29 gal build with pictures@

[dhogan]

Intro

 

I am building a 29 gal with a sump, and I plan to focus on SPS. Basically I will be maintaining this thread with updates whenever possible, and I'll have a similar thread at ReefCentral too.

 

 

Drilling Overflow

 

I did not take pictures of my tank before I drilled it for an overflow, and I didn't take pictures of that process either. Basically I used a dremel bit and

 

plenty of water to get a nice cut.

 

Here is the first picture of the overflow cut

 

 

You may notice that part of the corner is chipped, that was my fault when trying to remove some silicon using a razor blade. I will fix this before I

 

silicone the overflow box on.

 

 

Drilling the Overflow Box

 

I ordered custom cut glass from a glass shop (Circle Glass in Fairfax - no complaints) they didn't have the right drill size for the bulkhead I'd be using, so I figured I'd use the dremel. Well when buying rock from a club member (Thanks David), he let me borrow his bit.

 

 

I then hooked it up to my drill press...

 

 

Used some plumber's putty, filled it up with water:

 

 

I set the drill press to a very low speed, and then I slowly lowered the bit.

 

 

Rinse and repeat

 

 

Testing and it all fit

 

 

Gluing the Overflow Box

 

I got all my pieces together and grabbed a scrap piece of pergo for a work surface (since it's flat and smooth)

 

 

 

Tape it all together

 

 

The silicone I used (except in clear)

 

\

 

 

And finally I glued it together

 

 

 

I am now waiting for it to dry, and then glue it on to the tank.

Edited August 13, 2007 by dhogan

[jason the filter freak]

What ever image socket is makes your thread slower than death to load, good to see some one doing quality diy work though!

 

What kind of glue did you use? Not just the silicone right? By itself I don't think it's going to give you nearly the bond strenght you'd like to have in your situation

 

Also here's something to consider

I warn people all the time about using GE silicone. The tube I used did not have any indication on the label that it had the mold inhibitor in it, but my aquarium quickly let me know that it did. I lost a lot of corals/fish/snails because I wanted to save $2 on a tube of silicone.

 

It's not worth it in my book, but I guess I can't stop you.

Edited May 25, 2007 by jason the filter freak

[funnyguy911]

great work I have a 29 and always wanted to do the same maybe next time what are the plans for stand and canopy I am in the process of making a stand now, I will be keeping tabs on this thread....

[dhogan]

What ever image socket is makes your thread slower than death to load, good to see some one doing quality diy work though!

I'm going to change the host when I get a chance, just been busy. I just got back from a trip, and will continue tank work tomorrow.

 

 

What kind of glue did you use? Not just the silicone right? By itself I don't think it's going to give you nearly the bond strenght you'd like to have in your situation

I am just using the silicone, it will be strong enough. The bond between silicone and glass is very strong, so there shouldn't be any other issues.

 

As far as the mildew inhibitor, from what I've read that is when using GE Silicone II, I am using silicone I.

 

 

 

great work I have a 29 and always wanted to do the same maybe next time what are the plans for stand and canopy I am in the process of making a stand now, I will be keeping tabs on this thread....

I haven't come up with concrete plans, just some stuff in my head right now. The stand will probably be maple with a very dark stain. It will be a full stand, and even hide the overflow box, pipes in the back. At least that's how I have invisioned it so far. I will post updates as they come in.

[funnyguy911]

I was thinking about the same, almost like the canopy and stand is connected from the back to hide all the equipment. I made the canopy long time ago and decided not to mess with, the stand I also wanted to stain I bought ebony stain not to long ago the only problem the canopy is painted black, so I might have to sand it down to stain both of them alot of work ahead........

[dhogan]

Moved pics to a different server, since imagesocket was slow. Also will have minor updates later today.

[dhogan]

Gluing the Overflow box on the Tank

 

Okay, now that I've let the overflow box sit for a couple days, it is dry. This thing is very strong, I have no worries about it falling apart, even with the weight of pipe hanging from it. Next step is to glue it on, I do worry about the overflow box hanging on the tank, I will have to test its strength once it fully dries.

 

And of course some pictures of the process...

 

In the first post I showed a part that I cracked when attempting to remove some silicone...

 

 

So the first thing I did was fix this issue, I decided that I would post some pictures of this since I didn't post them of the original overflow cut out.

 

The tools used:

 

 

Removing more of the plastic edge to allow the overflow box to fit flushly:

 

 

All cut, came out very nicely:

 

 

 

And finally, after cleaning off the tank I placed the overflow box on top. Put a clamp on very gently, just enough to make sure it didn't move. Then I glued it, and now it's drying.

 

[jason the filter freak]

Well one thing is for sure, your craftsman ship is super! Sorry about the silicone comment I thought maybe you made the overflow box out of acrylic. but I was too busy looking at the great pics, to obviously realize it was glass. Great job! I'm tagging along to see how this comes out.

[lletellier]

nice work... I wish I were as handy

[Sugar Magnolia]

Nice work! Tagging along to see the finished product.

[dschflier]

That looks great. I am glad to see the bit worked well for you. I have always kept the drill on a high speed. Did you find the slow speed worked better for you? Did you get any small chips at the break through point or was it completely clean? I really like the overflow idea. How much did the glass pieces cost?

[dhogan]

That looks great. I am glad to see the bit worked well for you. I have always kept the drill on a high speed. Did you find the slow speed worked better for you? Did you get any small chips at the break through point or was it completely clean? I really like the overflow idea. How much did the glass pieces cost?

