Mountains of sawdust (360g plywood, LED, Arduino build)

der_wille_zur_macht · 11/30/2009, 07:48 AM

So it begins!

Target completion late summer 2010. So I apologize in advance for infrequent updates.

troylee · 11/30/2009, 07:52 AM

watch out willies on the move!!!!!lol

eweinig · 11/30/2009, 07:53 AM

Nothing like the smell of sawdust in the morning! (Wow, a post after years of lurking???)

RokleM · 11/30/2009, 07:57 AM

That is a big pile

der_wille_zur_macht · 11/30/2009, 09:02 AM

It's probably a couple cubic feet. I've already started construction, but before I dive in, a few words (ha ha, "few" as if I could ever post only a few words) about my approach to this tank.

I've been thinking about a tank like this for years. Hence, I've had a lot of time for thoughts to wander. This has let me set some concrete goals, rather than just rush in to a project. I tend to be a rusher by nature, so this has been a learning experience for me. But I'm very excited about the potential. The process of designing this tank has led me to some unconventional decisions, but I'm comfortable with that - since each of them is backed up with some sort of "ah hah!" moment where I realized that there has always been a certain something missing in each of the tanks I've created to date. I wouldn't call this project a perfect design for me, but it's far ahead of anything else I've done.

My main goal:

Overall look/feel. Rather than concentrate on hot fad corals, or which fish I'll be keeping, I've tried to design every aspect of this system from a big-picture point of view. I want this to look like a system designed by an architect or interior designer as part of the home, not like something tacked on by a hobby enthusiast. Hence, it's going to be built-in. Also, rather than just plop it in a convenient spot in the house, I tried to think out the impact that different locations would have on our living habits. Here is a (embarrassingly rough and not to scale) floorplan of the first floor of our home:

As you can see, there's a wide open living space on the bottom half of the plan - the kitchen/dining room/living room are all open to eachother, and open to the spot where the tank will be. That's all more or less public space in the home. On the top half of the plan, there's a bunch of "private" space - two bedrooms and a bathroom. You can see where the planned spot for the tank is. Right now, that spot is open, and very awkward. You can't put a table or any furnishings there, so it ends up being a kind of no-mans land. Plus, the public and private areas in the home are completely open to eachother right now. So, locating the tank there will solve all of these problems, while making it visible from as much of the home as possible (you'll be able to see it from the kitchen, living room, dining room, hallway, and one of the bedrooms. Pity I couldn't open up the floor above so it could be seen from the second story, too!)

With location out of the way, I next concentrated on the look of the tank itself. I wanted the tank to look clean and permanent - so throwing a big glass box on a stand was out of the question. But, I wanted to take this look to the highest extreme: I don't even want it to look like a fish tank, I want it to look like a piece of glass floating in the wall, with the ocean behind. So, the stand, hood, etc. will all be flush with the surrounding surfaces in the home, with as small an impact as possible.

Taking that thought to the next level - you'll notice that the tank is essentially a peninsula. I like the fact that this reveals more of the tank for viewing, but I also don't want the entire tank to be visible from all angles. To me, that spoils the mystery. If you can take in the entire tank with one glance, your mind instantly knows it's "just a fish tank" even if it is impressive. I don't want that feeling - I want a sense of interest and mystery. I want the viewers to feel like they have to keep walking around the tank to see it all - new lines of sight from every angle, with little repetition. I want to get the same effect as in Japanese gardening technique - where the entire garden is never revealed at first glance - you have to walk down some winding path to see the truly magnificent views.

That's what ultimately led me to a plywood tank instead of glass. With a glass tank, the obvious choice in a peninsula configuration is to have it visible on three sides. Instead of going with that default for my plywood tank, I'm going to use a full-size viewing panel ONLY on the "front" of the tank - the side that faces the public space in the home. On the end and back side, there will be smaller viewing panels. With a plywood tank, this will be easy to accomplish. Again, here's a clumsy rendition in sketchup:

These smaller viewing panels should help break up the view. From those two sides, you'll just get a slice of the action, instead of seeing everything from the sandbed up to the water's surface. Hopefully, the effect created will be that your mind wonders what's behind the wall, out of sight - inviting you to come closer, and walk around the tank.

