70g build thread

Sway_A_Way · 03/30/2007, 03:26 AM

Time to start a thread on my new 70 gallon project. Ill try to update it daily here in the early stages, as that is my goal to have contributed something to the process everyday.

OVERVIEW: Oceanic 70g (originally reef-ready) w/ oceanic stand. I came up with a unique idea to turn it into a semi room divider. (I live in an apartment so not very many rooms, and from the pics u'll see what i mean)

CONCEPT: To make a three-sided viewable tank w/ little to no equipment showing.

DIY: Everything beyond the tank/stand has been diy. I made the canapy originally for the normal (against the wall) look. but ill be re-fabricating that in the near future here. As far as everything else ll let the pictures explain.

3/26/07: Removed overflow
3/27/07: Re-arranged furniture
3/28/07: Built "inner 2x4 frame"
3/29/07: picked out access panel material

Dont mind the mess i didnt clean for the pictures

OK now that u have a visual u will see that all the plumbing will be done in the frame against the wall. Everything will be hidden with access panels. The two holes left over where the overflow used to be will be the intake for a closed loop. one will be capped off. The closed loop will be provided by (havnt bought a pump yet Iwaki probly) OM super squirt and plumbed through the side and over the top of the tank (inside the canapy)

thats the basics for now, the rest of the equipment consist of a euro-reef skimmer, 250w titanium heater, mag 9.5 return, 20L sump w/ small refugium.

drauka99 · 03/30/2007, 08:44 AM

Just a heads up - MDF might not be the best choice for the clading on your stand. I don't know if thats what your using but it sure looks like it. MDF tend to absorb moisture and swell. Maybe you can seal it up really well with some sealer but at this point you might want to consider going ahead and replacing it.

Looks great though dude. I would love to set up a tank as a divider one day.

Sway_A_Way · 03/30/2007, 12:14 PM

the stand is from oceanic. The canapy is made out of mdf but not the stand. is that what u ment the canapy?

Pbrown3701 · 03/30/2007, 01:05 PM

my oceanic stand IS MDF and i recently went out of town for a week and came home to find about 10gal of water on the floor. The bottom of my stand is twice as thick now and you can peel off layers of the wood.....not a good situation, but I think the stand is still solid (the vertical beams are made from normal lumber, just the top and bottom are MDF)

drauka99 · 03/30/2007, 01:34 PM

thats what i meant, the clading is MDF. AS a kid the underfloor of our kitchen was MDF and I had the pleasure of being involved in the remodel when it did the same thing under the tiles in the kitchen. Just wanted to give you a heads up.

Sway_A_Way · 03/30/2007, 01:39 PM

o i did not know that. Ill have to make some re-enforcements. What are some good ideas on how to improve it??

Sway_A_Way · 03/31/2007, 05:22 PM

3/30/07

bought a 3.5" hole saw bit to drill holes for the plumbing. Re-configured plumbing. and I bought 3 sheets of 1/8" thick melamine coated hdbd to make the access panels.

Going to buy a table saw tomorrow and then i can cut and sand the pieces to fit.

Sway_A_Way · 04/03/2007, 02:21 AM

ok i drilled two holes in the left side of the stand and the plumbing is routed through them. Now I need to buy a pump.

Now my question is can anybody give me any opinions on the Gen-x PCX-40 (Mak4) pump?? It would be for the closed loop.

drauka99 · 04/03/2007, 08:21 AM

Just a question, It looks like this tank was drilled for an internal overflow that has been removed and it looks like you are going to use a sipon overflow. I would recomend against this.
I see how with how you are aligning the tank the old overflow wouldn't work, so if your not against drilling the tank maybe build an overflow on the side and drill the tank on that side, that way you could get much better surface skimming and get rid of all the problems associated with the other overflow.

As an added plus u could use the two old holed in the bottom of the tank for your closed loop, just some ideas

Sorry I have no experience with the pump you are talkign about

drauka99 · 04/03/2007, 08:24 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Sway_A_Way
o i did not know that. Ill have to make some re-enforcements. What are some good ideas on how to improve it??

Two ways as i see it
#1 remove all the MDF and reclad the stand in plywood and paint it

#2 get some really good fealer (maybe marine grade) and seal up the entire stand inside and out with it.

Sway_A_Way · 04/03/2007, 11:08 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by drauka99
Just a question, It looks like this tank was drilled for an internal overflow that has been removed and it looks like you are going to use a sipon overflow. I would recomend against this.
I see how with how you are aligning the tank the old overflow wouldn't work, so if your not against drilling the tank maybe build an overflow on the side and drill the tank on that side, that way you could get much better surface skimming and get rid of all the problems associated with the other overflow.

