View Full Version : Crow's 300 Deep Dimensions Build
Hello,
After being in and out of the saltwater reef hobby for more then 18 years, with my last system consisting of a 300g display and a 150g sump system, I figured it was time to get back in to the hobby.
When looking for a new tank I wanted something at least 6 foot wide and something deep, So I picked the Marineland 300 gallon deep dimensions tank. I placed my order with Pat at Amazon Stingrays (http://www.amazonstingrays.com) here in Michigan on Sept 14th, 2011. After looking around for a stand and canopy for this tank, Marineland wanted like $1,500 for there setup (Stand and Canopy Only). Well screw that noise, So I planned on making my own, I mean, Hell how hard could it be?
Below are some pictures of the stand being built, I will be waiting till I get the tank to make the canopy, but for now this is what I have done so far.
Since I do not do any type of wood working, first thing I needed was to buy a Miter saw to make all my cuts, and all the cuts that would need a table saw such as the oak skin's I had Home depot cut all them.
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New Miter Saw:
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The top and bottom rails are done:
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Then it was time to work on the uprights that would hold the tank up, I decided to use "pocket" holes to secure all the lumber together. I picked up a pocket hole jig.
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I pre-drilled all the pocket holes I'd need, only to find out after that the holes were way too close to the end of the wood and not giving me much wood at the end, so this wonderful pocket hole jig I bought was a bust.
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So I modded the jig, this allowed me to place the jig at any height and allow me to get more wood at the end for a better grip, without splitting the wood.
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So now I have all my uprights done for the second time. :getlost:
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Two images showing the framing, Yes there was two (2x4) uprights added to the back, and one (2x6) in the front.:
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Now its time to start skinning the stand, I am using 1/4th thick red oak sheeting.
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And here is the done product with all three sides done, I still need to cut the door openings, and add trim to make it look pretty! :inlove:
Well over the past few days I have been working on the stand to finish it up before the tank gets here...
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Added the trim, nothing too fancy, just something to give it a nice look.
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All stained up and ready to go into the house, once it all drys..
(Tip, If you are going to silicone the bottom so that any water will stay in the bottom of your stand, caulk it after you are done staining.
I didn't think about this, as you can see in the picture above the stain doesn't stick to the silicone.. DOH!) :getlost:
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All done and in the house. Just need to order some cabinet doors next week to finish the stand.
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Finished my stand, it turned out pretty good, I saved a ton doing the stand myself... :)
I ended up just making my own doors, I had the wood, and was having too much fun with my new power tools. :lol:
After seeing the prices of acrylic sumps and even glass sump systems I decided to make my own, and as this build goes on, I am doing more and more DIY projects. :)
And for the most part things are coming out pretty darn good if I do say so myself!, and I am saving tons of cash doing these projects instead of buying.
So I called a round and found a place not too far from my house called "Acrylic Specialties and Plastics" in Madison Heights, MI, and Ron hooked me up with a good price and even cut the sheets to size for me. If you are looking for a good price on acrylic contact these guys and tell them "Crow" sent ya..:thumbsup:
The sump will be 60x24x18
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My pre-cut acrylic sheets.
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Placing the first panel, making sure it is square.
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Needing to make sure everything is square with both ends and sides..
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Sump box finished, next is to decide where I want to place the baffles, and get those in..
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Placing the first of nine pieces that I will be putting inside the sump..
I am using an old Bashsea pump from my old system to put some weight on the panels to get a good seem. :thumbsup:
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Well the sump is now finished, tho I am thinking of adding a sock filter holder on the right side, now 100% if I want to just yet. What do you thing?
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I think I built it a bit bigger then I should of, the only way I was able to place the sump into the stand was to remove one of the uprights in the back and slip it in that way.
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Leak testing the sump in the house... Yeah I am that confident! lol
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Approx water in sump...
I ordered my skimmer and return pump from AquaCave (http://www.aquacave.com), I got my return pump today, my skimmer is on back order, they are saying two weeks.
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I am going with a Reef Octopus Water Blaster HY-10000W, and for a skimmer I went with a Reef Octopus SRO-5000INT.
crazyfizh
10-27-2011, 10:21 PM
looks good so far one thing that i noticed on the stand did you add a 2x4 in the cornor that goes from top to bottom and or a cross brace on the top for center support.the 2x4 in the cornor will make the stand a bit more riddged from front to back movement and the center brace is not 100 percent needed but just added support.
looks good so far one thing that i noticed on the stand did you add a 2x4 in the cornor that goes from top to bottom and or a cross brace on the top for center support.the 2x4 in the cornor will make the stand a bit more riddged from front to back movement and the center brace is not 100 percent needed but just added support.
Yes I do have a center support going from the front to the back, I did not add the extra 2x4 in the corners, I spoke with "RocketEngineer" and he stated that the extra 2x4 was not needed.
