DIY 54 corner stand w/ 26 bow sump/fuge

Avast Marine · 03/01/2006, 04:14 PM

This tank has been sitting in the basement dry for almost a year now while I have been saving for this project. I am finally able to start it, so here we have work from week 1.

Resawing PT wood is NOT EASY but, 2 hours later I had 24 1/8" thick by 4' pieces.

Lots o Glue and Lots o Clamps.

Framing.

Test Fit.

Under Tank.

Will be updating soon as I plan to finish the frame this weekend and start buying equipment

impur · 03/01/2006, 05:58 PM

Great job on that stand. I love these tanks, trying to decide on a cube or this tank for my next one. Keep up the great work. Looking forward to the rest of the pics!

Matt Rise · 03/01/2006, 06:48 PM

PIMP! Looking good!

ZC · 03/02/2006, 01:15 AM

That's going to be sweet! That's the tank I wanted and instead went with the 46BF, the curved DIY stands aren't nearly as easy as the regular ones are, keep us posted as the stand unvails.

Avast Marine · 03/07/2006, 12:11 PM

Work done this weekend,

Bracing up the stand with metal and 4x4s,

Cutting and routing plywood for top and bottom,

and test fit #2.

The 26 sump is snug as a bug and here is the planned layout for it to allow for a full bow viewing of the front of the fuge.

Although I think I will change the 1" bulkhead return from the fuge to 2ea 1 1/2 bulkheads to prevent rapid clogging from the macro.

Dan

mattboy · 03/08/2006, 08:39 AM

This is a timely thread, as I'm looking to get a 54 corner bowfront. Stand looks great so far! One question, where will you drill the tank and how will you set up your overflow?

Avast Marine · 03/09/2006, 12:37 AM

I am not planning on drilling as the bottom is tempered glass on this tank. I ordered a Lifereef overflow and am going to use 1 1/4" plumbing to go down and a pan world 100 to get back up. This should give me 700gph flow through the overflow if I need it.
The 54 is a great looking tank, but the stock stand has no room to work with. The 26 bow has almost an identical curve on the front glass so I think it will look nice and at the same time fully utilize every square inch of available sump space.

Avast Marine · 03/17/2006, 11:29 PM

I just got the Lifereef overflow and am thinking I will probably build a new corner box for the inside rather than using the one it came with.

Rich_Lucas · 03/21/2006, 08:19 PM

Are you going to put something on the front to cover all the bolts?

chocolateblnt · 03/21/2006, 09:19 PM

Looks like it's going to be a winner

newtophish · 03/22/2006, 11:34 AM

Looks really nice I will be tagging along with you.

dalbrecht · 03/22/2006, 02:12 PM

I have 2 questions:

1, why are you choosing to split your return instead of having a bubble head into the fuge.

I understand the desire for a reduced flow through the 'fuge but skimmers are more efficient if they are inline between a tank and fuge.

2 why did you opt for pressure treated wood for the stand?

alien9168 · 03/22/2006, 06:57 PM

Cool. I like the bowfront sump as well

-alien

Avast Marine · 03/22/2006, 11:51 PM

Right now I am in the process of moving a few miles away so it may be a little while before it is totally done since I have to pack my tools. I will swich gears a little and try to get some of the plumbing going and do wet testing before the stand is totally done.

Quote:

Are you going to put something on the front to cover all the bolts?

Yes, I plan to skin the frame and hood with redwood which I have or teak if I can find it. I was going to cut the bolts flush on the backside but am opting to leave them long so I can hang stuff from them if need be.

Quote:

1, why are you choosing to split your return instead of having a bubble head into the fuge.

Don't really want microbubbles in the fuge as it will be a display tank as well. I am actually now planning on teeing off the return line to feed the fuge rather than from the overflow. I was planning a triple Y off the overflow so I could have one line going to a waterchange valve, but I actually only have room for a single Y.

Quote:

2 why did you opt for pressure treated wood for the stand?

