MattB's new 125g

[EBR]

Hi Everyone --

 

I finally joined WAMAS a couple of months ago at the Scales social, and thought it high time to say Hi, and introduce myself. I've been reading these forums since long before I joined, and have always learned something each time -- and everyone I've met has been equally helpful. So I thought it was about time to share what I've been doing with yet-another-tank-build-thread :-)

 

I've got a 55g tank now, and am in the 26th month of my 1 year plan (a common lament, I am finding out ;-) to upgrade to a 125g. I've been with CMAS for a few years, and have a thread there describing what I've done over the past 6 months or so to freshen it up. I really do like the tank, as the corals I have right now are really filling it in nicely (softies and LPS), but the lack of a sump and lack of space is really getting to me.

 

I've recently gained some momentum on the 125g (building the stand and canopy) and will post pictures as I go along, but I thought it would be good to first catch up on everything else here in this thread. To set the stage, the 125g will eventually be in the same location as where the 55 is right now. Some of the things I've done this past year in preparation for the upgrade include:

 

1) installation of steel flitch plates underneath the tank

2) new RO/DI with mixing tub in the basement with separate FW and SW plumbing to the tank (which is upstairs), and pump switches at the tank

3) plumbing for a drain from the yet-to-be-sump to the sewer

 

So to start off this thread, the following was posted on CMAS last April when I installed the flitch plates to support the new tank.

---

 

Hey Everyone --

 

Time is everything in our house. In addition to the 125 upgrade I've been planning for over a year, we are also trying to finish the basement, especially since we lost our spare bedroom when our daughters stopped sharing a room.

 

So one day I said to myself, "Self, 125 gallons has got to weight a lot". Turns out that it would be about 1500 pounds by the time you add up the water, rock, stand, and equipment. Since drywall is soon to go up in the room right below where the tank is going, I figured now is the time make sure the joists were up to snuff. Turns out, they weren't. They are technically called 2x10s, but they were quite undersized (measuring 9" wide, rather than 9.5"). I checked the load rating for the lumber, and I just wasn't comfortable with it -- 1500 pounds on a 6 foot footprint over a 14 foot span is one heck of a load. The tank would not have fallen through the floor by any means, but I was worried about the long term effects, especially with the kitchen on the opposite side of the wall behind the tank.

 

Enter the flitch plates. For those that are unfamiliar with this idea, a "flitch beam" is basically a steel plate that is sandwiched between two joists, all bolted together. Since the joists are already in place, I just wanted the plates that I could sister them. Turns out there are a couple of shops in town that could make them quite easily. There are two of them, each 1/4" steel, 8" wide, and a little over 14 feet long.

 

Here they are after taking them off the car:

 

 

Hole pattern along their entire length:

 

What $95 bucks will get you in nuts, bolts, and washers:

 

And after pre-assembling them:

 

As it turns out, the new tank will parallel two joists evenly. The space between the two joists, however, is also used as an air return, and the plates had to be positioned within that void. In this one, I'm drilling out some of the holes (you can see the opne plate already bolted in place):

 

This is the end of the joists that rest on the foundation. There was actually (barely) enough room for our hands and arms to reach between the duct work and install every bolt along its length. The sheet metal hanging down is what covers the void between the joists to form the A/C return from upstairs.

 

This is the other end of the joists that are resting on the center I-beam of the house. Laying the plates flat, we slid the plates up and over the I-beam from the next room (there was just enough flex in the plate), and then stood it up vertically to mark/drill the holes:

 

The finished product, 4 hours later:

 

---

 

That's it for now. More to follow.

Matt

[jason the filter freak]

that looks great! how about some shots of the 125

[VicSkimmr]

Welcome!

[lanman]

And some pictures of the 55G..

 

Welcome to WAMAS.

 

We like pictures.

 

bob

[EBR]

Thanks! OK, here are some shots of the 55. They're from a few months ago, but still gives you the idea.

 

Full tank:

 

Left side:

 

Right side:

 

And some close-ups. I seem to really like this one -- I have as my desktop at work :-)

 

Notice the ricordia (which I had gotten from a fellow CMASer) -- it just spit out a bud.

 

And this shot is a bit older, but I still like it -- it was just after I got the toadstool:

 

 

 

 

Matt

[EBR]

Well, it's high time to catch up on this thread. For those that troll the CMAS board, some of this will look familiar -- from now on, I'll try my best to update them together.

