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Unread 02/07/2012, 04:40 PM   #1
NT Nano
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First Build: 29 gal glass

To date I have been running an eclipse 12 with a HOB overflow and 5 gal sump. I have already had one snail-induced overflow disaster, plus I wanted a bigger tank and a cleaner look, so I took advantage of Petco's recent $/gal sale and picked up a 29 gal aqueon and a 10 gal sump/fuge. I want an internal overflow, so I am building one out of acrylic to work with BeanAnimal's plan. The rest will include a DIY LED fixture and scavenged parts from my old system.
Here goes!


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Unread 02/07/2012, 04:47 PM   #2
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I want to add that since this is my first build, I am gearing it towards other first-timers, hoping they can learn from my mistakes. It's a little down and dirty, and I can already tell my next build will be smoother.


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Unread 02/07/2012, 05:04 PM   #3
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The drilling set-up

The part that scares me the most is drilling the holes in the glass, so I want to get that done first. After watching several youtube driling vids, I roughed together my overflow plumbing to determine the depth and spacing of my holes (I am using a 700 gph sicce return pump, so I am going with 1" bulkheads), then made a wooden template/hole guide. I set up outside on some cardboard, padded the inside of the tank with cardboard to prevent falling items from breaking the tank, and clamped a garden hose in place for my water source. (The template off to the right is for my return).



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Unread 02/07/2012, 05:13 PM   #4
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Diaster!

My fears were justified! Alas, I cracked the tank on the last hole. Off to Petco for another $30 tank. See, this is why I did this while they were cheap!



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Unread 02/07/2012, 10:51 PM   #5
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Drilling Lessons learned

So, I did finally get my holes drilled successfully on tank 2. I think the crack happened for 3 reasons. The first is that I started to rush things, and was rocking the bit a little. It bound up on one edge of the hole and the rest was history. Secondly, my wood template was far too thick, which compounded the binding problem. I used a much thinner piece of wood for the return and it worked much better. Last, my bit was getting dull. According to the site where I purchased it, one bit should be good for a dozen holes or so, but I think drilling the wood really shortened the lifespan. Again, for the return I only drilled one hole through thinner wood, and the bit cut the glass noticeably better. I don't have a hole saw set-up for my drill, so in the future I would spend an extra $15 and get two glass bits, one for the wood and one for the glass. (A hole-saw is much spendier, and I am only planning on doing this once more). So to sum it all up:
1. Don't rush
2. Use thin templats/drill guides
3. Use new/sharp bits

Hopefully this will save someone else a cracked tank


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Unread 02/07/2012, 11:49 PM   #6
NemusMaximus
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Subscribing to your build. It was a good thing you bought the tank cheap and stuck it out. Some people would have quit after something like that. I cant wait to see the rest of your build!


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Unread 02/08/2012, 12:15 AM   #7
NT Nano
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Thanks! And yes, my stubbornness sometimes serves me well. This is a "learning" build, as I know I will be moving in about 2 years, at which point I will set up my "final" tank (still smallish in the 70 gal range to my current thinking). Might have a professional drill that one, as it is less likely I can replace it on a whim, but maybe I will use the broken tank to practice on and build some confidence. We'll see when the time comes!


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Unread 02/08/2012, 06:20 PM   #8
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Next comes the paint

We live in a rental house, so no built-in tanks for me. It is going to be on a stand against the wall, so my next step is to paint the back black to hide the plumbing, etc. that will run behind the tank.
I masked everything that I don't want painted, and applied 2 coats of rustoleum flat black. I am extremely pleased with the results. I can't even see a flashlight through it when I hold it up to the paint, and I have scraped several items across the back while working on plumbing, etc. and the paint shows no signs of scratching off of the glass easily (one of my concerns).
The masked Tank:


The painting:



The finished product:



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Unread 02/08/2012, 06:32 PM   #9
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I should also mention that while I was working on the painting, my loving husband (who tolerates my reefing because it makes me happy but is truly befuddled by my level of obsession and often horrified at the amount of $$ things can cost) modified my tank stand (aka an old oak bathroom cabinet) for the larger tank by making a new top for it with a cut-out in the back for the plumbing, and beefing up the interior and front with some 2x4's. The tank overhangs the cabinet on the sides and front, so we had to make sure it was stable.
The dimensions I gave him included 1 and 1/8" clearance all around the edge. He then put 1" trim on that both hides the edges of the plywood and provides a "safety edge" for the tank.
Sorry I don't have any pictures of this, but I will make sure the stand is in some of the FTS's at the end.


