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Project100 - Rimless Bathtub -


Maeda

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Current - 1/13/13 - Pakistan!


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After being in this hobby for a few years I experienced a ton of things, and only now think I understand what I really want in a tank.

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I designed my 'dream tank' a couple years ago thinking that some time a few years down the road in the far future, I would get a chance to put it all together. I would have a house, a dog, a wife, a job, and a beautiful fish tank.

Then my tank crashed. :mellow:
A huge bac bloom took out all my coral and fish. I lost all my sps, and all my wonderful wrasses.

I was left with nothing. Most of my corals that were sent to rescue tanks thanks to the kindness of fellow reefers in my area, did not survive past a few days. I was pretty pissed, and depressed. I felt a little like I wanted to quit, but really, I felt like I should've built it better.

I know you always think you can do it better. I usually feel this way about anything I do no matter how good it ends up. I figured i'd see how far I could take this idea, and see if I work on something hard/long enough I end up with something I feel like I couldn't do any better.

SO, with a new clean slate, and no livestock tending responsibilities I decided I would just bite the bullet and build the tank I REALLY wanted, even if it meant not having a tank for a year or two or five.

Now something a lot of people know about me, but many probably still don't is that I don't have any money at all because i'm a lazy bastard. I make just about minimum wage for a living working from home.

I can scrape together some money after saving up for a long time, but usually it's not the kind of disposable income a lot of people throw into this hobby. On the UP side is that I do have tons of time, so I can stretch small budgets into larger scale DIY projects, making DIY the obvious way to go.

I've been kind of a DIY nut for a long long time now, since I havn't had money for a long long time. All my previous tanks were all diy, so why not my dream tank?

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The Light
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The first thing I attempted to build, was my own light fixture. I've wanted a ATI powermodule since it came out... can you tell?

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How about now?

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How about now?

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Just to show you that DIY is more destroying then doing... I present to you my ill fated fiberglass experiment.

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The Stand
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My H-beam stand idea. I got really sick of hiding equipment for every tank that I built. It was a pain to hide, and then it made the tank a pain to work on. I found the perfect inspiration from an old design adage. 'If you can't conceal it, reveal it.'

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Now you see it. The back of the stand holds a super easy access sump, plumbing and top off reservoir.

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Now you don't. The front will hold, nothing.

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Here's another obligatory fail shot. The original stand design was scrapped after being finished completely. It's now my ######ty coffee table.

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The Display
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From the beginning in this hobby i've wanted a rimless tank, and over the years i've had a few now. I LOVE RIMLESS TANKS, so of course... my dream tank is rimless.

I called a few glass shops, getting quotes on glass, and found the price to be quite distasteful. The price of glass for a tank this sizes was very close to the price of a custom made tank.

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I contacted the nice folks at Lee-Mar through OC aquatics, and ended up with this behemoth.
I don't really drive a car 99% of the time, so my roommate and I went to pick it up with the g/f's Yaris Hatchback.

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The sucker is HOOGE. It's bigger then a bathtub. I can't believe we fit it in a tiny hatchback.

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The Skimmer

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I really wish I had 8-9 bills to drop on a KZ cone, or new BK mini, I really do. I wouldn't even question it. I know why they're so pricey, and it's worth it. The reality is that I don't have that kind of green to drop, so I had to DIY again.

 

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My acrylic work is very shoddy, so I actually cheated a little more and had john @ AA build me just the lower box to create the body. This is the only other thing I didn't DIY on this tank.

 

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It's powered by a sicce psk2500 mesh modded, with an enlarged volute. I enlarged it a bit further, with a caliper and dremel. Here's it on my tester neck.

 

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I guess you could say that... the proof is in the pudding. :)

 

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The Sump

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I've built quite a few sumps. I've built some from scratch out of glass, and acrylic, and have come to the conclusion that the easiest thing to do is, buy an AGA, and stick in your own baffles. It's cheap, and it's easy.

 

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Here's the mockup using epdm foam. It didn't really work out long term, so I ended up siliconing it.

 

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The Plumbing

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I guess there isn't much to say about plumbing. I LOVE doing it. I know i'm sick.

 

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Drill dem holes.

 

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Making an overflow box.

 

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Oh yeah. Look at that sexy silicone work.

 

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Reef Keeper Elite

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I WAS just going to use my old controller, but then this bad boy came out a while back. At first I cried vaporware, but as things progressed I realized that although a lot of the initial crazy features, were never realized in the a production model, the RKE was still the best controller on the market for the money (it also helps that ebay was running 30% off).

 

The H-beam stand really really frustrated me though. There wasn't anyplace for the controller. I had designed myself into a corner. Until I had a dream about, a aquarium kiosk...

 

Which turned into..

 

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Taadaa.

 

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Tank Electrical

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I always get to this point in a tank build, and then end up rigging some stuff, just to get it to work around an outlet. Not this time! I had a game plan I thought up while building the H-beam stand and RKE pedestal.

 

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Yup. It all fits in there, along with the router, and networking stuff.

 

I can turn the pumps on/off with switches, while the rest of the RKE stuff fits in there snugly.

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Misc.

 

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The H-beam stand is flawed is so many ways. :\ It just doesn't have any room for storage! I had to build another 'can't conceal it reveal it' device.

 

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Yep. Dosing pumps. I've always run 2-part, and have had great results. We'll see how it handles a BIG tank.

 

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100th Photo Anniversary

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On this day, the 100th photo was snapped, and the tank was ready for livestock. :)

 

EDIT: Yes I took down almost all the other pictures, by popular request. There was wayyyy too many, and it was very reader unfriendly.

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Dude that rockwork is ####ing EPIC.

 

Edit: On the left side, lol.

 

Yah... STILL working on the right side. I keep doing it and redoing it and redoing it and redoing it. I always end up sick of it and leave it as a pile.

 

Please explain the reactor's function. I understand the right and middle one but not the left one... TIA

 

This was going to be a matching set of reacotors

 

LEFT - Calcium reactor

 

MIDDLE + RIGHT - Purigen + ROWAphos 2in1 reactor

 

I'm not really sure if i'm going to build this set of reactors. I'm almost 1000000% positive i'm using balling method.

 

:o I feel as if I am a man among a GOD.

 

Your tank is no slouch either!

 

Thats an impressive project!

Plans for it?!?

 

SPS! I want to pick about 10-15 pieces, and grow them HUGE!

 

3-5 LARGE caps, and nothing but various acropora for the rest.. most likely deep water..

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Amazing. This will be an incredible tank. Are those Icecap ballasts?

 

Nope. :\ I didn't need all the punch of the icecaps.

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incredible tank...but im more impressed with the way you laid out the pics...good job!

 

:D

 

Photo Bucket auto generates this script for forums. :)

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Here's some random tank facts.

 

48x30x20"

1/2" GLASS

 

Return

Laguna 1200 Return pump - 1200 gph

 

Flow

2x MJ1200 + Mods - 4000 gph

 

Skimmer

Sicce psk2500 + Mods

 

Light

6x 54w T5HO + Icecap SLR reflectors

 

Rocks

60 lbs of dry dead rock

50 lbs of live rock

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Plumbing/Overflow Cover.

 

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I wonder where this goes? It's actually the quick connect for my drain.

 

 

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Crazy bubble plate I received as a present, from a good friend(no homo).

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:o wow thats tank to be proud of congrats. I may have missed this but what were the demensions? What are your future stocking plans?

 

48x30x20" ~ 100ish gallons

 

and my stocking plans are...

 

SPS

SPS

SPS

SPS

SPS

SPS

:lol:

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