 

So, let's begin back in January:

 

The deal I brokered last Spring has finally paid off, and it's now time to get serious about the 125g upgrade. To catch everyone up, I've had the 55gal (here) for two years or so, and have wanted to upgrade to something larger ever since my first tank tour. It took about a year to collect most of the pieces and parts I need (mostly second-hand to save some $$), but I've had almost everything for about 6 months, waiting for other house projects to be finished. Here are the big items I've got:

 

- 125g standard tank (thanks Isy)

- 30g NAGA sump that I won at the '05 Spring event (thanks Jeff)

- ASM G4 skimmer (special deal at MACNA '05)

- full set of T5 lighting (thanks, Johan)

- 2 Ehiem pumps (both new, one for return, one for closed loop/SCWD if needed)

- there is no separate fish room (I wish!), but I do have space for a barrel of pre-mixed water that is plumbed to the wall behind the tank. A drain is plumbed in as well, so water changes should be breeze.

- top off, timers, and other stuff

 

The first thing to do is build the stand. All of the store-bought stands I've seen are honestly just too short for my liking, so this one will sit at 40", giving plenty of height for cleaning the skimmer and other work. At the moment, photobucket is locking me out so I'll have to post pictures of the room later, but here is a rough sketch of the stand:

 

 

As with any other furniture project, drawing it out to scale is a huge help, as it gives a sense of the proportions, especially on the trim. The next draft will be closer to the finished product, I think.

 

The tank will sit against a wall with the left side viewable, although the main carcase (less the trim pieces) will be finished all around in case we ever want to move it. I drew the sketch as though it were free-standing, but the back side of it will need to be scribed to the wall. One strong request from my wife is to hide the plumbing from sump to tank as best as possible, so there will need to be some sort of filler piece between the stand and canopy. Any ideas?

 

Some other features:

 

- The corner "pillars" are for show only -- not at all structural.

 

- The front doors will actually be hatch-like, so they are completely removable.

 

- the left side will also be accessible, as most of the electronics will go there (balasts, timers, etc). This portion of the stand will be partitioned off from the rest, keeping it relatively dry and free of spray and moisture. On the left side of the front-left door will be one of those PC100 power strips to control everything else (pumps, skimmer, etc).

 

- I debated over the canopy design quite a bit, trying to choose one of two designs: a) a flip-top lid with the 5' T5 bulbs (it's a 6' tank) attached to the lid with access to the tank from the same opening, or b) an open top, with doors on the front of the canopy. My current thinking (and I ask for your opinions as to whether this will work) is to have a single door/hatch/opening on the front of the canopy, and then have the bulbs mounted to a separate tray that can slide in from the front. In the top-left portion of the sketch you see where this tray can then be suspended at various heights. The idea would be to adjust the height of the bulbs from the water as they are replaced and the tank acclimates. I'm not sure if it's more than I am bargaining for, so I appreciate any advice. Oh, and the canopy is tall enough for the Lumenarc reflectors in case I ever want to that route.

 

More to follow. Given the great weather, I spent today cleaning out the garage, so that I can at least REACH the table saw. One side done, and I hope that by tomorrow, I'll have enough room carved out to maneuver some plywood.

 

And now in March, without any progress:

 

My plan all along was to have the new tank stand/canopy built, finished, installed with all the plumbing/lights hooked up, and water flowing by "Spring-time", with the hopes of having something to show for tank-tour season. Here it is mid-March, and we've planned out from now through the summer, and between work and the kids' schedule of school and camps, I've accepted the fact that it just ain't gonna happen. Working on the plumbing and lights are really just a series of small jobs that can be tackled at night, but getting a large chunk of uninterrupted time (sans kids) on a weekend to build and finish the main cabinet and canopy the way I would want it is the tough part.

 

So, I've decided to alter course and buy a stand and canopy. I haven't really looked around yet, but know there are quite a few places/brands to choose from, and I thought I'd ask for some guidance and wisdom first (things to look for or avoid). Any place in the Balt/DC area is drivable, and I'd even think about TFP in PA if the deal is right. One of my motivations to building it in the first place was that I could have it a bit taller than I've normally seen -- somewhere close to 40". Doesn't HAVE to be that tall, but taller than the standard 32" would be good. The skimmer will need a MIN of 26-27" inside the cabinet. More internal height is better.

 

Thanks.

Matt

 

And on 4 April 2007:

 

Well, I was all set to go buy the darn thing (and thank you, everyone, for all your suggestions, both here and PMs -- I appreciate it). But then I went shopping, and saw that I couldn't get what I wanted for under $1200 to $1500 bucks. Without getting into details, suffice to say that that was beyond what I could manage right now. The biggest hold-up was having the time to build the basic carcase, figuring that the internal supports and outside trim could be done at night, an hour at a time. So I took this past Monday off, and made a lot of sawdust after all.

