My new 180 SPS build, in the grand scheme of things, it is still a nano

[filefish949]

My son and I picked up my new Visio 180 gallon tank yesterday. they did a very nice job on it. the silicone bead looks great and the mitered and polished corners I am very happy with the tank and the transaction with ATA went well, I ended up paying $105 more than the eBay advertised price because I added the polished corners and bulkhead hole.

 

 

I have 1 3" hole in the center 1" off the back. the plan is to just have a gray PVC pipe stand up in the back and I will cut a strainer into it but I am trying to avoid giving up real estate to a overflow box

 

while I was at ATA I noticed some nice big shelf rocks, normally I try to buy stuff on the cheep but I liked these pieces so I just got them. the bigger one measures 20" across and the smallest is about 16"

 

 

 

 

tonight at 3:00 I am heading over to my friends cabinet shop to build the stand and canopy the stain and finish should be done well in time for my planned transfer from the 100 gallon date of 4/6

[Withers]

Very nice! I hope you can use those shelf rocks to make them look natural, I've never gotten the hang of it

[Oceanic 30g]

BIG TANK! I am anxious to see the cabinet.

[filefish949]

Very nice! I hope you can use those shelf rocks to make them look natural, I've never gotten the hang of it

 

well I have done a bit of free diving so I have some experience, also I have been surfing the members aquariums over at RC and a lot of guys have done very well, I think the trick is to be willing to sacrifice a lot of the shelf to make it look natural

 

 

As far as the stand, I can't wait to see it either. I am going to use solid maple and Burch plywood. I am going to match the stain in my kitchen and use similar detail

[filefish949]

well at 3:00 this afternoon we started with this maple stock and some maple plywood

 

 

we did not use screws or nails in any of the main connections, here I am at the dato machine preparing for glue and dowels

 

 

 

gluing the dowels in place

 

 

the face-frame setting up

 

 

next we worked on the structure of the stand. I decided to have a "dry" section under the stand, it will house the chiller, ballast, ACII, aquasurf and other electronics and will be fan cooled so we built 2 sections

 

 

attaching the face-frame to the boxes

 

 

gluing in more support, the structural portion is all 3/4" maple plywood

 

 

attaching the solid maple sides

 

 

 

here it is almost done, if you look closely you can see the bisket to hole the vertical brace in place

 

 

here is the bezel that hides the black tank molding and 3/8 steel cable for earthquake bracing setting up

 

 

 

I rounded the the bezel (no sharp corners for running kids) and used the router on it again, all we need now is to order the doors and complete the canopy, then stain

 

[epicfish]

Wow, wish I had some woodworking skills!

[Withers]

Whoa do you do that for a living?

[filefish949]

no, I actually suck at woodworking though I enjoy doing it. I have a neighbor whom I had helped build an AR-15 a while back, turns out he works for his fathers cabinet company

[filefish949]

one little thing and I am off to work today. I installed 3/16" steel cable along the upper and lower rim of the aquarium this morning. I just laid a small bead of silicone and used some tape to hold it in place while it sets up. the tricky part was figuring out exactly where to put the slight kink in the cable with pliers so it turned the corners nicely.

 

 

 

 

 

on installation day, I will terminate these cables with loops then I have 4 X 3/8 eye-lags that I will sink into the wall studs, then I will connect the eye-lags to the cable loops with threaded quick links. I estimate the load baring capability of this system at 2400 pounds, though that kind of force may rip the wall right out of the building

 

[holdorf333]

Nice build. Tagging along.

[IPv6Freely]

Wow thats crazy that you have to use that cabling... nice stand though! What colour are you going to stain it?

[proraptor2]

Looks awesome Marky boy.....Im sure it will look even better than your old tank

[filefish949]

Looks awesome Marky boy.....Im sure it will look even better than your old tank

 

thanks, to bad you can't help me Saturday. I figure i need at least 4 men to lift the 180. I finished the canopy and doors and took pictures with my phone, I just have to transfer them to my puter to host them, stain will be a clear coat with a light tint. it is a fairly simple design but no one looks at the stand

[filefish949]

we finished the doors and canopy Friday, I just got the photos uploaded from my phone. so, sorry about the poor quality.

 

 

when I arrived, Jeff had already built the doors and the glue was setting up

 

 

once the glue set, I had to putty the holes router the edge detail and sand the doors smooth

 

 

more sanding

 

 

then we cut the edge molding from standard wood stock

 

 

I missed a few photos, but here is the unfinished product, it is being stained professionally right now

 

canopy

 

 

and the stand

 

[nanoty]

You people and your sweet wood working skills piss me off

[filefish949]

You people and your sweet wood working skills piss me off

 

aw, that stand, it's nothing, it is fairly simple so long as you have the right tools, and materials, a few tricks, a lot of work space and someone that knows what they are doing to hold your hand every step of the way

[glennr1978]

Everything looks great so far, I'm jealous.

[Smurf]

Wish I can do that.

[filefish949]

Wish I can do that.

 

sure you can, it is just like working with construction paper, except, instead of scisors, you use poewr saws that could cut your arm off lol

[Smurf]

Hot dam file, you'r doing it again, Lol

[noobofreefs]

Stop being modest and admit you have skills! I could never make that stand...

 

Sweet build so far I'm tagging along...

[abe]

ATA from where??? i have an ATA in los angeles area in california. got my 285g 3/4" acrylic there. they do a good job with tanks. they even threw in curved corners for me !!!! nice tank.

[filefish949]

ATA from where??? i have an ATA in los angeles area in california. got my 285g 3/4" acrylic there. they do a good job with tanks. they even threw in curved corners for me !!!! nice tank.

 

yep that is the one, just do not mention ATA over at RC, you will get more GFYs and STFUs than an Obama Vs. Hillary thread here in the lounge

[filefish949]

look what showed up at my house today

 

 

earlier today, I drained my 100, moved it a few feet from the wall and made room for the new tank... navy blue back looks real nice

 

[filefish949]

here it is waiting for water