65G Frag Tank Build Thread

[DaveJ]

Well after many moons... its finally in, holding water and actually looks good. Its still not completed, but I will be updating pictures as I get to them.

This is going to start backwards with the install photos, then I will post the stand construction photos (i lost the link to them).

Here we go.....

I broke down my trusty 45G Zoanthid tank. After careful consideration and nagging by a few folks (you know who you are), I decided to pull the frags out of my various systems and consolidate into a single tank.

I ordered the tank from Glass Cages. They did an okay job... though I probably won't buy another from them. The tank is rimless, 36 x 24 x 18 with Starphire on the fronts and sides. The construction is pretty decent, it holds water, but the panes are off slightly (not all aligned exactly) and the silicon was a mess. I ended up cleaning it up and resealing with black silicon and now it looks presentable.

Goodbye with the old... you will be missed (its for sale so PM me)

Bo, Franks Son, helped me break it down. We unloaded everything into buckets and awaited the kingpin himself to do the plumbing.

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First order of business was to set the stand in to get exact measurements to tap into the existing plumbing. For those who have not seen my setup, I have a 140 and this tank linked together for the drains and returns. It all empties out into a single Melev Sump, which houses the 1000W heater, my Bubble King Skimmer, Nitrate Reactor, Carbon and GFO reactors along with my ATO system and LiterMeter III dosing system.

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Next we spliced into the return from my PanWorld 150 and threw on a ball valve for shut off and flow adjustment.

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We put the stand back in place and started working on the drains. The drain line is a 1.5" PVC that goes through the wall into the utility room.

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A lot of cursing, swearing a few cigs (For Frank) and we had the drain in place.

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We pulled it back out yet again and went to work on the returns. Its a standard return with loc-line. It has the anti-siphon hole drilled into it since the additional volume would have overflowed my sump.

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We then put it back in an got to work shimming the tank to get it level. Surprisingly that section of the room was pretty level, but we still needed some shims. Scott and Frank found some neat composite shims which are great, they won't break down or compress/age etc. A 4ft level was used and the tank was level. This is very important for a rimless since it will be easy to spot if it was out of level or not once water was in it.

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We added a durso standpipe to the mix and filled it with water.. to my relief, no tank leaks.

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By this time it was 1 am and everyone was getting a little tired.. we unloaded the buckets into the tank and tossed the frags in along with some LR pieces that had Rics or Zoanthids attached.

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And viola! The Frag Tank is installed.

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There is still a bit of work to do to this before its finished. I will be adding a frag rack system and a different light fixture. The AquaMedic fixture is fine for now, but I have a 36" Tek system with 6 T-5's to hang over the tank. I am going T-5 due to the huge success I had with them over my 90G Corner tank in my office. Unfortunately its not the unit I want, I wanted the ATI like I have over my 90, but it will do just fine until I can get one, or I may keep it depending on how it does.

 

[hegi]

very nice. I'm interested in your hanging system for that light. What did you use?

 

[DaveJ]

@hegi wrote:

Got eye bolts for the screw holes that came factory. The drops are simple cable, just bought the cable and crimps etc. Did one side then slipped on the 1/4" PVC that I painted black and did the other side. Its anchored with a 1 x 3 screwed into the ceiling/rafters and the eye bolts are attached with couplers, forget the name but climbers use them for ropes etc. Just got smaller versions.

I used the same system to hang the Hamilton light fixture over the 140 as well so they match.

Presto...

 

[DaveJ]

Here are the build photos. The stand was custom made by Howard Tate, Chris Tate (T8T's Father). As you can see by the photos and in person, this stand is very high quality furniture grade. I chose Maple to match my 140 stand and the other wood furniture in my house. If you need a custom stand of any size, I would highly recommend Howard, his craftsmanship is without equal that I have seen.

Some details about the stand itself. Since I have a sump for both tanks, I made the best use of the space underneath and designed in storage. This included 2 large shelves and a big drawer underneath. The top of the stand top has a hole cut in it for plumbing and I had that hole carried into the back of the stand as well. The purpose was to allow total access to the space/wall behind the stand.

When Howard did Chris' stand, I loved the black highlight/contrast pieces that he added. The contrast was striking with a dark walnut, but I knew it would be even more striking with a lighter tone Maple. I also wanted total open double doors for the front, with spring loaded hinges and closures. Finally I wanted a tailored look to the stand. I did not want trimming up top, I wanted the stand to go right up to the tank itself to maintain the sleek look of the rimless tank. We opted for taking the sides directly up and capping them off with black trim on the top. The fine detail you can't see in the photos are the grooves that are don around the trim pieces etc. It really adds to the wow factor and displays the attention to detail that sets a craftsman apart from a dood with a table saw.