I know once you add the "Skin" to the sides and front, it will add support from front to back movement as well as side to side. Once the tank is placed on the stand I'll see if there is any movement, and if there is even the slightest, I'll add more supports, since once its full of water even the slightest movement will be amplified. :(
crazyfizh
10-28-2011, 08:14 AM
Do you have your tank yet
Do you have your tank yet
Nope :cursing:
Ordered it on Sept 14th, and still no tank... I was told it might be here this tuesday (Nov 1st). :confused1:
crazyfizh
11-02-2011, 08:07 PM
any news yet in your tank and did you oreder a standard tank or custom:confused1:
any news yet in your tank and did you oreder a standard tank or custom:confused1:
Yeah the news is that it didn't show up! :cry:
I ordered a standard 300g deep dimensions from marineland. It is now week 7, I guess I'll have to see if it comes in next tuesday. :getlost:
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YAY! My skimmer showed up, It's been on back order for almost 3 weeks. :drool:
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My Reef Octopus SRO 5000INT
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In my DIY sump, I had to make a skimmer stand because this skimmer works best at a 6" water depth. But now I am a little worried that its to close to the bottom of the tank, Will have to wait till the tank gets here to see.
crazyfizh
11-06-2011, 12:54 PM
i ahd mine on order for about 10 weeks before i got mine
I am so pissed right now....
My tank order was placed on Sept 12th, but marineland didn't get the order for the tank till Oct 28th, and it takes from 4-6 weeks for marineland to make the tank, then ship it out to the distributor, then it takes the distributor a week or so to send it out to the store..
So I am now looking at a total of 15 weeks (that is worse case, but even best case is a total of 13 weeks)! :cursing:
I should get the tank by Dec 16th. :getlost:
IT ARRIVED!!!
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The tank was delivered to the LFS today (Nov 23rd), and I hope to have the tank delivered to my house on sunday (Nov 27th).
I'm as happy as a fat kid with cake! :D
crazyfizh
11-24-2011, 01:14 AM
Now you can have your cake and eat it too lol:d
congrats on the tank keep takeing pictures can not wait too see how it turns out.
crazyfizh
11-28-2011, 06:17 PM
pictures pictures
pictures pictures
I will once I find people to bring it into the house! :(
It's still sitting at the LFS, till I can find someone willing to carry it into my house. :cry:
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Mermaid shot!
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ok maybe not, but it was fun...
artgirl
11-29-2011, 07:58 PM
My, my, Crow. Aren't you cute in your mermaid shot!
:inlove:
My, my, Crow. Aren't you cute in your mermaid shot!
:inlove:
Thanks artgirl :angel:
Well I just filled the tank up to do a leak/water test and so far everything is going to plan, there are a few issues, but easily fixed..
I am having an issue with my durso standpipe tho.
crazyfizh
11-30-2011, 08:30 PM
it looks like it is breaking suction in the video i had the same problem with the 500 that i had.
question
did you glue the drain into the overflow ???
can you take the durso apart ????
i would eather do a overflow mod to get more water into the overflow or if you can take the durso apart you can do a herbie style but with no emergency drain.
Well this morning, I was sitting on the couch and noticed what looked like a coin (Halfmoon) disk on the front glass at the bottom right of the tank, upon further inspection, it looks like there was a small hidden chip in the front glass at the very bottom, and since filling the tank, that chip is spreading, causing the "moon" area, I took these two pictures and will be calling Marineland in the morning as they just closed about 30 mins ago..
Looking down the inside of the front glass.
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Now this image is looking thru the right side of the tank at the front glass.
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You know if it wasn't for BAD luck, I'd have NO luck at all!! :cursing:
Omega_Rains
12-28-2011, 08:58 PM
Hey crow whats the status on your build?
Hey crow whats the status on your build?
Well, marineland is currently making me a new tank, there is no set date on when I should get it, but Pat from amazon stingrays says it might be in this tuesday or wednesday.
On top of my 300g project, I have a breeding system I am working on, I also just ordered a marineland 60g cube. Lol
So here is an update on this mess that I call the Perfecto/Marineland cluster!
So I put in for a warranty replacement tank, they did there investigation and approved the replacement.. I am told it will be 1 week for the replacement, four weeks go by to find out they still haven't made a replacement tank, I am then told it will be another 2 weeks for my tank, I call after the two weeks to check the status of my tank, and am told there "glass polishing dept" has been down and would be down for any where between two weeks to two months. :cursing:
So by this time I've had enough with dealing with perfecto/marineland (Total of 5 months since placing my orignal tank order) and ask for a refund, the distributor approves the refund, and they tell me that since they do not want the tank back because it would cost them too much money to send a group of people from Pennsylvania to here in Michigan to pick up the tank, I could just keep it and do whatever I wanted with it. :poo:
So now I have a chipped tank, brand new stand, brand new refuge, brand new skimmer, and a brand new return pump sitting here collecting dust! :cry:
So some of you know about my 300g that had a chip on the bottom of the front pane.:cry:
I decided i'd just keep the tank and fix it myself , since I already had the refuge, skimmer, return pump, sump lighting.