I've got a few more photos of progress so far, and lots more thoughts about the overall design, but that's enough for now.

troylee · 11/30/2009, 09:16 AM

Nice!!!!! It looks well thought out....just remeber to make this thing as easy as possible to service...that's the biggest downfalls of in wall tanks....I had a 220 in my last hhouse that just looked like a moving picture prolly my favorite I had ever built or seen... but the biggest nightmare in the world to service or aquascape it trully sucked every which way besides the look of walking in the door and seeing it.....just make sure you leave plenty accsess!!!!!

btw. I got a cool new build going rite now..took the 500 down tired of the wife complaining and huge power bills...I got me a new funky style tank going...big drop off tank..

good work so far willie keep it up!!!! And remember accsess...

MrineLfRlz · 11/30/2009, 12:08 PM

this is interesting im sticking around!
your plan looks great

customcolor · 11/30/2009, 04:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by troylee

I got a cool new build going rite now..took the 500 down tired of the wife complaining and huge power bills...

thats one of my reasons going to a 4' tank from my 125..just taking out the 175 w and not having a closed loop will save lots....plus putting in more led lighting for the atinics will help also

der_wille_zur_macht · 12/01/2009, 07:42 AM

I've been working on the tank about 3 or 4 hours a week for the last month, so I have a few "action shots" saved up. Here's a few, and some more details about the tank:

Materials (The plain fir ply and studs are for a work table, since none of my work surfaces are lareg enough to accommodate a tank this big.

):

Table built, starting on the cuts for the tank and sump. This shot was cutting out the hole for the viewing panel on the front of the tank:

And some details about the tank and sump:

The tank itself is going to be 72" x 48" x 24". I'm calling it a 360 gallon tank even though, technically speaking, it'll hold less than that, once you subtract material thickness, plus the water level will be an inch or two below the top, etc. But "360" has a nice ring to it.

I was originally planning something smaller - 60" long by ~40" wide - but then I realized that going up to 72" by 48" wouldn't really increase cost THAT much, and I had room for it, so why not?

Staying in line with my comments above about having a tank that's interesting to look at, secrets around the corner, etc. - depth was very important to me. I really don't like narrow, long tanks - they give the appearance of being a moving, two dimensional painting. I want something that looks like a chunk of the ocean, not a flat painting.

Length and height were more or less finally determined by a combination of what was easy to cut out of a 4' x 8' sheet of plywood, what would fit in my home, and what would be relatively cheap in terms of glass thickness, lighting, etc. I'd love to go a lot deeper for the visual impact, but the construction, lighting, circulation, etc. seems to get much more complicated after a point, so 24" will have to do. And, I need space in the stand and above the tank, so more depth would mean compromises elsewhere.

Speaking of sheets of plywood, the tank and sump ALMOST fit on three 4' x 8' sheets. At $40 each that's not a bad price to pay.

The sump is 18" x 18" x 48", and I had to make one of the end panels from a scrap of ply leftover from another project. I'm using 3/4" oak plywood for the tank and sump. It's going to be a shame to hide all this nice oak in a wall cavity, but it was the cheapest hardwood ply I could get, so I went with it anyways.

Stay tuned for more. . .

der_wille_zur_macht · 12/02/2009, 01:56 PM

Another action shot today. This time to convey a sense of scale. This is my 4 year old daughter standing in front of the (cut to size!) bottom panel of the tank:

She's already asked if she can swim in the finished product.

AcroSteve · 12/02/2009, 06:32 PM

Interesting concept with the viewing panels.

Good luck and take more picks

AcroSteve · 12/02/2009, 06:33 PM

Interesting concept with the viewing panels. I like it.

Good luck and take more picks

spleify · 12/02/2009, 11:11 PM

Oh this is gonna be sweet

der_wille_zur_macht · 12/03/2009, 08:26 AM

Steve, I see you like my build so much he posted twice.

