Zeltar's 120 gallon mini-series

[zeltar]

OK, here are the first pics of my stand construction for my 120 (4'x2'x2', IAP) tank that I received about 2 weeks ago. There are also a few sneak peaks of the tank in it's protective sheath too.

Here is the crate as delivered to the bed of my truck from the Yellow freight terminal.

Here is the lid removed from the crate and I was nicley suprised by the rigid foam insulation that surround the tank in the crate.

Here is a view of the tank and coast to coast from within it;s cradle.

Now onto the stand. Here are the 4x4's after I dadoed them to receive the 2x4 on end.

Another close up of the 4x4's. (Just a tad out of focus)

Here is one of the from panels getting glued and screwed.

I have a little time warp is sequence here (forgot about taking pictures). This is after a trip to the lumber yard and scoring some maple hardwood, 1/2" plywood and some 3 1/2" maple trim.
The part that didnt get documented is the bottom ply and 2x4's to support the floor.

This is the 1/2" maple ply getting attached to the completed structure.

Here is the 3/4" stock getting planed down to 1/2" with my planer. (Note to self when you don't have 220 and you rewaire machine to run with 110 it sure doesnt cut like it did at my old house.) Took way to long,might use my jointer for the next piece that needs to get skinny.

Last one for now, the front ply was attached yesterday and today I attached the hardwood corners that will be routed flush to hide the plywood edges.

More to come, I promise. One of these days I will be able to start on the tank itself. 12 holes planned at the moment :lol

 

[NaH2O]

I put your images in your thread. I couldn't get the last one to post....it said there were too many images. The only step that was forgotten was opening your image to a new window and copying that url. On a PC I think you right click on the image and go to properties. From there I don't know if it says "Open image to New Window"? That is the url address you put in the img tags. You can try it on the last one in a new post, or try it on new pics.

Looks Awesome Eric!! Love the stand! Do you have a color picked out for the stain?

 

[zeltar]

Woohoo, I figured out the magic of adding a picture.
Thanks Nikki.

As for the color I am thinking of a light honey or something similar. Although finishing maple can be tricky when adding color as this wood likes to not take the stain evenly unless you get very particular about the preparation of it before hand. I'll keep you posted.

 

[zeltar]

Tank hole plan (CLS, return, drain)

Here is the latest sketch of where I want to place the holes for my system. The CLS will be run with either
AM2100 or AM3000 through a 4way OM. I need to see what kind of flow I get from both pumps before I decide.

 

[Stang69]

Oops I misread it sorry



Jeff

 

[NaH2O]

Looks good! Will you be able to have the 8 outputs from the 4-way OM device? I'm not familiar enough with the product.

 

[zeltar]

Looks good! Will you be able to have the 8 outputs from the 4-way OM device? I'm not familiar enough with the product.

Yes, as I am using 3/4" BH's from the CLS so I am doubling the number of outs to match the 1.5" in and the sequence that the drum I have is about 1.25 outs at a time. Which means that the out is shared by the last port partially for about a 1/4 of a revolution. No I've confused myself . Paul at OM will be happy to clarify if I have totally lost you.

 

[zeltar]

Progress Report on 120G stand

Well here are some more pics of the progress on my stand. As always with a good plan drawn up on paper the endless "What if I did this?" questions are popping up and I am not as far along as I'd like. So here is what I've got as of today at 7:00pm.

Here is a closeup of the dado I have to mount the top trim to the top of the stand:

Sorry for the fuzzy pic, but I am using my freebie camera that came with my printer (HP Photosmart 120). Works OK for garage camera.

Here is the trim mounted for a dry fit:

This is with one of the sides mounted:

Here is a shot of the front that I have since decided to mount some vertical trim at the corners. It is the same trim as the horizontal but I ripped it in half and mitered it to fit the corner:

Lastly, here is the view from the top of the stand where the overflow will enter the sump area:

That's all for now. Enjoy.

 

[bigreefer]

updates plz

 

[zeltar]

I made some serious progress on the tank this weekend. I got the final coats of finish on Friday and mounted the doors on Sunday. Then broke the tank out of the crate and proceded to drill 13 holes in it . I have all of the bulkheads installed and just need to start on the PVC fittings. Of course I didnt take any pictures until I was done with the BH's, but I will take some tonight when I get home and post then assuming the cable guy can fix my internet connection fixed today (been broke since Thursday )

I'll keep you posted.

updates plz

 

[big t]

Looking good Eric, It sure is nice to be able to do all that crap yourself isn't it? Looking forward to the updated pics later. Good job so far!

 

[zeltar]

120g updates

Well I finally took some pics today of the work I've done over the past two weekends. That is what happens when you leave the camera next to the compter (which is upstairs) and not in the garage where the work is happening.

Here is a shot of the completed stand with the tank on it:

Here is a shot of the front with doors on:

And a shot of the back access. That is an AM2100 NIB as one of my options for the CLS:

Here is a shot of the inside CLS (sorry for the glare). Still working on what/how much locline to use:

Shot from the back show CLS locations. Yes, I lost two elbows and will have to complete the dryfit another day:

Thats all I have for now, but getting really close to the wet test. Then I can figure out what to do for my canopy and light mounts. Then is just add some water, salt, sand, LR and POOF instareef. Oh, wait a minute that stuff cost money huh?

Enjoy and let me know if you have any questions or comments.
thanks

 

[Schottman]

Wow thats looking good and gives me plenty of ideas for my 120!!

 

[NaH2O]

Looks great!

 

[CarlaW]

Really nice work!!!! Can't wait to see the finished product, up and running

 

[zeltar]

Final garage wet test today, PASSED !!!!

Today I test drove the entire system including sump with new return pump (Mag 12). Now I just need to get some "help" to move the beast into the front room.
Here are a few updated pics with all of the plumbing done. This was my first adventure with flexable PVC and is was more of a bear than I first thought. Lets see who is the first to pick out my "band-aid".

Here is a shot of the right side underneath:

(Yes I need a new camera, but it was a freebie)

and the left side:

This is a partial shot of the CLS from the back side:

A partial of the Ocean Motions 4 way, works very well by the way. I am contemplating puting that device on a wavemaker time to radomize the flow even more.

Now all I need is some salt and to get my RO/DI unit installed and we can make some saltwater. Let me know if you got questions.
Thanks

 

[CarlaW]

awesome work man!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Maxx]

looks good man.....I'm in the process of playing w/ plumbing for my 58 gallon tank too......
Ever heard the old expression, "The Devil is the details"........nah, the Devil is in the plumbing.....I've been playing w/ spa-flex and having to adjust my plumbing to account for tension caused by the spa flex on my OM 4 way.....it will be nice to be finally done w/ all of this....
Nick

 

[big t]

Spa flex is kinda a PITA. I see your 'bandaid its the slip coupler right above the 4 way oceanmotion right?

Good job on all that! So did you end up making your own sump? It looks like a nice one.

 

[zeltar]

Thanks. I started out with 20' of 1.5" spaflex. Guess how much I have left? About 4' in little bitsy pieces The other think I dont like about it, it is really difficult to "dry" fit to guesstimate length. The great part is the only leak I had was at the pump and the OM and just a few turns made that go away.

Yup, that is my bandaid at leat I had one and didnt have to make a trip to the store to get it.

Sump was purchased way back as "berlin style". I had to bore the drain holes to accept the 1.5" drains.