Jon and Maureen’s 350g Tank: The Reef Awakens

[Incredible Corals]

Tagging along for this one.  Your tank is going to be sweet!!!

[Jon Lazar]

[roni]

Man, that looks great!  How long did the assembly take?

[Jon Lazar]

Man, that looks great!  How long did the assembly take?

 

Maybe four or five hours?  Now that I'm familiar with the different fasteners and the assembly techniques, I could do it much faster.

 

Although the parts came with a schematic, there were no step by step instructions.  That made it a lot harder because all the little pieces had to prepositioned before I put the bigger pieces together.  Makes for re-work if you miss a step.

 

So far I'm happy.  The pieces fit together well and were mostly self-aligning.  Everything appears square and flat.

[Jon Lazar]

I've managed to get a bunch of tank stuff done this week:

 

 

I added the outlet on the left and fished the wire.  This is a dedicated 20 amp circuit for the lights and closed loop pumps.

 

I also cut through the floor for the pipes that run into the basement.  There will be three 1.5" and one 1".

 

 

 

This is the birch plywood top to the stand.  I cut oversized circles with an inch of clearance so I can get a grip on the bulkhead nuts.  I'm almost done with polyurethaning the second side, then I'll move it out of the workshop and into the basement where the temperature is warmer.  This will help the polyurethane cure.

 

 

 

I decided to make a circle-cutting jig for my trim router to make the bulkhead holes in the plywood.  It took a while to put together, but the jig made cutting nice holes so much easier.

 

[Jon Lazar]

I also used some scrap acrylic to make a prototype internal overflow box for the four 40-gallon tanks in the basement tank room.  The piece in the foreground is the lid, upside down.  The three posts on the overflow box snap tightly into the groove.  

 

This design has a few things I wanted but I couldn't find in commercial overflows.  I wanted a smooth weir without teeth.  I wanted a lid that fits snug and can't fall off and block the outlet.  And I wanted the lid to be oversized, so that it casts a shadow and resists algae growth.

 

The overflow uses a low profile 1.5" bulkhead.  I plan to feed the tank with about 150gph, and I'm hoping a single oversized bulkhead will drain ok without much gurgle.  If it's too noisy I'll think about adding an external box and additional plumbing.  But I'd like to avoid it.

 

[roni]

looking good.    you using a rectangular hole in the floor that fits a register for the piping? 

[Jon Lazar]

looking good.    you using a rectangular hole in the floor that fits a register for the piping? 

 

Exactly.  Usually I "measure twice, cut once."  When it's a huge hole in your hardwood floors, it's "measure about twenty times, say a few prayers, cut once."

[Jon Lazar]

Finished the plywood top.  Too bad there's going to be an aquarium on top of it, because it turned out nice.

 

I also ran the pipes for the drains and the return through the floor.  They run horizontally about 10' from the hole in the floor to the ceiling of the basement tank room.  I plan to make the connections at both ends with flexible PVC.

 

I also drilled one of the 40 gallon breeder tanks in the basement tank rack, and test drove the prototype overflow box with some spare pumps and plumbing.  It gurgles more than I like, so I need to think up something different.  That's why this is a prototype, right?

 

[pizzaguy]

That stand is very sweet

[YHSublime]

Wow, this is coming together great!

[WilRams]

Could you show how your leveling feet are attached? Did you get the uprights end tapped and leveling feet threaded in or are using baseplates to attatch them?

 

I contacted 80/20 once to give me a spec for the strength of end tapping but they could not give me an answer.

[Scubaguy]

WOW! Just seeing this thread..Nice build!!

 

I want to see this one in person. when you are ready for visitors.

 

Richie

[Jon Lazar]

That stand is very sweet

 

Wow, this is coming together great!

 

WOW! Just seeing this thread..Nice build!!

 

I want to see this one in person. when you are ready for visitors.

 

Richie

 

 

Thanks!  It is exciting to be making progress again.  We were actually talking about an open house at some point.  The club organized a tank crawl a few years ago and it was fun to go around and see peoples' tanks.

Edited January 7, 2017 by Jon Lazar

[Jon Lazar]

Could you show how your leveling feet are attached? Did you get the uprights end tapped and leveling feet threaded in or are using baseplates to attatch them?

