Our 375 Gallon project
 

Now that our 375 gallon project is underway I thought I’d post some pics and some information as it progresses. This will be a fairly long project as we are not expecting to have water in the tank until the end of summer.

So far we have the tank of course which was built locally by Tenecor and let me just say- they build an incredible tank and they were very patient with our design specs and the customer service was top notch- Not to mention they hit the projected completion date on the nose (which was only 2 weeks from time of order). The tank is 96 x 30 x 30, black back, with 2 corner overflows. It looks a bit like swiss cheese at this point because of the 18 holes we had drilled for various closed loops and sump return.

One of our main goals was to have a tank that didn’t have any visible PVC, powerheads, Tunzes, etc. We want to see the reef not the equipment. For this reason we will be having 2 closed loop systems, one will have fixed returns coming from the sides of the overflows and the second will be utilizing a OM 4way returning to 4 separate rock supporting structures made out of PVC and coated with foam. Both closed loops will have a flow of about 3600gph. The sump will return through 4 holes in the top corners of the tank and will have a flow of about 4400gph. That should give us in the ballpark of 11,600 gph of flow through the tank.

http://www.systemsu.com/reeftank/1.jpg
http://www.systemsu.com/reeftank/empty%20tank1.jpg

Once we had the tank it was time for the stand. We considered wood but it only took a few minutes to determine that the type of stand/canopy system we wanted was only something that could be made out of steel. After much planning we had a design and it was time to build. For this we turned to fellow reefer Keith Jackson. He built the stand exactly the way we wanted and his craftsmanship was excellent. We went to his house about 10am and we had a finished stand/canopy back on the trailer heading home by 6pm. For anyone considering a steel stand I would refer Keith without hesitation. Here’s a look at the stand/canopy before it heads off to get powdercoated-

http://www.systemsu.com/reeftank/tank%20stand1.jpg
http://www.systemsu.com/reeftank/tank%20stand2.jpg

Once the stand is powdercoated I will post some more pics- hopefully by the weekend

very nice good luck with it!!

Did you post this somewhere else? That stand looks strangely familiar. Eitherway good luck :)

WOW that stand is amazingly.. What size steel is that you guys used? I'll be following this thread closely this is going to be a beautiful tank=)
Dan

Why did you decided to go with a steel canoppy? sweet tank by the way.

sfsuphysics- I suppose to a point most steel stand look very similar. This was just welded together a few days ago so it was probably just someone elses that looks similar.

Bamm Bamm- Thanks and wait a few days- the stand will look a lot better once it is powdercoated :). the steel is 1.5 x. 1.5 steel tube .090, thick the main support beams are 1.5 x 3 and .120 thick.

Julio- we decided on a steel canopy for several resons- One of the main reason is that doing it in wood I would have had to have a support on the front outside edges of the tank to support the canopy or have the canopy rest on the top of the tank- I didn't like either of these options. I also didn't want to think about painting the canopy or the weight of it- steel is much lighter, smaller and easier to design around. You can't really tell from the pictures but the front lower brace and the midle vertical brace are removable- this will give me the whole 96x20 area to access the top of the tank. It will also allow me to lay on the front brace when it is in place without putting wieght on the tank. I'll have some pics when it's done and you'll probably get a better idea of what I'm talking about. I can't wait!

Thanks everyone for the comments, questions and ideas. I welcome any and all questions and ideas as this is a project that will probably go thru many changes as it progresses (tends to happen no matter how much you plan). I just hope it will be done right the first time..

Sweet! I can't wait to check it out tomorrow night when I drop the bulbs!!!

sfsuphysics, I had posted pix in this thread before of mine. Here they are. They should look similar - same guy built the stands. ;-)

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh...hreadid=453535

PLEASE DON'T DROP THE BULBS!! :). We are excited about the new bulbs- the spectrum has shifted quite a bit in the old ones so that should help and from the reviews they sound like a great color spectrum.

You may be out of luck for seeing the stand as, if all goes as planned, it will be at the powdercoating company by noon today. The tank will, of course, still be sitting on the floor in the garage and that's the best part anyway. See you tonight!

looking forward to updates ! :)

NICE!

Thats so good! I love it! do you mind if I totally steal your design? I have been trying to design my stand for ages and I never even thought of having the canopy connected, I love it.

Would you mind if I asked how much the steel or the whole thing cost you? I will be doing the work on mine myself so I only have to pay for the steel.

Will be watching this thread! :-)

I got to see the tank tonight and it is awesome! If you need a hand, you're only about 15 minutes from me. Please don't hesitate to call. I got a lot of free time March, April and May!

Thanks all- I'll be sure to post some updated pictures when I have some. I should be getting my stand from the powdercoaters Thursday or Friday.

Jimsmowen- Feel free to use my design- wait till its back from the powdercoater and it will look better. Obviously the steel prices could be drastically different since you are in Australia but for 1.5" square tube .090 it cost $1.29 per foot. If you went to .120 guage it was $1.76 per foot but I think the .090 was plenty. It's really not much more than wood if you can weld it yourself- and it's a lot stonger, probably lighter as well. My whole setup with the stand, canopy, and connecting pieces is about 280-300 Lbs. Good luck with it.

Thanks for the offer to help Dave- I just may need it as it will be fun moving the 470Lb tank into place. I think a friend of mine is getting a piano dolly so that should help- still need at least 4 people I think. With any luck it will be on the stand in its permanent home this weekend.

Oh ok then, well my dad is in the construction industry, and he will be doing my welding! he also said that the steel would be cheaper then wood, stronger and lighter, so yea, thanx!

I LOVE that stand! Steel is great because its strength and resistence to shear. You could put a door on the end of that stand and slide in a sump that is as long as the actual tank! Not something you'd really be able to do with a wooden stand unless it was grossly over-engineered!

Nice truck too.

Still waiting for the stand to come back from the powdercoaters, but here's a pic of our "swiss cheese" plywood that will go under the tank. With any luck we will get the stand back tomorrow and maybe the tank on it this weekend.

http://www.systemsu.com/reeftank/plywood.jpg

Awsome, I love this thread! I cant wait to see it all setup!!! btw is that a pencil in the groove *bottom right*

good luck, and post more pics

Updates plzzz:D

I was hoping to pick up the powdercoated stand Friday but it was delayed a day due to all the rain we have been having. They said it will be ready for pick up today so I'll be sure to take some pics and post if I get the time this evening.

I got the stand back from the powdercoater yesterday and set it up last night. The powdercoating job was excellent and is much better than painting in my opinion. Still have a ways to go before the tank gets put on the stand but I'll be sure to post some updated pictures. Here are a few pictures of the progress so far-

http://www.systemsu.com/reeftank/tank%20stand4.jpg

http://www.systemsu.com/reeftank/tank%20stand3.jpg

That's just massive.

What lighting are you planning on running?

I've got the identical sized Tenecor tank...I'll be watching to see how you do things compared to mine. Have fun with it!! :D

Purple Haze- As of now we are planning on 4 250w DE's, once we get that up and working we may add another 250w DE or may supplement with VHO. We currently have 2 250w DE's and a 4 bulb VHO setup so we wanted to use that instead of buying all new lighting but are going to try to get the look we want without any VHO supplementation. We'll see what it looks like with the 4 250's and go from there I think.

mhurley- Are these things massive or what? I could only find one picture of your tank in your gallery- got any other you want to share? I would be curious on how you set yours up as well. Are you happy with it so far?

Not much more progress yet- here is the stand all finished and we are just waiting on our OM 4way and a few other parts before we put the tank on it.

http://www.systemsu.com/reeftank/tank%20stand5.jpg