My 360g plywood tank - The official build log

[Right, I have 3 250W DE bulbs ready to go. I'm running 10Ks now and have 4 hamilton 13K's when it's time to replace them. I made the reflectors, and used electronic ballasts from Hello Lights.. I have 4- 96W PC's w/03 bulbs that I may or may not run. (You will see why after reading the Penn State Article I'm writing.

Then I'm using that skylight above, and mirroring the way down with reflective Mylar. That should let me cut way back on how long I run the MH. It should also give me some what of a real moon cycle.]
 
[I got the last coat of paint on the tank today, and I also ordered the glass. There was some problems and planning that went into that, so I thought I would share my decision making process.

Going into this I assumed ½ to 5/8 inch glass would be used for the tank. I originally planned for a 30” tall tank too, but for those of you reading along, you know what happened there. Anyway, I found this site from a club in New Zealand: http://www.fnzas.org.nz/glassthickness.0.html

Here’s the article text:


The water pressure (p) is directly proportional to the Height (H) x the force of gravity(approx 10 (9.81 for people who want to be exact)).

p = H x 10 in N/mm2

The bending stress allowed (B) is equal to the Tensile Strength of glass / safety factor.
B = 19.2 / 3.8 = 5.05N/mm2 (Safety factor = 3.8)
Calculations for Front and Side Glass Panels:
The thickness of the glass (t) is proportional to the (square root of width factor (beta) x height (H) cubed x 0.00001 / allowable bending stress (B)).

so; t = SQR (beta x H^3 x 0.00001 / 5.05) in mm.

Select beta and alpha from the previous chart based on the length to height ratio.

The deflection of the glass is proportional to (alpha x water pressure (p) x 0.000001 x Height^4) / (Modulus of elasticity (E) x Thickness (t) cubed).

Deflection = (Alpha x p x 0.000001 x H^4) / (69000 x t^3) in mm.

Example: (Warren’s new tank)
Aquarium Length = 3000mm
Aquarium Height = 950mm
Safety Factor = 3.8 L/H>3 therefore Beta = 0.37 and Alpha = 0.067
p = 950 x 10 = 9500N/m²

Side Thickness:
t = SQR (0.37 x 0.950^3 x 0.00001 / 5.05) = 25.06mm
Deflection = (0.067 x 9500 x 0.000001 x 950^4) / (69000 x 25^3) = 0.48mm



Here are my Constants:
Terms Used:
Length in mm (L): 1850mm (72” inside – the overflow box)
Width in mm (W): 760mm (30” )
Height in mm (H): 840mm (33” leaving 1 inch at top for cap)
Thickness in mm (t): ?
Water Pressure (p): ?
Allowed Bending Stress (B): ?
Modulus of Elasticity (E): ?

So, on to my calculation:

alpha = l/w = 1850cm /760 = 2.43 which gives me an alpha of .063 and beta of .35
pressure (p) = H x 9.81 in N/mm2 = 840mm x 9.81 N/mm2 = 8240 N/mm3
B = 20 / 3.8 = 5.26N/mm2 (With a Safety factor = 3.8)

So the Glass thickness need to be:
t = SQR (beta x H^3 x 0.00001 / Bending Stress) = SQR((.35 * (840*840*840) * .00001)/5.26) = 19.85mm = .78” or ¾” glass!

Now that’s with a safety factor of 3.8. Lower that to 2.0 and you get 14mm or .55 inch glass. The calculations also use the lowest strength rating of the glass, so it could actually be 1/3 stronger,which would help as well.

Now this calculation assumes an edge join, just like the one on your tank. This is the weakest join. My tank will be done the same way inside, but it will also have a 2” thick perimeter of 1” Plywood surrounding every edge of the glass. That is not accounted for in the calculation. That means my safety factor with ½ inch glass would probably be around 3.0 and 5/8 inch glass would push me up to 3.8.

So I was correct in my initial assumption. However, try and find 2 sheets of 5/8” glass. It’s just not common out there. I called 5 places and nobody carried it. The last place I called Addison glass, said they didn’t have it, I talked with the guy a bit, and he ended up checking on it, but could only order a case which would take him a year to go through. So I was stuck with ½ or 3/4 inch. The price for ¾ was around $650. I asked Tom if I could get a discount if I paid cash, washed his truck or something. He laughed, and later gave me 10% off.

When you get to that size glass, the thickness starts to turn the glass green. That’s why you get 2 sheets of Starphire glass laminated together. I checked on that and for 1,500 I just didn’t think it was worth it. I went over to Addison glass to check out a sample of ¾ glass. I can see the slight green tint, but decided I would be happy with it and placed the order.
1 – 73” x 32 ¾
1 – 29” x 32 ¾

The total with tax and my 10% discount was a few pennies shy of $600
Should be done Thursday or Friday, but I told them to take their time since they gave me a good deal.

I got the last coat of paint on today and found out from the last coat, that sanding gives a really nice finish. I’ll post a pick in a week or so and you can see what I mean. Once I get the glass in, I can do the water test, finish out the inside with acrylic, and get it setup.

