The 220 Upgrade

[Mathew0]

I added some new labels to make this concept easier to understand. I'm also thinking that 12 inch water height might not leave enough room for power outage, so might go a bit smaller on those.

 

[themcnertney]

Could be wrong, but by the time you get to your return pump, there isnt a whole lot of water height there. Doesn't leave much room for error. Maybe increase the height to 8" from 6" ?

I think I would eliminate the "Other Filtration", put filter floss on in the dump area from the drains. Then you can move your skimmer over and increase the Micro Algae and live rock area.

Where will you be dumping ATO ?

 

[Mathew0]

Here's a nice full tank shot

 

[Gumbies R Us]

Here's a nice full tank shot

Looking good!

 

[Mathew0]

and here it is together.

 

[Mathew0]

I have been looking at commercial big tanks, and it seems that every tank over 150 gal has 2 overfows.
Do I need a 2nd overflow box on this 220?
Thoughts?

 

[Mathew0]

This is the piece that will be going from the 125 to the 220

I will point out that any elbows will reduce flow. Also, Eshopps doesn't say whether that 1000 gph is with all 3 holes fully open, or with 1 kept as an emergency.
Another point about this on the 125, I have the 1st hole just open and the gate valve fully open, and it's still using the 2nd drain as a partial siphon.

 

[Mathew0]

Welcome back everyone!
Today we will be talking about building the stand.
I got a bunch of lumber from a guy tearing down his deck. This stuff has been outside, exposed (as decks often are) for about 5 years. As such, I am quite confident that if were going to bend/warp/bow, it would have by now.
I got several lengths of 2x10 (1.75x9.5), 2 of them over 7 foot. The long timbers will run the length of the tank. I don't need to build out of 2x10, that's just crazy. I made a long extended fence on the table saw and ripped them down to 2x4s. Turns out that when ripping long pieces like this, it releases tension inside the timber that allows it to pull somewhat as it finds a new equilibrium. So, I did have to trim them back to square after cutting them in half.
Here's a nice shot of my current woodshop. It's not much, I'm hoping to upgrade somewhat in the near future.

When you're cutting your pieces down to size, it's often useful to stress test the boards, especially long ones. You never know what unseen defects could be hiding in the middle. To this, I simply lifted one end several feet above my head while holding the other end, and let it swing down onto the driveway. You can see here why that is a good idea, at least for anything bearing a load:

That knot went all the way thru and was surrounded by a glob of pitch. Glad that wasn't holding up 3k lbs of water when it gave way!! It happened to the other half of that 2x10 as well. Luckily I also had an 8 ft 2x8 that I was able to rip down. Just like that, I had 4 long pieces to span the length of the tank.
Next, I got to work on then ends. For the legs, I am using full 2x10's, why not right! I chopped them all down to 37-38 inches, then I squared them all up at exactly 36", the final height of the stand. That done, I chopped, and squared up the pieces that will connect the front and back parts to make it a box. Going from front to back legs, I needed 13" 2x4's (4 of these); and going from back to front on the long spans, 20.5" 2x4's (4 as well).
To connect the front and back legs, I didn't want to have a huge gap where the boards would overlap. So, I set to cutting a half lap in the 13"s at 4 inches in from each end. To do this, I set the table saw blade height to 1/2 the thickness of the 2x4 and the fence at 4 inches. Then I just ran the boards thru several times to get a comb-like result, and broke out the 'teeth'. Then I ran the boards back and forth over the blade perpendicular to the blade to get a nice smooth finish. I then used those as my template for cutting out the lap in the legs.
Now this was a far more complicated cut. On the legs, I couldn't do a traditional half lap. I didnt wan to go all the way thru from one side of the board to the other. After baking my noodle on how to do this on the table and/or chop saw, I remembered that I have a router. I worked up a jig with some scrap pieces and some clamps to route out the chunk that would accept the half lap'd braces. The router's foot needs something to set on to get the correct depth or you'll just give yourself a huge headache.

The last thing to do for the legs was to get them ready for the long 2x4 that will span the length of the tank. I want to give as much support for those as I can. I copied the technique used by fellow reefer Nickz. I traced out the end of each long 2x4, then notched out that exact measurement from the outside corners of the legs, top and bottom. This is what the final legs look like:

The next step is to get this box frame together. After that, I will fit the upright supports; 2 in the back and 1 in the front. They will all be 2x10; why not, less work. The front to back braces will need to go in. I may have to add a couple on the bottom to support the sump if it ends up sitting on just the plywood.
I will be putting a piece of plywood on the inside bottom to support the sump and anything else that will go in there. I will also be putting a piece of plywood on the top to support the tank and to make it look more finished, it is going to be a piece of furniture in the living room, after all.
Finally, I will be using plywood for the doors and sides, for a more finished look, after I ceruse them.
More pictures to follow as I move this along.

PS: it was dang hot in my shop this week, hence the umbrella. Hopefully I can get it cooled off in there as work progresses

 

[Mathew0]

So here is the completed skeleton prior to glueup

And here it is after glueup

I siliconed all the seams and installed the inside walls and floor of the electrical side

And then I got started on the doors. They are 1/2" baltic birch plywood with a nice strip of pine for the edge banding. Here they are prior to glueup.

I glued everything, sanded it all flush, went crazy on it with a wire brush to raise the grain and give it a distressed look. Then I went over it with 2 coats of white paint/primer and rubbed in black glaze once it was dried. Then I sanded it down until both the black and white show for a look called 'cerused'

Once those were done, I did basically the same thing with the side panels. I did those is cheap, basic 1/2" pine plywood you can get from the Home Depot, Lowes, Menards, etc.

I used 1/4 round to smooth out the top edge and bring it out over the doors.

Then I painted the whole thing in 2 coats of rubberized waterproof paint (Flex Seal in this case).

Finally, I drilled and mortised out the doors and frame for hinges and hung the doors.

 

[Mathew0]

I wanted to be able to see inside the sump and side cabinet when I'm working in there. I got these for a nice LED strip on each side. They are not waterproof, so I'm going to put them inside a 1/2" vinyl tube and silicone the ends.

They'll automatically turn on when the doors open and off when they close.

 

[Mathew0]

I got this 1/4 round T-track rail from tnutz.com
It comes in black anodized, but it's about twice the price of the clear anodized. So, I bought the clear and spray painted black, then I sealed it with some spay poly.

This will span the tank from left to right, attached to the frame of the stand (I added some extra 2x4 for it), and be adjustable as far as how high it will stand above the tank. The Hydra 64 will be mounted in the middle and there will be 2 Prime 16s on either side. This way I don't have to bother with cutouts in the screen top for the light mounts.

 

[Mathew0]

I siliconed in the glass separators for the sump. There will be stiff, coarse mesh for between the fuge and the returns called Aquamesh. I'll cut it a hair over size and press fit it in place.
I've decided to add a 2nd overflow. I will also be running 2 returns for ease of plumbing and for a backup should 1 fail.

 

[Mathew0]

I took some time out on Saturday to drill the 2nd overflow. I thought my wife and I could just flip the tank on its face, and I'd drill the back vertically like I usually do. That did not pan out. It was OK moving it around when I had the handles and the tank was sitting on pallets. So, instead, we managed to rotate it so the back is facing into the room, and I drilled it horizontally. It worked out all right. It's hard on the shoulder holding the drill up and putting pressure the amount of time it takes to drill glass that thick.
The Shadow overflow is on there. It looks pretty good. Much bigger than the Eclipse. I feel pretty good about it. Now I have the adventure of getting the plumbing together.