So I headed up to Great Lakes Aquariums to see what I would need to fix this tank, and after showing them pictures of the chip and talking to the owner and his son for more then an hour he brought it to my attention, that the chip WASN'T going to cause any structure weakness, that I could just remove the chipped glass and fill it in with new silicone, and it would be fine, it has happened in the past for them.
But, because this tank will be holding 300g of water, I asked if I euro braced that area if that would add extra strength, and he said of course it would, even tho it wasn't needed.
So I bought a piece of glass ($6), and then bought a tube of RTV 108 silicone ($12), and below are pictures of the fix, that cost me a whopping $18! http://mreefers.michiganreefers.netdna-cdn.com/images/smilies/lol.gif
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Cleaned up the area that will be receiving the new euro brace, making sure NOT to harm the "Inner" seal as that is where all your tanks strength is...
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Taped up the edges for a cleaner look, even tho this will all be under the substrate!
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Removed the tape, and inspected the new silicone job, everything looks good.
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Finished product! Once the tanks full of substrate, you won't see this patch or the chip.
Now its time to hurry up and wait!
I'll give it at least a week to cure.. :D
Omega_Rains
02-18-2012, 09:07 PM
A week what are you waiting for...
Just do it!
A week what are you waiting for...
Just do it!
Well I "Just did it!" lol
Shes full and looking good, no new stress cracks, or any signs for that matter.. :D
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its definitely been in interesting two months, I am now able to continue with my build.
I ordered 400# of dry rock from Marco Rocks.
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They shipped it on a pallet to my door, and the truck driver was able to wheel it to my garage.
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Two days ago, My son and I used his little red wagon to bring it to the front door, where we brought it inside and laid it all out.
Yesterday, I started aquascaping the tank, so I climbed in and started, but after adding the rock it looked like a rock wall, and I've had these in the past and never really cared for the look, so I wanted to try something new.
First aquascape:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lBR_ZpoJmEg (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lBR_ZpoJmEg)
Second aquascape:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IVfSg0aKd-Y&hd=1 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pwYMDltqJJw)
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Well the substrate is in, and she's filling up.... :D
She's full, and I am adding salt. :)
This has been seven months in the making, and I am excited to see it full and running!
Full and cycling... :)
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Went out and got some cheto and calurpa for the sump as the tank cycles. Added it just incase I have any phosphate leakage from the dry rocks.
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Doesn't look like much, but remember my refuge area is two feet square.
James Bellottie
04-10-2012, 06:38 PM
What are you using to light your fuge ?
What are you using to light your fuge ?
It's a 24" four bulb t5 setup. But since it has two ballasts, I'm running two bulbs for eight hours, then the other for eight, over lapping them for about 3-4 hours.
James Bellottie
04-11-2012, 09:46 AM
It's a 24" four bulb t5 setup. But since it has two ballasts, I'm running two bulbs for eight hours, then the other for eight, over lapping them for about 3-4 hours.
Now if I were to do a T-5 over my sump would you use one for a FW planted tank or just use a saltwater. The only reason I ask is if I want to grow macro I would think the one for a FW planted would be better? any input?
Now if I were to do a T-5 over my sump would you use one for a FW planted tank or just use a saltwater. The only reason I ask is if I want to grow macro I would think the one for a FW planted would be better? any input?
Are you asking about the bulbs?
For mine, the fixture is for a saltwater tank, so it came with the atinic and 50/50 white bulb. If your question is about the bulbs, then yes, a 6,500K bulb is all you need, and when I need to replace these bulbs over the refug, I will be switching to a 6,500 k bulb.
James Bellottie
04-11-2012, 01:16 PM
Ya I was more or less asking about bulbs.
I should probably update this...
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Got the sump started, added some chaeto, and caulerpa.
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Right side of my sump.
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My power bar, I love this thing, it has enough room to have timers, and they won't block the socket next to it.
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My pipes. (From left to right)
Far left my left side overflow drain line, then the left side emergency drain line, then the right side emergency drain line, then my semi-auto water change pipe, then my right overflow drain line.
James Bellottie
04-27-2012, 12:52 PM
I envy you for how clean your sump area looks...lol it makes mine look loke a hot mess.
I envy you for how clean your sump area looks...lol it makes mine look loke a hot mess.
Haha, thanks. I still have a lot more to hookup like my UV sterilizer, my two reactors, and all the wiring that goes with it, and all the wiring I still need to run for my lighting. O.o
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