In the mean time, I still have to get the skylight in, do the backerboard/reflective mylar up to the skylight, cut the hole to the dining room, build the sump, and plumb the system. Then I have to get the cabinet face up in front of the tank so I can get that stained before I add fish and livestock.

Still probably a month away depending on how much I work on this project and how much I have to travel.

Addison Glass also had some big 3/4 inch table tops for 50 buck. would work great for a smaller project!]
 
[Ok, got the glass in, and got it installed today. It was too heavy for me, so I got a friend of my to drop by and help out. We took the top of the stand off, and then we laid the tank on it's face. We got the glass off the truck, set it in 3/4 of the way, lifted and cleaned the edges with Xylene cleaner (HD/Lowes), and then set it back down. I laid a thick bead of GE Silicone I along the bottom covering both the bottom edge and the front face:

glass_4.sized.jpg
alt="">

Then I got under the tank, lifted up while Adrian guided it into place

glass_5.sized.jpg
alt="">

I should have put more silicone on. A lot was wasted, but there were still some bubbles. I did my best to eliminate them but there are a few that remain.

Glass_6.sized.jpg
alt="">

There are more pics in my gallery if you want to take a closer look.]
 
[It's coming along nicely.

I'm looking forward to hearing your reaction to the sun tube portion of this project. I find that to be fascinating.]
 
[Well, I did the water test, and the back broke, spilling 300+ gallons of water on the floor. :) Only kidding! It's sitting full in the garrage right now. It's really holding up a lot better than I thought it would. The top brace is barely holding any weight. The back seam is holding up just fine, I didn't even silicone the corners (Still planning to cover all the survaces with plexi/pvc), and the tank doesn't bow much.

I took a 4ft level across the back at several angles, and the bow is about 2m on each side across the 4ft, and the tank is only 6ft 3in between the end and overflow wall. So total deflection is about 4-5mm. The Glass also does not look as green as I thought it would filled with water.

The stand is very strong. It barely moves when you try and shake it, and it's currently on wood shims to account for the garage floor slope. I'm not going to add any angle bracing, it just doesn't appear to need it.

Hopefully it will heat up enough for me to go swimming tomorrow. Come on, are you telling me you wouldn't go for a swim in the reef tank you just build if given the chance? :cool:

Anyway, getting the plumbing going, I have the acrylic for the sump sanded, and need to get that together. I still have to cut out the ceiling, put the skylight in, and finish that out. I did get the pollycarbonate sheet in the skylight, and got it put back together. That was a pretty easy task. I got my hammerhead pump in today.

Unfortunately, everything will have to sit for a week because I'm going to Scottland Saturday-Saturday. I may take a couple of days off work after that, and get it finished, we'll see!]
 
[Wow that is one awesome project. I can not imagine pulling all of that together, great job. Keep it up.]
 
[Sorry for the long delay. The tank has been progressing nicely, and right now it’s holding water in the overflow box. The plumbing is almost complete, and I’ll be setting it up soon. I’m really disappointed with DFWMAS right now, and I just haven’t felt like contributing anything lately.

I joined the club several years ago when the average meeting was 10-15 people. Over the years I have helped out here and there. The club really took off after Brad pushed us to start hosting conferences. The meetings used to be at somebody’s house, where we would have time to chat, quick club business, 30-minutes on somebody’s tank and the raffle. That was a great format, and I learned a lot from problems other people encountered. It also helped seeing an actual specimen while somebody was talking about it.

Today we get 1 hour of Marc going on and on about some newbie product. While this is great for people that are new to the hobby, for those that have been around for a while it’s a bit tedious. I also think members are treated like kindergartners rather than adults. The frag workshop is a perfect example of that. Instead of helping others, we all got to watch Marc show us how to poison your corals by neglecting to clean your tools, and then I assume his plan was for us to stand in line while he handed out the clubs corals since everything for 60 people was in one 10 gallon tank.

The last thing on political discussions getting banned is another example. The BOD was tired of the complaints and problems topics of this nature caused. What did they do? Take it away from everyone. They could have asked the club what to do, appointed someone to deal with these topics, set new guidelines for posts of this nature, etc. Instead the members get treated like little kids who can’t think for themselves.

That said, I’m glad to see the TARE group getting started over at http://www.yourreeftank.com. Maybe this will provide something for more experienced members since DFWMAS has lost it’s way for some of us. OK, rant over, back to the tank.

I left off with the water test. That went fine, but check my gallery for a pic of it draining. It's a lot of water that you wouldn't want dumping out in the house. Here we are moving it around to the front door:

Tank_Moving_2.jpg
alt="">

I bought 2 furniture dollys to put under the tank and roll it around. This worked ok. we had to reposition the dollys a few times, but got it in the end. I had to take it throught the front door since it's the largest opening in the house.


Living_Room_Tank_in.sized.jpg
alt="">

Here it is sitting in place. The 5 of us couldn't lift the tank off the furniture dollys. Four of us lifted one end up on the stand, then we move to the other end, picked that up, and slid it into place. I couldn't believe it was that heavy. Once that was in, I started on the dining room window. Let me cap this reply and go from there.]
 
