600G - 10ft Kahuna Starfire Build
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- Thread starter Thebrinc
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KPhilly
Community Member
Awesome build! One of the best things I found while reading through this thread is the amount of inspiration you've given everyone! DIY is possible, the chance of someone breaking a tank is no greater than the chance of them building one and it lasting 10+ years! If you had advice to someone building a tank, what would it be? Currently gathering plans to build my 200 gallon tank which isn't as big as your tank, but still quite the size! Building your tank is so much more rewarding I could imagine!
slicko
Active Member
hey matey nice setup! to answer your question regarding the silicone bubble issue you keep having it is silicone charteristic. it is very hard to find a good silicone that doesnt do this after it drys 24-48hrs due to the pockets of air/contaminant from manufacturing.
Supurderek
Active Member
Amazing! That is some crazy amount of diy.
OP
OP
Thebrinc
Community Member
Thanks for the kind words! I'm really happy with how things are coming along 
@KPhilly : Good luck with the 200G build, should be a good project! As far as advice goes... I'd say:
- Don't skimp on glass thickness. 1/2" will only give you piece of mind up to 24" tall. Although I'm not having any issues, it is my main concern and prohibits me from using any of my wave devices, out of paranoia no doubt. Also, the steel bracing cost more than just paying for thicker glass would have. Although I like the look of it.
- Also, use the right silicone and enough of it. Adhesive, not sealant. I ordered more silicone 4 or 5 times, ended up using over 30 tubes or something, although I did rebuild the initial seals so it could have been less.
- Investing in suction cups to maneuver the glass was a REALLY good buy.
- Build sturdy wooden jigs to hold the panels in place and do a full dry-run without silicone to make sure everything fits and is straight. One of my 10ft panels ended up not being right angled which I assumed it was. Measure the panels yourself as the manufacturing process has some tolerance at the glass shop.
- Don't clamp the panels in such a way that they are prohibited from contracting with the silicone as it cures. I think this led to some of my bigger bubbles, but I might be wrong. I would loosen the corner clamps after 24hrs... my seams only started to cure and contract internally after multiple days.
- I really benefited from using spacers to make sure the seams weren't too tight. On both my 100g and this build I had to pull everything apart and restart because one of the seams had all the silicone squeezed out of it. That being said, if your jigs are spaced right and you are conscious of the pressure you're applying to the joints when gluing you should be fine.
- Build in the garage if possible. I built my tank "in place" which always puts a rush on things because it's your living space which you share with others that might not think 37 clamps on the living room floor looks awesome.
Don't rush it, and remember that you're doing it because you want to, so have fun.
All that to say, anything's possible if you have the right tools and do a lot of research.
@KPhilly : Good luck with the 200G build, should be a good project! As far as advice goes... I'd say:
- Don't skimp on glass thickness. 1/2" will only give you piece of mind up to 24" tall. Although I'm not having any issues, it is my main concern and prohibits me from using any of my wave devices, out of paranoia no doubt. Also, the steel bracing cost more than just paying for thicker glass would have. Although I like the look of it.
- Also, use the right silicone and enough of it. Adhesive, not sealant. I ordered more silicone 4 or 5 times, ended up using over 30 tubes or something, although I did rebuild the initial seals so it could have been less.
- Investing in suction cups to maneuver the glass was a REALLY good buy.
- Build sturdy wooden jigs to hold the panels in place and do a full dry-run without silicone to make sure everything fits and is straight. One of my 10ft panels ended up not being right angled which I assumed it was. Measure the panels yourself as the manufacturing process has some tolerance at the glass shop.
- Don't clamp the panels in such a way that they are prohibited from contracting with the silicone as it cures. I think this led to some of my bigger bubbles, but I might be wrong. I would loosen the corner clamps after 24hrs... my seams only started to cure and contract internally after multiple days.
- I really benefited from using spacers to make sure the seams weren't too tight. On both my 100g and this build I had to pull everything apart and restart because one of the seams had all the silicone squeezed out of it. That being said, if your jigs are spaced right and you are conscious of the pressure you're applying to the joints when gluing you should be fine.
- Build in the garage if possible. I built my tank "in place" which always puts a rush on things because it's your living space which you share with others that might not think 37 clamps on the living room floor looks awesome.
Don't rush it, and remember that you're doing it because you want to, so have fun.
All that to say, anything's possible if you have the right tools and do a lot of research.
OP
OP
Thebrinc
Community Member
Minor update time!
Sump's doing well in the crawl space & I finally got the skimmer dialed. A little hard when the sump's out of sight. To make it more difficult I've enclosed the sump in insulation material to keep it warm in winter so I can't even see the water level at a glance. I'll setup a closed circuit TV system of sorts and display it under the tank so I can keep an eye on things...
All and all it's going really well and my last week's sump visits have all been uneventful
I've made some good headway on finishing the stand and have the shelves and apex mounted:
Now we finally have some space for AV equipment and mr. Fenner's book ;p
All the new fish are still in QT, have had a bit of an velvet issue but doing well after 4 weeks of Cupramine despite a little bit of HLLE in the Regal tang. I'm feeding selcon and trying to keep the water quality as good as possible for the time being... soon enough he'll have the stress free environment he needs!
