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View Full Version : My 41 gal armoire build.


sharps45110
11/18/2007, 02:45 PM
Welcome, everybody, to my build thread.

I hope that you find this build entertaining, and not just "another crappy build thread by some nine fingered, inbred, room temp IQ'ed dolt."
I can certify that I have all my fingers....

This build started on Memorial weeked, '07.
I had a 12 gal Nano Cube on my desk at work and needed to upgrade.

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd288/sharps45110/12galatwork.jpg

As you can see. Not a lot of room left.
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd288/sharps45110/12gaNanoDX.jpg

I also wanted a sump to get rid of all this stuff.

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd288/sharps45110/full12gal.jpg

My idea was to replace the 12 gal with a "shelf tank" and a larger cube on the desk. The shelf tank is a 54"x8"x8" 3/8" cast acrylic that I made myself.

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd288/sharps45110/shelftankunderconstruction.jpg

The cube is an Oceanic 30 gal that I drilled and installed an overflow in.

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd288/sharps45110/Workeverythinginplace.jpg

Well.......after all that work, I have come that the conclusion that the 30gal Oceanic is a little too big. People wonder why I have over $1,000 worth of fish tanks in my 8'x11' office.
"Why is he flaunting his salary?" & "Does he know how stupid that looks?" are frequent overheard comments.

My solution to this undisguised reef-related envy is to move the 30 gallon home.
Of course, the ultimate solution to this problem would be put everything in my 100 gallon. Did I hear "Great idea!" from somebody in the back?
Yes, well, unfortunately it's not finished yet.

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd288/sharps45110/100galglass.jpg

"Finish it, you dunderhead!"
I would, but I made an agreement with the wife to finish the master bathroom before beginning the tank. It has been a seven year project that she is constantly nagging me to get done. (the bathroom, not the tank)

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd288/sharps45110/bathroomprogress.jpg
Getting closer.
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd288/sharps45110/bathroomnov17.jpg

It's not that I can't finish the bathroom, I just don't want too. (I have completed other projects in the past, thank you very much!)

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd288/sharps45110/bbq.jpg

So that brings us to today. A huge tank on my desk that I want to remove, and no place to put it.

Stay tuned, "The Build" is next!

Lee

sharps45110
11/18/2007, 03:06 PM
Before I get too involved in the build I have a question.
I am going to install a closed loop with a Little Giant 3-MDQ-SC.
The outlets / returns will be in the back bottom of the tank. With bulkheads and loc line nozzles.
Can I use an "over the wall" type supply?
Like a "U" tube, but no overflow box.
I want to just put a pair of 90° elbows (to make 180°) over the tank side down to the pump, instead of drilling and installing bulkheads.
Whatcha think?

Lee

dzeadow
11/18/2007, 04:28 PM
It'll work, Melev actually did his entire CL on his 29g w/ no holes drilled & a SQWD.. here's the link:

http://www.melevsreef.com/closedloop.html

keep the pictures coming of the build!

sharps45110
11/18/2007, 05:51 PM
Danny:
Thanks for the link!
As much time as I have spent on Melev's site, you'd think I would have remembered that.

"The Build, Part II"

Having decided that the tank must come home, I set about figuring out a stand. Because I drilled the overflow on the "side" of the tank, not the back. The factory stand would not work. (not that I bought it anyway).
What to use? Where to put it?
The second was easy, our home office / library. The first was a little tricky.
We live in the mountains west of Denver, so we kind of like rustic / cabiny furnature. While looking in our favorite store "Tre-Amigos" (a cheap mexican furnature store) I found this:

Tres Amigos armoire (http://www.tresamigosworldimports.com/shop/Tres-Amigos-World-Imports-Mexican-Rustic-Furniture-Cabinet-Sfr-Arm29.aspx)

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd288/sharps45110/armoire.jpg

I figured that I could take the raised panel out of the door, put the tank inside. PRESTO! Instant stand that matches the rest of the house.

Any guesses on what is wrong with that picture?
Yes, you in the front row with the coke-bottle glasses?
"The armoire is not strong enough?"
No sorry. These things are built out of REAL WOOD! No MFD or particle board in these suckers. Built "old school" style.
Nope, the problem with this is the 30 gal Oceanic would not be tall enough. You would see over the top when I cut the panel out.

What to do?
Of course! Build a NEW tank.
*sinister voice* "So it begins"

I had to solve some serious problems (money, or lack there of) in the design & building.
I knew the size: 25-1/2" wide, 17-3/4" front to back, & 25-1/2" tall. These dimensions would fit inside the armoire's face frame with 1/4" clearance all around.
Material: I built the "shelf tank" out of acrylic, but I already have scratches from getting a bit of sand behind a mag cleaner. Acrylic was a "no go".
Glass? Maybe, but I could see the $$$ adding up for 3/4" glass all around.
After reading some of the great builds on the large tank forum *cough,(dsandfort's plywood build (http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1026436)) cough*

The only viable option was plywood with a glass front.

But I can't use any old plywood! "Use that, that, plywood that the commoners use?"
I had to buy Baltic Birch plywood. This is the stuff that high quality furnature and speaker manufacturers use because there are NO voids in it.
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd288/sharps45110/balticplywood.jpg

For those of you who like this sort of stuff, fifteen plys baby! Count em! Regular 3/4" plywood has something like 6 or 8.

Of couse it costs $1.40 /sf. But who's counting? (my wife)
I used roughly 13 sf, and it costed about $100 (most of that was because I had to order a 30"x30" piece for the front, my local cabinet shop only has 60"x60". Hummm, now that I think about it, it would have been cheaper to get the 60"x60")

Putting wood together.
I used Gorilla glue and 2" stainless steel deck screws. Inside has the 45° blocks like in dsandfort's build.

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd288/sharps45110/plytankconstruction.jpg

Up next: "Fiberglass, or how I made a mess"

Lee