Justice Posted May 6, 2010 Share Posted May 6, 2010 Let me start by saying I am still new to the hobby only having my BC14 for six months, but I got the itch like most do to start a larger tank. After tons of thread browsing and researching I decided a shallow rimless cube was what I wanted. Again after much research I decided I would try to build as much of the project as I could to save money. This was a huge decision for me because frankly I suck at building things, lol. It all is/was a little overwhelming and I am still trying my best to research and gain more information on things that still confuse me. Anyway, lets get to some pictures! Here is a shot of some of the glass for the tank. Dims are 36x24x13 with three sides in Starphire glass. I decided to build my own 20g sump even though it went against my whole saving money philosophy as it cost more for the glass than it would have to go buy a 20g tank. Buuuut I wanted to have some experience actually putting it together from scratch so when I did the main tank it wouldn't my first time. Items used to build the sump. Dow corning 732 clear silicone, Dow corning 1200 primer (for the silicone), duct tape, caulk gun, respirator, and some acetate. Had safety glasses and rubber gloves on the other side of the table. All done! I let it cure for a week and then did a leak test and no leaks!! I was surprised, lol. Now onto the stand! Dun dun dunnnn. I am in no way close to being a carpenter and suck with tools so this was what I was least looking forward to. In the end it turned out decent, but in no way is it perfect. It has many flaws on it, but it will do it's job of supporting the tank. Progressive pics: The doors are done, I just have to put them on. Random stuff for the build. I plan to build the tank this coming weekend! Thanks in advance for anyone who takes the time to check out my build. I will update when I progress with the build. Link to comment
nanoreef-R Posted May 6, 2010 Share Posted May 6, 2010 What skimmer!!?!! omgomgomg Nice LEDs! Link to comment
Justice Posted May 6, 2010 Author Share Posted May 6, 2010 What skimmer!!?!! omgomgomg Nice LEDs! Its a NAC 6A, and thank you. Link to comment
NaClCrocodile Posted May 6, 2010 Share Posted May 6, 2010 Very cool. Nice silicone job for someone who "sucks at building things" lol. Mind taking some close up shots of the silicone? The one thing I'd change in the stand is having a lighter inside than the dark brown. Mine is going to be white. It makes a big difference IMO. Link to comment
clownfish14 Posted May 6, 2010 Share Posted May 6, 2010 sweet tank................ i mean sump and stand lol. its all looking good. what type of leds are thoes and is that an mp10 or 20. Link to comment
Justice Posted May 6, 2010 Author Share Posted May 6, 2010 Very cool. Nice silicone job for someone who "sucks at building things" lol. Mind taking some close up shots of the silicone? The one thing I'd change in the stand is having a lighter inside than the dark brown. Mine is going to be white. It makes a big difference IMO. Thank you, but trust me the silicone job is pretty ugly on the sump. For some reason I didn't think to tape up the glass to keep things looking nice a neat. But like I said the sump was practice for the tank. I'll post some pics soon. Thats a good idea about making the inside of the tank a lighter color, but alas I have put a check mark of completion on the stand, lol. Already put too much time into it, so I'll have to live with it. sweet tank................ i mean sump and stand lol. its all looking good. what type of leds are thoes and is that an mp10 or 20. Thank you! The top LED panel is just a cheap light I'm going to use for the sump. The bottom box is the LED light for the tank which is a Maxspect G2 110w. I'm hoping it will be enough light and I think it will be given the height of the tank is only 13" but if it turns out not to be I'll add a PAR 38 most likely. Link to comment
Justice Posted May 9, 2010 Author Share Posted May 9, 2010 Update! Built the tank today. For my first time ever making one it turned out well. Put the doors on the stand, so that now is finished. Un-boxed my skimmer! Now I have to figure out this sump and plumbing thing! Getting close. Link to comment
marinekeeper Posted May 9, 2010 Share Posted May 9, 2010 i think it all looks sweet. Not fond of the stand color, but thats just me. Nice job Link to comment
nikeSB Posted May 9, 2010 Share Posted May 9, 2010 nice build. great job on the stand Link to comment
got2envy Posted May 9, 2010 Share Posted May 9, 2010 Great DIY ! I think it turned out fantastic and I love the dimensions u chose for the display!! Link to comment
pismo_reefer Posted May 9, 2010 Share Posted May 9, 2010 Hey J, where you get yer bubble magus? Link to comment
