RobW's 280 Gallon Build

RobW · Mar 29, 2019

72 long x 24 deep x 36 high

RobW · Mar 29, 2019

Well, got off work a little early today. So I came home and sanded down the inside of the stand and got a coat of kilz on there. So now off to lowes to get some more plywood for the outside finish part.

RobW · Mar 30, 2019

Got the top deck on for where the tank sits. Working on wrapping the sides right now.

RobW · Mar 30, 2019

So I started getting the outside of the tank stand wrapped in the 3/4" plywood. Puttied up a bunch of screw holes. Tomorrow I will take care of the bottoms and the uprights. Then it will be more putty and sanding and priming then putty sand and prime again till it's ready for finish paint. Hopefully I'm not boring all of you with all this monotonous work. Lol

Caravanshaka · Mar 30, 2019

not boring at all. It's nice to see someone spending so much time getting the stand exactly right. It's amazing what the right tools and patience can accomplish! Well done so far and looking forward to seeing the stand done! BTW, I think you have convinced me to get a big planer. I have a handheld one and it's pretty worthless, lol.

RobW · Mar 31, 2019

Caravanshaka said:
not boring at all. It's nice to see someone spending so much time getting the stand exactly right. It's amazing what the right tools and patience can accomplish! Well done so far and looking forward to seeing the stand done! BTW, I think you have convinced me to get a big planer. I have a handheld one and it's pretty worthless, lol.

Thank you sir! I've had that porter cable one for about a year now. It was 270 on Amazon. Does boards up to 13" wide and up to 6" thick. Replacement blades for them are like 30.00 but they are double sided. So when they get dull you just flip them over. I'm still on the first side.

RobW · Mar 31, 2019

Caravanshaka said:
not boring at all. It's nice to see someone spending so much time getting the stand exactly right. It's amazing what the right tools and patience can accomplish! Well done so far and looking forward to seeing the stand done! BTW, I think you have convinced me to get a big planer. I have a handheld one and it's pretty worthless, lol.

I have a handheld one to for just some little stuff if need be. Its handy if you have a guide edge for it so you stay square.

RobW · Mar 31, 2019

Sitting down right now and making a list of all the stuff to order for the first round. Bashsea Signature Series 60" x 15" x 16" Sump. A 16" shadow overflow box. Sch. 80 PVC fittings, gate valves, etc. Stuff adds up real fast! Once this portion of the wall unit is finished I also need to order all the glass panels and pieces for the euro-bracing. I kind of need to assemble the tank before I build the rest of the left hand chase cabinet that runs up to the canopy. Just in case the measurements of the glass are not exact. Thank God for my friend in the glass business. Saving me thousands on my actual tank! Which is really nice because I can use that towards better gear for the system. Another nice thing... between what I had in my wood rack and what I had to buy to get this far on the build, I'm only out of pocket 215.00 right now. Planning is key! You can spend stupid money, stupid fast if you're just winging it without a good laid plan. I can hold my own when it comes to engineering some stuff and putting things together. I'm a master electrician, my father is a general contractor/high end custom home builder and his brother owns a millwork/cabinet/custom furniture shop. Fortunately for me I grew up doing all these kinds of things. On the other hand... when it comes to stock the tank, taking care of everything, etc. I will be relying on you seasoned pros to guide me back into this hobby that I have been out of for so long.

4ddiction · Mar 31, 2019

Great carpentry skills! Loving the build so far!

RobW · Mar 31, 2019

4ddiction said:
Great carpentry skills! Loving the build so far!

Thank you!

FernandesReef · Mar 31, 2019

Great build, your work work is top class man.
The time and effort you are putting in now will pay off
Keep up the good work and the pics!

hatfielj · Mar 31, 2019

Looking good! Do you do carpentry for a living? Or is this just a hobby?

RobW · Mar 31, 2019

hatfielj said:
Looking good! Do you do carpentry for a living? Or is this just a hobby?

Just a hobby. I'm just an electrician. I like anything that takes some thinking and mechanical ability. I like to create things with my own hands. Is it easier to run out and buy something? Of course it is. Where is the fun in that? I have always been this way since a little kid. I would always see my dad working and admired the time he spent to do things the right way. He is 65 years old and is still out there working everyday. He has taught me a lot of things over the years. Hopefully I am doing him proud. Now my dad's brother... that man is an insane woodworker! He has a huge mill work shop. He has all these CNC routers, mouldings machines, prehung door machines, etc. Lumber shows up in his shop still looking like trees and he mills all kinds of stuff out of them.

hatfielj · Mar 31, 2019

Well that’s certainly admirable. I have a little bit of that drive in me too but I’ve never taken up carpentry. Currently obsessed with cooking lol

RobW · Mar 31, 2019

hatfielj said:
Well that’s certainly admirable. I have a little bit of that drive in me too but I’ve never taken up carpentry. Currently obsessed with cooking lol

I love to cook too! I also like building cars, engines, racing motorcycles. I'm sure you've seen my bike sitting in the background of some of my pictures.

RobW · Mar 31, 2019

This is the same bike that is in the background of some of my build pictures. I had a mishap through a turn though at about 100 mph. Had to fix the bike so now it is the red you see in the pictures. I do all my own paint jobs as well.

hatfielj · Mar 31, 2019

Dang, now I feel inadequate, lol! Impressive stuff

hatfielj · Mar 31, 2019

Dang, now I feel inadequate, lol! Impressive stuff

hatfielj · Mar 31, 2019

Dang, now I feel inadequate, lol! Impressive stuff

hatfielj · Mar 31, 2019

Dang, now I feel inadequate, lol! Impressive stuff

RobW · Mar 31, 2019

Well, I'm sad to say that I did not get to do any work on the stand today. Family stuff the first part of the day and then my old man called wondering if I wanted to do a brake job on his truck. Sure! Nothing better than turning wrenches and spending a little time with my dad. Twas a good day.

crusso1993 · Mar 31, 2019

RobW said:
Well, I'm sad to say that I did not get to do any work on the stand today. Family stuff the first part of the day and then my old man called wondering if I wanted to do a brake job on his truck. Sure! Nothing better than turning wrenches and spending a little time with my dad. Twas a good day.

Time well spent!

Caravanshaka · Mar 31, 2019

RobW said:
Well, I'm sad to say that I did not get to do any work on the stand today. Family stuff the first part of the day and then my old man called wondering if I wanted to do a brake job on his truck. Sure! Nothing better than turning wrenches and spending a little time with my dad. Twas a good day.

Agreed! Went to visit my dad with my family over Christmas and spent a good amount of time wrenching on his Dakota that he was fixing up for my nephew. I grew up working on cars with him and we have a ‘55 Chevy truck that we did a lot of work together on that he is going to finish after the Dakota is working well. Unfortunately it’s now a 12 hour drive to get to him, so I was extremely happy to spend part of my Christmas vacation there doing some suspension troubleshooting with him.
I’d put my tank progression on pause anytime to work on cars with him!