 

Here is the basic layout I'm planning for underneath the tank. Sump with skimmer and kalk on the right, with return and CL pumps in the middle (the return pump may end up in the sump, we'll see how it goes). The paper on the left represents an electrical compartment that will be separated from the "wet" area, and will have a door on the end for access. Ballasts, timers, etc will live there. Then there will be two DJ power strips accessible from the front.

 

Next, the raw material:

 

After some sawdust, the pieces for the front and back (hey! almost done!):

 

The back panel first:

 

And jump to the assembled carcase:

 

All joints are glued with biscuits, and then secured/clamped with pocket screws, which really helped a lot as I could assemble everything and not have to wait for the glue to set on the panels before assembling the panels together. While the plywood joints are all done with regular carpenter's wood glue, all seams and supports will be reinforced with solid wood and gorilla glue, and yet more stainless screws. Kilz or some other sealer throughout the inside. Next is a trip to the lumber yard for raw birch or fir to mill into the trim work.

 

Gotta love progress :-)

Matt

 

Fast forward to 7 July:

WAMAS: I'd like your thoughts about how to execute the move (see below :-)

 

Despite my best efforts, and no matter how much I complain about it, there still just 24 hours in a day. Be that as it may, I finally have some solid progress to report: the stand is done! The canopy is not as far along, but right now I'm focused on the plumbing before lighting:

 

the fine print: it needs a second coat of stain, a few coats of poly, and some doors. But that is fine. It's enough to get the thing in the house and the tank running with water!

 

Which brings me to a question: how to plan out the move. A few things to do along the way:

 

1. change over from crushed coral to sand

2. add a bunch of now-dead rock that has been in the basement (I intend to bleach/rinse/dry it out for a few days)

 

Right now I see two ways to go:

 

1. treat it as one big water change:

- partially fill the 125 with new water

- transfer contents of the 55 to the 125

- top off new tank with more new water

- let things settle for a week or so

- add sand and old, dead rock slowly (one piece every few days to avoid a huge cycle)

- re-scape everything when all of the rock is in

 

2. establish the new tank first:

- fill the 125 with old, dead rock, new sand, and new water

- let things cycle for a few weeks, seeding with some existing CC and/or a few existing piece of LR

- move the rest of the LR, corals, and fish to the new tank (re-scaping in one step)

 

What would you do? Perhaps something else altogether?

Thanks.

Matt

 

 

15 July 2007:

 

Here's tonight's progress shot -- all stained up with two coats of mahogany gel stain. I plan on adding a quick spit-coat of brown to tone down the red. Beyond that, two or three coats of satin poly. Oh, and the inside gets a couple coats of Kilz. Anyway, here you go:

 

 

Thanks.

Matt

[Carl]

Looks great!

 

I agree with you on the height...although it may be more difficult to reach the bottom of the tank with your arm... it certainly is more enjoyable (to me anyway) to look at a tank without having to bend over.

 

-Carl

[EBR]

Looks great!

 

I agree with you on the height...although it may be more difficult to reach the bottom of the tank with your arm... it certainly is more enjoyable (to me anyway) to look at a tank without having to bend over.

 

-Carl

 

Thanks, Carl. And yeah, I really like the height. I'm 6'2" and can reach the bottom of the tank, but only if I'm standing on a stool :-)

 

Anyway, more progress from this past Sunday:

 

Many thanks to Jeff/NAGA for helping me out and drilling the tank today! Unfortunately, I completely forgot to bring the camera, so no action shots. But I can report that it all went swimmingly. Lesson for the day: be sure to disengage the depth stop on the press if you expect the drill to go more than halfway through :-) Anyway:

 

First, the remnants:

 

A mighty-fine looking overflow:

 

The tank in place on the stand. I'm going to assemble all of the plumbing and leak test in the garage before bringing it into the house to finish the stain and top-coats:

 

And finally, what $75 bucks and 2 1/2 hours in Lowes' plumbing isle will get you:

 

Matt

 

 

And from just yesterday, having taken the day off:

 

I took the day off to get ahead on the tank. On the right is the overflow drain, on the left is the return from the Ehiem 1262. The return is split 3 ways: to the tank (up), to the house drain (left), and a future port for a possible gate valve to recirculate in case I ever need to cut the flow to the tank:

 

Another shot from the left showing the drain. I am honestly sooooo looking forward to a 10-minute water change by flipping a couple of valves :-)

 

Back side of the stand, testing the drain. Good thing, too, as I found a connection I missed when gluing it all up:

 

The SCWD:

 

I added a small plate to the back corners of the tank so that I could secure the return lines:

 

And finally the overflow (still needs a cap):

 

 

And to see it all in action:

 

Not bad for a good morning's work. After lunch, put another coat of stain on the back of the stand, and then finish up some plumbing inside the house (drain and RO/DI supply from the basement).

