440g Starphire Custom Dropoff Reef Tank

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fjr_wertheimber

Okay, so I recently posted here about the custom DIY plywood/Starphire reef tank that my better half agreed to let me build, inspired by this tank here:
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That inspiration lead to this design here, which I planned to construct out of plywood and Starphire glass:
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Well, anyway, earlier today I was laying out the size of the tank in what will eventually be the fish room, and Wendy (my better half) says, "You know, it just seems like it's missing something. Have you thought about making it longer, or L-shaped?". [smilie=surprised.gif] Yes, folks, I've got the Holy Grail of "fish wives", one who not only puts up with me wanting to go bigger with my tank, but one who actively suggests it!! [smilie=clapping.gif]

So, after playing around with a few different redesigns, I've kind of rejected the L-shaped tank for the way it fit in the room, and decided to instead widen and lengthen the tank, so that now we're looking at the following design:
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The theme/idea is still a reef drop off, but widened to 48 inches in width, dropped an inch to 35" in height (at the deep portion) to fit through the front door, and lengthened to 84" of tank swimming space. The deeper portion of the drop off is 48"w X 35"h X 36"l, and the shallow portion is 48"w X 17"h X 48"l, for a total volume of about 440 gallons in the main tank. I'm looking to use the large amount of real estate below the tank for a large sump, refugium, frag tank, and a couple of quarantine tanks.

Right now, I'm looking at having the stand and structural portions of the tank made out of 2" squared steel, with 1.5" steel L-angle iron for the portions that the glass will butt up against, sealed with silicone against the steel and sealed on the inside of the glass, as well. I'm looking to use 3/4" low iron glass for all viewable panes, and 3/4" regular glass for all non-viewing portions of the tank. The steel will all be powder coated gloss black, and I'm looking to have a custom stand cover made in a gloss piano black-type finish. I've even thought of going with a metallic black automotive finish for the stand/canopy. I saw one guy here on RC that had his tank done with an automotive white finish and it was BEAUTIFUL.

Suffice to say, Wendy will have final say on 99% of all this, since (as they say) "If mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy", but so far it sounds like she's pretty happy about the whole thing, and so am I!

Right now for flow I'm planning on using 2x MP60s on the upper portion, and 2x MP40s on the lower portion. I haven't decided on a return pump(s) or a skimmer, so if anyone has any suggestions on ones for a tank of this size, let me know. I've honestly never thought I'd be getting/building/having built a tank this size, so haven't done too much research for equipment for one of this size.

Lighting will be LEDs, a full custom build, designed to mimic sunrise/sunset and the travels of the sun across the sky, casting shadows along the long axis of the tank. I had a decent beginning of a design, but now that Wendy gave me the thumbs up for a larger tank, I've got to go back to the drawing board. I'll post design sketches for the lighting here shortly.

So, with all that being said, anyone have any thoughts, ideas, comments, or suggestions on what I've posted so far? See anything I've missed, or any ways to improve the design so far? Anything I've gotten wrong? Any issues with using a steel frame like I've designed it?

Thanks in advance for all your comments and suggestions, and wish me luck as we begin the (OMG unbelievably long) build and design process. I just want to hurry up and get it built and wet, dammit! LOL
 
What do you guys think of the Royal-Exclusiv Alpha 300 Cone or the Super Reef Octopus XP 8000 Internal Cone for a tank of this size, considering a pretty heavy bioload, large amounts of SPS, and multiple anemones? Any other suggestions, skimmer-wise?

Here's the tank frame and stand, and the cutout to allow a taller skimmer:
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No, the stand and frame won't be red, they'll be gloss powdercoated black.

Anyone know of a good custom tankbuilder in the DFW/Austin/Central Texas area who could help with the construction phase once the frame and stand are all welded together? Speaking of which, anyone know a good welder??
 
Interesting... I've never been in that store, worth the trip? When I get up to DFW (normally for getting In'N'Out) I usually hit True Perc, DNA, and Fish Gallery, but always looking for more spots to check out, other than the couple of smaller stores down here in Austin. It's always amazing to me how much more hardware selection y'all have up there.
 
I've been planning on having the steel work done by someone else, and doing the glasswork myself, but I'm also getting quotes to find out how much it would cost to have someone else do the glasswork, too, as I'd prefer someone more experienced doing that part. The LEDs I'll do myself, and the sump I'll probably have Melev build.
 
Unless you're really committed on building it, I'd have someone like AGE handle the whole thing. If you part out the work, you'll need to make real sure your design is actually buildable while still being able to hold water. It's really no small task to ensure that it is. If you plan on doing the glasswork, give some serious thought to the tolerances you'll need and make sure your supplier can do it. Think through step-by-step how you plan to set the pieces and silicone them. You don't wan't to find yourself unable to place the last piece because it's 1/8" to long to fit inside because you didn't think about the fact you'd need to insert it at an angle--just as an example.

You'll likely need to manufacture jigs just to be able to maneuver, set and hold pieces in place during the cure.

Don't mean to be telling you stuff you might already know, but these are the things that I discovered when I built my plywood 400G.

3/4" low-iron is hard to find. Where do you plan to get it?
 
Here a similar build that might help you out.

http://www.reef2reef.com/forums/member-tanks/35034-troylees-one-kind-do-yourself-drop-14.html
 
Okay, so here's the basic plan for the aquascaping. It's obviously not quite how I plan to have it look, but then SketchUp isn't really setup well for organic shapes, but at least it'll give you a basic idea of the overall feel.

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Are you sure you can make that tank out of glass, i would think it would be safer to make it out of thick acrylic as the seams are actually bonded to make the seams act like on piece of acrylic


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Yeah, it should be completely doable with glass, especially using the metal perimeter frame for holding the glass, rather than using depending on the strength of the silicone bond to hold the tank together. Acrylic is just so soft, and scratches drive me nuts.
 
You might consider just going with a rectangular tank and creating the drop off by inserting a platform inside it. The design would be cheaper and easier to build and have fewer seams. I think you could achieve the same visual effect. Just an idea, but if you're like me--you just want what you want :-D
 
Why not make one big tank, then make a shelf and then make the stand go up to give the illusion of a drop off. Prob save you money as making that L will be spendy and prob be 1" glass plus starphire that is really spendy


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I love this idea, following along! The platform idea would work if you siliconed it in place so it wouldn't trap detritus. Then combine that with what Pampee is saying and make the stand as if the tank actually had the drop off and you could achieve the same look for way cheaper. However it's your money use it however makes you happy :) just post lots of pictures and that will keep all of us happy! Good luck with however you decide to accomplish your goal and I am anxiously awaiting completion because this is going to be awesome!


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@kuyatwo wrote:
Why not make one big tank said:
I too love the idea of this drop off tank after seeing it on ReefBuilders. I like the L shape because you could house all the equipment under the tank. If it was one large tank with a platform, it would be unusable space.

What about a PVC bottom? Just throwing that in, I'm not a tank builder but seems you wouldn't have to worry too much about that part of it.

I wanted to build one as soon as I saw the article. Having a marine background, the desire to create a more natural looking (and functioning) reef is there. I saw a tide pool in Mexico last year and have been thinking of how I could recreate that!
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