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Unread 02/08/2012, 11:47 PM   #10
NemusMaximus
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Nice job with the painting. Im def. going to try the rustoleum brand next time. I used some no name stuff for my 5 gallon, and I had to give it like 10 coats, and I still had tiny specks that refused to be covered. Crazy.


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Unread 02/09/2012, 10:52 AM   #11
NT Nano
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That sucks about the spots. I run my sump/fuge on a reverse photoperiod, and light shines up the plumbing gap in the back, so I would get a perpetually starry night if that had happened to me. I did hit it with windex first, but other than that I did nothing special and it was all the paint. Glad to learn at your expense as I was tempted to go cheap this time (it's in my nature), and I will be sure to stick with what I know works for my future build!


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Unread 02/09/2012, 11:39 AM   #12
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The Overflow

My next step is the acrylic overflow (acrylic because I can make it at home). I have heard of people having issues with bonding the acrylic to glass, and I want to be able to move this overflow to my future tank, so I stole an idea from glass-holes.com (don't forget the hyphen in that domain name, believe me!) and designed it as a four-sided box that is held to the tank by the bulkhead. There is one seal between the bulkhead and the acrylic, and another between the acrylic and the glass. I bought my bulkheads and extra seals from them as a "Thanks".
This overflow is also oversized for my current tank, again with the goal of moving it to my larger (and final) tank in a couple years. As a result, it takes up a fair amount of real-estate, so I am making the bottom of the overflow out of clear acrylic with the goal of letting some light through. Probably not enough for corals, but at least corraline! I suspect it will gunk over pretty quickly, but since you can't see it anyway, it won't matter if it doesn't work. The sides are clear too, just so I only have to buy 2 pieces of 12x12 acrylic.
I don't have any specialized acrylic equipment, so I am using my dremel tool for the bulk of the construction. I used the same hole template (and hole bit) that I drilled my glass with to ensure the holes will line up exactly (obviously this is crucial with this construction method).



The Finished Pieces



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Unread 02/09/2012, 11:45 AM   #13
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Overflow Construction

The drawback of the dremel... acrylic is STINKY when you cut it, and as it melts and builds up on the edges of the cut, it is hard to keep the tool moving straight and smooth. As a result, I ended up with not-perfect edges, so the typical acrylic welding products are less useful (I hadn't planned on using them anyway because I can't find it locally and online sucks with shipping). I ended up bonding the pieces together with a one-part superglue/epoxy product, then once it had dried I sealed the seams with silicone. After it had all dried I did a water test and there are no leaks.
On retrospect, the clear sides are kinda cool because it will make it easy to see where the water level is in respect to my bulkheads, thus making the inflow/outflow balance easy to adjust.

Lesson Learned: I wish that I had spent the $15-$20 and bought a fine-toothed blade for our table saw. The cutting would have been much smoother, faster, and a more professional outcome. Luckily you can't really tell once it's in the tank

The Box:



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Unread 02/10/2012, 12:20 PM   #14
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The Plumbing

I based my overflow on BeanAnimal's silent overflow. It takes up more real-estate than some, but after my previous snail-blockage-induced kitchen flooding experience, I love the redundancy in this design. Also, with an active siphon, it is capable of moving more water through smaller pipes than a passive gravity overflow. I drew out my design on paper, made a parts list, and went to Lowe's to get my fittings. In addition to the union valves, I also put unions near the tank to make the plumbing easier to disassemble and transport when we move.
I was working on the overflow simultaneously with the tank, so you can see in my first pic where I test-fit everything prior to painting the tank.



How it looks inside the overflow:



As usual, my plumbing project did not go as smoothly as planned. Somehow I forgot that the tank stand has a rim across the back, which interfered with the straight drop into my sump that I had designed. My husband saved me from starting over with the brilliant idea of putting a "jog" into the drop with some 45's. Here is the finished product:




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Unread 02/13/2012, 03:35 PM   #15
NemusMaximus
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Looking good. Water test yet?