As an added plus u could use the two old holed in the bottom of the tank for your closed loop, just some ideas

Sorry I have no experience with the pump you are talkign about

how come u recomend against the syphon overflow and its position? I just didnt want to go through the hastle of drilling in the glass...

And actually yes one of the existing holes was gonna be for the CL the other I was gonna plug.

Quote:

Originally posted by drauka99
Two ways as i see it
#1 remove all the MDF and reclad the stand in plywood and paint it

#2 get some really good fealer (maybe marine grade) and seal up the entire stand inside and out with it.

thanks for the tips I think ill just try to reseal everything that i see.... How come Oceanic would take the chance by building a stand using some of this material??

drauka99 · 04/03/2007, 01:51 PM

just alot of people have had problems with sipon overflows failing during power outages (not starting back up) and plus i thing you could build a overflow on the end of the tank and get better results, hey its your build just throwing out som suggestions.

As to why the build it like that I would say cost, MDF is cheap and has some goos qualities but I would never use it around water. Just my experiences

Sway_A_Way · 04/03/2007, 02:04 PM

no no This is exactly what i was looking for, suggestions and comments, i appreciate the advice, wish some more people would chime in here.

But as far as the overflow im on kind of a strict budget for the most part and I wanted to be able to convert the tank back to the normal position if i wanted to in the future so drilling the side wouldnt be to asthetic if that were to come about. But ive had success with syphon overflows in the past so i will stick to the hang-on unless i do see problems then ill have to drill. (And then ull write "i told you so")

as for the stand i will take your advice and prepare to add some seals.

Now for the closed loop I think im just gonna order the regular OM squirt with the genx pump.

i still need a 3/4" sea swirl if anybody has one...

drauka99 · 04/04/2007, 01:23 PM

Check the for sale part of the forum. Seems like I always see one of these on there. Good luck and keep us updated with the progress

drauka99 · 04/04/2007, 01:25 PM

No I told you so's from me, just sugestions

good deal with using the existing holes in the bottom of the tank for the CL plumbing. Any ideas on how you are going to keep the CL pipe from being to prominate on the side where your couch is.

Sway_A_Way · 04/04/2007, 01:58 PM

good point, i have thought of that, but i havnt really come up with anything perminant yet. I plan on a DSB so the plugged hole will be covered, the intake screen i think ill add a 45 on it so it is angled toward the Live rock, then maybe conceal it that way. not sure yet...

im gonna make my cuts today been delayed so ill try and post some pics later

Duby · 04/04/2007, 04:16 PM

I made a stand for my 75 and my 125. MDF does absorb but if you wipe it up quick it's not too bad. If you can cover it or seal it then i would. I painted my 125 with lacquor and covered my 75 with laminate. I had a HOT overflow on my 75 and it never failed but I had a little Aqua Lifter pump running on it too.

Sway_A_Way · 04/04/2007, 06:36 PM

wow nice woodworking, looks like that 125 would be an awesome penninsula setup similar to how im doing mine. look at that shop u got there, wish i had somewhere like that to do the work at. I dont have many tools and i have to do all my work on the patio of my apartment lol.

Sway_A_Way · 04/04/2007, 10:33 PM

here is the first plumbing layout so far

the holes..

DeepBlueSea · 04/05/2007, 05:36 AM

I made a dumb comment... forget it...

Duby · 04/05/2007, 08:16 AM

I have to build another 125 stand for someone and I will be doing that on my apartment patio.

Sway_A_Way · 04/08/2007, 06:57 PM

UPDATE: finished the panels etc, painted everything including the canapy. still have to touch up a couple spots (screws, scratches, wood showing)

but overall i think it turned out great. almost ready for water once CL is done. BTW i found a 3/4" seaswirl so return will be done soon.

i took these with flash, so every nook, scratch, and hole show up. u know how it is.

And as u can see in the pictures, instead of capping off a hole, im gonna get the om squirt with the bypass unit, the bypass will go back to the plumbing utilizing the extra hole for some "underneath" flow.

Sway_A_Way · 04/08/2007, 07:03 PM

no flash

drauka99 · 04/09/2007, 08:44 AM

Looks good man, keep it up

Sway_A_Way · 04/11/2007, 01:09 AM

decided to velcro on the access panel. also touched up any sscratches ect and added the intake for the CL. Should get the pump soon next week.

STAY TUNED i know u all are excited.

