37 gal column conversion to AIO with foam/rock wall

[Cubeman]

For this build I’m using a 4 year old 37 gallon ‘column’ aquarium measuring 20wx18dx24h. This will be an sps only tank when it is completed with a snail only CUC, various shrimp and a few fish. For me the enjoyment is in watching the reef come together; I could happily run without fish but adding them keeps the rest of the family interested.

This is not a ‘quick’ one week and it’s done build; I won’t be rushing anything. I’ll be trying a few things along the way that I’ve always wanted to do but never have. I thoroughly enjoy the ‘plan and build’ portion of each aquarium I start and the unique challenges each one brings, so I hope you enjoy tagging along as I document this one.

My plan is not fully hatched but here are a few of the steps I am committing to:
1) Clean up the front corner caulking. It has suffered from some overzealous algae blade scraping over the past few years and just plain looks ratty.
2) Converting it into an all in one tank.
3) Build a foam/rock back wall to hide the newly created bulkhead in step two.
4) Find and convert a unique cabinet into a functional aquarium stand.
The equipment list will be developed and detailed along the way.

As I type I am about 3 weeks in to this adventure and have been taking pics along the way. Stay tuned for some updates over the next couple of days.

[Cubeman]

So here is what the tank looked like to start with. Not a huge fan of the blue background (I prefer black) but there will be so little left visible once I'm done that I decided to leave it for now. Can always change my mind later.


Here's a rather blurry shot of the silicone in the front corners. Nothing wrong with its functionality but it is less than desirable to look at. Here's some detail for the less experienced out there on how I went about cleaning that up.


The first requirement is a sharp blade or two.


And a top down shot of the old silicone that has been removed. Note it was just the inner sealant that I removed not the structural adhesive between the panes.




Next the glass was cleaned with some acetone and left to air dry.


I ordered in a tube of good quality silicone that is used by many home builders of aquariums. I didn't need to do that for this part of the project as any old aquarium safe silicone would have done. However I will need some good stuff later when I do my all in one (AIO) conversion so figured I'd get it now.


The corners were taped up using painters tape and I went to work with some good quality silicone and some gloves. I didn't actually use the tool shown for these corners as I prefer the control of my finger. However for silicone jobs that aren't visible afterwards (like bottom panes) that is what I would use.


And when it is all said and done this is the end result.


Not something I would have cared about in my younger days but these little things matter to me now.

[Cubeman]

I have always run sumps on my larger aquariums but ambient noise and space are an issue for the future location of this tank. I therefore subscribed to the KISS method and decided to make the tank into an all in one. The front pane and the right side are fully viewable so I had to keep that in mind when creating the AIO area.

I originally was going to use acrylic to make the divider thinking it would be cheaper than glass. I went to a plastics shop recommended by a fellow reefer and came away with a quote of $135 for 5 pieces of acrylic and 2 holes drilled. 4 of those 5 pieces were only 4 inches wide so the price caught me by surprise. Thinking I had nothing to lose I went to Payless Glass in Langley (shoutout!) on the advice of another reefer and saved myself 50 bucks. 5mm glass, cut and drilled exactly the same as the acrylic specs, and no sharp edges. Couldn't be happier with the service I received there.

I designed the AIO area to cover 14 of the 20 inches across the back and be 4 inches in depth. This gave me enough room for my equipment (and future considerations), a clean viewing pane on the right side, and enough room to get my manly hand inside and to the bottom when needed.

Glass is cut.


Using my best clamps I placed the 3 pieces of glass that touch the top rim first. Glass was nice and square so they stood by themselves really well.


I then placed the middle piece of glass for the bubble trap (top down shot here).


And then used my biggest clamp to secure the front piece a day later when the others had cured.


And the final product.

[Cubeman]

The next step was to start on the back rock wall. I actually started it while waiting for my glass to come in and the measurements turned out pretty well.
I started with the plastic lighting egg crate cut to size, joined with zip ties, and attached a base plate to help hold it down with live rock once it is foamed and in the tank.


I had previously given 3 pieces of old base rock a good cleaning and multiple freshwater rinses. I then smashed them up into suitable size pieces with a big hammer and gave them the high pressure hose treatment and set them aside to dry. Essentially I created small dead rocks from big old live rock. Here's what they looked like before and after.






I then went about drilling holes in the rock big enough to push a zip tie through (smelled just like the dentist drilling a tooth!). I attached the rock to the egg crate using the lightest pieces of rock towards the top. The egg crate at this point is very flimsy and needs lots of support not to break. When closing the zip ties it is important to have the catch in the front and not the back of the egg crate. With the catches in the back it makes it difficult to get the egg crate to sit flat against the aquarium wall. I left enough space at the bottom of the vertical piece of egg crate to allow the placement of live rock up against the wall on the base plate. Here's what it looks like at this stage.






More to come...

[subman]

following along! Neat idea and great work

[Cubeman]

thanks subman - I hope my finished product looks as clean as yours

[Salt2Death]

Got me tagging along... I want to do a similar set up on a 40g bow front.
Love the fact your doing tons of pics!


Sent Via The Pirate Ship...

[Cubeman]

Originally Posted by Salt2Death

Got me tagging along... I want to do a similar set up on a 40g bow front.
Love the fact your doing tons of pics!

Thanks Salt2Death. I used to have a 46 gallon bowfront; great size tank with that little bit of extra depth in the middle.

[Cubeman]

So the tank has been cycling in a spare room while I worked on the stand. My wife did not want the standard black Marineland stand that is made for this aquarium so I spent a few weeks browsing Craigslist for any piece of suitable furniture. I ended up buying what looked like a beat up 30 year old cabinet for $50 that looked like it could use a good refinishing job. Imagine my surprise when I got home and took a good look at the construction and found out what I had just purchased was actually an antique made in China in the late 1800's. Yep, I had one of "those" Craigslist finds!

Anyway I still needed an aquarium stand and knew that this one would have to be "modified" with a saw to open up the back if it was to fit the bill. Knowing full well this would de-value it I stared at the bloody thing for 2 weeks trying to get up the gumption to chop a hole in the back. Well I finally had a rotten day at work and out came the tools once I got home.

Here's how it went in pictures:

The cabinet, untouched on the outside except for a hole in the back, which is now being used as of today.


The first bit of work I did on the inside was to cut an access hole and start reinforcing the frame. I thought the cabinet was sturdy enough but being as old as it was didn't want to take any chances. So I glued and screwed a bunch of supports around the existing framework and then stained the new wood dark so it matched a little better. You'll notice in this picture the doors are off and there are little shell shaped pivots where they fit into - no metal hinges at all, just all carved out of wood. This was at about the half way done stage.


After I did the framework I put in a false back, side, and bottom (on the inside) so I would have something to screw my equipment to. There's not a lot of room so it's just holding 2 dosing pumps, Calcium and Alk containers, a Reef Keeper Lite, and a small chiller which is vented through the back.


I also cut a 3/4inch piece of plywood and stained it to help support the tank and protect the top of the cabinet from salt water. Here's what the finished product looks like with the tank in place.


Not to everybody's taste I know but the wife got a unique piece of 150 year old furniture that she is happy with and I finally got the aquarium in its ultimate resting place so I can continue with the build.

[daplatapus]

Looking good actually! Can't wait to see some wet stuff in there