I don't really have anything to compare the speed to so I'm not sure. My understanding is that glass should be drilled with a slower speed, especially since faster speeds increase heat. The cut was not competely clean, but good enough for the bulkhead. The glass cost $20, great price in my opinion. Thanks again for the bit, I'll have to get it back to you soon.

[dhogan]

I can't decide on my lighting. MH or T5. What are your guys thoughts?

 

Originally i was going to go with two of these: http://www.hellolights.com/index.asp?PageA...amp;strCompare=

 

But now I'm wondering if I should go with MH.

[jason the filter freak]

Due to heat on your size system I'd have to back the T5 side

[dhogan]

Due to heat on your size system I'd have to back the T5 side

Well I ordered my T5s earlier today.

[dhogan]

Leak Test and Paint Prep

 

I've been really busy lately, and I just got my wisdom teetho out, so that's why I haven't updated in a while. Hope you guys aren't too upset about that.

 

Today I leak tested the overflow box, everything looks good.

 

 

No leaks from the overflow box, it is very strong, I don't expect to have any problems with it down the road. I'm very happy how it came out.

 

Then I taped up the tank to prepare to paint the back black.

 

 

Here is the paint I'll be using:

 

 

I wasn't able to paint it, because the weather wasn't vey good. I initially started outside, but then some clouds came so I decided to put it off until tomorrow. I made a good decision since it started raining.

[jason the filter freak]

Keep up with the good work, I've since layed off my own DIY project due to lack of interest. But I like how yours is progressing

[dhogan]

Tank Cracks!

 

So the tank cracked after the second coat of paint, I went back out for the third and there was a big line in it. A guy on RC mentioned that but cutting out a square overflow I created a stress point and it woudl probably crack, well sure enough, it did. So I had to start over...

 

New Overflow Cutout Design

 

 

 

I also decided to buidl my overflow piping.

 

Created this using my table saw:

 

 

And this too:

 

 

Many of you have asked how I was going to keep things out of my overflow box.

 

Easy... using some black acrylic and this jig for making drawers

 

 

And this router with bit:

 

 

Finished Product

 

 

Stand Building

 

Today I started the stand, great progress pictures or step-by-step since I want to get this thing built and have water in it.

 

Here are the two sides drying:

 

 

And here's the front frame drying:

 

 

 

 

Your thoughts?

As of right now the doors are going to be a little too long, it will probably look weird. So I have two options, (1) a fake drawer or (2) a real drawer. What do you think? Opinions? Thanks!

Edited June 10, 2007 by dhogan

[fry_school101]

Sweet work! Keep going with the pics! You can never have too many.

 

I'm curious why you decided to notch the top of the tank instead of drilling holes (even small ones) across the top. My guess is that you are trying to prevent the overflow part from being seen, but maybe the holes wouldn't crack as easily as you could add several and space them out a bit.

 

I'd still give notching extra points for the coolness factor

[dhogan]

Edit: Fixed one of the img URLs above.

 

 

 

I'm curious why you decided to notch the top of the tank instead of drilling holes (even small ones) across the top. My guess is that you are trying to prevent the overflow part from being seen, but maybe the holes wouldn't crack as easily as you could add several and space them out a bit.

Well first off, I did not have a small glass cutting bit. The other big reason is because the dremel tool is extremely slow to cut! It took probably at least an hour, if not more to just cut out what I did. I never really thought about drilling holes, just thought this was the best way to do it. Small holes might restrict the flow too much.

[bigJPDC]

Nice panels - that's the way to go! Bummer about the cracked glass.

 

jp

[jason the filter freak]

Mannnnn I wish i had a router! I'm envious of your tools shop, also quite tired. I vote real drawer for the stand, it'll come in handy, you could also just make a slide out leaf for a work area. SOrry to hear about the the crack, it happened to me too on my project. Congrats on the progress, keep it going

[dhogan]

Mannnnn I wish i had a router! I'm envious of your tools shop, also quite tired. I vote real drawer for the stand, it'll come in handy, you could also just make a slide out leaf for a work area. SOrry to hear about the the crack, it happened to me too on my project. Congrats on the progress, keep it going

I wish it was my shop, it's my dads, he has been helping me with some of the woodworking. The shop is pretty nice, as you can see it is a real mess right now. My dad has at least 4 routers, you can see the other plunge router in another picture, not sure why he needs all of them....

 

As for the crack, oh well! The only thing that sucked was having to spend another ~$50 for the tank.

 

Right now I am leaning for a real drawer, it will be a nice place to hold some items such as food and other stuff. I just need to make sure I have room for my ACJr. and electrical!

 

-Dale

[dhogan]

Stand Building Continued

 

So today I did the next step, glued together the fronts and sides, and now it is drying.

 

 

Also completed the doors:

 

 

Hope to finish base up tomorrow.

[dhogan]

Stand Building cont.

Okay I got a good amount of work done. Built the shelves and platform that the tank and sump will sit on. Also built the feet, and added the trim to cover the black AGA trim...

 

Only two pictures...

 

The feet - notice that this shelf is lower than the frame, in a normal cabinet I wouldn't want a lip, but I'm going to caulk the corners so that any water that spills will just sit inside, instead of leaking to the floor.

 

 

And the trim drying, once it dries i will show you a picture of it with the tank sitting.

 

Edited June 18, 2007 by dhogan