Design for 150G Acrylic

[giulianom]

I have placed an order with MRC for the custom tank, a 48"x20"x20" Hi-Flow/Reef sump, and a Reeflo Hybrid Dart/Snapper pump.


Unfortunately the ARC Member discount does not apply to the custom tank...

But I should get it with the sump and pump...


3-4 week lead time for the tank build, possibly longer depending on getting in the black acrylic.

 

[giulianom]

Removed per OP request

 

[rededge2k1]

GiulianoM;654261 wrote: removed per OP request

A word on etiquette, I wouldn't post quotes for custom work in a public forum. Doing so basically tells MRC's competition where they (the competitor) need to be in order to beat MRC prices. If another acrylic builder PM'd you now and offered to build the tank for $1900, would you take it and ditch MRC? Probably not, but some people might, and that's not fair to MRC.

Dustin

 

[gmpolan]

Wow I know it will be a great product and MRC is top notch but I doubt I could bring myself to spend that when you can get an close to nice tank/ sump for half the price minus the external overflow. Good luck with the build thread, can't wait to see the pics...

+1 Dustin

 

[giulianom]

RedEDGE2k1;654291 wrote: A word on etiquette, I wouldn't post quotes for custom work in a public forum. Doing so basically tells MRC's competition where they (the competitor) need to be in order to beat MRC prices.

Dustin

Good point, I hadn't thought of that.


I'll edit the prices out of the post, if you'll edit out of my quote..


Except that I can't edit the post... oops.

Edit:

gmpolan;654292 wrote: Wow I know it will be a great product and MRC is top notch but I doubt I could bring myself to spend that when you can get an close to nice tank/ sump for half the price minus the external overflow. Good luck with the build thread, can't wait to see the pics...

+1 Dustin

Yeah, I know this build is going to be spendy...

But I wanted something uniquely custom, with options you wouldn't get on a normal tank... the black acrylic back, the museum-quality seams, the lexan covers, the 3/4" acrylic all around..


Add to that the time and effort I'm going to have to put in to support this beast... It's a long-term investment.

Edit: Just wait until I get to picking the lighting.. I plan to go with LED from the start.

 

[giulianom]

FYI: I have flagged a few posts in this thread where prices were listed, so that the prices can be edited out by a mod.

 

[tdam]

Good luck with the tank. Can't wait to see the build thread!

 

[giulianom]

tdam;654310 wrote: Good luck with the tank. Can't wait to see the build thread!

Thanks..


It will probably be about a month or so before I get the tank/stand in-house.


In the mean time, I'll have to work on the joists in the garage.

The joist hangers are all the wrong size (6" for a 2x10), and some are sagging... There's actually a 1/2" slope in the flooring at the point where the joists have sagged.

I'll have to pick up some floor post jacks and get them set up and adjust them over a few weeks...

 

[morganatlanta]

When I set up my 125, I found that someone had cut the floor joist under the tank for heating vents at BOTH ends....

 

[giulianom]

Yeah, the house was built in 1986.. there were some cut corners.

 

[grouper therapy]

RedEDGE2k1;654291 wrote: A word on etiquette, I wouldn't post quotes for custom work in a public forum. Doing so basically tells MRC's competition where they (the competitor) need to be in order to beat MRC prices. If another acrylic builder PM'd you now and offered to build the tank for $1900, would you take it and ditch MRC? Probably not, but some people might, and that's not fair to MRC.

Dustin

Unless MRC doesn't care. I personally don't mind people letting my prices be known as I am not gonna change them regardless of the competition. But you are right it is a little:sad: without their permission.

Edit:

GiulianoM;654371 wrote: Yeah, the house was built in 1986.. there were some cut corners.

I'm surprised hangers were used at all In 1986 99% were still using bond timbers.

 

[giulianom]

grouper therapy;654409 wrote: Unless MRC doesn't care. I personally don't mind people letting my prices be known as I am not gonna change them regardless of the competition. But you are right it is a little:sad: without their permission.

Edit:
I'm surprised hangers were used at all In 1986 99% were still using bond timbers.

Yeah, that was bad of me to post the prices without asking. :blush:

The relevent posts have been edited/deleted to remove the pricing, so this thread should be OK now.

 

[giulianom]

Started toying with the idea of going with LED lighting.

First thing, modeling a 7.28" x 1.3" x 54" (4'6") heatsink from HeatsinkUSA:
http://www.heatsinkusa.com/categories/7.280%22/?sort=priceasc">http://www.heatsinkusa.com/categories/7.280%22/?sort=priceasc</a>


This would be the heatsink that would go in the front half of the canopy, with the LEDs attached.

There's a 10" deep heatsink for the rear half of the canopy.


I had two ideas for using the heatsink as the framework for the LEDs:

<ol>
<li>Fins go UP, LEDs mounted on the bottom facing down.</li>
<li>Fins go DOWN, LEDS mounted within the fin areas, also facing down.</li>
</ol>
#1 would be the easiest - but it would make the LED assembly taller.

#2 would be better, but I would have to cut out spots among the fins for the LEDs to be mounted.

I can do that pretty easily, I have a bench-top milling machine that could do that.

I can't cut round areas since it's not CNC, but I can mill out squares/rectangles.


I would think with a heatsink this massive, there's still plenty of surface area for dissapating the heat of the LEDs..


I plan to move the cutouts for the fans in the canopy from the rear panel, to the sides, so that there is air flow across the length of the fins.


Now I have to figure out how many LED lights, and what mixture of colors.. :)

 

[giulianom]

I got pictures of what my stand will look like with the trim and doors, courtesy of Dustin (RedEDGE2k1) who will be making the stand/canopy.

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Posted with permission.

 

[giulianom]

Dustin (RedEDGE2k1) should be starting the build on my stand + canopy this weekend...

There will be a seperate thread for that.

I can't wait. :yay:

 

[giulianom]

I had a bona-fide structural engineer come out to inspect my home's framework in order to support the weight of the tank.

I got the report today, and it shows that I have two main options, and one of which would be much less work involved.


The original spot I had chosen would have been along the center support beam, on the inside wall of the room - on top of the beam, and perpendicular to the joists.

It turns out that to support this configuration, I would have to sister the center support beam:

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The second option was to put the tank against the outside wall, parallel and above two joists.

This option is easier to implement, and makes the tank a center piece for the room.

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I'm going to need to get some laminated beams, some post jacks, and spend a weekend or two installing some structural support...

Anybody want to help?

 

[giulianom]

My sump from MRC has been built... and the tank should be done by next Monday... :yay:


Probably going to have to have them delivered on pallets and sit in my garage for a little while - my stand won't be ready until the end of the month..

 

[giulianom]

I had originally designed the holes in the tank for 2 returns, in both upper corners of the rear wall...


I have been considering the use of a Oceans Motions 4-Way, with the idea of adding two more return lines to the top front corners of the tank.


The plumbing for the rear returns would go in through the back wall, and the plumbing for the front returns would go up and over the back, across the top, and down into the top front corners.

The plumbing on the top of the tank would be concealed by the canopy.


The only major concern I would have would be siphoning if the pump were turned off - but I would think that a 1/4" anti-siphon hole drilled in the fittings inside the tank - above the water line - would take care of that.

Thoughts?

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[rededge2k1]

GiulianoM;665086 wrote: Probably going to have to have them delivered on pallets and sit in my garage for a little while - my stand won't be ready until the end of the month..

How about a sneak peek?

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Dustin

 

[giulianom]

Oooh, that's great!

Is the stand there upside down?


I thought the larger opening was on the right...