MJ's 150 gallon rimless aquarium build

[Emjay1983]

I first started my planning almost 8 months ago, when we decided to move.

Just like other reef junkies, with a promise of having a fisheroom, i gave the full authority of choosing house, interior, and furnitures (simply everything related to house) to wife..

Well guess it was a good deal for me !!!

I started my planning with sketchup.

Since i already got many equipments to use again, the size was pretty restricted..

I decided to use my ATI Powermodule 8x54w..
(Which i can't think anything better atm..)

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So the tank size would be 60"l x 30"w x 20"h

I wanted 3 side starphire glassed rimless tank..

Because i'm a DIY person, first i was going to build it my own..

However after getting some quots for glasses i needed, i didn't see a reason for DIY.

I ordered my aquarium from Concept.

Here it is!
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When i ordered my tank, i already ordered my synergy overflow...

So i didnt ask for a overflow box(which i kinda regret.. i could saved some money there).

Here is my tank design.
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It wasn't bad.. but i wanted something more..

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Now it's better :)
(But i changed my design little bit)

Because i wanted a big sump, i decided to save some space by using steel frame.

I decided to use 2x4 tubes for top frame and 2x2 tubes for legs and bottom frame.

I was going to make it with steel..
But i decided to use aluminum tube to reduce the total weight of the system.
(Remeber.. aluminum tubes are much more expensiver than steel. It didn't really metter to me because as a cnc machinist, i could get them really cheap through company)

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I asked Dug.(who works in my company)to weld my frames. I did it because he is the best welder i know and he is a person who dealing with precision instruments... for him project like this is a piece of a cake!!!

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The table you see is very very accurate table... (and extreamly expensive..)

These are with in a precision of 0.003" for 10' long.. (guess it's good enough for a fish tank stand haha.. XD )

Will be continued..

















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[Emjay1983]

Finished welding!
Thanks sugg for a great job!!

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After grinding i applied 2 coats of red oxide prime.

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And then i applied 2 coats of krylon bugundy.

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Not a bad finish ;) smooth surface eh?

Oh btw, i made a sump before...(remember i said the project started 8months ago?)

Its pretty big.. 48" x 24" x 16"

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And adjustable skimmer water level..( used acrylic screw and bolt)

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I got covers for each sections.. ( more photos will be posted later)

Sorry i didnt took pictures when i was makin it..

Pretty straight forward..

Table saw cut, router edge preparing, weldon 4 for welding... and i used weld on 16 too.

Not a greatest quality, but i made it cheap and it will do the job so im happy!!
(If you want to get a sump like this it will cost easily over 1k)

Now going to work on the pannels!!

Will be continued..




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[Emjay1983]

His name is Dug. Not Sug.. lol


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[zhasan]

Beautiful looking tank. Looking forward to see the complete setup.

Is there anperticukar reason why you didn't go with a built in overflow and went with reef synergy instead?

[Emjay1983]

Beautiful looking tank. Looking forward to see the complete setup.



Is there anperticukar reason why you didn't go with a built in overflow and went with reef synergy instead?



Thanks you will like it. ;)
And As i said i regret on overflow.. i mean synergy overflow cant be a wrong.. you get better look(imo)... but if i build it again, i rather ask concept to build it.


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[Emjay1983]

When i was planning for a stand..

I was going to use laminate sheets top on particle board...

I decided to use it because water damage wasn't something i worry to much.

I got steel frame which will carry all the weights..

Also laminate is pretty strong material.(we use it for counter top)

I worked on it and made my doors and side pannels with it..

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I used kreg european hinge template to drill perfact hole. I like it!

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Tbh if i work on the pannels and doors again, i just going to use melamine board with edge tapes.. melamine board is much cheaper and much easy to work on..(i mean much much much easier) For the purpose of what we do, they are strong enough(im talking about the hardness not water resistance).. they dont get scratches easy and they dont warp...

Even if you get water damage, you can always replace them cheap. Its just my opinion..

I made 2 doors instead of 3 doors..

I like it because i get more excess to it!


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[Bblinks]

Cool!! Tagging along.

[Bblinks]

Tagging along here too. Might want to combine all three thread together...lol

[shabidou1990]

Very nice !


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[GoFish]

Now is it Dug, sug, sugg, Doug, or soug? So confused. Nice toaster and welding table!


Oh and awesome sump and stand :razz: Router or CNC router?

[Emjay1983]

Now is it Dug, sug, sugg, Doug, or soug? So confused. Nice toaster and welding table!





Oh and awesome sump and stand :razz: Router or CNC router?



Just router :)


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[iamfrontosa]

i am following.

[DKoKoMan]

Looks good! Following..: will be starting my 150g build soon:...

[WarDog]

Nice build, this is gunna get good!

Tagging along here too. Might want to combine all three thread together...lol

Oh hey, look at that, the magic of the interweb!

[Emjay1983]

Hi guys im back.

I continued on my tank build.

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That is pretty much done for the stand..

It came out really nice in general and i like the design.



And time to work on plumbing.

For me the most important factor is neatness.

I found myself that i get really lazy if the inside is dirty. ( its like who cares? Its mess anyway)

And everytime i open my doors for sump infront of the others, i felt shy..

So i want my cabinet to be more organized and neat.

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I placed my sump inside. It is a perfact fit.

Notice the bulkheads from the back pannel?

It was the key factor of my plumbing design.

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Installed 1" drain pipes. I used flex pvc for the bottom.(to give them little bit of wiggle room)

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The return line...

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Cabinet plumbing is done.

I installed unions everywhere incase of disassemble. Also made 2 ball valves for future upgrades.(for reactors abd etc..)
I can put more ball valves if i want to..(because of the unions each end, its easy to remove)

I probably wouldnt use these ball valves for now, since i got a zeovit reactor for aquaforest stacking method.

But who knows? i may use it at some point.


And time to put the tank on the stand...

Because of the thickness and size of the tank, it wasnt fun to move this thing around...
(It was about 330lbs)

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Finally.. i made it...

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My synergy overflow

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Aquarium with sump :)

I started plumbing again.

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I made 3 of these kind pipes to connect my overflow to stand bulkheads.
(I used unions for each pipes from the synergy overflow for just incase)

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That is it for now...

Will be continued...


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[iamfrontosa]

I love the clean look of your plumbing.

[Emjay1983]

I love the clean look of your plumbing.



Thanks me2!


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[kien]

Nice clean build. Is it done yet? :-)