for on post housing. Would rather live off post anyways. Even with how expensive it is going to be. I do not them. At least it doesn't ring a bell. We did just get an influx of WO's over here though. Por que?

[roun]

Currently building these plywood tanks anything is possible. Haven't done to much to it lately, I've been to busy working on my baby BENZ trying to get it up and running again. I've got me led light project half way done, should be completed by the end of the year maybe sooner. As soon as I start making more modifications to it I will certainly post them.

[koa25]

Cool. Greatly appreciated. Look forward to the updates.