50 gal. build

Long story short.... I did fresh water tanks, until the Sylmar, Calif. earthquake in the  70's threw them on the floor... big mess. 2- 30gal, 3- 10 gal. all hit the floor.
My son got into salt water tanks and gave me his 30gal to tend while his family went to Oregon. I sorta kept it. He now has a 120 gal.
So, this is my first ground up build after years of working with the smaller tank. I'll post photos as as best I can. There's been no rush building.  I started planning last year when I built a built-in wall unit in the living room. I committed a space for the tank and refug. under the cabinet.
Basic specs so far:
- 50 gal. main tank
- 20 gal. refug/support tank
- Foam and rock back and side walls

I'll start with images of the tank build to date. Then add the cabinet images/information and all the plumbing, lighting, etc.

Basic in-tank plumbing done. Loc-line will bring the various water directors through the rock.


Plastic light fixture grate in place to support the foam and rock.


Overflow box built from big PVC drain pipe. I cut it to size and cut the drain slots on a table saw. I'll be using a Dorose (sp?) drain pipe to get water down to the sump.


Close in on the grate fitted around the plumbing.


Another angle.


More to come. Sump pump and Loc-line stuff ordered.
Bob

The cabinetry build looks like this. All the wood is 3/4" maple with the wrong side of the plywood out. I like figure in my wood and it's all on the 'bad side'. So we flipped it.


Ok, for you photo buffs, I HDR'd the above image.
The tank will go on the left side, where you see the flying pig. The cabinet is structurally sound to 800 lbs. of dead weight... maybe more. It's kinda over-built.  It's free span for the doors. No center divider. Below will be a 20 gal. sump and support stuff.

The top is 2 layers of 3/4" ply and a layer of 1/2" caramelized bamboo flooring. The top also has a couple of stringers (kinda like floor joices).


The inside of the cabinet will be painted white plus there will be a vinyl membrane added under the tank to catch a possible overflow of the sump. A separate circuit is being brought in to handle the tank power needs. I'm adding a 5" muffin fan that will blow into the cabinet (filtered) to help mitigate the moisture buildup.


The front of the hood opens to allow access.


There's 2x48" t-5 tintics right now. 2 rows of mixed color LEDs will be added.


The hood will have a small fan on one end to move hot, damp air out.




bob


Edited by R Trim - December 29 2013 at 4:28pm

The build continues. Made some headway this weekend with my son visiting. He's really good at letting the 'rock speak to him' for placement. And it did. It looks really nice.

We began stacking the rocks starting with a the key focal point in the middle of the tank.



And then the foaming started. Note to self...wear disposable gloves next time. Just sayin'



We were able to create some very nice natural caves, passage ways and shelves when the pieces all fit together.

Once the foaming was done, the shaping began with a Dremmel with a sanding drum attached. It's fast work to shape this foam. Bit dusty, but not bad. The photo below shows shaping just starting in one area. I'm tending to cutting the foam back quite a bit, then cutting texture into what remains. The epoxy and sand will work it's magic in the final step.



While the foam was drying, we dove into the sump. It's a 20 gal. tank. Simple design with the inflow on the right side and the tank return on the left. 3/16" plexi creates the baffles. Water tested....no leaks between baffles.




Next up is the coat of marine epoxy on the foam with sand embedded.

Oh, it's been a spell since I posted anything about this build. Sorry. The project just sat and sat until the travels to Europe,  and the semester was done. But things have moved quickly in the past 2 weeks. Here's an update.

I would be worried about those hose clamps they are going to rust and cause problems for your corals.
What did you do to break your siphon on your returns in case of power outage?

Just tested the water. Spot on on all parameters. Nice!

Got the LED sump light built/proto-typed and working. 4 -12k white and 2- Blue-red-blue LEDs. All 3 watt'rs. Testing 30 degree lenses to see if I like what they do. 

Here's a tank update. It's been months of ups and downs with the tank...as would be normal for a new tank.

I would agree with the above on it looks like a dino problem but I've fortunately never had that issue so can't say for sure.

I take it you've added some live rock and live sand?  I'd keep the lights on.  Maybe add phytoplankton as well.