Seriously though, your tank was a big inspiration in that plywood tanks can be "different" than the standard box with a single fullsize viewing panel on the front. And of course the whole crew at fingerlakesreef - I'm lucky to be almost local to those guys.

One thing I'm starting to worry about with those smaller viewing panels is if the plywood will flex around them too much. In a traditional fullsize viewing panel, the "frame" the glass is in is reinforced all the way around by the bottom, sides, and eurobracing. In my design, the long bottom edges of those panels will be "in the middle" of those two sides of the tank, so there will be no immediate support. Thoughts about this from anyone experienced in wood tanks would be appreciated.

I've got a few more pictures already but I'm trying to space them out to make it last longer.

I'm a fan of documenting projects like this, but it's hard to remember to put down the tools and pick up the camera once in a while. If anyone is reading this who's thinking about building a plywood tank, I have to tell you it is some serious fun and very rewarding. Maybe it's a bit premature for me to say that since I have a bulk of the work ahead of me, but it's very enjoyable so far.

Jtro · 12/03/2009, 10:03 AM

Willie
Are the plywood tanks cost effective or is it a wash.Looks like its going to be a great tank.Looking forward to more progress pictures.

Dale Gribble · 12/03/2009, 10:06 AM

Nice workspace you have. Looks good.

der_wille_zur_macht · 12/03/2009, 10:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jtro

Willie
Are the plywood tanks cost effective or is it a wash.Looks like its going to be a great tank.Looking forward to more progress pictures.

Again, I'm no expert here, but based on my budget for this tank and what I've seen other people spend, if you're above 200 - 300 gallons and want a very specific design, the plywood tank is going to be much cheaper. below that size range, a stock, off the shelf glass tank is probably going to be cheaper. Of course, that's not accounting for time, but I enjoy this, so time doesn't count. I've probably got 15 or 20 hours in it already, and will probably need another 40 - 60 to have the tank itself finished.

Let's put it this way. I got quotes from reputable builders to make me something a little smaller than this (~250g range) in glass and it was around 2 - 3 times what I'll likely have in this tank for materials. And given the wait lists these builders have, the schedule for the whole project won't be much different. That's giving me enough budget to splurge on other parts of the build I'll get in to in this thread once the tank is done (the LED lighting, for instance.)

Another advantage is that, of course, you get everything 100% exactly the way you want it. You don't have to settle for off-the-shelf dimensions or a builder's preferences - as long as your design works, you can make it.

Maybe Steve or someone else who has a finished wood tank can verify these thoughts?

kentrob11 · 12/03/2009, 10:18 AM

Are you concerned about the view from the front pane looking into the tank and seeing those two small windows? How are you going to make it look nice and clean from that standpoint?

MrRyanT · 12/03/2009, 10:19 AM

I think your tank is going to be awesome. It's so funny to me how people have such different ideas/opinions on things. I don't especially care for the "mystery" aspect in most things, I just want to see it all, LOL. So I know if I had the opportunity to come into your home and see the completed tank that I'd probably be frustrated to not be able to see more. Keep up the good work and thanks for sharing.

der_wille_zur_macht · 12/03/2009, 10:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dale Gribble

Nice workspace you have. Looks good.

It's definitely a nice space, but not technically mine. About half the tools I'm using are mine, and I guess the table is mine, since I just built it. But the space itself and the rest of the tools belong to a family member who is in the construction business. I'm lucky to have this sort of access - otherwise things like a biscuit jointer would be hard to justify. I might just leave the table here when I'm done as a thank you gift.

That said, basic requirements for this sort of project are very minimal. I'm using a cheap junky skil saw for 90% of the cuts, plus a cheap junky drill/driver for most of the assembly work. A hand saw, screwdrivers, some other basic hand tools, lots of good clamps, a good T square, and that's about it. If you were starting totally from scratch, you could probably get all the tools you needed for $200. The biscuit jointer is really the only specialized "uncommon" tool I'm using, and I bet you could rent one for a day if you didn't own one, or design a tank that doesn't rely on using one.

der_wille_zur_macht · 12/03/2009, 10:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kentrob11

Are you concerned about the view from the front pane looking into the tank and seeing those two small windows? How are you going to make it look nice and clean from that standpoint?

