Tropical Fish Keeping banner

Onefish2fish's New One, Round 2

52K views 318 replies 29 participants last post by  bearwithfish 
#1 ·
Could it be? Well first and formost if you have yet to see round 1 you may find it here:
http://www.fishforum.com/saltwater-...fish2fishs-bowfront-salt-tank-progress-17236/

The following thread is going to be about my new one, the upgrade, what you've all been waiting for, well really what ive been waiting for :roll:
Having had some set backs it should really be happening soon in tandem with painting my room.
This tank is a custom built one with 1/2inch thick glass all around.
It is 60inches long, 18inches wide, 21inches tall making it 98.18 US gallons. Here it sits empty,



So far the plans are:
  • Use the sump from previous tank.
  • Transfer livestock from previous tank (with possible exception of yellow headed goby)
  • Drill back side of tank (if she cracks ill prob. buy a 75 reef ready)
  • Use MyReefCreations MR-2 skimmer w/ mag24 pump
  • Use icecap 4 bulb t5 light setup with addition of 2 more bulbs
  • build stand and canopy
I encourage ALL thoughts, ideas, input, comments, questions through out this thread. This is how we learn and expand so do not be afraid to get involved!

Im planning a "simple stand" for this one however its going to be more detailed then what i currently am using on the 46 which is a plain 2x4 frame. The small window on bottom will be a port hole to view the refugium, i dont know if this is going to be 100% yet, really just gathering thoughts. That panel will most likely be held on with magnets so if need be i can easily access the complete sump/refuge. The cabinet to the right will prob. be added alittle later on so can get my things inside the tank settled and in. Thats mainly going to be a place to store test kits and chemicals. I have another idea in my head where the lights are on a track so they can slide out of the way but i might just keep it simple.


Its prob. going to look more along the lines of this:

 
See less See more
5
#2 ·
the following picture displays what the stand would look like if i connected the canopy straight through with tracks for the lights, the red arrow shows that they could slide over for easier access to the tank. its 4 foot lights, 5 foot tank with 2 feet on the far right. im still on the fence about this design.


a basic preview of what the sump and under the tank is going to look like, for the most part its drawn to scale 5' tank, 3' sump i didnt imput dementions on the skimmer but it going to be something along these lines:
 
#3 ·
Onefish... This is impressive....
(sorry if you've already stated this in one of your past posts but...) you are building the stand yourself?
Great blueprint...very inspiring! I hope to build my own costum stand or have one built for me in the future instead of just picking, choosing and buying from Big Al's.... You sure are making this "your own"

Will definitely be returning to this thread
 
#4 ·
im building my own stand, if i go through with the plans it should look something along the lines of the pictures above. the cabinet will prob. be added last.
before all this happens i need to to more sanding in my room and paint my ceiling, i ordered all sorts of things that im picking up this weekend but theres still plenty more i need to get. one of the things purchased were bulkheads so im waiting for them to come in so i can get the exact measurement of which size diamond drill bit to buy so i can drill holes, im going to need 2 more bulbs i already got the ballast and what not) more piping for the plumbing, not to mention the wood for the stand and just some odds and ends to get this thing going. im hoping i have something to look at within a few weeks, again as you see in the pictures its not anything crazy but it serves its purpose perfect. thank you for the kind words.
 
#10 · (Edited)
i think im going to have to do something along these lines for the stand:


originally i wanted the front face of the stand to be held on by magnets so it can pop on/off with ease and give a "clean look" however thinking more about it everytime i want to access the sump im going to be "popping off" a 5 foot piece of plywood. i think ill have to cut the plywood in half, add hinges and handles so it opens up dual door. i will still have the same ammount of access without anything getting removed. im sure it will have different handles and placement, thats just for display. thoughts/ideas?
 
#11 ·
heres an idea of what the top view of the canopy will look like. i want the front to have a clean appearance so hinges will be on the upper side so the front panel and part of the top will lift up. there might be more/different hinges and most likely a different color but picture is for reference.
 
#16 ·
I don't think it'd be worth it to build a slide mechanism if all you can move them to the side is two feet. I'd look more into something that would let you lift the whole hood.
 
#19 ·
this was actually considered however installing something of the sort will be costly for one and not permanent for 2, however thanks for the suggestion. im still not sure if im going to do the "slide mechanism" but if i do it will allow enough room for feeding and minor adjustments (to rock/corals) anything big will have to remove the hood by hand. any dosing/testing and such can be done from the sump which will be open.


and thanks guys!! :-D
 
#20 · (Edited)
thinking more about it the dementions i gathered would equal the gallons mentioned however since it is 1/2 thick glass all around it cuts me back to alittle shy of 90 gallons.
i dont even know for 100% if this is tempered glass so this may turn out to be a short build. theres a way of testing it but im just going to take my chances. if she cracks its a good enough excuse to get a shiny new reef ready 75.
i ordered a 1500gph overflow box from glass-holes.com which i originally was going to build myself however this comes complete with drill bit, overflow, bulkheads and even a shirt for an extra 2 greenbacks. i already have a pair of bulkheads laying around so i may just drill my sump.
i also ordered two 3/4s sections of locline for my return and tom. i should be placing an order for a few odds and ends like some magnessium,another media reactor,phosban and some others. then soon ill be picking up a few bulbs which i plan on getting locally (its 3 more dollars local then online) so i dont have to pay additional shipping and worry about them coming broken.
i should be getting alittle more work done in my room this weekend so hopefully this thing isnt far around the corner.
 
#22 ·
Just curious. How do you check for tempered glass??
i have heard using a polarized lens/glasses lets you know its tempered, something like that.

honestly if it drills clean it stays, if it shatters or cracks its a perfect excuse for a 75 reef ready. ive been looking for an excuse for a new tank but the problem is i have so many here its almost sick. i even just sold a 55 and stand like 10 minutes ago.
 
#23 ·
without delay, here it is:


just kidding thats only a QT :-D




im not a fan of blue backgrounds but i figure this time around (esp since its only a QT) ill try it out. i dont really like it but my fish dont seem to complain. im not going to tell you what fish is in there atleast not yet. now what do you think ? :lol:
 
#24 ·
What do I think? I think there's snow on the ground.... yuck :)

It looks great! What type of paint do you use and do you just spray it on? Do you use a different type of paint if you are painting glass vs acrylic??
 
#26 ·
kym,

i just make sure the tanks clean and dry, tape anything you dont want paint on and hit it with some krylon. many light coats are always better then a couple heavy coats. ive heard you can also use a paint roller but ive always used spray paint as i have so much of it and its cheap. i dont know the deal on acrylic as i always use glass tanks. i know if you get sick of it on glass you can scrape it off with a razor blade, i would imagine on acrylic this would scratch it.


again, im a fan of black backgrounds myself. i figured since its usually black i would give my QT some flavor. when the fish comes out i might scrape it off and paint it black and even do the sides since it is a qt.

no one wants to even guess what the next fish is going to be? i guess i just have everyone stumped.
 
#27 ·
I want to paint black backgrounds on my little 6gl acrylic tanks. I'm tired of the black cardboard falling off and when the occasional water dribbles down it dries and you can see it from the front of the tank. I wont have to worry about ever having to remove it as black is my favorite background color anyway.

My fish guess is going to be a jawfish. Am I close??
(Don't make me go back and find your "my favorite saltwater fish" post...:))
 
#28 ·
yea, with saltwater saltcreep gets behind the background and looks ugly so painting is the best bet in that situation. i actually dont have my tank now painted because i knew i was upgrading and selling that tank.

not a jawfish although those are interesting and ive thought of getting one before. i dont think i ever talked about this one. need a hint? lol
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top