New Tank - CAD designs of the Tank itself!

[JKUNZ]

I built the frame for my new stand today, and over the next few weeks will do the finishing work. The stand will house a 20 gallon sump/fuge, 5 gallon ATO bucket, and a chiller. As of now, once complete, I will be moving my 25 gallon hex front to use it, but I purposely scaled the stand so that it can hold up to a 110 gallon tall.

 

The stand measures 4 feet 6 inches across, 2'2" deep, and 2'8" tall.

 

 

The 20 gallon sump/fuge will be as follows, with a few minor adjustments:

 

 

When complete the stand will look more like a piece of nice furniture, with four large bun feet, molding, recessed panelled doors, etc.

 

I'd love to hear any feedback and/or suggestions. Hopefully I'll have more pictures up by Monday and again next Friday. Sorry for the above picture quality, it was on my phone.

[jspot]

Your should add uprights between the top and bottom frames, not just on the insides of them.

[JKUNZ]

You're right, I actually was shy on wood and am planning on adding them (2x4's) on Monday, along with 2x2's on the sides as uprights.

 

Thank you though for the feedback. What image are you referring to?

[jspot]

Sorry, rc doesn't like linking to images on their site. I had to put it somewhere else.

 

[JKUNZ]

Oh, that's great! Those are my plans, and I'm glad to see I'm headed in the right direction!

 

What program do you use to sketch those?

 

Also, I'm about to upload a sketch of my updated refugium, let me know what you think.

[Kraylen]

Sick build man!

[JKUNZ]

Here's an updated sketch of the refugium design. I plan on beginning it tomorrow. I'm using a 20 gallon tall, and acrylic as the fuge walls. The water with flow from left to right in the image below. The refugium will obviously be located in the center section, with the sand level well below the slit in the left most acrylic wall.

 

 

The other compartments will house a return pump, pump to chiller, ATO equipment, Phosban Reactor, Submariner UV Sterilizer, and Aqua C Urchin Pro Skimmer.

 

This is my first attempt at a refugium, so feedback, critiques, and recomendations are greatly appreciated!

 

Thanks!

[JKUNZ]

Here are some better pictures of the work done this past Friday (5-2-2008):

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here are the updates from the work done today. I added vertical beams between the horizontal framing for added support, and added the inside flooring which will hold my 20 gallon sump/fuge, ATO bucket, and chiller.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I also began making the baffles for the refugium, but have no pictures at this time. I plan on picking up the rest of the finishing wood for the stand this week sometime, but won't have time to work on it again until late next week.

 

As always, I'd love to hear your critiques, feedback, advice, whatever...

 

Thanks,

 

-Jon

[Withers]

That could seriously support the weight of a tank, lol. It'll be solid, if nothing else! Nice craftsmanship!

[glennr1978]

Here are some better pictures of the work done this past Friday (5-2-2008):

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here are the updates from the work done today. I added vertical beams between the horizontal framing for added support, and added the inside flooring which will hold my 20 gallon sump/fuge, ATO bucket, and chiller.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I also began making the baffles for the refugium, but have no pictures at this time. I plan on picking up the rest of the finishing wood for the stand this week sometime, but won't have time to work on it again until late next week.

 

As always, I'd love to hear your critiques, feedback, advice, whatever...

 

Thanks,

 

-Jon

 

Looks great, definitely sturdy enough to hold a tank.....probably strong enough to hold 3 tanks!!! How much do you think that thing weighs so far?

[JKUNZ]

That could seriously support the weight of a tank, lol. It'll be solid, if nothing else! Nice craftsmanship!

 

 

Haha. The best part is to begin I will only have a 25 gallon on it, until I upgrade. As I stated before it's designed to eventually hold a 110g. A friend (an engineer) actually ran some numbers on it yesterday and tells me I could probably hold a 1000g aquarium on that thing (8000 lbs), if it were to size. Needless to say, I think it should hold my 25 for the time being, and some day a 110.

 

Looks great, definitely sturdy enough to hold a tank.....probably strong enough to hold 3 tanks!!! How much do you think that thing weighs so far?

 

 

As of now I can get it off the ground myself, but once the finishing wood goes on the outside, along with a top, and doors, it'll definately be a two man lift. It's actually decieving as of now, I'd say it's still under 80 lbs. (or maybe I just hope)

[evilc66]

You should meet my father-in-law. He's a fan of lag bolts and over-engineering too He built me a 4' cantilevered workbench out of white maple, and about 24 1/4" lag bolts. It will last longer than my house!

 

Nice work though. Can't wait to see the finished product.

[yankeereefer]

Very nice, I too built a stand over the past weekend. It'll have a 20H sump / fuge and a 20H or 33g cube on top.

 

If it's not too late, I would suggest maybe putting a couple more studs in the floor of that thing - Seem like a fairly large span of space between the 2 center studs and the outside edge of the base.

 

Maybe you did already or perhaps it's the angle, I dunno.

 

Anyways, have you given any thought to if and or what you will use to seal the inside of the stand? I'm considering using kilz, but open to suggestions as well.

 

Nice work!

[JKUNZ]

Are you refering to the lower floor studs, or the top? The top are spaced at 17.5inch increments, and the bottoms are still located in the center, although I was debating adding two more evenly spaced below the bottom flooring.

 

I guess originally I figured with 1x4's biscuited and glued, and then nailed to the existing studs, (shown completed above) that the floor would support the 20H sump/fuge, ATO bucket, and chiller just fine. Lets hope I'm not wrong, although I may still add another set of 2x4's beneath it all.