 

I contacted 80/20 once to give me a spec for the strength of end tapping but they could not give me an answer.

 

I used the "2183 Large Base Glides" for this build.  The upright posts are tapped and the feet are threaded.  The assembly came with a jam nut to snugly hold the bolt in place once you set it to the proper length.  I added a stainless steel washer to prevent the jam nut or my wrench from digging into the post when I go to snug it up.

 

The whole thing is pretty heavy duty.  8020 rates each foot at 4000 lbs.  I don't know how they calculate or test that, but each foot is bearing about 500lbs in my case.  I'm satisfied with a safety factor of 8x.  I think it would take a crazy amount of weight to shear off the threads inside the post and allow the post to settle.

 

Here's a close up of the foot assembly with the jam nut both down and up.

 

 

[Jon Lazar]

Got things moving again this weekend and drilled the back wall of the tank for the two closed loop intakes.  The glass is 0.75" thick and I didn't want to rush, so each hole took about 40 minutes of drilling.  Good think I have lots of batteries for my cordless drill.

 

 

 

To recap, I'm using a 2" heavy duty, short bulkhead with a street ell on the outside so I can put the tank as close to the wall as possible.  The 2" pipe will feed a Vectra L1 under the stand.  The Vectra discharge side will have 1.5" plumbing and pass up from the stand into the tank through the pre-existing holes.  Plumbing under the sandbed will run to the front of the tank where I'll have nozzles coming out of the sandbed.  The nozzles will be at the front of the tank, point back and up at the rockwork.  One of these closed loops will be on the left, and the other on the right.

 

First I built a drill template jig.  I routered the hole to the correct size with the acrylic router jig from a few posts above.  The jig clamps to the eurobrace and makes sure I drill each hole at the same height up the back wall of the tank.  The jig also keeps the drill straight.  

 

 

 

Then I built a second jig to mount on the back of the tank and prevent chipping when the drill bit breaks through.

 

 

 

 

Then I set up a recirculating powerhead to keep the bit cool and wash away the grit.

 

 

 

Then I drilled and drilled and drilled.

 

 

 

 

[pizzaguy]

Looks awesome

[monkiboy]

a great effort. thanks for the share.

 

why did you end up deciding on a closed loop?

 

how will you access the intake bulkheads for maintenance or repair? do you have measures in place so when they leak and you're not home half the tank's water (~based on intake location) doesn't create a catastrophe?

 

you went serious on the jig and indoor drilling of the tank; very thoughtful process to execute as a one-man job!

[sethsolomon]

Make sure the 15 series 80/20 posts are square.   Since your not using corner braces I would be a bit worried about buckling under the ~3200-~3500 Lbs of that tank.

[Jon Lazar]

why did you end up deciding on a closed loop?

 

Good question.  I spent a long time going back and forth between a closed loop and in-tank pumps like Vortechs or Gyres.  I always try to strike a sensible balance between form and function.  In this case I weighted form more heavily.

 

My number one factor was noise level.  The tank is within arm's reach of our dining room table, and I'd like the tank to be silent.  I've always found the Vortechs loud; even the quiet drives.  My thought is a Vertex is awfully quiet to start with, and it's tucked away in the stand where any noise is muffled.  I can add additional soundproofing around the pump if I really need to.

 

I also like that the closed loop is out of sight.  In-tank powerheads are much less visible these days, but fewer cords and powerheads are important to me.  Less cleaning and maintenance, too.

 

 

do you have measures in place so when they leak and you're not home half the tank's water (~based on intake location) doesn't create a catastrophe?

 

I agree that a closed loop, with the extra bulkheads and plumbing, increases the number of failure modes and the overall risk of a catastrophic flood.  I've got a few features to help mitigate that risk.

 

- I'm going to fill and carefully leak check the tank and closed loop before adding complications like sand and rock.

 

- I'm using heavy duty schedule 80 PVC bulkheads and valves.  I've had too many of the cheap ABS bulkheads crack from overtightening or from bumping into them.  The PVC bulkheads are rock solid.  This will help prevent leaks.

 

- The base of the stand will be waterproof, will hold 20-30 gallons, and will have a leak detector connected to the Apex.  This will detect and contain minor leaks.