[I finished the dining room window over a weekend. It went together fairly quickly. Here's what I started with:

Dining_Room_Window1.jpg
alt="">

Then I added some wood work:

Dining_Room_Window2.jpg
alt="">

After carving that scroll work from a single block of wood, I got it painted:

Dining_Room_Window3.jpg
alt="">

Just kidding about the carving! :) They are called appliques. You can get them online by searching google for wood applique or Lowes has them. This was the first time I used them, so I bought my locally. Really simple, just glue and nail them. It give a nice finishing touch to any project, and this is what sets apart a $200 stand Oceanic makes, and the ones World Down Under used to carry that cost 30K.

I made an extra shelf so I can turn this into a recessed book/display case if I sell the house one day.]
 
[The cat is going to love that shelf. I build the sump after that. I used 1/4 inch acrylic which is thin, but cheaper than 3/8, and then I used 1" strips to brace the outside edges. Here's my basic layout:

Sump.sized.jpg
alt="">

The water enters in the back right corner, goes over and under the dividers (not in place yet), the black box in the middle is the fuge, and the left side is the pump intake. Your looking at it from the back. I set it up this way for a reason. When I open the cabinet doors, the fuge will be easily accessable, and the back is just used for bubble traps. The black is actually smoke so you can see through the sides of the fuge, but it will block the light.

How to build a sump guides are everywhere, so I won't go into that. Here's how I did the 2" pump bulkhead:

Sump_Pump.jpg
alt="">

I used that bit of scrap to cut a round hole that fit the bulkhead. Then I lined it up with my marks make from the bulkhead attached to the pump. I raised the pump to allow for mouse pads to go under it, as well as accomidating future pumps that may sit higher up. Then I bonded the acrylic for strength, drilled a hole, and used a router with a trim bit to cut out the other hole. This was a safe way to go, where as cutting the outside hole first could lead to problems if you mess up.

Anyway, I did a water test, ran the pump closed loop, and it worked great. I think the sump is about 100 gal. It was close to capacity, but you haven't seen what I'm going to run with this pump. :)]
 
[Sam,

When I first clicked on your thread, I thought "wow, what neat pics. Sam's tank is really coming along." Then I scrolled up, and read your whole post.... I'm really sorry you are still so bitter about DFWMAS. With well over two hundred members, we can't possibly be everything for everyone. We'll try, but in the end we know there are some people that simply will not be happy being a part of our group.

That said, I'm glad you've found something else that will perhaps make you happier. It is a hobby after all, and one deserves to find joy in their hobbies. I hope you find joy in yours, I mean that.

Best of luck with your tank, it looks like it's coming along nicely.]
 
[Ever wonder how they do thoes screw holes on professionally built stands? I'm about to show you. It requires something called a pocket jig. Here's what you need:

Pocket_Jig.sized.jpg
alt="">

You clamp the jig on the wood, drill the holes to the right depth (that's what the white tape on the drill bit is for), and then join the two with a screw. Notice how the drill bit has a funny shaped end? The wide part is for the screw head, and the small part is to pre-drill the screw so it goes in the right place. Practice this before you do it the first time. I found the long screwdriver bit necessary to drive the screws. I couldn't do them by hand.

I used stainless steel screws found in the drawers at Lowes/HD. I also filled the holes with wood filler to keep standing water or moisture out. The picture is the bottom front cabinet on the stand. The wood is leftover drops from the 1" plywwod I used on the tank. I was able to use 90% of the sheets I ordered. This saved me some money and gave me some very sturdy cabinets.]
 
[Sam,

I agree, pocket holes are great. I have a Kreg jig that I use every chance I get. Something you might or might not have seen before are wood plugs for the holes such as seen here:

http://kregtool.com/iwwida.pvx?;PRODUCTS_DTL?cat=WOODPLUG%20%20

Some people even use them on exterior surfaces using those plugs, though I never have. It's a super strong joint, I've used them on flat panel door frames and other applications. I've never had one come apart yet.]
 
[Here's what it looked like framed in:

Living_2.sized.jpg
alt="">

I ordered unfinished cabinet doors from http://www.cabinetdoorsandpulls.com for $10-15/door. You can see them at the bottom of the picture. Then I added an applique and stained them to match. They came out really nice. Here's the almost finished product:

Living_3.sized.jpg
alt="">

I still have to add moulding on the top, and a frame for the front glass. Here's another view looking down the tank:

Living_4.jpg
alt="">

It's really comming together at this point. I decided to hold off on the final trimwork. I stained and varnished the wood inside the tank cabinetry and out. That should help protect it from the harsh environment. Once I get the light rack, exhaust fan, etc done I can fill it up with water and wrap up the trim work. I know just making that much water will take a week.

The pictures don't really capture the color. It's a mix between the orange and brown. It comes out a nice redish cherry. Exactly what I wanted. I used American Cherry by Olympic Stain.

Seeing the original picture from 3 years ago it's amazing how far the space has come.]
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top