 

Regarding sealing, I'm not quite sure. It was recommended to me to stain, and then seal with a heavy boat sealant on the inside, but I havn't really gotten that far. I would love to know what you're planning on.

 

I will also look into Kilz. Thank you for the heads up. Does anyone else have any suggestions for sealant?

[yankeereefer]

Jon-

 

I was referring to the studs on the floor - I guess the plywood will distribute the load to the outer frame, but I'd be leery about that space. I laid out the bottom studs so that I would have a 2"x4" under each end of the sump and one in the middle.

 

I did the top the same way, except I added a couple of extra studs so there would be a 2"x4" under each of the 2 sides of the 33g cube - The 20H is 24" wide and the 33g is 20.5"

 

The stand I built is 36"L x 24" deep x 33"H

 

I posted similar inquiry on RC about the inside seal, pretty much everyone suggested a couple coats of kilz on the inside.

[JKUNZ]

Jon-

 

I was referring to the studs on the floor - I guess the plywood will distribute the load to the outer frame, but I'd be leery about that space. I laid out the bottom studs so that I would have a 2"x4" under each end of the sump and one in the middle.

 

I did the top the same way, except I added a couple of extra studs so there would be a 2"x4" under each of the 2 sides of the 33g cube - The 20H is 24" wide and the 33g is 20.5"

 

The stand I built is 36"L x 24" deep x 33"H

 

I posted similar inquiry on RC about the inside seal, pretty much everyone suggested a couple coats of kilz on the inside.

 

I'm thinking I may add two 2x4s to the flooring just in case. The top however will be custom made and pretty solid, so I'm not concerned with weight distribution up there. Do you have any pics of your stand?

 

Also, regarding sealing...I plan on covering the bolts and any exposed screws on the inside with silicon to minimize any possibility of rust. Just thought I'd mention that for you to consider as well.

[yankeereefer]

I picked up plywood to skin the outside of my stand this weekend. I'm going to try and do removeable sides.

 

I had a friend and local reefer rip some 2x4's on a 45 degree angle - one half will be installed in between the upright studs on the side - The other half will be installed on the plywood. The idea is that the "wedge" on the ply will lock into the wedge on the stand.

 

The only thing that kinda sux is my ply is a little warped - I'm hoping that installing the wedge(s) will straighten them out some.

 

I have to work my second job tonight so I can't work on or post pics until tomorrow.

 

How's your's coming along?

[JKUNZ]

I actually just did more work today. I picked up all of the finishing wood, and finished the sides off. All they need now is the trim/moldings.

 

Here are some pics of the progress during and after finishing off the sides:

 

 

 

 

Here are the after shots:

 

 

 

Here's a close up of a sample of the base molding that will eventually be added:

 

 

There will also be trim at the top, below the lip/hangover of the top, cap trimming on the corners, recessed panelled doors, and bun feet.

 

Here's a picture of the top, or atleast the progress as of now. I bisuited and glued 1x's together to make the main body of the top, and it will be framed in and routered on the edges, as well as removable with bolts:

 

 

 

As always, let me know what you think.........and yes, it is heavy.

[reefone]

looks good and solid i used two coats of exterior paint to seal the inside of my stand and calked all the joints. hopefully it will give me some time if it ever leaks.

 

ur sump design looks good. the only thing id do is space the last set of baffles about 2inch apart. that way u can put a eggcrate stand inbetween them and use filter floss or chemical media.

 

i used spar urithane to seal the outside of the stand and it holds up very well. i spill water on it all the time and just let it air dry.

[JKUNZ]

Thank you for the advice regarding the baffles and the eggcrate, I like it! I'll update as I progress on the sump. What thickness of acrylic should I use for the baffles???

[reefone]

1/4 inch will work, 1/8'' is too thin. i know u wanted acrylic but if u call a few local glass shops u can find glass ones for cheap. i got 4-1/4''x12x16 with one edge bevled for 25$. most of the non big name companies have scrap they will sell cheap.

[JKUNZ]

We I finally got more done this Friday! I added the base molding, and finished the wood working on the top by adding a routered frame. All I have left is to add corner cap molding, but unfortunately I think I may need to special order them or make them myself. Beyond that I plan on building the doors, sanding, staining, and sealing next weekend.

 

Here's the pics:

 

This is the top all put together. I added 1x3 board as a frame, 45'd at the corners, and routered the edges to match the base molding and insert moldings on the doors. The frame also had to be biscuited and glued togethers, and then clamped for a few hours to hold (as seen below):

 

 

The next two are of the base molding I used, and as you can see the corners of the stand are plain at this poitn but I plan on adding that corner cap molding:

 

 

 

 

 

Let me know what you think, and have a great day!

[evilc66]

Looking great. That will look awesome all stained up.

[JKUNZ]

Finally finished staining...after months of hiatus. It was a matter of finding time to complete this part of the build. I still need to finish the doors, which I'm planning on having smoked glass center panels. Thoughts?

 

Also, when set-up, I want this as a peninsula style so you can walk around three sides, having a short side on a wall. This would call for five doors, one end open next to the wall.

 

Also, I'm going to have the tank built, acryllic, rimless, museum corners, and thinking I want a shallow reef (18 inches, maybe 20) and somewhere from 80-90 gallons in the display. Any recommendations??

 

Pic time:

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for looking! Open for advice!

[Pickle010]

Awesome!!!

 

I absolutely love the stain and how dark it is.

 

Looks better then a pro stand - looks like a nnice credenza someone would buy for the house anyhow. Can't wait to see this one finished.