Setting up my Oceanic 58

[txbonds]

Got a new oceanic 58 ultimate to replace my solana 34 because I wanted a sump and liked the size of the 58 at 36x18x21. For equipment, this will have two Aqua Illumination Sol Blue lights, two Ecotech Vortech MP10wES.

 

 

To go with it, I picked up a used My Reef Creations "MRC" reef sump, which includes a skimmer area, refuge area, bubble trap and return pump area. It's around 25x15.5x18. I'm thinking about a custom sump from lifereef but this will get me started.

 

 

Also picked up a used lifereef svs2-24 skimmer to try out. It is in excellent condition and I got a mag 9.5 pump to drive it.

[txbonds]

Next step is the stand. I decided to build my own stand. It will be 42" tall, as I like a tall stand for ease of viewing.

 

The basic frame is made of pine 1x4's

 

It was assembled using a combination of wood glue, pocket screws and the nail gun

 

Next I decided to put a solid top on it for rigidity. I'm using 1/2" plywood called "bondewood" from lowes. It is glued in place and nailed with the nail gun and 1" staples

 

You can see I put in a few extra rear supports, but left the front open for sump access

 

Next I put the same 1/2" blondewood plywood on the sides and rear. The sides and front will overlap the frame of the tank to hide the plastic tank trim. I also used the plywood for the internal shelf for the sump. As the sump is about 33 gallons on it's own, I put lots of support under the floor shelf. The exterior skin and internal shelf are held in place with wood glue and 1" staples.

 

 

So far, this is as far as I've made it. Ran out of time today due to Halloween fun. Still to do, I have the front plywood, the corner moldings, the base molding, the crown molding around the top, and I'm putting a ledge over the crown molding. Then it will be time for paint and stain. Overall I'm pleased with how it's turning out.

[txbonds]

Didn't update anything else on the stand, but did test fit the sump to see how it fits and to determine if there is room for a drawer.

 

 

 

This sump is 18" tall. I'm wishing the skimmer area were about 4 inches lower, as then I could add a 4" deep drawer and have the same amount of access space for the skimmer cup.

 

What do you guys think? Drawer or no drawer?

[txbonds]

Made a little more progress on the stand today

 

 

 

 

[jae4571]

This looks really nice! I would do a drawer kind of the way the Solana stand is set up. This way when you're doing maintenance you can remove it completely and have entire access to your sump area. If you build only a shelf it will be a pain to remove it for maintenance if needed because you ll have to take everything off of the shelf while drawer can remain full and just slid out.

 

Im tagging along for your build!

[creefer]

I love the dimensions of this tank. Your build looks great! I'm excited to see what you do with this....

 

Tagging along..

[txbonds]

This looks really nice! I would do a drawer kind of the way the Solana stand is set up. This way when you're doing maintenance you can remove it completely and have entire access to your sump area. If you build only a shelf it will be a pain to remove it for maintenance if needed because you ll have to take everything off of the shelf while drawer can remain full and just slid out.

 

Im tagging along for your build!

 

 

Thanks. Ironically enough, I decided to do a drawer and am starting on it today. Finished the upper ledge and the crown moulding below it this morning.

 

The tank has a little teeter-totter sitting on the stand top which means I've got some sanding and plaining to do to get it level. Seems as though i read that it should be supported mostly on the 4 corners and be able to slip a sheet of paper under the 4 sides. Does that make any sense?

 

I'll update some pictures tonight.

[txbonds]

Doesn't look like a lot, but I worked on the stand almost all day today. Made some pretty good progress. The thing that took the most time though was sanding down the top so that the tank sits flat.

 

Front shot. Added some drawers, and also some crown moulding under the top rim

 

Underneath drawers. Only have a single support at the moment, but will be adding another couple soon as I ran out of wood. Drawers will fully remove for maintenance.

 

Rear shot showing how crown moulding is mounted

 

Shot of top showing where I've sanded through layers of the plywood to get the tank to sit flat. The top wasn't flat apparently as the tank had a lot of teeter-totter when I test fit it. This gets it to a point where it is basically flat, but I'll probably have to sand a little more before I'm finished:

 

Side profile showing the various layers of moulding

 

And lastly the drawers opened. I made the drawers out of pine 1x4. Used a slot cut router bit to make a grove for the bottom to ride in. Used the kreg jig to put the frame together, combined with wood glue. Will put a face on them when I make the doors.

