DaveJ's 300G Build (Build has officially begun - In Process)

[DaveJ]

@bimmerzs wrote:

I have a sugar momma that takes care of me :twisted: The things I sacrifice my morals for.....

 

[DaveJ]

Drum roll please...... the first photos are hot off the presses.

Ladies and gents, the stand....

This is made of 3" Box Steel. The dimensions are 36 1/4" wide by 96 1/4" Long and 34" high. The stand will sit on 2 - 4" Metal shims once in place bringing the stand height up to 36" 38". Since the tank is only 27" tall, this will provide really nice viewing and still afford easy access, well as easy as a 3ft wide tank can get.

The L Brackets and slats are 1/4" steel and provide the seat for a plywood/epoxy pan in the bottom of the stand. It sits about 1/4" off the bottom floor right now.

The cross beam was added for additional support/rigidity and indicates the edge of the tank itself.

The additional 2 ft section past the edge of the tank will end up being a cabinet for the control panel, power switches and controller etc as well as access to the vortecs and all the plugs.

Long view...

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Corners

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Bottom L brackets.

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Bottom Slats

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Cross Beam for rigidity. Will sit under the edge of the tank.

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[washingtond]

Nice. Don't forget to get pictures of them unloading the tank when it arrives.

 

[chrisrush]

That is one heck of a stand. I hope you can get it into the house. Looks quite solid. Are you going to powder coat it or rhino-lined?

 

[DaveJ]

@chrisrush wrote:

It's actually not as heavy as it looks. Its heavy mind you, but not as much as one would think. Two guys can lift it and I can drag it around a little myself for example.

@washingtond wrote:

You bet...

 

[dp1416]

How are you going to get it in the door?

 

[Jeff]

Aren't there french doors in the back? Maybe a big window!

 

[DaveJ]

@dp1416 wrote:

Its 34" tall... my door has an opening of 35" so its a tight fit but will go through the front door.

 

[Kellsindell]

Sounds awsome, can't wait to see more. How long till the tank arrives?

 

[DaveJ]

@Kellsindell wrote:

No definitive date yet, but rumor has it next week or the following.

 

[Serk]

Sweet! Glad to see I'm not the only one who's tank build thread got to multiple pages BEFORE there was a tank! :wink:

Will there be a way to level the stand once it's in place? Even if the stand's level right now doesn't mean it will be once it's placed where it's going...

The adjustable leveling feet AGE put on my stand have been absolute lifesavers!

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[DaveJ]

@Serk wrote:

Metal shims will be used... the feet were an idea we tossed about and while it made sense, to be extra safe since the feet will be 2 - 3" tall, we decided on making metal shim pieces once we get the tile and everything done to get exact measurements etc. So basically they will be built to level and then put into place.

 

[Guest]

looks good david, makes me think my wood stand i built isnt as good as i thought

 

[DaveJ]

Time for some updates.

Hankzilla has graciously offered his help with some of the work. He will be constructing the wood facade, side cabinet and canopy for this tank. We ordered some aluminum pieces we saw on RC for the light structure that will be housed in the canopy. This stuff is very sturdy and very easy to assemble, no rivets needed. Its a modular system with composite connectors for the corner.

You can see the pieces laid out, I had to make some slight changes to the original design so some of the connectors are still not in but we got the pieces cut. Surprise... I cut them myself with a little direction from Foreman Hank.

The 3 Lumenbrites and T-5's will be assembled onto this frame. You can see the squares where they will seat and the T-5's will be hung underneath the frame itself. The whole frame will slide into a wood track with nylon or teflon bumpers so the light frame can be pulled out partially to allow access to the tank itself without removing the canopy.

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Foreman Hank in the backgroud.. no crack shot yet.

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Composite connectors.

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[DaveJ]

Today, I got a call from Frank that the tank was in. Again the tank is a slightly customized Marineland 300G. Its 6ft long 3ft wide and 27in deep. It's starphire on all viewing sides, so the long sides and the open end which will extend into the room.

The customizations were the black silicon and the overflow box. The overflow box is a dual overflow/return setup centered on one of the ends of the tank (3ft side).

The deliveryman was kind enough to drop it off at my house since I am just a few minutes from Franks. We wheeled it up the driveway on a pallet cart and tucked it into the garage until needed.

You can see the overflow box on the right. That will butt up against the wall.

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Deep Dimension means just that, 3ft deep. Overflow kits included.

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A little side shot for scale, thats a large City of FW garbage can.

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[DaveJ]

Okay, also started today.. Yes this was a busy day.... the fish room and entry hall remodel. I decided to tile the rooms. One of my clients is a tile manufacturer/importer and I worked a deal on the pricing. Even with that great pricing, the original Travertine I picked out was going to be VERY pricey. After discussions with the tile folks, I decided on porcelain tiles due to durability and not needing to seal/re-seal every couple of years. Between the weight of the tank and the possibility of staining due to leaks or drips etc, natural stone could be a problem long-term. However, I stuck to my guns on the Travertine for some border and room divider pieces because its just soooo sweet.

Anyway, before the work started. Old carpet intact and old tile that was put in by the builders which is a ceramic tile...

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You can also see the electrical work that was done a couple weeks back, two 15Amp circuits in the wall. These will be covered by the cabinet and will provide all the power for the lights and equipment.

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[DaveJ]

And then the fun started... I high-tailed it to Franks to hide out while they yanked everything out and then they started cutting tile. We will cut and layout all tile before it gets mortared onto the floor. The tile I chose will look like a natural stone (Travertine) and I went multiple tone. The entry hall will have a darker color border (brownish in the photo below). Followed up by a Travertine listello border inside that. The Listellos are small geometric natural stone pieces that will be in a rectangle pattern which will surround the main 'field' of tile inside. That tile inside will be a slightly lighter shade and using different sized tiles, it will have a pattern looking similar to flagstone. The pattern will be a common one called Italia. That will show up in later photos tomorrow and next week. Also on this photo is the room dividing Travertine Listello. That will go between the entry hall and the tank room, and between the tank room and kitchen.

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Here you can see more of the Listello borders and the complete darker shade border in place, but not set yet.

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Closeups

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[timthetoolman]

B-E-A-utiful.
That tank is so clear I didn't focus on it immediately.
Nice tile work too.
...just cool!

 

[TriggaFish99]

You'll love that tank. I have one almost just like that...only starphire on the front though.

Great choice of a tank!

 

[chrisrush]

Looks good Dave. I saw those modular light rack pieces on RC and have bookmarked them for my next build. I've heard they are very easy to work with.

That Marineland tank looks great. How was the pricing compared to AGE, etc? I imagine it was cheaper.