A good question. I'm not totally sure how I'll handle that, but the epoxy poured over the interior will all be tinted a specific color, so I'll have some control there. Black would probably be the best to help it blend in. Also, of course I'll have to be delicate when doing the silicone work on those panels to keep it clean looking. Plus, the fact that the tank is 48" from front to back should help - that back viewing pane is gonna be FAR away from the front viewing surface.

and there will be a 3" plywood lip around the front viewing surface, so the side viewing pane will be partially obscured by that.

In the end, if it looks ugly, I can always just make a nice clean frame from thin acrylic to hide the transition from wood to glass. Several other folks have made plywood tanks with viewing panels on multiple sides (Steve's tank, or Keith from fingerlake's 1000g), and the seams don't really stand out when you're looking at the tank, though of course those viewing panels are all full size.

Quote:

Originally Posted by MrRyanT

I think your tank is going to be awesome. It's so funny to me how people have such different ideas/opinions on things. I don't especially care for the "mystery" aspect in most things, I just want to see it all, LOL. So I know if I had the opportunity to come into your home and see the completed tank that I'd probably be frustrated to not be able to see more. Keep up the good work and thanks for sharing.

If we weren't all very different, the world would be a very boring place.

I'm sure I'm going to be frustrated looking at the tank for the first few years anyways, it's going to take a loooong time to fill in this much space with interesting corals. I'm DIY'ing the live rock for this tank, and I'm pretty happy with some of the shapes so far, so at least the rockwork will be interesting to look at.

username in use · 12/03/2009, 10:43 AM

I like your concept and design. I think its going to be a very interesting build. Have you given any thought to where the light will be concentrated and what types of corals are going where. For instance, strong lighting in the front with an emphasis on sps, with moderate lighting on the side with an emphasis on lps and moderate lighting on the back with an emphasis on softies. I think you could develop a very realistic reefscape this way, and have the ability to generate a true reef biotope this way. Nice work so far, Im definitely following this one.

der_wille_zur_macht · 12/03/2009, 11:01 AM

username in use, I've given FAR more thought to that sort of thing that should be considered "normal," even for a dedicated hobbyist.

Besides the clear efficiency gains, that's the sort of thing that made LED lighting a no-brainer for me on this tank. I'll be able to control (dynamically, throughout the lunar and solar cycle each day, cloud cover, storms, etc.) the color, intensity, and angle of light in every inch of the tank.

I don't really have the overall lighting and coral-scaping plan at a point where I can describe it yet, but let's say I'm trying to go for "big picture" again, not just stuffing popular corals in every nook and cranny. While I appreciate the dedication it takes to produce some of the tanks envied on these forums, many of them make me cringe because they look more like a supermarket fruitstand than a real reef. With a 4x6 footprint and careful control over lighting, I'm hoping I can create something a little more dramatic and realistic. SPS corals practically growing out of the water and getting blasted with current at the top of the reef, deepwater corals in the shadows below, and peaceful lagoonal corals on a big flat in another part of the tank.

That said, we'll see how well I can transform my vision into reality. I'm sure lotsa people are going to think it's ugly and poorly executed, but as long as I'm happy, I don't care.

lordofthereef · 12/03/2009, 11:07 AM

If this turns out like you plan it should be great. looking forward to this developing!

der_wille_zur_macht · 12/03/2009, 11:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lordofthereef

If this turns out like you plan

If it doesn't, I think I'd just sit down and cry for a few years. Major modifications to my home, a few thousand bucks, and hundreds of hours. It darn well BETTER turn out right.