I had it

Avast Marine · 04/18/2006, 10:11 PM

I have finally moved and am getting set up in the new house. Here is a little work I have done this past week.

Hooking up the RODI

Inlet off washer

Drain to the dog bowl

Float valve in 35 gallon container

I decided on the pad for under the tank after much debate in my head. I ended up convincing my wife that she needed a new yoga mat and then pulled the old one from her closet before it hit the trash

.

Avast Marine · 04/18/2006, 10:19 PM

I made all the sump baffles from acrylic and welded them together then silicone to hold it in place. I couldn't find the box my camera was in at the time so no pics of that.
I used the dremel with the rotozip tile bit method for drilling the sump and yes I found the camera for that!

3 minutes later

And filling with water for the test

I have a bucket of pvc fittings and a lot of spaflex so we will see what this next week brings.

impur · 04/19/2006, 09:11 AM

Looks like some good progress!! Nice job on the drilling too. Keep it up!

alien9168 · 04/20/2006, 07:35 AM

Looks great!

It looks like you did a great job drilling

Avast Marine · 04/21/2006, 01:09 AM

I hooked up the pump and the proceeded to mod it.

Avast Marine · 04/25/2006, 09:56 PM

Got a couple things done this weekend.
I plan to run all plumbing through the internal overflow box both inlets and outlets so I get a nice clean look. 4 each 3/4" outlets from OM squirt 1ea 1 1/4" out to OM on closed loop. 1 ea 1" syphon tube. And 1 1" return from sump. And 1 extra 3/4" pipe for who knows.....

Took the measurements and built the box.

I have a lot of holes to drill and the Savko order should be here by the end of the week for all the bulkheads.

Avast Marine · 04/25/2006, 10:00 PM

This is the outside of the overflow. It is a LifeReef box but, hole drilled for Durso and original bottom drain hole will be used for a waterchange valve.

Avast Marine · 04/28/2006, 08:35 PM

All right. I have been plumbing and plumbing and replumbing to get just the basic flow just right. I came to one overwhelming conclusion. Having a tall sump is really hard to work with. So I had to figure out a way to get better access. This is what I came up with.

I ct a piece of 1/2 ply to fit under the sump and go to the back corner of the stand and attached heavy duty appliance rollers to the bottom.

Then I build a little stand that fits right up to the bottom of the stand.

More yoga mat.

Load it up.

And glides into place.

I have had this set up for a few days now and am fiddling with the plumbing constantly. I cannot tell you how much easier this has made my life. I wouldn't ever set up another sump under a stand without wheels

.

Dan

itstheantitang · 04/28/2006, 08:47 PM

that is sweet!

Avast Marine · 04/30/2006, 07:40 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by mattboy
This is a timely thread, as I'm looking to get a 54 corner bowfront. Stand looks great so far! One question, where will you drill the tank and how will you set up your overflow?

I originally planned to go the syphon route and after drilling the sump my confidence level grew. Now the plan is a weir external overflow to the sump and closed loop with a Panworld 50px-x at around 1000gph with a OM Squirt. I only am going to run 200 gph through the sump with a Ehiem 1250 plumbed externally.

And of course the pics......

ready to cut away..

Slot for weir...

And then I put 4 holes for 3/4" bulkheads with nozzles this is how it looks.

So the flow should go like this. The surfaced get skimmed and sent to the dungeon for cleaning and then is pumped over the top of the tank and at the back corner. The two pipes in the back should cross each other and blow to the front. The two pipes up front are angled up and cross each other to get the det. up to the top. All of this off course will be pulsing on the OM. I am much happier with this design.
Besides I chose to post my tank thread in the DIY forum so I was starting to get really embaraced using the syphon. My bad, more good DIY to come......

OrangeKoi · 04/30/2006, 11:15 PM

The woodwork is pretty snazzy!

