Aerow's 240 Gallon Reef

[Aerow]

I have been wanting a large aquarium for a long time, finally got one. Just had to buy the wife a new car first in exchange.

So on to the fun parts.

Aquarium, 48"W x 48"D x 24"H sitting on a 30" homemade stand, or well it will be still need to assemble it all.

Aquarium will be hand built, 1/2 inch regular glass on all side and bottom, euro braced on top with 2" strips. I have the cut glass sitting downstairs next to the wall, working on the stand right now.


Ignore the dirty floors, 2 year old nightmare running everywhere right now, here is the stand pics.








Stand is 2x6 top frame with 2x4 ribs. Legs and bottom frame are 2x4.
Top is 3/4 inch Plywood, not secured down yet, tossed it on to check level and surprise surprise the floor isn't level.

So my problem, the side by the books shelves is 3/8" lower then the opposite side. Stand is perfectly level, checked with straight edge and 6ft. level. All legs are the same length, so its the darn floor.

How can i shim this without destroying the floor? I am going to leave the yoga mats under it, so i'm guessing i can lift the one side, shim all around to totally level it all around then sit it down check level and break them off. Then recheck once tank is built and filled, which will be a few weeks still.

Under the floors is a concrete slab, so guessing whole bottom floor is off level.


I will keep this thread updated with new updates when they come around, work schedule is kinda annoying right now, getting better though.

 

[Meat locker]

Welcome! That looks like a framed Thomas Kinkaid winnie the pooh puzzle on the mantle!

If I had your issues.... I would start with a belt sander and carefully remove what I could as even as possible. If I was scared to do that to the stand then i would use shims.

 

[SPR1968]

That looks like a great tank in the making and thanks for sharing the pictures with us

And welcome to R2R!

 

[Aerow]

Welcome! That looks like a framed Thomas Kinkaid winnie the pooh puzzle on the mantle!

If I had your issues.... I would start with a belt sander and carefully remove what I could as even as possible. If I was scared to do that to the stand then i would use shims.

Yes Sir it is, We have 2 kids 6 and 2, the older one loves puzzles so we have dozens spread around the house.

I'm Actually thinking about some heavy duty leveling feet like these, placing them on the inside of the stand frame, then drillign small holes in the bottom plywood sheet for access to the screw head if adjustments are needed after i add my sump and other goodies.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01N4BUE1P/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[Jcr's Reef]

Yes Sir it is, We have 2 kids 6 and 2, the older one loves puzzles so we have dozens spread around the house.

I'm Actually thinking about some heavy duty leveling feet like these, placing them on the inside of the stand frame, then drillign small holes in the bottom plywood sheet for access to the screw head if adjustments are needed after i add my sump and other goodies.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01N4BUE1P/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Hate to say it but I would probably redo the stand unless those leveling feet are guaranteed not to rust around saltwater. Start by making a platform to build your stand on. A simple piece of plywood with secured shims will be fine. Make sure the platform is level before starting your stand. Can't wait to see it all come together!

 

[Aerow]

I'm a horrible person, i've been neglecting all of you....

Progress has been made, quite a bit actually. Stand has been finished, i ended up using some leveling legs from work...don't tell my boss. We use them on undersea wellhead connection units, so I'm guessing they will last quite a while. Any ways here's some finished pics...I sealed all gaps with silicone and painted interior with appliance epoxy.

Now on to tank building, I was in a zone and not taking many pics sorry. I started by cleaning all panels with acetone and clean rags. I put down a 3/4 Styrofoam board then placed the bottom pane in place. Next i placed 1/8 silicone o-rings 6" from each corner to act as spacers, then put one side panel in place, had the wife hold it then added a second. I used corner clamps to hold the tops together.

I placed o-rings between each side panel vertical surface 6" from each end and then squeezed the panels together and held them in place with some bar clamps. I taped up the vertical corners 1/2 inch from the seam. Then taped the outside of the glass where the silicone would seep through to the outside.

I started at the top of one corner and ran my gun down along and up the next seam, not stopping till i made it all the way around. The wife followed behind looking at the seams checking that i got full penetration all the way to the outside edge. Before it started the skin over i quickly took the bottom eurobrace pieces and placed them in their positions, these had been cleaned prior to placement, they seated into the silicone and then i ran a new bead to hold them in place as well.

I took a plastic spoon and made the curved corner seams all the way around before it skinned over.

Lastly i took some small bar clamps and had them hold the upper eurobrace pieces in place with spacers and siliconed them in place.

After that i pulled the tape off everywhere attached the upper corner clamps and sat back and drank a beer, enjoying the smell of vinegar in my dining room, lots of vinegar...the smell of victory

...or so i thought....


I waited 7 days for it to cure, then began a leak test. I got about 3/4 the way full and noticed some bubbles in the seam, front face bottom right corner...:mad::mad::mad::mad::mad:. I stopped filling, and check every other seam, no bubbles...***. Ok, lets tear it down and try again, better safe then sorry.

So 10 days later we get this....

...a successful leak test with RO/DI water, a box and a half of salt, 200 lbs of rock and a smidgen of sand later. ;Joyful;Joyful;Joyful;Joyful

 

[Aerow]

Now on to the equipment running all this...