 

 

 

I've done as much reading as possible, but I would appreciate any feedback, tips or comments. Thanks for taking a look.

[latteslave]

Loving the stand. You got some skillz.

[jae4571]

+1 I see your also in Florida...I know who to call when I decide to do another upgrade!

[Animeking63]

All I can say is WOW! That stand is beautiful I know we are suppose to talk about tanks and fish and stuff but it just looks amazing.The tank you picked is a nice size too and i can't wait to so when everything is built and the tank is up and running. I'm new here so as soon as i figure out how, i'm gonna tag along too .

[txbonds]

aw shucks, you guys are making me blush.

 

Thanks for the compliments. It is nice to hear.

[txbonds]

So here is a funny question, do you think a single drawer front would be odd?

 

In other words, if I put a single front across both drawers so that they open/close together? I did two drawers so there wouldn't be a huge bottom board that would sag if I did a single large drawer. But, I thought a single drawer might look better.

[19jeffro83]

You went through the trouble of making two drawers already. Keep it two separate it'll look nicer. And like I said you did all the work already.

 

Btw nice handy work. You have some carpentry experience I would imagine.

[txbonds]

You went through the trouble of making two drawers already. Keep it two separate it'll look nicer. And like I said you did all the work already.

 

Btw nice handy work. You have some carpentry experience I would imagine.

 

 

Thanks. The double drawers will probably look nice.

 

I was thinking to do the opposite of the door. One door, then do two drawer fronts. Two doors, then do one drawer front. To balance each other out a little.

 

Regarding carpentry skills, not really. It is all self taught through making lots of mistakes and having ability to buy some equipment. Ironically enough, the handiest tools I used on this thing turned out to be a hand planer and a dremel multi-max. The saws and routers are a given these days, but the above two really helped with the finish work.

[jae4571]

I see what your saying. I think the one drawer front would look much more sleek when closed. Im just not so sure what it would look like when opened. Then again no one is going to know its two separate drawers but you.

[txbonds]

Anyone have any thoughts on plumbing?

 

I've got the typical 2 hole overflow. I'm thinking it has maybe two 1" or two 1.5" holes drilled in it, but I've not measured yet. I really don't want to have PVC running up the back to make a return line, which means a "herbie" overflow is probably out.

 

Anyone ever try one of the silencer pipes that premium aquatics sales?

 

http://premiumaquatics.com/store/merchant....;Category_Code=

[19jeffro83]

Ocelating saws are the ####. One of my favs by far.

[txbonds]

Ocelating saws are the ####. One of my favs by far.

 

Yep. This is my first. Bought just to help sand into the corners and to cut a few items flush.

[SWEETLOU]

Do you not want to use the oceanic plumbing kit that is made for these tanks?

[txbonds]

I don't know. I was under the impression that it was a durso and it will be noisy. If it's not, then by all means I'll use it. I'm just trying to tackle each step as I go rather than have a million "do overs".

 

I usually do have the million do overs no matter how much I try to prepare though. LOL

[SWEETLOU]

As long as you don't have a oversized return pump you can get the stock kit pretty quiet. Mine is a bit noisy but I'm running a mag 9 return pump. It's way more than I need

[txbonds]

I'm looking at something the equivalent of a mag 7 most likely for my return. Somewhere around 700gph rating. Would like to try a water blaster 3000 pump to keep energy consumption lower.

 

Will try the kit I guess since it came with the tank.

[SWEETLOU]

My LFS is running a mag 7 with the stock oceanic kit and it is almost silent. So I'd say as long you get something around those ratings you should be golden. Minus tinkering with the drain height to get it quiet. It takes a couple trys. But it's easy to adjust

[txbonds]

It has apparently been almost a month since I last worked on the stand. Just as a quick update, I managed to get my doors made and hung, and a drawer front made and attached. The doors are 1x8 pine boards joined together to make each door. They are hung with recessed european adjustable hinges. The drawer front is 1x6 pine board trimmed down to a 1x5 and attached to both of the drawers.

 

 

 

Left to do on stand:

trimming/edging of the drawer/doors

cutting plumbing and wiring holes

fill nail holes with putty

sand

grey primer

satin black paint

 

At the rate I'm going, maybe I'll finish before summer. LOL