03/01/2006, 04:14 PM	#1
Avast Marine RC Sponsor Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Northern VA Posts: 2,446	DIY 54 corner stand w/ 26 bow sump/fuge This tank has been sitting in the basement dry for almost a year now while I have been saving for this project. I am finally able to start it, so here we have work from week 1. Resawing PT wood is NOT EASY but, 2 hours later I had 24 1/8" thick by 4' pieces. Lots o Glue and Lots o Clamps. Framing. Test Fit. Under Tank. Will be updating soon as I plan to finish the frame this weekend and start buying equipment

03/02/2006, 01:15 AM	#4
ZC Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Overland Park, KS Posts: 1,132	That's going to be sweet! That's the tank I wanted and instead went with the 46BF, the curved DIY stands aren't nearly as easy as the regular ones are, keep us posted as the stand unvails. __________________ "Friends don't let friends put xenia in their tanks" Current Tank Info: 2 yr old 160g: mixed reef

03/09/2006, 12:37 AM	#7
Avast Marine RC Sponsor Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Northern VA Posts: 2,446	I am not planning on drilling as the bottom is tempered glass on this tank. I ordered a Lifereef overflow and am going to use 1 1/4" plumbing to go down and a pan world 100 to get back up. This should give me 700gph flow through the overflow if I need it. The 54 is a great looking tank, but the stock stand has no room to work with. The 26 bow has almost an identical curve on the front glass so I think it will look nice and at the same time fully utilize every square inch of available sump space. __________________ Dan Don't rush art, you get bad art.

03/17/2006, 11:29 PM	#8
Avast Marine RC Sponsor Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Northern VA Posts: 2,446	I just got the Lifereef overflow and am thinking I will probably build a new corner box for the inside rather than using the one it came with. __________________ Dan Don't rush art, you get bad art.

03/22/2006, 11:34 AM	#11
newtophish Elite Lounger Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Spring Hill, TN Posts: 192	Looks really nice I will be tagging along with you. __________________ Richard <--- She is the cutest!

03/01/2006, 05:58 PM	#2
impur Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Eugene, OR Posts: 4,262	Great job on that stand. I love these tanks, trying to decide on a cube or this tank for my next one. Keep up the great work. Looking forward to the rest of the pics! __________________ Great spirits often encounter violent opposition from mediocre minds. Current Tank Info: 75gal, 20gal sump, 6-54w T5 TEK

03/01/2006, 06:48 PM	#3
Matt Rise Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Rhode Island Posts: 453	PIMP! Looking good!

03/07/2006, 12:11 PM	#5
Avast Marine RC Sponsor Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Northern VA Posts: 2,446	Work done this weekend, Bracing up the stand with metal and 4x4s, Cutting and routing plywood for top and bottom, and test fit #2. The 26 sump is snug as a bug and here is the planned layout for it to allow for a full bow viewing of the front of the fuge. Although I think I will change the 1" bulkhead return from the fuge to 2ea 1 1/2 bulkheads to prevent rapid clogging from the macro. Dan

03/08/2006, 08:39 AM	#6
mattboy Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: San Antonio Posts: 453	This is a timely thread, as I'm looking to get a 54 corner bowfront. Stand looks great so far! One question, where will you drill the tank and how will you set up your overflow?

03/21/2006, 08:19 PM	#9
Rich_Lucas Registered Member Join Date: May 2005 Location: Lafayette, IN Posts: 105	Are you going to put something on the front to cover all the bolts?

03/21/2006, 09:19 PM	#10
chocolateblnt Registered Member Join Date: May 2005 Location: Sunnyvale, Nor*CAL Posts: 1,736	Looks like it's going to be a winner

03/22/2006, 02:12 PM	#12
dalbrecht Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Oak Park , IL Posts: 540	I have 2 questions: 1, why are you choosing to split your return instead of having a bubble head into the fuge. I understand the desire for a reduced flow through the 'fuge but skimmers are more efficient if they are inline between a tank and fuge. 2 why did you opt for pressure treated wood for the stand?