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Unread 02/14/2012, 11:03 PM   #16
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The water test and set up

Quote:
Originally Posted by NemusMaximus View Post
Looking good. Water test yet?
Here it is being modeled by my number one helper.



And here are all of my 12 gal inhabitants in their temporary homes. I separated corals and fish in an effort to keep up the water quality for the corals. I scavenged a lot of live rock, sand, and the sump for my new system, so after the new sand settles, I am hoping it will cycle pretty quickly.



Next comes the hood and DIY LED's!


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Unread 02/15/2012, 07:15 AM   #17
csammis
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Looks great so far!

One thing though...

Quote:
Originally Posted by NT Nano View Post
I don't have a hole saw set-up for my drill, so in the future I would spend an extra $15 and get two glass bits, one for the wood and one for the glass. (A hole-saw is much spendier, and I am only planning on doing this once more).
Use a wood hole saw for the wood, don't waste the glass-capable bits on the templates. Home Depot has hole saw bits that chuck into any ordinary drill for $5-$7.


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Unread 02/15/2012, 11:10 AM   #18
NT Nano
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Quote:
Originally Posted by csammis View Post
Looks great so far!

One thing though...



Use a wood hole saw for the wood, don't waste the glass-capable bits on the templates. Home Depot has hole saw bits that chuck into any ordinary drill for $5-$7.
Thanks csammis: I must have been looking into the wrong thing because they wanted to sell me a system that had a center drill and then a separate collar that went on to cut the hole. The entire set-up came to about $30. Will definitely investigate more before I do this again!


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Unread 02/15/2012, 01:51 PM   #19
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Quote:
Originally Posted by NT Nano View Post
Thanks csammis: I must have been looking into the wrong thing because they wanted to sell me a system that had a center drill and then a separate collar that went on to cut the hole. The entire set-up came to about $30. Will definitely investigate more before I do this again!
Here's a link to the sort of bit I was talking about: Vermont American 18316 1 in. Carbon Hole Saw with Mandrel. Of course the downside to these is that they're fixed-size; if you need a lot of different diameters you have to buy separate bits for each one. Honestly though how many diameters does one really need in the course of drilling tanks


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Unread 02/15/2012, 10:51 PM   #20
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Cool, thanks!


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Unread 02/15/2012, 11:08 PM   #21
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looks good!


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Unread 02/15/2012, 11:18 PM   #22
NT Nano
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Let the LED's begin

I have a 12 LED light I built for my 12 gal that I am going to incorporate into my new fixture. I am adding 2 more heat sinks, 10 bright white, 12 royal blue, and 2 green Cree LED's. I am putting 80 degree optics since it will be pretty close to my tank, and the greens and most of the old fixture (which will be in the center) do not have optics. I am certainly no expert at this, and basically follow the instructions in the kit from Rapid LED.

Getting started



I find it helpful to actually draw where I want my wires to go on the heatsink.



Now for the soldering!


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Unread 02/16/2012, 10:08 AM   #23
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If I had any skills, at all, this would be an identical build I would do. I look forward to your progress!!


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Unread 02/16/2012, 10:42 AM   #24
NT Nano
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@Greg31; thanks! And this is definitely my "learning tank"! I am glad that I am starting relatively small, and on a tank that I know will be coming down in a couple years, although that presents some challenges too since I don't want to sink a bunch of money into it.


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Unread 02/16/2012, 10:52 AM   #25
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My LED's are going to be mounted directly to my canopy. I don't want to fabricate an actual fixture, because this set-up will likely be reintegrated into a larger fixture one we move. My canopy design is pretty simple...a light frame that sits on top of the tank with cladding on 3 sides. The top (with the lights mounted on the underside) will fit inside of the edges, and the front will be hinged onto the top. That way I can work on the lights by flipping the front panel all the way over so that it rests on the top, and lift the top off of the canopy frame to take it anywhere I need to. I failed to take pics, but if it works well I will try to if anyone is interested.


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