03/30/2007, 01:34 PM	#5
drauka99 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: at the Beach in Fl Posts: 792	thats what i meant, the clading is MDF. AS a kid the underfloor of our kitchen was MDF and I had the pleasure of being involved in the remodel when it did the same thing under the tiles in the kitchen. Just wanted to give you a heads up. __________________ "Aliie, Eat a Snickers, you're "HANGRY" - me "I sometimes enjoy watching shadow puppet shows" - jpfelix "Bacon is Love." - Fat Man Current Tank Info: 240 Algae Farm System Running

04/03/2007, 08:21 AM	#9
drauka99 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: at the Beach in Fl Posts: 792	Just a question, It looks like this tank was drilled for an internal overflow that has been removed and it looks like you are going to use a sipon overflow. I would recomend against this. I see how with how you are aligning the tank the old overflow wouldn't work, so if your not against drilling the tank maybe build an overflow on the side and drill the tank on that side, that way you could get much better surface skimming and get rid of all the problems associated with the other overflow. As an added plus u could use the two old holed in the bottom of the tank for your closed loop, just some ideas Sorry I have no experience with the pump you are talkign about __________________ "Aliie, Eat a Snickers, you're "HANGRY" - me "I sometimes enjoy watching shadow puppet shows" - jpfelix "Bacon is Love." - Fat Man Current Tank Info: 240 Algae Farm System Running

04/03/2007, 01:51 PM	#12
drauka99 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: at the Beach in Fl Posts: 792	just alot of people have had problems with sipon overflows failing during power outages (not starting back up) and plus i thing you could build a overflow on the end of the tank and get better results, hey its your build just throwing out som suggestions. As to why the build it like that I would say cost, MDF is cheap and has some goos qualities but I would never use it around water. Just my experiences __________________ "Aliie, Eat a Snickers, you're "HANGRY" - me "I sometimes enjoy watching shadow puppet shows" - jpfelix "Bacon is Love." - Fat Man Current Tank Info: 240 Algae Farm System Running

04/04/2007, 01:23 PM	#14
drauka99 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: at the Beach in Fl Posts: 792	Check the for sale part of the forum. Seems like I always see one of these on there. Good luck and keep us updated with the progress __________________ "Aliie, Eat a Snickers, you're "HANGRY" - me "I sometimes enjoy watching shadow puppet shows" - jpfelix "Bacon is Love." - Fat Man Current Tank Info: 240 Algae Farm System Running

04/04/2007, 01:25 PM	#15
drauka99 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: at the Beach in Fl Posts: 792	No I told you so's from me, just sugestions good deal with using the existing holes in the bottom of the tank for the CL plumbing. Any ideas on how you are going to keep the CL pipe from being to prominate on the side where your couch is. __________________ "Aliie, Eat a Snickers, you're "HANGRY" - me "I sometimes enjoy watching shadow puppet shows" - jpfelix "Bacon is Love." - Fat Man Current Tank Info: 240 Algae Farm System Running

03/30/2007, 03:26 AM	#1
Sway_A_Way Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Posts: 328	70g build thread Time to start a thread on my new 70 gallon project. Ill try to update it daily here in the early stages, as that is my goal to have contributed something to the process everyday. OVERVIEW: Oceanic 70g (originally reef-ready) w/ oceanic stand. I came up with a unique idea to turn it into a semi room divider. (I live in an apartment so not very many rooms, and from the pics u'll see what i mean) CONCEPT: To make a three-sided viewable tank w/ little to no equipment showing. DIY: Everything beyond the tank/stand has been diy. I made the canapy originally for the normal (against the wall) look. but ill be re-fabricating that in the near future here. As far as everything else ll let the pictures explain. 3/26/07: Removed overflow 3/27/07: Re-arranged furniture 3/28/07: Built "inner 2x4 frame" 3/29/07: picked out access panel material Dont mind the mess i didnt clean for the pictures OK now that u have a visual u will see that all the plumbing will be done in the frame against the wall. Everything will be hidden with access panels. The two holes left over where the overflow used to be will be the intake for a closed loop. one will be capped off. The closed loop will be provided by (havnt bought a pump yet Iwaki probly) OM super squirt and plumbed through the side and over the top of the tank (inside the canapy) thats the basics for now, the rest of the equipment consist of a euro-reef skimmer, 250w titanium heater, mag 9.5 return, 20L sump w/ small refugium.

03/30/2007, 08:44 AM	#2
drauka99 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: at the Beach in Fl Posts: 792	Just a heads up - MDF might not be the best choice for the clading on your stand. I don't know if thats what your using but it sure looks like it. MDF tend to absorb moisture and swell. Maybe you can seal it up really well with some sealer but at this point you might want to consider going ahead and replacing it. Looks great though dude. I would love to set up a tank as a divider one day. __________________ "Aliie, Eat a Snickers, you're "HANGRY" - me "I sometimes enjoy watching shadow puppet shows" - jpfelix "Bacon is Love." - Fat Man Current Tank Info: 240 Algae Farm System Running

03/30/2007, 12:14 PM	#3
Sway_A_Way Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Posts: 328	the stand is from oceanic. The canapy is made out of mdf but not the stand. is that what u ment the canapy?

