My 400g build from the groud up. HAVE I LOST MY MIND?!?!
- Thread starter TheBigB
- Start date
Thanks for the offer, but I already have what I need. Plus, thats pretty good road trip for a piece of glass...haha
i know im a little late to the party but the way your 2x4 uprights are sitting worries me a little. might have been better to place a 4x4 and notch a L in the top for the 2x6 to sit in so most the weight isnt side loading the screws.
i see your adding more braces my bad
i see your adding more braces my bad
Ok, finally finished the stand minus the top plywood. My dad has truck loads of 3/4 so Im waiting for him to bring me some. Should be within the next few days. I wasnt able to get as much done this past weekend as I hoped because my wife decided to plan family pictures on Sunday (during the NFC east championship too) but at least the stand is done.
I had some extra 2x6s so I put them on the middle braces to help with the support across the width of the tank. I also put some 2x2s in the space between the 2x6s where the 2x4 didnt reach to the end. Should make for a very sturdy structure.
Here is what I completed over the weekend.
After it was done I threw a few coats of white paint on the stand to make it easier to see when the tank goes on. Figured it would be easier to paint now.
The weather is supposed to be nice over the next few days so Im hoping to start laying pond armour soon. I will update when I do.
I had some extra 2x6s so I put them on the middle braces to help with the support across the width of the tank. I also put some 2x2s in the space between the 2x6s where the 2x4 didnt reach to the end. Should make for a very sturdy structure.
Here is what I completed over the weekend.
After it was done I threw a few coats of white paint on the stand to make it easier to see when the tank goes on. Figured it would be easier to paint now.
The weather is supposed to be nice over the next few days so Im hoping to start laying pond armour soon. I will update when I do.
So with some down time at work I have changed my filtration setup and wanted to get everyones signoff and/or opinions on it.
You dont see it in the illustration but there will be two overflows, one on each end. The overflow boxes will be made from black sheet acrylic and will have a comb style weir at the top and have slots placed in a pattern going down to the bottom. The left side will have one 2" stand pipe, a 1.5" hard plumbed return, and another 1.5" stand pipe for a drain. The right will have a 2" stand pipe and a 1.5" hard plumbed return. The stand pipe on the right side will be fully submerged while the stand pipe on the left will just be a trickle. I will adjust the water volume just high enough to trickle into the higher stand pipe while the other is fully submerged. This should aid in making the overflows as quiet as possible.
Water will travel into the first tank's (55 gallon 4' X 1') mechanical section (still deciding if I want to do a tray with filter floss or use filter socks), then into a refugium. The water will then travel to the next tank (90 gallon 4' X 18"). Water will first enter a fluidized bed (90 liters of MB3 Moving Bed Media from Water Management Technologies. Similar to K1 Kaldness. Here is a link - http://www.w-m-t.com/Products/WaterTek_MB3_Moving_Bed_Media.php) then to the pump chamber (to keep media away from the intake and hopefully keep bubbles from entering). The line coming from the pump will then be split to enter back through the overflows and over the side with loc-line.
Hopefully the diagram below will help explain.
Im not sure if I already posted this but the sumps will sit like this under the tank.
You dont see it in the illustration but there will be two overflows, one on each end. The overflow boxes will be made from black sheet acrylic and will have a comb style weir at the top and have slots placed in a pattern going down to the bottom. The left side will have one 2" stand pipe, a 1.5" hard plumbed return, and another 1.5" stand pipe for a drain. The right will have a 2" stand pipe and a 1.5" hard plumbed return. The stand pipe on the right side will be fully submerged while the stand pipe on the left will just be a trickle. I will adjust the water volume just high enough to trickle into the higher stand pipe while the other is fully submerged. This should aid in making the overflows as quiet as possible.
Water will travel into the first tank's (55 gallon 4' X 1') mechanical section (still deciding if I want to do a tray with filter floss or use filter socks), then into a refugium. The water will then travel to the next tank (90 gallon 4' X 18"). Water will first enter a fluidized bed (90 liters of MB3 Moving Bed Media from Water Management Technologies. Similar to K1 Kaldness. Here is a link - http://www.w-m-t.com/Products/WaterTek_MB3_Moving_Bed_Media.php) then to the pump chamber (to keep media away from the intake and hopefully keep bubbles from entering). The line coming from the pump will then be split to enter back through the overflows and over the side with loc-line.
Hopefully the diagram below will help explain.
Im not sure if I already posted this but the sumps will sit like this under the tank.
Here is a sneak peak of some of the stock that will be going in. Right now they are spreadout over two tanks, and I caught some bad phone pictures while doing a water change. Sorry for the picture quality ( I need to buy a real camera)
So I have been trying to figure out how to do the top now for awhile. I still haven't decided on which way to go, and I was hoping you could throw some ideas out there...
Im thinking about taking a piece of plywood and cutting out three spots in the middle. All edges of the top will be 4" and the openings will be 40" by about 2' each. For covers I was thinking of getting some acrylic and building a frame out of trim and building guides for it to sit in....that way they can be fully removed when needed. On all four edges a 1x2 will be glued and screwed to the plywood and slipped over the top edge of the glass to give support. The entire thing will be pondarmoured to water proof.
Here's a quick illustration. Gray being the plywood, orange being the 1x2 and the white is the open tops.
Do you think 2 middle braces like this is overkill? Could I just do one center brace with larger openings? Any other suggestions? I need the tank to be covered to help insulate.
Im thinking about taking a piece of plywood and cutting out three spots in the middle. All edges of the top will be 4" and the openings will be 40" by about 2' each. For covers I was thinking of getting some acrylic and building a frame out of trim and building guides for it to sit in....that way they can be fully removed when needed. On all four edges a 1x2 will be glued and screwed to the plywood and slipped over the top edge of the glass to give support. The entire thing will be pondarmoured to water proof.
Here's a quick illustration. Gray being the plywood, orange being the 1x2 and the white is the open tops.
Do you think 2 middle braces like this is overkill? Could I just do one center brace with larger openings? Any other suggestions? I need the tank to be covered to help insulate.
