Coral Hind November 28, 2012 Share November 28, 2012 I normally don't do build threads but several members who have moved out of the area have asked me to so they can follow it, here it goes. On September 25th I placed an order for a custom made arcylic tank that is 96" x 48" x 30". The tank will sit in the garage and be viewable from the basement. I have always been more of a fish lover than a coral guy and I really wanted a tank to house some large fish like rays, sharks, and our large 10" Vlamingii tang that we have had for about six years.I originally had a 210g on one side of the wall and a rack of eight frag and QT tanks in the garage. I moved everything from my 210g into a rubbermaid tub and started the tear down. After the tear down I started to price up steel stands or wood and steel H beams. Then I decided to go wood only since my dad owns a saw mill, that means free wood!! So I took a road trip to WV to get the lumber for the project. I picked out some nice ten footers of 4" x 4" and 4" x 6" red oak timbers. These babies were heavy!!Here is the wall opening and construction of the stand being started. I had to move some electrical around but now I have two circuits feeding the new tank. I am keeping the 75g you see here as a QT for the new system.Here is the completed stand made of 4" x 4" legs supporting three 4" x 6" beams. The original stud wall had additional 2" x 4" studs added to it and a top plate added, that supports the front edge of the tank. On top I placed a 3/4" sheet of plywood with a sheet of 1/2" insulation on top of that. Because I have helped moved tanks for people and there were problems with the insulation sliding around I decided to glue the insulation onto the plywood with Super 77 spray glue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coral Hind November 28, 2012 Author Share November 28, 2012 I plan to have a 150g Rubbermaid sump with my existing ASM G-6X skimmer in it. The return pump will be a new Reeflo Dart. I love my Water Blaster 10000 but I didn't think it had the flow I needed so I am moving to the bigger pump. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryan S November 28, 2012 Share November 28, 2012 Wahoo! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay November 28, 2012 Share November 28, 2012 Awesome Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ridetheducati November 28, 2012 Share November 28, 2012 Monster build. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Incredible Corals November 29, 2012 Share November 29, 2012 Yes!!!! Can't wait to follow this! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
epleeds November 29, 2012 Share November 29, 2012 holy &*^&*%. Who is making that tank? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zoozilla November 29, 2012 Share November 29, 2012 Finally :clap: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roni November 29, 2012 Share November 29, 2012 This is going to be amazing! Still going to do corals with the big fish? Any idea of a stock list? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
collegeman November 29, 2012 Share November 29, 2012 Wow, this is going to be great!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coral Hind November 29, 2012 Author Share November 29, 2012 This is going to be amazing! Still going to do corals with the big fish? Any idea of a stock list? No corals are planned, just a fish only system.I currently have the following in the 150g tub or 75g QT. Most of these fish are rescue fish and not all are perfect looking but that adds to their character:Vlamingii TangYellow Tang x 2Niger TriggerPicasso TriggerMelanurus WrasseSnowflake EelBlack Ribbon EelOn the look out for the following to add but would like to find fish needing a bigger tank or new home instead of a fresh wild caught one:SharksRays holy &*^&*%. Who is making that tank? Tank was ordered from a guy in FL and it arrives tomorrow between noon and 1pm. The price was right on with Adam's Artfully Acrylic but the club's orders have him pretty booked and I wanted this tank quickly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chad November 29, 2012 Share November 29, 2012 Very cool. I'm looking forward to both this one and when you cover that swimming pool and turn it into a shark tank Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
surf&turf November 29, 2012 Share November 29, 2012 Awesome David, thanks for sharing!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
countryboy November 29, 2012 Share November 29, 2012 WOW! What a build! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L8 2 RISE November 29, 2012 Share November 29, 2012 Awesome!!! Add a Polleni Grouper too! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flooddc November 29, 2012 Share November 29, 2012 WOWW! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ToddR November 29, 2012 Share November 29, 2012 Awesome build. Can't wait to see it with fish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fry_school101 November 29, 2012 Share November 29, 2012 Following too! Loved your old tanks and can't wait to see this one up and running. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fishie November 29, 2012 Share November 29, 2012 Wow...wow...Lmk if u need any assistance with moving anything around Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
STEVE November 29, 2012 Share November 29, 2012 Following along........ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MBVette November 29, 2012 Share November 29, 2012 Dave this is going to be an awesome tank. Let me know if you need any help setting it up or just moving things around. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Der ABT November 29, 2012 Share November 29, 2012 VERY nice, i was hoping yuo would do this, wood looks great and sounds like you could go swimming too. Is it glass or acrylic? Very cool idea with the rescue fish, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coral Hind November 29, 2012 Author Share November 29, 2012 Is it glass or acrylic? It is acrylic, 3/4" thichness, no built in overflows to provide more swimming space. I went with acrylic as it is 50% lighter than glass, insulates 20% better than glass, which helps since it is located in the garage, seams are welded so less likely to leak with age like glass, and the high transparency like low iron glass but without the cost. Since I will not be doing a full SPS reef I can limit lighting some to hopefully reduce algae build up on the tank walls which might prevent some scratches during cleaning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amuze November 29, 2012 Share November 29, 2012 Awesome build. Hit me up before you head out to WV again. I'll drive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ridetheducati November 29, 2012 Share November 29, 2012 It is acrylic, 3/4" thichness, no built in overflows to provide more swimming space. I went with acrylic as it is 50% lighter than glass, insulates 20% better than glass, which helps since it is located in the garage, seams are welded so less likely to leak with age like glass, and the high transparency like low iron glass but without the cost. Since I will not be doing a full SPS reef I can limit lighting some to hopefully reduce algae build up on the tank walls which might prevent some scratches during cleaning. Will this be your first acrylic tank? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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