03/30/2007, 01:05 PM	#4
Pbrown3701 Registered Member Join Date: May 2006 Location: Stillwater, OK Posts: 1,407	my oceanic stand IS MDF and i recently went out of town for a week and came home to find about 10gal of water on the floor. The bottom of my stand is twice as thick now and you can peel off layers of the wood.....not a good situation, but I think the stand is still solid (the vertical beams are made from normal lumber, just the top and bottom are MDF)

03/30/2007, 01:39 PM	#6
Sway_A_Way Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Posts: 328	o i did not know that. Ill have to make some re-enforcements. What are some good ideas on how to improve it??

03/31/2007, 05:22 PM	#7
Sway_A_Way Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Posts: 328	3/30/07 bought a 3.5" hole saw bit to drill holes for the plumbing. Re-configured plumbing. and I bought 3 sheets of 1/8" thick melamine coated hdbd to make the access panels. Going to buy a table saw tomorrow and then i can cut and sand the pieces to fit.

04/03/2007, 02:21 AM	#8
Sway_A_Way Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Posts: 328	ok i drilled two holes in the left side of the stand and the plumbing is routed through them. Now I need to buy a pump. Now my question is can anybody give me any opinions on the Gen-x PCX-40 (Mak4) pump?? It would be for the closed loop.

04/03/2007, 02:04 PM	#13
Sway_A_Way Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Posts: 328	no no This is exactly what i was looking for, suggestions and comments, i appreciate the advice, wish some more people would chime in here. But as far as the overflow im on kind of a strict budget for the most part and I wanted to be able to convert the tank back to the normal position if i wanted to in the future so drilling the side wouldnt be to asthetic if that were to come about. But ive had success with syphon overflows in the past so i will stick to the hang-on unless i do see problems then ill have to drill. (And then ull write "i told you so") as for the stand i will take your advice and prepare to add some seals. Now for the closed loop I think im just gonna order the regular OM squirt with the genx pump. i still need a 3/4" sea swirl if anybody has one...

04/04/2007, 01:58 PM	#16
Sway_A_Way Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Posts: 328	good point, i have thought of that, but i havnt really come up with anything perminant yet. I plan on a DSB so the plugged hole will be covered, the intake screen i think ill add a 45 on it so it is angled toward the Live rock, then maybe conceal it that way. not sure yet... im gonna make my cuts today been delayed so ill try and post some pics later

04/04/2007, 04:16 PM	#17
Duby Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Richmond, VA Posts: 152	my 2 cents I made a stand for my 75 and my 125. MDF does absorb but if you wipe it up quick it's not too bad. If you can cover it or seal it then i would. I painted my 125 with lacquor and covered my 75 with laminate. I had a HOT overflow on my 75 and it never failed but I had a little Aqua Lifter pump running on it too.

04/04/2007, 06:36 PM	#18
Sway_A_Way Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Posts: 328	wow nice woodworking, looks like that 125 would be an awesome penninsula setup similar to how im doing mine. look at that shop u got there, wish i had somewhere like that to do the work at. I dont have many tools and i have to do all my work on the patio of my apartment lol.

04/04/2007, 10:33 PM	#19
Sway_A_Way Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Posts: 328	here is the first plumbing layout so far the holes..

04/05/2007, 05:36 AM	#20
DeepBlueSea Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2001 Location: Gillette, NJ Posts: 217	Re: my 2 cents I made a dumb comment... forget it...

04/05/2007, 08:16 AM	#21
Duby Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Richmond, VA Posts: 152	I have to build another 125 stand for someone and I will be doing that on my apartment patio.

04/08/2007, 06:57 PM	#22
Sway_A_Way Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Posts: 328	UPDATE: finished the panels etc, painted everything including the canapy. still have to touch up a couple spots (screws, scratches, wood showing) but overall i think it turned out great. almost ready for water once CL is done. BTW i found a 3/4" seaswirl so return will be done soon. i took these with flash, so every nook, scratch, and hole show up. u know how it is. And as u can see in the pictures, instead of capping off a hole, im gonna get the om squirt with the bypass unit, the bypass will go back to the plumbing utilizing the extra hole for some "underneath" flow.

04/08/2007, 07:03 PM	#23
Sway_A_Way Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Posts: 328	no flash

04/09/2007, 08:44 AM	#24
drauka99 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: at the Beach in Fl Posts: 792	Looks good man, keep it up __________________ "Aliie, Eat a Snickers, you're "HANGRY" - me "I sometimes enjoy watching shadow puppet shows" - jpfelix "Bacon is Love." - Fat Man Current Tank Info: 240 Algae Farm System Running

04/11/2007, 01:09 AM	#25
Sway_A_Way Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Posts: 328	decided to velcro on the access panel. also touched up any sscratches ect and added the intake for the CL. Should get the pump soon next week. STAY TUNED i know u all are excited.