Matt

 

 

And from yesterday afternoon:

 

This afternoon was dominated by more plumbing -- but in the house, instead of the tank. Here is the 55g today. Not so bad, aside from the great big hole I put in the wall last Fall. The rough-in pipes are for FW, SW, and drain -- I've actually been using the SW supply since then (with a jury-rigged faucet). The new tank will stand in front of these spigots, hiding them nicely:

 

Same hole:

 

Now they all have the proper fittings, ready for hoses. And no, the last elbow on each is not glued in yet -- that will get done after the wall is patched ;-)

 

And the basement. The blue drum is RO/DI, the trash can is SW, and each line finds its way to the tank about 35 feet away, and upstairs. Again, the salt water has been plumbed for several months, but the FW hook-up is new:

 

Matt

Edited July 26, 2007 by EBR

[Antiguan]

Great job Matt, and thanks for sharing some great plumbing tips.

[EBR]

Thanks, I appreciate it. As for the plumbing ideas, I can call some of them my own, but most I borrowed from others ;-)

[flowerseller]

Hey matt,

Looking really good.

Love the stand and all the design.

[Alieu07]

Welcome a broad!!!

 

Very good job more pics

[jason the filter freak]

I like your tank and I love the stand a couple of words of caution. Those scwds are known to fail though they are also pretty easy to repair and mod. I think you should move it down a few inches where you'd be able to access it though the stand once that tank is up against the wall it will be impossible to get at.

[treesprite]

great work.

I want a house so bad, but it now occurs to me that if I ever have one, I would have to also be able to afford a huge tank and a tank plumbing master... what good is owning a house otherwise?

[EBR]

I like your tank and I love the stand a couple of words of caution. Those scwds are known to fail though they are also pretty easy to repair and mod. I think you should move it down a few inches where you'd be able to access it though the stand once that tank is up against the wall it will be impossible to get at.

Thanks for the kind words and advice -- I didn't know that. It'll be tough to lower the SCWD, but you've convinced me to add a couple of unions toward either end of the arms where they go over the edge of the tank. There is already a union below the SCWD. Thanks, Dude :-)

 

Matt

 

great work.

I want a house so bad, but it now occurs to me that if I ever have one, I would have to also be able to afford a huge tank and a tank plumbing master... what good is owning a house otherwise?

LOL. I might agree, but not out loud. I wouldn't want to tick off my wife :-)

Edited July 26, 2007 by EBR

[EBR]

The stand finally found its way into the house yesterday! I opted to complete the finishing inside where the air is controlled, rather than deal with the unpredictable weather and humidity outside. This stand is heavy as all-get-out, but with a neighbor and couple of 2x4s, it really went well:

 

I also got the first coat of Kilz on the inside last night:

 

Today, I finished the power side where all of the switch panels, timer, power strips, and a future AC controller will go. Test fitting the pieces:

 

 

 

Then a little bit of glues and a few screws:

 

And done:

 

 

Next is to put a finish coat of paint on the inside and a couple coats of satin poly on the outside.

 

Matt

[Antiguan]

These pictures really highlight the quality workmanship in the stand. Very nice job indeed. Is there a DIY book you can recommend for someone willing to tackle a similar project?

[lanman]

Don't forget a place in the box to mount your GFCI electrical outlet; and connect it to house wiring with liquid-tite flex conduit.

 

When I am building out the cabinetry for my 225-gallon system, I'll be referring to this thread.

 

bob

[EBR]

These pictures really highlight the quality workmanship in the stand. Very nice job indeed. Is there a DIY book you can recommend for someone willing to tackle a similar project?

Nice of you to say so -- thanks. As for a book, sorry, I don't know of one by title. There are a lot of books out there that I'm sure are good references, but honestly my go-to source is Fine Woodworking magazine. Some of the projects they feature are really high-end, but when it comes to cabinetry, it's still just a big box, and the basic construction techniques are the same. Just use quality materials, a good straight-edge, and a story stick over a tape measure whenever possible.

 

But the biggest factor is to just practice. If you're at all nervous about it, pick something with looser tolerances. A few years ago, I made a couple of roll-around carts out of the cheapest plywood HD had (not sheathing, but the next one up):

 

Same basic box, still using biscuits and screws and glue. And believe me, after making that many drawers, making dados and rabbets will be child's play (again, just a box :-)

 

Matt

 

 

Don't forget a place in the box to mount your GFCI electrical outlet; and connect it to house wiring with liquid-tite flex conduit.