Since this tank is rather shallow, I decided to go with a taller stand to offset that, its high enough to view but low enough to get into quite easily. It also increased the space available underneath.

I may get these out of order since I didn't help build it, but here goes.

Raw Materials..

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Slicing and Dicing

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And the Assembly

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And its starting to look like a stand...

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Then it was time to add the trimmings...

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Then it was time for some of the detail work prep, like the black contrast pieces.

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Next was finishing work, adding the honey stain to the maple.

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Next was putting together the drawer that slides into the bottom.

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And viola!!! A Stand is born...

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[chrisrush]

Looks great Dave. I agree with Howards skill. His work is amazing.

 

[MBZ]

WOW!!

Mark

 

[pineappleface]

Looks great Dave. Hopefully I will be getting a new stand started soon

 

[DaveJ]

Thanks guys, I am very happy with how it turned out.

 

[DaveJ]

Well today/tonight was busy.

I got all my frags from the 29G QT system into the frag tank today.

It took me 2 hours, but I finally got my AC3 updated and my Aquasurf hooked up. I am using this to control the two Tunze 6055's in this frag tank.

I also ordered the black eggcrate for the racks. The original plan was to go with 1/4" HDSE but in order to get all the frag holes done, it was going to be around $300. While it would have been slick to have frags stick to something I can just scrape them off of instead of breaking the plastic on... *sigh*

I'll post some shots in the morning.... I will say one thing, its already crowded and I still have the 90 to empty. Good thing many of the pieces in the 65G are going into the 90.

 

[Jeff]

Very nice Dave - and a lot of work. I can't wait to see it in person next week.

 

[psteeleb]

looks nice so far.

do you think you will have it stocked for the tour? looking forward to seeing it either way

 

[DaveJ]

@psteeleb wrote:

If the eggcrate makes it in, it should be completed... if not, then it will have plenty of frags and the like in it. So either way it will be full of stuff to oogle.

@DheereCrossing wrote:

Thanks.. trying my best to get everything done for the tour.

 

[clown]

I haven't read the thread yet, but I will. So far it looks great. I know someone that bought a glasscages tank. They swear they will never buy one from them again. Anyways, I comment further later today. Thanks for the frag. I love it.

 

[DaveJ]

@clown wrote:

You're very welcome, I'm glad you like it.

I won't either... they totally screwed up the silicon, it was a mess and the wrong color to boot. I ended up redoing the inside seems, going over what they did with the black as they were supposed to do in the first place.

 

[fordp]

I love that stand.. shows your good taste

Seeing your tank has made me decide to go ahead and build a custom stand and get new glass. Just need to make sure you never see it (you might find out your tank has an identical twin ) :lol:

 

[DaveJ]

@fordp wrote:

hehe.. no problem. You can just pay me a design fee! If you want it built by the same guy, drop T8T a line here or let me know and i'll send you the contact information for him.

 

[DaveG99]

That stand is really nice! I plan on building my own stand. I got some tools for christmas I plan on using.

How much did you pay for that tank? I am planning on ordering a tank from Glass Cages exactly like that one. On their website its about $500 with black silicone, reefready, and bulk heads included.

 

[DaveJ]

@DaveG99 wrote:

That's about right... I would advise against CG though. My tank was okay, but after seeing the build quality and how it was slapped together, I will never buy from them again. Their workmanship is really bad and I had to redo the interior silicon myself.

 

[DaveG99]

I have seen several other Glass Cages tanks and I think they looked OK. Nathanse had a pretty nice one about the same size as yours and he too complained about the silicone work. But over all he was pleased with his tank. For the price they cant be beat. Other manufacturers would charge almost twice what glas cages charges.

I wonder why Glass Cages doesnt take a little more pride in their silicone application. It isnt that hard to be smooth with it. Maybe the guy who does their siliconing has parkinsons dosease? :lol:

 

[DaveJ]

@DaveG99 wrote:

Up to you, you're the one buying it and will have to live with it. Their problem is their work ethic is horrible. You get what you pay for, but that's the last time I go cheap on a tank. I have to look at that thing every day and while the silicon looks okay after I spent 4 hours fixing it, you can't do much about the misaligned glass edges and wavy glass cuts. On a rimless those things matter much more than non-rimless.