11/30/2009, 07:48 AM	#1
der_wille_zur_macht Team RC Member Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: NY Posts: 17,749	Mountains of sawdust (360g plywood, LED, Arduino build) So it begins! Target completion late summer 2010. So I apologize in advance for infrequent updates. __________________ Inconveniencing marine life since 1992 "It is my personal belief that reef aquaria should be thriving communities of biodiversity, representative of their wild counterparts, and not merely collections of pretty specimens growing on tidy clean rock shelves covered in purple coralline algae." (Eric Borneman)

11/30/2009, 07:57 AM	#4
RokleM Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Greenville, SC Posts: 9,687	That is a big pile __________________ -Eric-

11/30/2009, 09:02 AM	#5
der_wille_zur_macht Team RC Member Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: NY Posts: 17,749	It's probably a couple cubic feet. I've already started construction, but before I dive in, a few words (ha ha, "few" as if I could ever post only a few words) about my approach to this tank. I've been thinking about a tank like this for years. Hence, I've had a lot of time for thoughts to wander. This has let me set some concrete goals, rather than just rush in to a project. I tend to be a rusher by nature, so this has been a learning experience for me. But I'm very excited about the potential. The process of designing this tank has led me to some unconventional decisions, but I'm comfortable with that - since each of them is backed up with some sort of "ah hah!" moment where I realized that there has always been a certain something missing in each of the tanks I've created to date. I wouldn't call this project a perfect design for me, but it's far ahead of anything else I've done. My main goal: Overall look/feel. Rather than concentrate on hot fad corals, or which fish I'll be keeping, I've tried to design every aspect of this system from a big-picture point of view. I want this to look like a system designed by an architect or interior designer as part of the home, not like something tacked on by a hobby enthusiast. Hence, it's going to be built-in. Also, rather than just plop it in a convenient spot in the house, I tried to think out the impact that different locations would have on our living habits. Here is a (embarrassingly rough and not to scale) floorplan of the first floor of our home: As you can see, there's a wide open living space on the bottom half of the plan - the kitchen/dining room/living room are all open to eachother, and open to the spot where the tank will be. That's all more or less public space in the home. On the top half of the plan, there's a bunch of "private" space - two bedrooms and a bathroom. You can see where the planned spot for the tank is. Right now, that spot is open, and very awkward. You can't put a table or any furnishings there, so it ends up being a kind of no-mans land. Plus, the public and private areas in the home are completely open to eachother right now. So, locating the tank there will solve all of these problems, while making it visible from as much of the home as possible (you'll be able to see it from the kitchen, living room, dining room, hallway, and one of the bedrooms. Pity I couldn't open up the floor above so it could be seen from the second story, too!) With location out of the way, I next concentrated on the look of the tank itself. I wanted the tank to look clean and permanent - so throwing a big glass box on a stand was out of the question. But, I wanted to take this look to the highest extreme: I don't even want it to look like a fish tank, I want it to look like a piece of glass floating in the wall, with the ocean behind. So, the stand, hood, etc. will all be flush with the surrounding surfaces in the home, with as small an impact as possible. Taking that thought to the next level - you'll notice that the tank is essentially a peninsula. I like the fact that this reveals more of the tank for viewing, but I also don't want the entire tank to be visible from all angles. To me, that spoils the mystery. If you can take in the entire tank with one glance, your mind instantly knows it's "just a fish tank" even if it is impressive. I don't want that feeling - I want a sense of interest and mystery. I want the viewers to feel like they have to keep walking around the tank to see it all - new lines of sight from every angle, with little repetition. I want to get the same effect as in Japanese gardening technique - where the entire garden is never revealed at first glance - you have to walk down some winding path to see the truly magnificent views. That's what ultimately led me to a plywood tank instead of glass. With a glass tank, the obvious choice in a peninsula configuration is to have it visible on three sides. Instead of going with that default for my plywood tank, I'm going to use a full-size viewing panel ONLY on the "front" of the tank - the side that faces the public space in the home. On the end and back side, there will be smaller viewing panels. With a plywood tank, this will be easy to accomplish. Again, here's a clumsy rendition in sketchup: These smaller viewing panels should help break up the view. From those two sides, you'll just get a slice of the action, instead of seeing everything from the sandbed up to the water's surface. Hopefully, the effect created will be that your mind wonders what's behind the wall, out of sight - inviting you to come closer, and walk around the tank. I've got a few more photos of progress so far, and lots more thoughts about the overall design, but that's enough for now. __________________ Inconveniencing marine life since 1992 "It is my personal belief that reef aquaria should be thriving communities of biodiversity, representative of their wild counterparts, and not merely collections of pretty specimens growing on tidy clean rock shelves covered in purple coralline algae." (Eric Borneman)