 

- The stand will have a drain that flows into the Beananimal emergency pipe via a wye fitting.  So if there's a major leak under the tank, the water will have a path to flow into the basement tank room safely.

 

 

how will you access the intake bulkheads for maintenance or repair?

 

If I need to work on the intake bulkheads (on the back panel), I'll use a separate pump to temporarily drain the display into a 150g rubbermade stock tank.  I'll use this technique for other aquarium tasks too, like lowering the water level to securly glue tricky corals, or making it easier to catch problem fish.

 

The much bigger problem is if I need to work on the bulkheads in the bottom of the tank.  That would require completely draining the tank, clearing away the sand in the corners, and accessing the in-the-sandbed closed loop plumbing that runs under the rockwork.  So I'm going to be very, very careful that these bulkheads are completely watertight from the start.  However, these holes were already there from the previous owner, so I'd have to install bulkheads regardless of whether I went with a closed loop or not.

 

 

[monkiboy]

thanks for taking the time to reply with such detail. g'luck with the design and system!

[Jon Lazar]

Make sure the 15 series 80/20 posts are square.   Since your not using corner braces I would be a bit worried about buckling under the ~3200-~3500 Lbs of that tank.

 

I used a big framing square to check that the corners are all square.  I still have to fiddle with the assembly to make sure it's perfectly flat on top.  And I have to adjust the leveling feet to make the stand level.  Both of those steps are on the checklist. 

 

Good catch about corner braces.  I know you can't see it in the previous pictures, but actually there are already corner braces to help prevent racking in both directions (left/right and front/back).  I placed the braces along the back of the stand so they don't block the door openings which will be on the front and the sides of the stand.  Also the stand will be skinned, which will add a little extra stability.

 

 

[sethsolomon]

I used a big framing square to check that the corners are all square. I still have to fiddle with the assembly to make sure it's perfectly flat on top. And I have to adjust the leveling feet to make the stand level. Both of those steps are on the checklist.

 

Good catch about corner braces. I know you can't see it in the previous pictures, but actually there are already corner braces to help prevent racking in both directions (left/right and front/back). I placed the braces along the back of the stand so they don't block the door openings which will be on the front and the sides of the stand. Also the stand will be skinned, which will add a little extra stability.

 

 

Ahh ok. Yah I was pondering making a stand for tanks but I always was thinking I would need 20s for a tank stand. And that stuff is crazy expensive.

 

Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk

[Jon Lazar]

Ahh ok. Yah I was pondering making a stand for tanks but I always was thinking I would need 20s for a tank stand. And that stuff is crazy expensive.

 

My stand called for 1530 for the top frame of two beams and 4 stringers.  These are the parts directly under the tank and need to support it without sagging.

 

The 8 vertical posts are regular 1515.  The whole bottom frame is made of lighter 1515L because they bear no load.  Their only purpose is to keep the vertical posts stable. 

 

The price for 80/20 was only slightly higher than the quotes I got for a steel stand once I factored in adjustable feet, gussets, powdercoating, and delivery.  Plus a steel stand is heavy and bulky, making it harder to maneuver into and through the house.  It's pretty easy for just one of us to move the aluminum stand around.  I'm not knocking steel stands: they have a long history of success.  But aluminum was a good fit for me.

[Jon Lazar]

I ordered a bunch of flex PVC in different sizes, and yesterday the delivery guy dropped this shrink-wrapped roll of pipe onto the front stoop.

 

The long horizontal runs of pipe that cut across the house are normal rigid PVC.  I'm using the flex PVC to make long, sweeping curves on both ends of the horizontal runs.  One curve will go up to the ghost overflow.  The other curve will go from the basement ceiling down into the sump.  

 

I chose flex PVC instead of ells and 45 connectors to reduce flow loss from friction, reduce vibration sounds, and make some difficult connections easier.  (I'll actually use more flexible "ultra-flex" PVC where I need the larger 1.5" and 2" pipe.)

 

I was kind of surprised the pipe didn't come in a box or anything, but the pipe arrived in good condition.  (The packaging is rumpled because I unwrapped it before I took the picture.)  One step closer!