Sump's doing well in the crawl space & I finally got the skimmer dialed. A little hard when the sump's out of sight. To make it more difficult I've enclosed the sump in insulation material to keep it warm in winter so I can't even see the water level at a glance. I'll setup a closed circuit TV system of sorts and display it under the tank so I can keep an eye on things...
All and all it's going really well and my last week's sump visits have all been uneventful
I've made some good headway on finishing the stand and have the shelves and apex mounted:
Now we finally have some space for AV equipment and mr. Fenner's book ;p
All the new fish are still in QT, have had a bit of an velvet issue but doing well after 4 weeks of Cupramine despite a little bit of HLLE in the Regal tang. I'm feeding selcon and trying to keep the water quality as good as possible for the time being... soon enough he'll have the stress free environment he needs!
brownsalt92
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That tank is beautiful keep up the good work!! I can't wait to see the amount of coral you will put In There?! I hope you are doing that
Reefdad68
Active Member
Fantastic build you have there!! I was wondering what you used for spacers and how long did you leave in place before you removed to allow the silicone to cure completely. thank you any advice would be appreciated. looking at a 300 build in the wall very soon.
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Looking great!
OP
OP
Thebrinc
Community Member
The tank is 1/2" all round with a LOT of 1/2" eurobracing top & bottom giving the side panels a full inch of glass to adhere to at the bottom as the base floats inside the side panels... if that makes sense.
Tank is doing really great! I've gotten all my current livestock in there now & everyone's doing awesome. Naso tang has doubled in size and the anthias are eating like crazy. The quarantine tank was a little much for one of the anthias who started turning male around the end & is still turning. I'll have to keep a close eye on him. I hope he grabs a couple of females and sets up shop on the opposite side of thr tank... or there will be war.
Hard to believe but the added bio load was a little abrupt I think as I'm having crazy algae issues right now... all a part of the maturing process I know, but 10ft of sandbed is a lot to siphon & rinse!
I've built an algae scrubber & am trying to build a better cheato growing area which should also help.
The rest of my time's been spent on the fish room. Setting up ATO barrels and tweaking the plumbing. Also tried a deep sand bed in my sump but the flow was too high in there & ended up with a snow storm in the tank Stay tuned for photos on Monday when I want to sit in front of my pc!
Tank is doing really great! I've gotten all my current livestock in there now & everyone's doing awesome. Naso tang has doubled in size and the anthias are eating like crazy. The quarantine tank was a little much for one of the anthias who started turning male around the end & is still turning. I'll have to keep a close eye on him. I hope he grabs a couple of females and sets up shop on the opposite side of thr tank... or there will be war.
Hard to believe but the added bio load was a little abrupt I think as I'm having crazy algae issues right now... all a part of the maturing process I know, but 10ft of sandbed is a lot to siphon & rinse!
I've built an algae scrubber & am trying to build a better cheato growing area which should also help.
The rest of my time's been spent on the fish room. Setting up ATO barrels and tweaking the plumbing. Also tried a deep sand bed in my sump but the flow was too high in there & ended up with a snow storm in the tank
Stay tuned for photos on Monday when I want to sit in front of my pc!
OP
OP
Thebrinc
Community Member
@ Justin D : Apologies, just checked my inbox... no messages in there.
As far as spacers are concerned I cut a black zip tie into 1/8" pieces and super-glued them to the panels as follows: (If memory serves)
- Bottom panel got 3 on each 10ft side and 2 on each short side. So total of 10 on the bottom panel. I left these in because the euro-braced bottom panel gives 1" of adhesion footprint so losing a little 1/8" x 1/2" spot doesn't really matter.
- Then the only other place I used spacers were at the very top of the 3x3ft side panels. These I put right at the top of the panel sticking out a little so I could pull them out after the silicone dried.
You can see one of the bottom panel spacers in this pic: (the height of the little black square in the photo, top to bottom, is 1/8" and left to right is the width that the zip-tie comes at. Think it's like 1/2")
Just be careful not to over clamp the panels in specific points as glass does bend and you don't want a warped panel when all's said & done.
I would clamp over the spacers only to be sure you don't push the silicone out of the joints...
As far as spacers are concerned I cut a black zip tie into 1/8" pieces and super-glued them to the panels as follows: (If memory serves)
- Bottom panel got 3 on each 10ft side and 2 on each short side. So total of 10 on the bottom panel. I left these in because the euro-braced bottom panel gives 1" of adhesion footprint so losing a little 1/8" x 1/2" spot doesn't really matter.
- Then the only other place I used spacers were at the very top of the 3x3ft side panels. These I put right at the top of the panel sticking out a little so I could pull them out after the silicone dried.
You can see one of the bottom panel spacers in this pic: (the height of the little black square in the photo, top to bottom, is 1/8" and left to right is the width that the zip-tie comes at. Think it's like 1/2")
Just be careful not to over clamp the panels in specific points as glass does bend and you don't want a warped panel when all's said & done.
I would clamp over the spacers only to be sure you don't push the silicone out of the joints...
ScottMyers123
Active Member
Sir you are one brave soul. Your tank looks amazing, will be following to see your progress.