11/30/2009, 12:08 PM	#7
MrineLfRlz Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: eldon M.O. Posts: 1,167	this is interesting im sticking around! your plan looks great __________________ Jim its not a obsession its a way of life!--75g DT/125g sump/40g growout/30g frag/ATI sun power x8/t5 on DT/X2 D120 leds 40g/Sun blaze x4/t5 30g Current Tank Info: BubbleMagus(calc.,alk/Clearwater CW-300 Scrubber//56wAQUA UV/Reef Oct.SRO6000SSS Protein sk./1/10HP Chiller/GENESIS AWC

12/01/2009, 07:42 AM	#9
der_wille_zur_macht Team RC Member Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: NY Posts: 17,749	I've been working on the tank about 3 or 4 hours a week for the last month, so I have a few "action shots" saved up. Here's a few, and some more details about the tank: Materials (The plain fir ply and studs are for a work table, since none of my work surfaces are lareg enough to accommodate a tank this big. ): Table built, starting on the cuts for the tank and sump. This shot was cutting out the hole for the viewing panel on the front of the tank: And some details about the tank and sump: The tank itself is going to be 72" x 48" x 24". I'm calling it a 360 gallon tank even though, technically speaking, it'll hold less than that, once you subtract material thickness, plus the water level will be an inch or two below the top, etc. But "360" has a nice ring to it. I was originally planning something smaller - 60" long by ~40" wide - but then I realized that going up to 72" by 48" wouldn't really increase cost THAT much, and I had room for it, so why not? Staying in line with my comments above about having a tank that's interesting to look at, secrets around the corner, etc. - depth was very important to me. I really don't like narrow, long tanks - they give the appearance of being a moving, two dimensional painting. I want something that looks like a chunk of the ocean, not a flat painting. Length and height were more or less finally determined by a combination of what was easy to cut out of a 4' x 8' sheet of plywood, what would fit in my home, and what would be relatively cheap in terms of glass thickness, lighting, etc. I'd love to go a lot deeper for the visual impact, but the construction, lighting, circulation, etc. seems to get much more complicated after a point, so 24" will have to do. And, I need space in the stand and above the tank, so more depth would mean compromises elsewhere. Speaking of sheets of plywood, the tank and sump ALMOST fit on three 4' x 8' sheets. At $40 each that's not a bad price to pay. The sump is 18" x 18" x 48", and I had to make one of the end panels from a scrap of ply leftover from another project. I'm using 3/4" oak plywood for the tank and sump. It's going to be a shame to hide all this nice oak in a wall cavity, but it was the cheapest hardwood ply I could get, so I went with it anyways. Stay tuned for more. . . __________________ Inconveniencing marine life since 1992 "It is my personal belief that reef aquaria should be thriving communities of biodiversity, representative of their wild counterparts, and not merely collections of pretty specimens growing on tidy clean rock shelves covered in purple coralline algae." (Eric Borneman)

11/30/2009, 07:52 AM	#2
troylee Moved On Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: here. Posts: 2,509	watch out willies on the move!!!!!lol

11/30/2009, 07:53 AM	#3
eweinig Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Columbia, MD Posts: 59	Nothing like the smell of sawdust in the morning! (Wow, a post after years of lurking???)

