mcoomer
Who's your daddy?!?
I picked this tank up from one of the members on RC and got it home and setup in the garage today so I can start my build. The tank is 72 X 24 X24 with Starphire on the front and sides. The stand is steel angle and is 37" tall. There is a single 1" square tube in the center for additional support. This thing is built like a tank.
The holes for drain and return plumbing are in the right end of the tank. I'm going to use the large hole for the return line and the second and third holes for drains. As you can see from the adhesive residue in the picture there was an overflow box mounted here in the past. I'm going to mount one that extends all the way to the bottom. I don't really have a need for that fourth hole so what I'm going to do is plumb that hole so that I can drain the overflow box and flush it to remove detritus. Can't really think of another use for it.
For the stand, I'm going to have gussets welded at the top and bottom of the vertical steel angles. I probably don't need them but they'll do two things for me. First they'll provide additional strength. They'll also provide a good surface for a magnet to attach. Once that's done I'll build a tub for the right side and put the sump and plumbing in on that side. I'll have just enough room to install the sump and mount a Reeflo at 90* to the sump. I'm going to put this on a rail or rollers so that I can disconnect the plumbing and slide the whole thing out the side of the stand for equipment changes and deep cleaning. I'll mount a board on the back wall on this side to mount the power strips and modules for my Reefkeeper Elite.
On the left side of the stand I'm going to put in two shelves. There are small tabs welded on the inside of the angle iron and I'll use those to mount a shelf to. I'll put my ballasts on this shelf and test kits and such on the bottom shelf.
For the skin, I want to attach wood panels to the stand using magnets. I'm going to put doors on the front so that I'll have quick access to the inside of the stand but for maintenance I'll simply pull the skin off all the way around for full access. The canopy will be wood with three doors on the front to match the stand and a full length hinge on top for ventilation during the heat of summer. The canopy will be a pretty straightforward design. I'm kind of torn on how to finish the wood though. I saw a drop dead gorgeous stand on here that was stained a dark cherry with very low gloss finish and that's probably the route I'll take but I also saw another nice stand that was painted jet black with a low gloss finish that looked really good too. Either one would look great so I suppose I'm just going to have to sleep on it.
Anyway, the pics show what I'm starting with. The setup will use 250W MH and VHO lighting, Vortechs, and I'm going to update the pump with a Reeflo Hammerhead. I'll also have to put some more liverock into the tank but I've got some dried stuff that's just been hanging out in a crate in the garage so I think I have that covered. About the only thing that I'm going to have to buy is the wood for the carpentry and the new pump that I want. I've always bought my equipment with an eye for upgrading so I just going to move it all over from my 125. That will let me keep my cost down and the wife off my back. Quick pic of the 125 for reference. Just a quick snap so forgive the poor quality. I'll get some good ones of the corals and fish when I get the new tank built and move them over. I'm not going to miss cleaning coralline algae off the acrylic every few days.
More good news. I just got $125 gift card from Lowe's. Good timing there!
The holes for drain and return plumbing are in the right end of the tank. I'm going to use the large hole for the return line and the second and third holes for drains. As you can see from the adhesive residue in the picture there was an overflow box mounted here in the past. I'm going to mount one that extends all the way to the bottom. I don't really have a need for that fourth hole so what I'm going to do is plumb that hole so that I can drain the overflow box and flush it to remove detritus. Can't really think of another use for it.
For the stand, I'm going to have gussets welded at the top and bottom of the vertical steel angles. I probably don't need them but they'll do two things for me. First they'll provide additional strength. They'll also provide a good surface for a magnet to attach. Once that's done I'll build a tub for the right side and put the sump and plumbing in on that side. I'll have just enough room to install the sump and mount a Reeflo at 90* to the sump. I'm going to put this on a rail or rollers so that I can disconnect the plumbing and slide the whole thing out the side of the stand for equipment changes and deep cleaning. I'll mount a board on the back wall on this side to mount the power strips and modules for my Reefkeeper Elite.
On the left side of the stand I'm going to put in two shelves. There are small tabs welded on the inside of the angle iron and I'll use those to mount a shelf to. I'll put my ballasts on this shelf and test kits and such on the bottom shelf.
For the skin, I want to attach wood panels to the stand using magnets. I'm going to put doors on the front so that I'll have quick access to the inside of the stand but for maintenance I'll simply pull the skin off all the way around for full access. The canopy will be wood with three doors on the front to match the stand and a full length hinge on top for ventilation during the heat of summer. The canopy will be a pretty straightforward design. I'm kind of torn on how to finish the wood though. I saw a drop dead gorgeous stand on here that was stained a dark cherry with very low gloss finish and that's probably the route I'll take but I also saw another nice stand that was painted jet black with a low gloss finish that looked really good too. Either one would look great so I suppose I'm just going to have to sleep on it.
Anyway, the pics show what I'm starting with. The setup will use 250W MH and VHO lighting, Vortechs, and I'm going to update the pump with a Reeflo Hammerhead. I'll also have to put some more liverock into the tank but I've got some dried stuff that's just been hanging out in a crate in the garage so I think I have that covered. About the only thing that I'm going to have to buy is the wood for the carpentry and the new pump that I want. I've always bought my equipment with an eye for upgrading so I just going to move it all over from my 125. That will let me keep my cost down and the wife off my back. Quick pic of the 125 for reference. Just a quick snap so forgive the poor quality. I'll get some good ones of the corals and fish when I get the new tank built and move them over. I'm not going to miss cleaning coralline algae off the acrylic every few days.
More good news. I just got $125 gift card from Lowe's. Good timing there!