-Synergy reef 16" overflow setup mostly silent, still tweeking
-40g breeder sump, temporary, will probably order something nicer later.
-2 Jebao DCT-8000 return pumps
-2 Jebao SOW-15 powerheads
-2 IceCap 3k gyres
-2 1" Loc-line eductors on the returns
-2 Eheim 300w heaters, too long for sump, need bigger sump....
- 4 Ocean Revive T247 LED light fixtures
-Neptune apex Classic, 2 EB8's, 1 EB4, 1 FMM Module, 3 leak detectors, 1 1" flow meter, 1 breakout box
-IceCap K2-200 Protein Skimmer, only been dropped once...;Facepalm...fixed
-Reef Octopus Skimmate collector with auto shut off
-Too many plumping parts....

Some of the particulars...
-Return pumps, both go to separate return lines, but are connected to the same manifold with a ball valve in the middle separating them. Each pump had a ball valve just after the pump as well. So if one dies, i can shut that ball valve, open the splitter valve and have flow back to both return lines. Both pumps are running at roughly 60%, so turning the one back up to 100% will get me close to the original rate while i swap the bad pump out.

Tha'ts not water drops, its epoxy resin, after using some to self level the stand top just to be sure lol.

- Lights are hanging on an 80/20 1010 frame I made. It i attached to the stand with 4 u bolts, and pipe insulation around it to protect glass. I am still working on getting new hanging hardware, the karabiner's just look bad and don't look safe, going to do what the back left one is like, bolt head in the 1010 channel. It naturally flexes upwards, when light weight is added it levels out perfectly.

Apex controller is on the wall behind and to the left of the stand, i'll get a pic of my shody wiring job later, but its functional so i'm happy for now. Timers on lights are irrelevant, apex controls on and off, i just set intensity.

 

[Aerow]

Yes i need to clean the glass, sand kicked up a bunch of fines, i'll get to it tomorrow. I added ammonia to 3ppm, and seeded it with live rock from my 13.5g Nano, so hopefully a week or 2. and i can get to the fun stuff.

 

[Aerow]

Well, been a while, but tank has been doing good till today. Got a call from the wife that our Clownfish had died, had her take a picture and water was cloudy and hard too see the depth. Well rushed home and Nemo is actually dead. Weird and sad, tested water and i had 2ppm ammonia, and 3 ppm nitrite, ummmm......no idea where that came from. Started water changes to bring it down and starting mixing up more in the barrels as i go through it. As i'm working in the tank i head a loud pop, also weird... take a look at the sup and the side panel has split right next to the heater. CRAP....rush for towels shut off return pumps and close all the valves. Got it pulled out and its a crack from the bottom right up and towards the middle and straight down one of the baffles, guessing it stressed it too much and didn't allow the glass to flex as it wanted to. So now, i got the heaters in the tank again, returns off and ball valves shut for return lines and gate valve shut for main drain line.

I had just placed an order with BRS for a new skimmer and feed pump and now this. Going to go get a large rubber maid as a temporary sump till next paycheck and i will buy a nice acrylic one somewhere. I will also try and get this updated more, now that i am home everyday finally. I'll get some pics up in a few hours.

 

[Aerow]

I have been feeding my fish roughly a 1/2 cube of mysis shrimp a day, spread out to once in the morning once in the afternoon. I have yet to ask my son if he has been feeding without telling me, but the wife doent do it either. She did spray some fly killer in the kitchen, have a fruit fly problem as well. ugh...., she was scared she caused it, no idea.

Got carbon reactor running to clear up the water now.

 

[biecacka]

I have the same footprint tank and love it. I’m sure you will too


Corey

 

[Jcr's Reef]

Nice job on constructing the tank. Why didn't you build your own sump?

 

[Aerow]

I had the 40 gallon left over, figured might as well put it to use.

I may make one as a replacement, on vacation in Colorado right now. I'll see how broke I am when I get home

 

[Jimbo662]

Can't wait to see this one progress!

 

[Aerow]

I'll get some more pictures up when I get home next week.

 

[acropora4u]

WHAT EVER happened with the build?

 

[Aerow]

I got busy with work, Oil and Gas isn't doing too hot right now.

Its still going, let me get some pictures and i'll post an update in a few.

 

[Silent]

Cant wait to see some. My tank is 36x36, cant imagine how cool 48x48 is.

 

[JustinSmi86]

I have been wanting a large aquarium for a long time, finally got one. Just had to buy the wife a new car first in exchange.

So on to the fun parts.

Aquarium, 48"W x 48"D x 24"H sitting on a 30" homemade stand, or well it will be still need to assemble it all.

Aquarium will be hand built, 1/2 inch regular glass on all side and bottom, euro braced on top with 2" strips. I have the cut glass sitting downstairs next to the wall, working on the stand right now.


Ignore the dirty floors, 2 year old nightmare running everywhere right now, here is the stand pics.








Stand is 2x6 top frame with 2x4 ribs. Legs and bottom frame are 2x4.
Top is 3/4 inch Plywood, not secured down yet, tossed it on to check level and surprise surprise the floor isn't level.

So my problem, the side by the books shelves is 3/8" lower then the opposite side. Stand is perfectly level, checked with straight edge and 6ft. level. All legs are the same length, so its the darn floor.

How can i shim this without destroying the floor? I am going to leave the yoga mats under it, so i'm guessing i can lift the one side, shim all around to totally level it all around then sit it down check level and break them off. Then recheck once tank is built and filled, which will be a few weeks still.

Under the floors is a concrete slab, so guessing whole bottom floor is off level.


I will keep this thread updated with new updates when they come around, work schedule is kinda annoying right now, getting better though.

Lol. I had to buy my wife a new van for my new tank lol I know the pain!

 

[vetteguy53081]

Update us. Off to a nice start