Reefkeeper's 75 Gallon Build

37124 Views 151 Replies 17 Participants Last post by fsureefer, Sep 19, 2011

reefkeeperSR

Discussion Starter · Jun 9, 2011

10

TRT,

Recently broke ground on my 75 gallon reef tank build and figured I would get a thread rolling. My current set up is a 72 bowfront seen below. I aquired the tank and stand about a year ago and recently made the decision to upgrade to a new 75 gallon tank, and build a custom stand.

This is an older picture of the tank after about 4 months or so...

Started working on the new stand about two weeks ago with a good friend. Began with cutting and assembling the top and bottom frames using all 2x4's and a 2x6 for the top front beam.

Bottom assembled.

Top assembled

Following with getting the legs cut and put together using an L shaped design with 2x4.

Test fitting.

Then cut the two pieces to completed the front two legs using 2x6's.

Drilled the pocket holes and fastened the frame together.

Frame all put together.

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reefkeeperSR

Discussion Starter · #2 · Jun 9, 2011

5

Next was to begin working on the shelving. Started by cutting blocks and drilling the pocket holes. These will be used to fasten the shelves to.

Then the plywood was cut to size and the shelves were test fit.

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Japonicus

· #3 · Jun 9, 2011

I like your shelves. Are you going to support the front centre at all?
600# on a stand limits little bumps, leaning on, or accidental slip
trip n fall. My 90g broke diagonally top L corner to bottom R corner
and the stand it was on, over the years, sagged a little in the centre.
And this was an industrial stainless steel, welded stand.
I'd had the tank for probably 13 yrs. What a mess that was. Still need
new carpet in that bedroom.

njasmin

· #4 · Jun 9, 2011

Looks f*in solid!!!! Nicely done, great craftsmanship!

reefkeeperSR

Discussion Starter · #5 · Jun 9, 2011

Japonicus said:
I like your shelves. Are you going to support the front centre at all?
600# on a stand limits little bumps, leaning on, or accidental slip
trip n fall. My 90g broke diagonally top L corner to bottom R corner
and the stand it was on, over the years, sagged a little in the centre.
And this was an industrial stainless steel, welded stand.
I'd had the tank for probably 13 yrs. What a mess that was. Still need
new carpet in that bedroom.

Thanks, I am not going to be using any bracing on the front, that was the theory of using the 2x6 up front to channel the load to each corner.

njasmin said:
Looks f*in solid!!!! Nicely done, great craftsmanship!

Thanks! mad props has to go to my good buddy for providing the knowledge, tools and experience.

Nate_Bro

· #6 · Jun 9, 2011

I can't get over how much we over build our stands haha, but bigger is better right!

looks great so far

reefkeeperSR

Discussion Starter · #7 · Jun 9, 2011

Tank has arrived!

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Japonicus

· #8 · Jun 9, 2011

As nice as your 72 Bow looks, I'm sure this one will be sweet too!
Your rock looks nice n clean

reefkeeperSR

Discussion Starter · #9 · Jun 10, 2011

3

Managed to get the top and bottom plywood sections cut out, fastened and routed to be flush with the frame. In addition the shelves have been secured to their mounting points.

Ended up having to remove one of the cross braces on the top and just center one on account of the overflow...Didn't compensate for where the bulkheads would be till the tank arrived.

Drilled shallow pocket holes for the shelving.

Got the top on and secured, along with sealing up the bottom seams with kalk in order to be water tight. Next up is paint! Had intentions to get the first coat done tonight but got tied up at work a little later than intended...

More to come!

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08TRDOFFROAD

· #10 · Jun 10, 2011

Nice progress so far...tagging along for this one!

Japonicus

· #11 · Jun 10, 2011

funny, I did the same thing with my centre overflow area

reefkeeperSR

Discussion Starter · #12 · Jun 10, 2011

08TRDOFFROAD said:
Nice progress so far...tagging along for this one!

Thanks man, I actually been a lurker on your build thread for awhile, came out nice!

Japonicus said:
funny, I did the same thing with my centre overflow area

Yea the new tank has an offset overflow on the left side of the back wall. I wanted to be able to have plenty of room to loosen and tighten the bulkheads if or when needed, so it kinda dident leave many other options except on brace centered.

fsureefer

· #13 · Jun 10, 2011

i like the shelves in the stand, wish i would have done that...cant wait to see the tank come together. i had a 72BF and loved it but have a 75 now. what made you decide to change?

Rustl3r

· #14 · Jun 10, 2011

I think I might do that when I build my stand for a future 150g (the shelves)

egator89

· #15 · Jun 10, 2011

Coming along nicely, hopefuly production will speed up a tad so we can get to the fun part.

reefkeeperSR

Discussion Starter · #16 · Jun 10, 2011

fsureefer said:
i like the shelves in the stand, wish i would have done that...cant wait to see the tank come together. i had a 72BF and loved it but have a 75 now. what made you decide to change?

Thanks, I cant wait either!! I decided to change for a few reasons. I bought the tank, stand, wet-dry, pump, and a 48" florescent strip for 100 bucks so I really couldn't pass up the deal, it was a good excuse for me to start a reef tank basically. Unfortunately the tank has alot of scratches in the glass, which began to bother me more and more.

In addition there is also not alot of room in the stand. I had to hack it up to fit my 20 long sump, and there is now no room for any other equipment. Lastly the stand has developed a musty smell over the past few weeks and its smelling up the house. I'm pretty sure this is because there is no paint or sealant on the inside of the stand to prevent it from absorbing water and moisture. SO on account of those things mainly the musty smell I figured it was prime time to do this upgrade.

The good thing is I will just transfer my existing light fixture, sump, skimmer, etc... and part with the tank and stand alone.

Rustl3r said:
I think I might do that when I build my stand for a future 150g (the shelves)

I elected to do them like that because I was not using a front center brace and didn't want to have a big square shelf right when you open the door. I should have plenty of room to do maintenance at ease. Over all I'm pretty happy with how the shelves came out.

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fsureefer

· #17 · Jun 10, 2011

nice, musty smells are gross.

you could always buff the glass on the BF and either resell it or try keeping a different biotope in it like a lagoon tank or something like that. I think a shallow grassflat biotope tank would be amazing.

reefkeeperSR

Discussion Starter · #18 · Jun 10, 2011

fsureefer said:
nice, musty smells are gross.

you could always buff the glass on the BF and either resell it or try keeping a different biotope in it like a lagoon tank or something like that. I think a shallow grassflat biotope tank would be amazing.

That is a good point, I haven't totally decided what I'm going to do with the current tank yet, might part ways with... Ill probably just hold onto it for a little bit and focus on getting the new tank up and stabilized, then make a decision.

reefkeeperSR

Discussion Starter · #19 · Jun 10, 2011

2

Was able to get two coats of paint on today after slipping out of work a little early, going to let it dry good overnight and get a third and final coat on tomorrow afternoon.

Looking to skin it tomorrow or early next week and move onto the trim.

Thanks for looking!

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08TRDOFFROAD

· #20 · Jun 10, 2011

reefkeeperSR said:
Thanks man, I actually been a lurker on your build thread for awhile, came out nice!

Thanks, I still feel like it is a diamond in the rough! Ha ha!

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