Project 65 underway.....(Lots o' pics)

[Blazer88]

Here are some pics of my new 65G AGA that I have started. I bought the tank from Blue Sierra and have made a few mods so far. I replaced the center plastic brace with clear acrylic since I am using a single 250W MH in the center and didn't want the shadow. I also painted the back of the tank black. The stand and canopy was the fun part of the project. So far I'm about 2-3 days into it. The frame is 4x4 posts w/2x4's and sheeted with 1/4" Birch. I wish I took some better pics of the frame, but oh well. I haven't done any finishing work yet (sanding/staining) but I plan to tomorrow and will post some pics when I am done. It's going to be stained a dark red/brown color and should turn out nice.

What do you think of the stand/canopy so far? It's still rough, but it's coming along. I can answer any specific questions about the stand construction if anyone wants. I should have everything else installed and ready to transfer everything from my 26G by this weekend

 

[wrightme43]

That is very beautiful. I think you should be proud of your work.

 

[NaH2O]

WOW! Looks fantastic! Love the trim work you did. Are you going to have a sump under the stand?

 

[class clown]

GEEEES- LOOKS GREAT!
I want to get a parts list from you when you are done. I have been thinking of doing something similar for my 55 gallon. I love the trimwork- very nice..

I would love to learn about your thought process in hardware, type of wood, etc if you care to share in the thread here.

GOOD LUCK!

 

[Beeba]

Nice job. I only wish someone in my house was good at wood working.

 

[Blazer88]

I am putting a sump under the stand, but it's only a 10G Part of the deal with me getting a new tank with the wifey was that I need to fit as much stuff under the tank as possible. So I am going to try and get my current 10G sump/fuge to work and if it doesn't, I'll upgrade to a bigger one.

As for the parts, I was given a $100 gift card to Lowes so I purchased everything there. I used 4x4's and 2x4's for strength and covered the stand with Birch since it would look nice. A 4'x8' of 1/4" Birch was only like $20 or something close. I built the doors and canopy out of 1/2" Birch so I would have some added strength for the doors to screw into. The doors on the stand go through the 1/4" sheet and mount into the 4x4's. So the Canopy is actually 3/4" larger than the stand, but it's difficult to tell. Let me know if there is anything else you want to know. Thanks for the nice comments guys

 

[NeilsReef]

Nice work on your stand & canopy!

 

[nasher8860]

Hows it coming along Blazer??? Great job on the stand and canopy. Did you get it stained yet??

 

[mojoreef]

Wow nice clean job on the stand Blazer!!


MIke

 

[Blazer88]

I'm almost done staining it. I don't have much experience staining wood so it's been sort of a learning process. I'll post pics once it's all back together. I was hoping to get everything transfered from my 26 into this one over the weekend, so we'll see. I'll post pics of the whole transfer as well. Thanks again for the comments

 

[Blazer88]

Well, I'm all done I got everything transfered over yesterday, and it pretty much took all day. Suprisingly I didn't have to make any emergency runs to the LFS or Home Depot, thank god. Everything went nice and smooth! I mixed up 40 gallons of new water the night before and left it in the container with 2 MJ 1200's to mix everything up.
I drained the old tank and put the corals, fish, and LR into seperate holding bins. Move the old one out and started setting up the new one. I filled the new one with the "new" water and started adding LR and new aragonite sand. I got everything pretty much aquascaped and tossed in a few corals and more water. The corals opened up right away and everything looked good. I let the water clear up as much as possible before adding the fish and also checked water parameters before they went in. All I really have left to do is upgrade to a bigger skimmer and fix the micro-bubbles I'm getting in the display. Little things as far as I'm concerned. I'll post pictures after I get 'em re-sized.

 

[NaH2O]

Awesome! Look forward to the pics!

Everything went nice and smooth!

You know you just jinxed yourself, don't you? LOL j/k j/k

 

[Blazer88]

Here are some pics of the transfer. That water bin was about to blow! It said it had a 45 gallon capacity and I used every inch of it The stand is pictured without the doors on to make it easier to install stuff during the process. And my cat abolutely loved watching the clowns for a few hours :razz: It was funny to see my blenny and goby both hiding under the flowerpot WITH a Pistol Shrimp....who said they would all get along. I spent an hour rinsing the sand so the water would clear up asap, and it paid off. The water was starting to clear up within an hour or so. The full tank shot is still a bit murky because of micro-bubbles which I have since fixed. I'll keep posting pictures as the tank matures.

 

[Blazer88]

I only have about 35 pounds of LR, so I'll be looking to add more here pretty soon. I want to fill that back wall up to cover the background. Other than that, everything is happy and nothing (except a few snails) died. The MH retro was a treat once I got it in. I built the canopy before I had the lights and it was 1/2" too small. So I got creative with a chisel and made room for the end caps What do you guys think?

 

[Sushi Reef]

looks great blazer... what kelvin is that MH?
amazing yasha

 

[Blazer88]

The bulb is from Reefmax.com and it's a 250W 14,000K. I like the color, though I have nothing to compare it to since it's my first MH And there is a better picture of the Goby in the General Forums under the picture of best fish thread. He's an awesome fish.

 

[WaterDogs]

I like your sump pump! :lol:

 

[Krish]

So far so good Blazer! I'm really diggin what you are doing.

 

[szidls]

Hey Blazer,
Great job on the tank so far. Do you have covers on the tank top? Watch your tank temp with the new MH lighting.
Scott

 

[Blazer88]

The tank top is covered with 4 pieces of acrylic. I "crack" the front two and leave an inch or two for ventilation with two 4" fans in the back. I have a variable 12V power supply for the fans so I can crank them up to 12V and they move some serious air. When I get home I turn them down to about 6V so I can't hear them but they still move air. The temp rarely gets above 79 even when it's warm in my condo. I also have a fan that blows onto my sump which helps out a lot. I'll see if I can get an updated picture of the tank with more rock in it.