11/30/2009, 09:16 AM	#6
troylee Moved On Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: here. Posts: 2,509	Nice!!!!! It looks well thought out....just remeber to make this thing as easy as possible to service...that's the biggest downfalls of in wall tanks....I had a 220 in my last hhouse that just looked like a moving picture prolly my favorite I had ever built or seen... but the biggest nightmare in the world to service or aquascape it trully sucked every which way besides the look of walking in the door and seeing it.....just make sure you leave plenty accsess!!!!! btw. I got a cool new build going rite now..took the 500 down tired of the wife complaining and huge power bills...I got me a new funky style tank going...big drop off tank.. good work so far willie keep it up!!!! And remember accsess...

12/02/2009, 01:56 PM	#10
der_wille_zur_macht Team RC Member Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: NY Posts: 17,749	Another action shot today. This time to convey a sense of scale. This is my 4 year old daughter standing in front of the (cut to size!) bottom panel of the tank: She's already asked if she can swim in the finished product. __________________ Inconveniencing marine life since 1992 "It is my personal belief that reef aquaria should be thriving communities of biodiversity, representative of their wild counterparts, and not merely collections of pretty specimens growing on tidy clean rock shelves covered in purple coralline algae." (Eric Borneman)

12/02/2009, 06:32 PM	#11
AcroSteve Make my Funk a P-Funk Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Electric Avenue Posts: 5,092	Interesting concept with the viewing panels. Good luck and take more picks __________________ **************** "Work hard, rock hard, eat hard, sleep hard, grow big, wear glasses if you need 'em." -- The Webb Wilder Credo -- don't go ninjin' nobody that don't need ninjin'! Current Tank Info: 220g custom plywood. SPS heavy with Sequence Hammerhead return with 4-Way OM. Tunze 6100, 6200 and Wavebox. 5000btu DIY Chiller. Lighting is 10K mh 250W / VHO Actinic Skimer - H&S A200-2x1260

12/02/2009, 06:33 PM	#12
AcroSteve Make my Funk a P-Funk Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Electric Avenue Posts: 5,092	Interesting concept with the viewing panels. I like it. Good luck and take more picks __________________ **************** "Work hard, rock hard, eat hard, sleep hard, grow big, wear glasses if you need 'em." -- The Webb Wilder Credo -- don't go ninjin' nobody that don't need ninjin'! Current Tank Info: 220g custom plywood. SPS heavy with Sequence Hammerhead return with 4-Way OM. Tunze 6100, 6200 and Wavebox. 5000btu DIY Chiller. Lighting is 10K mh 250W / VHO Actinic Skimer - H&S A200-2x1260

12/02/2009, 11:11 PM	#13
spleify Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Denver, Colorado Posts: 9,579	Oh this is gonna be sweet __________________ Make it a Great Day!!!! Current Tank Info: 60 gal SPS cube, with 25 gal refugium, 400W MH, DIY Lumenarc III, DIY skimmer, DIY stand and canopy. 40 breeder LPS with 40 gallon sump, DIY stand, 250W MH

12/03/2009, 08:26 AM	#14
der_wille_zur_macht Team RC Member Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: NY Posts: 17,749	Steve, I see you like my build so much he posted twice. Seriously though, your tank was a big inspiration in that plywood tanks can be "different" than the standard box with a single fullsize viewing panel on the front. And of course the whole crew at fingerlakesreef - I'm lucky to be almost local to those guys. One thing I'm starting to worry about with those smaller viewing panels is if the plywood will flex around them too much. In a traditional fullsize viewing panel, the "frame" the glass is in is reinforced all the way around by the bottom, sides, and eurobracing. In my design, the long bottom edges of those panels will be "in the middle" of those two sides of the tank, so there will be no immediate support. Thoughts about this from anyone experienced in wood tanks would be appreciated. I've got a few more pictures already but I'm trying to space them out to make it last longer. I'm a fan of documenting projects like this, but it's hard to remember to put down the tools and pick up the camera once in a while. If anyone is reading this who's thinking about building a plywood tank, I have to tell you it is some serious fun and very rewarding. Maybe it's a bit premature for me to say that since I have a bulk of the work ahead of me, but it's very enjoyable so far. __________________ Inconveniencing marine life since 1992 "It is my personal belief that reef aquaria should be thriving communities of biodiversity, representative of their wild counterparts, and not merely collections of pretty specimens growing on tidy clean rock shelves covered in purple coralline algae." (Eric Borneman)

12/03/2009, 10:03 AM	#15
Jtro Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: VA Posts: 79	Willie Are the plywood tanks cost effective or is it a wash.Looks like its going to be a great tank.Looking forward to more progress pictures.