Justice Posted May 9, 2010 Author Share Posted May 9, 2010 i think it all looks sweet. Not fond of the stand color, but thats just me. Nice job Thank you very much! nice build. great job on the stand Thanks. Great DIY ! I think it turned out fantastic and I love the dimensions u chose for the display!! Thanks! I'm very happy with the dimensions as well. Hey J, where you get yer bubble magus? I got mine from Socal Tropical fish outlet. I ordered a few things from them and I was happy with the service. The BM took almost two weeks to arrive due the fact that their shipment was late and got hung up in customs. Link to comment
pismo_reefer Posted May 10, 2010 Share Posted May 10, 2010 I got mine from Socal Tropical fish outlet. I ordered a few things from them and I was happy with the service. The BM took almost two weeks to arrive due the fact that their shipment was late and got hung up in customs. K... thanks. Link to comment
AJ_Tsin Posted May 17, 2010 Share Posted May 17, 2010 Great looking DIY good work dude. Link to comment
Justice Posted May 28, 2010 Author Share Posted May 28, 2010 Great looking DIY good work dude. Thanks Aj! Your tank inspired my build. Great build. Thanks! Couple new progress pics. Tank and stand finished and moved into the house (finally!) Trying to figure out a scape. Sump area. Right now I'm stuck on figuring out how to plumb the tank. Like I've stated this is my first custom tank coming from a BC14 and the plumbing is confusing me, so hopefully someone will be kind enough to help me out. I have a glass-holes 700gph overflow box which comes with a 1 1/2" elbow. I have a 3/4" hole for the return line. Return pump is a mag 9.5 that will be submerged. From the sump to the tank is about a 4.5' lift. Now in the instructions for the Mag 9.5 it states that for optimal performance the plumbing should be 1 1/2" ID, which seems huge to me, and why is the outlet connection 3/4"? So I'm not sure how to plumb it honestly. I'm just confused about if I should just follow the instructions and do 1 1/2" or go 3/4" since thats what the outlet is sized at. Thanks in advance for anyone that takes the time to help. Link to comment
EyDub03 Posted May 28, 2010 Share Posted May 28, 2010 Everything is looking good. I like it a lot and I admire your courage on building your first sump and tank. I'm curious how you finished the stand. Is it painted? What brand and color did you use? Link to comment
Justice Posted May 29, 2010 Author Share Posted May 29, 2010 Everything is looking good. I like it a lot and I admire your courage on building your first sump and tank. I'm curious how you finished the stand. Is it painted? What brand and color did you use? Thank you! The stand is just stained with a Behr wood stain. The color I used is called Russett. The inside is just a high gloss white paint and on both I coated with a polyurethane clear coat. Link to comment
Zo0k365 Posted May 29, 2010 Share Posted May 29, 2010 Looks like a very well thought out DIY. Sometimes you surprise yourself with DIYs when they come out like 10 times better than you thought they would. Unless you have very high expectations, I would be proud! Link to comment
Justice Posted May 29, 2010 Author Share Posted May 29, 2010 Looks like a very well thought out DIY. Sometimes you surprise yourself with DIYs when they come out like 10 times better than you thought they would. Unless you have very high expectations, I would be proud! Thank you! I did indeed surprise myself with the build as I didn't think it would turn out so well at all. I am very happy with it, but since I did build it I am over critical about it and can of course easily spot the mistakes I made. Overall though I'm very happy with it and once I figure out this plumbing stuff I can fill it up. Link to comment
rrcg50 Posted May 29, 2010 Share Posted May 29, 2010 To go from 3/4 what I would do is actually step it to 1" pvc then get 1.25 I'd hose and slip it over the 1" pipe and then do the opposite for the connection to the tank or get a female reducing barb for 11/4 to 3/4". Screw into a slip screw bulk head and complete. Now if you want to add a backflow(antisiphon device you will have to add a few more fittings but can b e done. Link to comment
BoricuaNY Posted January 27, 2014 Share Posted January 27, 2014 nice DIY build, One question, the back part of the tank (black) is that glass or did you use black acrylic? Did you rest the sides of tank on top of the bottom glass and the front and back in fron and behind the bottom glass? Link to comment
Withers Posted January 27, 2014 Share Posted January 27, 2014 This thread is almost 4 years old Link to comment
GHill762 Posted January 27, 2014 Share Posted January 27, 2014 nice DIY build, One question, the back part of the tank (black) is that glass or did you use black acrylic? Did you rest the sides of tank on top of the bottom glass and the front and back in fron and behind the bottom glass? this thread is from 2010, the OP hasn't been online in 4 months.. good luck getting a reply from the OP on this.. This thread is almost 4 years old beat me to it Link to comment
ifarmer Posted January 27, 2014 Share Posted January 27, 2014 nice. keep more photos coming Link to comment
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