03/22/2006, 06:57 PM	#13
alien9168 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2004 Posts: 1,664	Cool. I like the bowfront sump as well -alien __________________ -Alien Current Tank Info: I used to have a 30g custom acrylic cube sps, lps, zoos, mushrooms, leathers, 3" gigas+ anthias. 30Xg Sea Horse Tank...starting fresh...

04/18/2006, 10:11 PM	#15
Avast Marine RC Sponsor Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Northern VA Posts: 2,446	I have finally moved and am getting set up in the new house. Here is a little work I have done this past week. Hooking up the RODI Inlet off washer Drain to the dog bowl Float valve in 35 gallon container I decided on the pad for under the tank after much debate in my head. I ended up convincing my wife that she needed a new yoga mat and then pulled the old one from her closet before it hit the trash .

04/18/2006, 10:19 PM	#16
Avast Marine RC Sponsor Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Northern VA Posts: 2,446	I made all the sump baffles from acrylic and welded them together then silicone to hold it in place. I couldn't find the box my camera was in at the time so no pics of that. I used the dremel with the rotozip tile bit method for drilling the sump and yes I found the camera for that! 3 minutes later And filling with water for the test I have a bucket of pvc fittings and a lot of spaflex so we will see what this next week brings.

04/19/2006, 09:11 AM	#17
impur Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Eugene, OR Posts: 4,262	Looks like some good progress!! Nice job on the drilling too. Keep it up! __________________ Great spirits often encounter violent opposition from mediocre minds. Current Tank Info: 75gal, 20gal sump, 6-54w T5 TEK

04/20/2006, 07:35 AM	#18
alien9168 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2004 Posts: 1,664	Looks great! It looks like you did a great job drilling __________________ -Alien Current Tank Info: I used to have a 30g custom acrylic cube sps, lps, zoos, mushrooms, leathers, 3" gigas+ anthias. 30Xg Sea Horse Tank...starting fresh...

04/21/2006, 01:09 AM	#19
Avast Marine RC Sponsor Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Northern VA Posts: 2,446	I hooked up the pump and the proceeded to mod it.

04/25/2006, 09:56 PM	#20
Avast Marine RC Sponsor Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Northern VA Posts: 2,446	Got a couple things done this weekend. I plan to run all plumbing through the internal overflow box both inlets and outlets so I get a nice clean look. 4 each 3/4" outlets from OM squirt 1ea 1 1/4" out to OM on closed loop. 1 ea 1" syphon tube. And 1 1" return from sump. And 1 extra 3/4" pipe for who knows..... Took the measurements and built the box. I have a lot of holes to drill and the Savko order should be here by the end of the week for all the bulkheads. __________________ Dan Don't rush art, you get bad art.

04/25/2006, 10:00 PM	#21
Avast Marine RC Sponsor Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Northern VA Posts: 2,446	This is the outside of the overflow. It is a LifeReef box but, hole drilled for Durso and original bottom drain hole will be used for a waterchange valve. __________________ Dan Don't rush art, you get bad art.

04/28/2006, 08:35 PM	#22
Avast Marine RC Sponsor Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Northern VA Posts: 2,446	All right. I have been plumbing and plumbing and replumbing to get just the basic flow just right. I came to one overwhelming conclusion. Having a tall sump is really hard to work with. So I had to figure out a way to get better access. This is what I came up with. I ct a piece of 1/2 ply to fit under the sump and go to the back corner of the stand and attached heavy duty appliance rollers to the bottom. Then I build a little stand that fits right up to the bottom of the stand. More yoga mat. Load it up. And glides into place. I have had this set up for a few days now and am fiddling with the plumbing constantly. I cannot tell you how much easier this has made my life. I wouldn't ever set up another sump under a stand without wheels . Dan __________________ Dan Don't rush art, you get bad art.

04/28/2006, 08:47 PM	#23
itstheantitang Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Posts: 477	that is sweet! __________________ Ignore the smoke and smile...

04/30/2006, 11:15 PM	#25
OrangeKoi Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Va Posts: 556	The woodwork is pretty snazzy!