65 Gallon reef tank build (downgrading) from glasscages.com

[Mattie_Fish]

Hey guys!!!
I am starting to setup and new tank in place of my old 75 gallon. The reason behind this is that I have always wanted a starphire aquarium and I have had it with the noise from my filter and want a reef ready tank. I have decided therefor to order a new 65 gallon reef ready starphire tank from Glasscages.com. I have heard many bad and good things about there tanks so not only will I be doing a build but also a review. I will be posting a bunch of small projects I am working on and then the tank setup it's self. I am picking the tank up on Monday but will do all the change during thanksgiving when I don't have much to do. So be sure to check out what I have to post!


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[Mattie_Fish]

So over the past week I have been working on making a canopy. I am not a crafts man but I did my best and figured it out! http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20161022/1b4df04fc8ca58c5a188cf451c2f039c.jpg
I just went to Home Depot and got 1x12 and then 2x2 for the frame. I also used a 1x8 board for the top so I could remove it. http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20161022/f6f9618a8a58067d08b19fdf799f380f.jpg http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20161022/cab33e548a077a8137e99f0faafe0cb3.jpg
The wood is very light and didn't require to much support. I did have one problem. The wood was so thin that it would split... I solved that by glueing all of it and then adding supports.
http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20161022/d705284ec1f19224e9db4cb5b5968c01.jpg
Overall it does look nice though has its flaws, but what can you do...


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[Mattie_Fish]

So over the past week I have been working on building my canopy for the tank. I am by no means a crafts man so I am really proud of my work
http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20161022/78411664f34f7874fd15eccb1aa947cb.jpg

It was complicated being one of the first things I've made, but I think it turned out pretty good. I plan to paint it with a water proof coating on the inside and then black to match the stand.


I went to Home Depot to get the wood a few 1x12 to make the outside and 2x2 to make the frame. I also got a 1x8 for the top so I could take it off.
http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20161022/b7bcf3177be03416bfbbf8e229f52a7f.jpg
http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20161022/376d88092661948b983d8cb940cfb655.jpg
Using the 1x8 and 12 I found that the wood split so I cut up my remaining 2x2 and used that to brace the wood along with a lot of glue [emoji23].
http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20161022/94b40a2a68ab369bdfa0726d87658555.jpg

Once I get the time I will put in T5 HO frame and then I am going to add some wood planks to hang the xr15 light. Overall it looks good!



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[Mattie_Fish]

I posted that twice... Oops, didn't mean to do that.

[Mattie_Fish]

So today I got something new in that is very important for our floor. A while ago, I had a hob overflow and it flooded multiple times. I got sick in tired of that so I decided to take it off and in the meantime add a mechanical filter. I put a towel on the side to stop the vibration and make it more silent, but then I noticed the water level was decreasing. I looked behind the tank and the towel caught the towel and was dripping down. So I have had a bunch of water Problems and think I have found a solution!
http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20161022/e27253b363b70fdf24d4979296ac4878.jpg
http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20161022/b40d2480f197c7f6f4c2088ea6ac7932.jpg
So I went to a local welding store and asked them to make me a pan. 52x24x6 this not will collect any water that might leak or drip or do anything of the such! It has a capacity of 10 gallons. It is basically a cookie sheet increased a lot in size and made out of stainless Steel. It cost around 250 but I figured that would be worth it to know my floor isn't going to get ruined.


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[Capt_Dan]

Good post!