Good call on the GFCI. I ran two dedicated lines from the circuit panel to the tank, and have the GFCI in hand -- thanks for the reminder to put it in! Yikes!

 

When I am building out the cabinetry for my 225-gallon system, I'll be referring to this thread.

bob

Thanks -- that's nice to know :-)

 

Matt

[Antiguan]

Nice of you to say so -- thanks. As for a book, sorry, I don't know of one by title. There are a lot of books out there that I'm sure are good references, but honestly my go-to source is Fine Woodworking magazine. Some of the projects they feature are really high-end, but when it comes to cabinetry, it's still just a big box, and the basic construction techniques are the same. Just use quality materials, a good straight-edge, and a story stick over a tape measure whenever possible.

 

But the biggest factor is to just practice. If you're at all nervous about it, pick something with looser tolerances. A few years ago, I made a couple of roll-around carts out of the cheapest plywood HD had (not sheathing, but the next one up):

 

Same basic box, still using biscuits and screws and glue. And believe me, after making that many drawers, making dados and rabbets will be child's play (again, just a box :-)

 

Matt

 

Thanks Matt.

[dandy7200]

Nice attention to the details Matt. Your 55 looks great too!

[EBR]

Made some progress today, mostly in the basement. The biggest job is applying the clear-coat. I had forgotten how much I dislike it, too. Mostly because I don't have a good place to do it, and am force to finish it in the kids' play room. I had also forgotten how much of a pest gravity can be when applying the poly on a vertical surface. What a colossal PITA. I final had to sand it down and lay the cabinet on its side for the final coat. Sheesh.

 

Anyway, here it is from last night with one coat of poly (not that I expect anyone to tell from this photo) and primer on the inside. The last coat inside will be plain white door paint. I thought about marine paint, but $40 bucks a quart is pretty steep. Anyway:

 

Also finished the electrical to the basement water vats. These lines run to the tank's switch panel to control the pumps for the FW and SW delivery:

 

Testing the FW delivery -- no more bucket brigrade! Woo Hoo!

 

Also ran cat-6 behind the tank for a future AC controller:

 

And finally, the plumbing for the drain. Beneath the tank (pipe runs to the left):

 

Comes in from the right and turns right:

 

And connects to an existing line for a future bathroom:

 

 

That's enough for today. I'm off now to go see Transformers :-)

Matt

[EBR]

Today's agenda: Refinish the front of the stand, paint the inside of the cabinet with the door paint, and move the 55g aquarium to the other side of the room to make way for the 125g. Also took the opportunity to finally get rid of the very last of that gosh-darn-it (replace with your own expletive) crushed coral substrate. I so cannot even imagine being in this hobby 20 years ago when under gravel filters were the rage. Yuck.

 

Anyway, I didn't want to fight gravity again for the for the final coat of polyurethane:

 

There were some ripples left in yesterday's coat -- not a lot, but enough to show when viewed at the right angle. And not the entire face -- just the main field around the door openings, base, and skirt -- here you can still some remnant ripples after sanding the top layer a bit. The final coat will even it all out very nicely:

 

And just for the record, here are the finishes used:

 

And now the move. Here is the room with all of the other furniture out of the way:

 

And all of the contents:

 

Getting close. The fish might be getting nervous here:

 

Remember that crushed coral? Here's what it was trapping in there:

 

And finally ready to push it across the room. The one remaining rock has a bunch of brittle stars that I didn't want to disturb too much:

 

Now THIS is a bucket brigade! New SW delivered out of the new in-wall nozzle and into the bucket, then a maxi-jet to pump it into the tank (wish I had that 10' hose I procrastinated about getting:

 

Some pissed-off corals immediately after the move:

 

 

 

After a few hours, the water is clearing up:

 

Left:

 

Middle:

 

Right:

 

And finally painted the inside of the cabinet (no photo of that). Man, that stuff stinks!

 

Matt

[EBR]

Tonight's chore was to add one last extra coat of polyurethane on the hand rail -- I figured that with all the drips and spills and drinks that will sit there, it will need the extra protection. Wrestling it into place:

 

Trying to get a good size comparison with the 55g:

 

And it's final place of rest:

 

Matt

[davelin315]

Matt, that stand is just awesome. I have to admit I was a bit confused when I saw the first part of the last post and was wondering how the stand went from being so awesome to so... blah. Then I saw that that was just the other tank. Fantastic work, can't wait to see what the inside looks like with how great the outside looks!