I bet it runs close to 10k-11k

I would say double that. Maybe even more. :mrgreen:

If I had to guess I would say at least 15K to get you going and then up to 5 more perfecting it. Can't wait to see it all set up.

Ok...so we're done with that one.

I have a couple questions ...

How is the framing for the top part attached to the ceiling? Just with screws, or ... ?

What are the white tubs you're using for the sump and whatnot, and where can you get those?

Thanks!

Can't wait to see the next round of pics! Also I hope you don't mind but I really, really dig that bar idea and am seriously comtemplating something similar for my 280g, I'm inspired. If not a bar, at least a place to plant one's elbows when staring into the tank. :)

I think elbow means drink right? :wink:

Open top PE tanks.
 

The framing that is above the tank is "1 by 1". It provides the support for the plywood doors that aren't yet installed. It is actually NOT connected to the ceiling at all. It has three sides which are bolted together. The two sides are then bolted to the walls. The frame rests on the tank. There is some sill foam between the frame and the tank to provide some water seal.

The white tubs are polyethelene, roto-moulded tanks. They were purchased from Plastic-Mart.com. You can get them in almost any shape or size. I needed 50 gal and 100 gal cylinders, and 60 gal and 120 gal open top rectangles. The challenge is to find ONE place that has ALL the sizes that you need so you aren't paying multiple shipping charges. They were manufactured and shipped by Ronco Plastic in California.

They are a lot easier to work with than acrylic for hole drilling...although acrylic would look better. Since I needed the cylindrical tanks, it was efficient to get the sumps as well.

Thanks for the info. I'm looking at your photos and it's helping me plan out the "corner viewing" aspect I was hoping to acheive with my 280g as well. I wasn't sure if I was going to be supporting the wall framing to the ceiling above, or what. I might need to consult a builder, I'm not sure what's kosher for suspending things on the floor above. I like how you've solved that with the wall flush to the right-hand side tank wall.

A couple more questions.. what's your floor, is it concrete? If so how is the stand attached to the floor at the bottom?

To make the stand open at the back (where the sump is sitting) without a bottom cross bar member (or whatever it's called) did you have to put any diagonal bracing, or additional posts under the middle of the tank or anything like that?

Thanks once again for the info. Very helpful!!

The tank is in my basement, directly on top of the concrete foundation. I don't know how thick the concrete is...but I'm sure it is enough. I glued lino directly to the concrete, then glued the stand and walls to the floor using construction adhesive.

The stand has 2x6's joists spanning the 4 foot width. These joists run every foot. The vertical supports are only 2x4's. Where I was not able to have a vertical support every foot (like where it spans the sumps), I doubled the 2x4 on either side. There are no centre posts, or diagonal braces...the stand is completely open underneath.

It's basically the same way that you would build a small house. You build 2x4 wall sections...then you build a floor out of 2x6's on edge and screw it onto the wall sections.

That construction is not stable until you screw plywood to the faces. Once the 3/4" plywood was screwed to the front, left, right and top sides it is rock solid. It would be MUCH less stable if I had wanted doors on the front and side.

Maybe I'll post some detail shots of the stand for you.

i was just going based on oregonreef.com what he suggested his setup costs, though it is in american :)

reply
 

Just tagging along. Nice work so far, can't wait to see more pics as you go along.

Oh..now that is flattering. To even be compared to that tank... I only hope I get the inside looking comparable. Same tank builder, anyway.

Overflow design
 

In order to make the overflows run as quietly as possible, I used the following design for both overflow boxes.

Each overflow box has two 1.5" outlets. The primary outlet has a gate valve which chokes off the flow until the water starts to rise in the overflow box. In this way, the primary essentially siphons water out of the overflow box. As no air is drawn into the siphon it is silent. The primary outlet water is released into the sump below the water line resulting in no splashing or bubbling.

The secondary outlet has a stand pipe that is higher than the water level in the overflow box. This outlet is not in use as the primary carries away all of the volume. Should the primary outlet become blocked, the water level in the overflow box will rise until the secondary outlet becomes active. I can simulate a worst case scenario by shutting the primary gate valve off completely. At that point, the secondary outlet carries 100% of the flow and does so with typical noise!

Using this system, the ONLY sound is the sound of the water falling 1-2" inside the overflow box. I can probably muffle that by adding some sponge to the overflow box so the water has a softer landing.

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r...0_0484copy.jpg

This is a side view of one of the overflow boxes. You can see how the water level stays well above the primary oulet in the bottom, but short of the secondary outlet standtube in the background. What little noise there is was caused by some of those bubbles you see getting sucked down into the primary. This has since been corrected by adding a layer of foam at the surface above the primary outlet.
http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r...n/100_0485.jpg

truely amazing ,but I have to ask why isn't there a euro reef or a H&S or even a Deltec there or even a BUBBLE KING....


sorry man why why why is there a ASM skimmer there :razz:


jk love the plumbing too and its blue too. Why is that a different type

ASM skimmer...I bet it works just fine. I built the system to house an in-sump skimmer. If the ASM leaks a bit, it's no problem. If it looks like I spent unlimited funds everywhere, I'll take that as a compliment. Who knows...maybe someday I'll change it.

Plumbing is regular class 160 and 200 pipe. It is just painted blue. This was mainly done because some of the plumbing might be visible through the back wall of the tank and I didn't want it to be distracting. Once I got started, I just kept painting....

Very clean plumbing. You have yourself a great looking set up there.

Over-Tank doors
 

Progess is steady...but slow. (I suppose it didn't help getting buried by snow this weekend)

I've managed to get the front-access doors installed. The idea behind these doors is to get the look of an in-wall tank, but still have front access when I need it. The doors will be painted to match the beige walls.

