building a tank?

[OneDummHikk]

Originally Posted by icthos

This is my first post. I'm planning on setting up a 20 - 40 gallon reef tank in about 8-10 months, and have been lurking for a month or so as i'm planning, but figured i'd post since i might have something to contribute to the discussion.

if i'm remembering correctly, you'll be looking for a marine grade epoxy paint to seal the wood part of the aquarium. it's a two part mixture, and one of the parts is a hardener. mix it up and apply it. look for plywood wooden boat supply links like duckworks.com. if i remember right (and i might not be), you should be able to get enough epoxy for an aquarium that size for under $100, maybe under $50

One thing you need to be sure of is that the epoxy paint you use is reef safe. A lot of the epoxy paints for saltwater application aren't reef safe. When you compare that 100 dollars for the epoxy to the cost of lining the tank with plexi-glass or even plate glass, and add in the risks of killing your tank, it isn't worth it to me. The only reason I prefer the thought of using plexi-glass instead of plate glass is the ease of working with it. A lot easier to cut plastic than it is glass.

[icthos]

just did some looking, now that i have a minute.

http://www.athiel.com/lib6/tank.htm has some info on plywood/glass/epoxy aquariums that they say have lasted almost 20 years. they recommend getting the epoxy paint at a pool supply store.

[OneDummHikk]

Originally Posted by icthos

just did some looking, now that i have a minute.

http://www.athiel.com/lib6/tank.htm has some info on plywood/glass/epoxy aquariums that they say have lasted almost 20 years. they recommend getting the epoxy paint at a pool supply store.

I priced pool paint today, 100 bucks a gallon. Yikes!

[fish.freak]

Originally Posted by OneDummHikk

One thing you need to be sure of is that the epoxy paint you use is reef safe. A lot of the epoxy paints for saltwater application aren't reef safe. When you compare that 100 dollars for the epoxy to the cost of lining the tank with plexi-glass or even plate glass, and add in the risks of killing your tank, it isn't worth it to me. The only reason I prefer the thought of using plexi-glass instead of plate glass is the ease of working with it. A lot easier to cut plastic than it is glass.

my boss built a 4x8 frag tank with black epoxy it looks and works great. http://www.pnwmas.org/forums/showthread.php?t=3988

[OneDummHikk]

Originally Posted by fish.freak

my boss built a 4x8 frag tank with black epoxy it looks and works great. http://www.pnwmas.org/forums/showthread.php?t=3988

Nice. Any idea what kind of epoxy he used?

[AquaGrizzly]

GARF shows you how to make a plywood tank.

[fish.freak]

Originally Posted by OneDummHikk

Nice. Any idea what kind of epoxy he used?

Have to check.

[Gilraen Took]

I've got a lighting question and a flow question. Would you guys go with a 150 watt or a 70 watt mh fixture? I figure that some of my stuff(green shrooms and some of the lps) would rather have some lower light, but that since I've got one sps that the higher would be better. Plus if I did ever decide to go with a second sps(like maybe a birds nest instead of the tree coral) I wouldn't need to upgrade. What would I need to do to get my lower light corals used to the extra light?

I think, also, that instead of the back wall for the chaeto that I'll end up attempting to make a small sump. That way I don't need to worry about cleaning that little spot in the back. Assuming I can figure out how to make the sump. Still working on that. But how do I know how much flow to have/if I've got enough? Seems like a simple question, but I know it has way too many answers :P I WAS going to get a few powerheads from petsmart, but with that nasty stuff about their animal vendors along with the apparent policy change(the one here refuses to pricematch anymore )
I think I'll wait to see what you guys say.

[Gilraen Took]

*Bump*

I have a STAND! W00t! And it was only $10 <_< >_> <_< One of the department stores is closing down and selling their fixtures. I got a 2x2' table from them for the stand. It's about 1.5" thick wood and quite solid. My boyfriend and I(combined weight around. . . 320?) both sat on it and bounced and it didn't make so much as a creak. Turned it over and it had metal triangle thingies reinforcing the corners(at least at the bottom, didn't look at the top) I don't have pics yet, I'm picking it up on Tuesday. Didn't have my truck with me last night.

Anyway, without looking at it, yet. Is there some good way to tell if it'll be able to get a hole punched in a side for the sump? It's solid wood all the way around, with no bottom. Or do I need to put pics up first to be able to tell?

[OneDummHikk]

Originally Posted by Gilraen Took

*Bump*

I have a STAND! W00t! And it was only $10 <_< >_> <_< One of the department stores is closing down and selling their fixtures. I got a 2x2' table from them for the stand. It's about 1.5" thick wood and quite solid. My boyfriend and I(combined weight around. . . 320?) both sat on it and bounced and it didn't make so much as a creak. Turned it over and it had metal triangle thingies reinforcing the corners(at least at the bottom, didn't look at the top) I don't have pics yet, I'm picking it up on Tuesday. Didn't have my truck with me last night.

Anyway, without looking at it, yet. Is there some good way to tell if it'll be able to get a hole punched in a side for the sump? It's solid wood all the way around, with no bottom. Or do I need to put pics up first to be able to tell?

Congratulations on the stand. Without seeing pictures, and knowing what you are wanting to do, it is hard to tell whether it could be drilled or not. Best guess is that you can. The hole you put in it isn't going to be that structurally damaging. As long as you stay away from the edges and you don't drill through a brace.

[fish.freak]

if its real wood drill it

[Gilraen Took]

Whoops. By "drill" I mean" cut half of a side out". So I could have the sump under it. I'll get the pics on Tuesday and post them.

[OneDummHikk]

Originally Posted by Gilraen Took

Whoops. By "drill" I mean" cut half of a side out". So I could have the sump under it. I'll get the pics on Tuesday and post them.

99% of the weight of a tank sits on the corners of the tank. So, 99% of the tank weight is going to sit on the corners of your stand. As long as you don't cut a corner of the stand or any bracing of the stand, you will be fine cutting it.

[Gilraen Took]

Does anyone have any good links to sites that show how to do a sump/the overflows for it with pictures? I can seem to find a few with big articles, but nothing that shows me what I'd be doing along with it. . .

And I've got the pics of the stand. Yay! Doesn't look great, but I'm sure I can figure out some way to cover it. Do I just cut most of one side out? How far away from the corners do I need to stay with it?

[OneDummHikk]

Take the metal legs off of it. Cut a 2x4 that will go in each corner as "legs" inside the stand. Turn them so that the "front" of it has the 1 1/2" side of the 2x4 and the sides of the stand have the 3 1/2" side of the 2x4. Then don't ever cut the 2x4's when making the "door" or drilling holes. Without the 2x4 legs in it, the corners of it will come apart from the downward pressure on them. The front will want to bow to the front, the sides will want to bow to the side and the result will be the joint coming apart because they are 45 joints. Adding the legs removes the pressure from the joint and puts it on the 2x4. It changes the sides from support to looks

As for a sump/plumbing, I don't think you will find pictures of exactly what you are doing. Can you post some more ideas/drawings of what you have in mind? Plumbing wise you would basically just have two pipes coming from the top to the bottom, return and supply. The sump itself would just be dependent on the size of your stand.