12/03/2009, 10:06 AM	#16
Dale Gribble Moved On Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Farragut, TN Posts: 53	Nice workspace you have. Looks good.

12/03/2009, 10:18 AM	#18
kentrob11 Premium Member Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: O'Fallon, IL Posts: 4,520	Are you concerned about the view from the front pane looking into the tank and seeing those two small windows? How are you going to make it look nice and clean from that standpoint?

12/03/2009, 10:19 AM	#19
MrRyanT MrRyanT Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Memphis, TN Posts: 1,731	I think your tank is going to be awesome. It's so funny to me how people have such different ideas/opinions on things. I don't especially care for the "mystery" aspect in most things, I just want to see it all, LOL. So I know if I had the opportunity to come into your home and see the completed tank that I'd probably be frustrated to not be able to see more. Keep up the good work and thanks for sharing. __________________ We are what we repeatedly do, excellence then, is not an act, but a habit. - Aristotle Current Tank Info: 30 gal display

12/03/2009, 10:43 AM	#22
username in use Sciencing Daily Join Date: Mar 2009 Posts: 6,560	I like your concept and design. I think its going to be a very interesting build. Have you given any thought to where the light will be concentrated and what types of corals are going where. For instance, strong lighting in the front with an emphasis on sps, with moderate lighting on the side with an emphasis on lps and moderate lighting on the back with an emphasis on softies. I think you could develop a very realistic reefscape this way, and have the ability to generate a true reef biotope this way. Nice work so far, Im definitely following this one. __________________ Joshua "With fronds like these, who needs anemones?" - Albert Einstein Current Tank Info: multiple nano's sprinkled around the house

12/03/2009, 11:01 AM	#23
der_wille_zur_macht Team RC Member Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: NY Posts: 17,749	username in use, I've given FAR more thought to that sort of thing that should be considered "normal," even for a dedicated hobbyist. Besides the clear efficiency gains, that's the sort of thing that made LED lighting a no-brainer for me on this tank. I'll be able to control (dynamically, throughout the lunar and solar cycle each day, cloud cover, storms, etc.) the color, intensity, and angle of light in every inch of the tank. I don't really have the overall lighting and coral-scaping plan at a point where I can describe it yet, but let's say I'm trying to go for "big picture" again, not just stuffing popular corals in every nook and cranny. While I appreciate the dedication it takes to produce some of the tanks envied on these forums, many of them make me cringe because they look more like a supermarket fruitstand than a real reef. With a 4x6 footprint and careful control over lighting, I'm hoping I can create something a little more dramatic and realistic. SPS corals practically growing out of the water and getting blasted with current at the top of the reef, deepwater corals in the shadows below, and peaceful lagoonal corals on a big flat in another part of the tank. That said, we'll see how well I can transform my vision into reality. I'm sure lotsa people are going to think it's ugly and poorly executed, but as long as I'm happy, I don't care. __________________ Inconveniencing marine life since 1992 "It is my personal belief that reef aquaria should be thriving communities of biodiversity, representative of their wild counterparts, and not merely collections of pretty specimens growing on tidy clean rock shelves covered in purple coralline algae." (Eric Borneman)

12/03/2009, 11:07 AM	#24
lordofthereef One reef to rule them all Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Leominster, MA Posts: 5,299	If this turns out like you plan it should be great. looking forward to this developing! __________________ "A dog is the only thing on earth that loves you more than you love yourself" ~ Josh Billings Visit My Home page for current build thread (click my user name and select "Visit LordoftheReef's Homepage" in the drop down menu!