Still no high-tech solution to holding the doors up. As you can see, a simple prop actually does a very good job. I think I'll try to make some nice props out of stainless steel or something.

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r...n/100_0488.jpg
http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r...n/100_0489.jpg

sometimes simple is best. what are the little white spots in the picture??? or is that jsut me, maybe you need to clean your lens or something, doesnt really matter, everything is still amazingly fantastic. keep us posted

Hi Brad

This is quite the project. You have done a fantastic job. I am looking forward to the tours. Your system along with a number of other mega tanks in the area give us all something to look forward to.

Tom R

Those are probably caused by sawdust particles in the air...

Stonework...
 

The outside of the tank is really coming together now. The artificial stone has been applied to the lower portion, below the bar. This gives the bar that "floating" appearance that I was hoping for.

I used rounded "stream" stones as I hoped they give the impression of being rounded by water. They actually had a simulated coral stone, which was kind of tempting, but it only came in rectangular bricks...which I didn't like.

For anyone thinking of doing this, it will cost more than you think. Money can be saved by doing the work yourself, or choosing non-round material. The trouble with round stones is that you don't want to cut and chisel much because you loose the rounded look. That means a lot of picking, choosing, planning to ensure to get a nice balanced look. Also, if you want the stones fitting tightly, you'll use more stones than estimated.

Overall, I'm extremely pleased with the result. It's really coming together now.
http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r...n/100_0500.jpg
(sorry about the backscatter on the photo, it was a dirty job and I had just completed vaccuuming...)
http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r...n/100_0501.jpg

thats crazy. very very nice work. i love the rock work. i see what you mean the bar seems to be floating. can hardly wait for the open house when it is done :biggrin: . good job buddy, nicely done

Outside is finished!
 

Wow...it took me so long to do this that I almost fell off page 1!

The above tank doors/walls are completed. I'm not completely happy with the result, though. I'm willing to bet that I tear that top section out in a few years and try something else.

I was trying to create an "in wall" look, while still having something that I could open. I think I succeeded, but they just look so plain compared to the stone work below. Oh well.

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r...n/100_0503.jpg

SW Mixer
 

Meanwhile, behind the scenes...I finally plumbed up the SW mixer tank. The only tricky part of doing this was to create rigid plumbing that could be disconnected in just the right parts to enable the mixer to be moved around on it's wheels.

One valve directs back into the mixer (for mixing)...the other directs SW into the 2nd sump.

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r...n/100_0502.jpg

Look great Brad. Not sure what you could do to jazz up the upper section but I don't think you really need to. Hey you now I could have sold you a used Chemical mixer you didn't have to make your own. that is sweet you should sell the design.

Oh BTW I have a cheap router for sale I hear you may be looking for one LOL

J

Beautiful!!! I really like it! Great Job there! What a great place to take a drink and talk!

Now that the external construction is basically finished, I figured that it was safe to unwrap! That's a big improvement. Planned rockwork will hide most of the plumbing that you can see through the back wall of the tank.

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r...n/100_0508.jpg

I've done a little work on the sump. The skimmer is in place. I built a small acrylic shelf and set the Ca Reactor down on it. The sump shelf sits just above water line.

That's a PM622D reactor and G6 Skimmer. You can't see the 2nd stage of the reactor in the photo because it is hiding behind the skimmer.

Basically...I'm killing time waiting for my lights to arrive.

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r...n/100_0509.jpg

Wonderful job - this is going to be a very first class set up.

Everytime I look again at your pictures think it's going to fantastic with the front to back depth you have.

Know there's others out there but reminded of Fudge's or http://www.oregonreef.com/sub_aquascaping.htm .

Wow! Amazing. I'll be lining up for the tank tour.

Immaculate work. Exciting following along with your adventure.
Many thanks ............................Dave

Outstanding, very nice work.

Marc.

Need More Pictures, Do More Work! :)

This is really coming together untamed!

If I were you I would skin the entire tank top to match the stain of the bar counter. How heavy are the fake rocks? You could really get ballsy and do the top as a seamless boulder front...

When i saw those pics I was amazed that the rocks were not real. Amazing job laying those out for a natural feel. Do they look as real up close?

And is the tank back going to remain transparent? What about removeable back panels to completely hide the back room?

Keep it up!

Brett

Everything looks beautiful.

You've inspired my next tank!

The problem with the overtank wall/door is that it will overpower things if it gets too bold. I actually considered putting rock on it, creating a floor to ceiling rock effect...but the rock is far too heavy. (remember that those doors open) Now that the tank is uncovered, that wall doesn't bug me as much.

The stone looks as real as any of that stuff you see on the outside of houses. Most of that stuff is fake.

The back might remain transparent. The visible plumbing will be directly blocked by rockwork. The part directly between the overflows is the interesting section. There's a plan in place regarding rockwork and mirror that should block any direct view of the back room through the tank.As I intend to be spending a fair amount of time back there, I want to see into the tank from the back.

You wanna look in from the back huh?

Maybe I'm just jealous since I covered my back with black plexi. Tho I sorta had to since my overflows are external and really ugly to stare at from the front.

We talkin' a mirrored back panel on a hinge system? That'd be pretty sweet!

Brett

Simply amazing, hope you're proud of yourself because you've done a job second to none. Wow just doesn't do it justice.

Doug

Well..not too much to report. I purchased this peristaltic pump and got it into position. It will drive the Ca Reactor. Maximum output on this model is 120ml/min. It is a bit louder than I would have hoped.

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r...n/100_0512.jpg