Will It Ever Be Done?... My 180 Build

[Big D]

I'm in the process of building a 180... I've posted on our local Atlanta ARC site, but would love some feedback from everyone here as well... Here is a link to my post on our site, I'd really like to try and only have to update one thread with the pics, if it doesn't work, I'll mirror the post here...


http://www.atlantareefclub.org/forum...ead.php?t=1463


Thanks in advance for any comments, feedback, or criticism...



David

[partobe]

Thats really nice! Cute doggie as well!

[dobejazz]

Very Nice ! that is going to be sweet when you are done

[pastina]

big tank! def gonna look great when its done

[harman]

Very nice, I like the bar around the top its very different , will the canopy have the same theme with the columns and bolsters?

[Big D]

Thanks everyone for the replies... Been busy today filling and sanding, I'll try to round up some more batteries for the camera and get some pics posted...

Originally Posted by harman

Very nice, I like the bar around the top its very different , will the canopy have the same theme with the columns and bolsters?

Harman... Thanks, that is the plan, not sure if it's going to work out or not... The canopy that's on it now came with it when I bought it, it will be up for sale, should fit any 6 foot long tank-it's just a little too modern to go with the stand... My biggest challenge will be the front lift and keeping the columns lined up... I'd like to come up with something that lifted the whole canopy up for feeding and servicing...


David

[110galreef]

Looks very nice indeed.

Just need to do the rest of the updates here thought!

[not_sponsored]

Rails and a counterweight on the back wall would be a cool hood lift, might be hard to disguise though.

[Big D]

Allright, I know it's a pain going to the other site so let's see if I can easily copy the original post over to here... Here goes:

---

I really wanted to start this about 10 days ago when I started the project, but it has been eating up all my time!!! I'll post everything I've got to date, everyone please throw out your comments, concerns, ideas or criticism as it will probably help me out in the long run...

Alright, to start off, I bought a 6 month old 180gal RR AGA and a nice diy stand from Mark on TRT 2 weeks ago... The stand is sturdy, it's made of furniture grade ply but lacked doors... After talking my wife into letting me move the china cabinet out of the formal dining room and putting the tank in there, I realized the stand needed a face lift to better suite the decor... So far that is pretty much all I have been working on for the last 10 days!!! My plans are to get water in this thing by the 31st, not sure if that's going to happen or not... I've got 530lbs of rock in a stock tub in the basement that's been down there for a month and a half now, however, it came out of a tank that had been up for years, so it didn't have to cycle(didn't have much growth on it, It's got more now than when I got it). I'll go over the list of equipment here shortly after I get some pics up...


Here's how it looked when I got it from Mark...





Here I started securing all the facing boards on the stand...






Started to add the Advantec flooring...






Flooring is installed and completely sealed...





I've got more coming, I know it doesn't look like much in these pics...



David

[Big D]

OK... Day 2 of the build, still not alot of visual progress, just ruining a perfectly good looking stand... Sorry Mark, I'm sure you put quite a few hours into it... I finished resecuring the face boards, added a top bar support rail, and started to reface the stand... It is refaced in solid hardwood bead or planking...


Finished securing face boards






Added top bar support rail, there will be a 4 to 5 inch wide bar platform around the tank






Started refacing





Right side refaced






Still more to come...


David

[Big D]

Alright, a little more VP going here... I finished refacing the whole stand... I actually faced over alot of the openings for the doors and then used my router with a 1/4" flush trim with a bearing to cut it back down and give a smooth edge... I also started on the columns on the right side of the stand...


Refacing complete





Started RT side column





Front shot





Stay tuned... It gets better, I promise...



David

[Big D]

Alright... I had to take a 3 day break from the project-gotta work sometime Luckily it's only 3 days a week!!! Well, I added the rest of the columns and started to trim out the right ones by adding top bolsters... Also put a piece of scrap crown on the right side to see how things will look when the bar top is added...


Added Lt columns





Trimmed out bolsters on topside of RT columns





Another Angle





Idea of what the bar top will look like




So now you see why I ask "Will It Ever Be Done"?!!!!

One Day...


David (still more to come)

[Big D]

Alright, now were pretty much caught up... Made alot of progress yesterday, trimed out almost everything and got the bar cut and biscuited together... Forgot to mention a few days ago, also cut a 72" x 25" piece of Advanted and put it under the tank itself... This stand has got to weigh a ton by now...

Left column trim out





Starting to take shape






Looking better





The Supervisor...





Making the bar top





Another angle




Alomst all of the trim work is done... Just need someone to come and fill holes and sand her down, any volunteers?...



Oh well...


David

[Big D]

OK... That brings up to date... The glue on the bar has dried and it is solid, gotta love biscuit joints!!! Time to start filling holes, sanding down, pick a stain color, paint the inside (going to use a new Behr bathroom and kitchen product-it dries hard as nails)... Then I've got to stain it, stain again, poly and poly, then onto the plumbing... Not to mention I still have to build a canopy and get all my lighting together, I'm thinking of going all T5's... Lots of work still!!! Oh, and I've got to work tomorrow, so it will stop for another 3 days


Bar top assembled but not attached yet






Another angle... Sorry the camera died before I could get some front shots




Alright... Back to work I go... Hope someone enjoys looking at these, please feel free to criticise or comment on it... Any ideas would be greatly appreciatted as well...



David

[Big D]

Ok... Looks like that was alot easier than I thought it would be... Thanks to everyone that has replied, I'm going to try to get some pics up here in a few... Not alot of visual progress though, been a long day of filling and sanding... Tried to talk my wife into painting the inside for me but then I found out I picked up the wrong paint-maybe tomorrow...



David