Jeff's 180 Build Thread

porpoiseaquatics

porpoiseaquatics

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Here we go on another build! Actually that would be incorrect. Since this tank was previously owned by Mufret (thanks Mike!), it's a rebuild.

Mike's stand was a little to tall (44") to fit correctly in the room so the first thing I had to do was trim 6" off of it. I took 2" from the bottom and 4" from the top. This actually made the stand "balance" where the doors are. Previously there was to much room above the doors to fit my taste and to balance with the chair rail in the room. It's not that Mike's build was bad so don't take my cutting it down wrong. For a blank wall...it would've been perfect!

Here's some pics of where I am so far:

Tank and stand upon arrival at my house (note there are two braces in the front of the stand...this will come in to play later).
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LOL....So here's some additions. In the first pic, I have the undercoat of stain on (brown mahogany). This will get at least one additional coat of stain prior to sealer and finish coats. Note that the left support to the front has been removed. It will appear later in the build. Also notice that in the original pic, there wasn't a base to the stand, I've added a piece of 1x3 poplar as the foot. I also removed all of the trim which was originally nailed in place and the nails were rusting ...the trim and braces are all pocket drilled and put back in place.

In the second pic, there is now a 3rd (middle) support put in place. Originally there were only 2 supports and the sump was inserted from the back of the stand. I'd rather not do it that way. You'll see how I fixed this issue later in the build (hint, it has to do with the missing front support)

Third & 4th pics: I'm thinking about using an external pump. I was afraid that it would vibrate on the plywood base so I purchased 6-2x2 squares of rubber mat from Harbor Freight for $10 less 25% (coupon). Because of the size of the stand, it only took 3 of the 6 mats to fill the stand. This should reduce any vibration even if I use a internal pump. Not to mention it will deaden any sound. I just simply put the pieces together, duct taped the seams on the back, applied contact adhesive to both the plywood and the mat, pressed in place. It's not going anywhere!
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I put another coat of stain on the stand last night and will rub that down later today. While getting ready for that, I decided to start work on converting a Aquarium Life Support Systems (from Knoxville TN) wet/dry to a refugium. Originally it was 17" tall at the "tower" end but that won't work so I cut it down to 13" (first pic). I roughly polished the cut edges with a torch.

You'll notice in the second pic where I'm glueing up the pegs to hold the sock tray that I've also got a piece of acrylic inserted with teeth cut in the top. This will be the wall for the overflow chamber. I will need to cut a couple of inches off the bottom before gluing it in place. From this newly made wall to the baffles (cut but not shown yet) will be the refugium area. Should be plenty of room.

In the third pic, I've taken the original drip tray and cut it down so it will fit in the sock chamber. There will be two 4" socks cut to fit and the original drip holes will serve to eliminate run over should the socks get plugged up for some reason. I'll probably also put a small drain hole in between the socks or in the corner. This is the glue up of the new box (prior to the sock holes being cut). I used black acrylic from the tower cut down to made this uniform. One it dries, I'll cut it the end pieces of the black acrylic to exact size on a band saw.

Next, I'll put in the baffles near the right end. I don't need to allow a lot of room here because this refugium will drain in to the 40g sump for return.
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A couple of new pictures relative to the refugium build. In the first pic, I've glued in the overflow plate (with the teeth at top) for the sock section. In the second pic, I'm gluing up the baffles. This will finish up the refugium with the exception of enlarging the bulkhead hole to accomodate a 1" bulkhead where it currently is set up for a 3/4".
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Time for some updates. Progress has been slow as work has been crazy. I guess the fish don't mind since they are safely housed in a 150 stock tank.

I finally got the entire stand stripped. What a job that was! After a lot of sanding to get a smooth surface ready for finish....I started with two hand applied coats of a brown mahogany stain. This took the blotching out of the poplar. I then applied a spray on sanding sealer. After more light sanding, it was ready for the finish coating. For that, I applied a special spray designed for furniture refinishers. It's a lacquer finish (in satin) but it has stain mixed with it. I used a medium red mahogany for this. It took two coats to provide the color finish I wanted. Unfortunately, I didn't grab any photos during the process....just after I got it done and in it's new home. The pics that follow is with the stand in it's new space (1, 2); with the tank on top (3), and with the two sumps installed, ready for plumbing.

I'll show some closeups of the sumps and other equipment as I get it all laid out.
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Looking good... hard to believe that is the same stand that you had out in the driveway ;-)

I'm jealous of all that room under that thing, just think of all the reactors that could fit!
 
Sewer Urchin;861390 wrote: Looking good... hard to believe that is the same stand that you had out in the driveway ;-)

I'm jealous of all that room under that thing, just think of all the reactors that could fit!
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Thanks! Yes it is hard to believe. Just wait until the magnet mounted doors and the trim are installed, then it will look like something! There is a lot of room underneath. Figuring out what to put where is the puzzle. I think I've got it though with a little room to spare. I'm sure glad I saw how Melv's Reef built a stacked sump/refugium....fit perfectly in my plan although mine is bigger than his. :yay:
 
Finished making the sock holder for the sump (lower). I still need to cut the one for the refugium (upper). Went ahead and did some staging to figure out how much room I really do have and for what. I still need to make the cover for the sump sock holder but you get the general idea. Notice that in some pics there is a stile in the picture while in others there is not....that's because I made it removable. In doing that, I can get up to a 40b footprint in the stand without moving a thing.

The layout works like this....refugium will be fed by the left side supply. It will flow through and feed into the sump but it will also feed the Aquarium Life Support reactor that is in the sump. This will be filled with Matrix. There will be two TLF 150 reactors as well (carbon, GFO) that I'm not showing yet. The sump will be fed by the right side supply and house the ALS reactor with Matrix (as shown), the SCA 302 Skimmer (Bubble Magus copy that works like a champ), the probe holder for Ph readings and whatever else I decide to add then flow through to the Little Giant 4-MDQX-SC return pump (there will be a 2nd external here as a backup...just not shown). The green jerry can is my 6 gallon reserve that will be fed to the Aquatic Systems Design Kalk Reactor on the far right end of the stand. There will also be an AquaMedic dual dosing pump to feed Alk and Mag to the tank...that will also be on the far right end. These are not staged yet as I want to get it all plumbed first.

There will be a manifold that will feed the two TLF reactors as well as a Gamma 40W UV sterilizer. The sterilizer will be hung under the tank. I've installed the overflows in the Herbie method so my pump return will run to a loop around the top of the tank (not yet installed). I'm collecting loc-line now for that part of the build. And before somebody mentions it.......yes there will be a splash guard over the receptacle! Now I just need to figure out where to put the two DJ panels that will feed this monster.

Another day closer to water!!!
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It's come a long way since I came to see you. Loving the sand by the way! It was just what I was looking for :)
 
Bycjoe;861491 wrote: It's come a long way since I came to see you. Loving the sand by the way! It was just what I was looking for :)
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Glad that sand is working for you. That's the same sand that will be in the refugium.
 
I've been pretty busy with work and all...very little time to do much more on the tank but I did finally get it filled with water today and got the sumps running so it's circulating as we speak. I'll get up some pics by the weekend. The stacked sump is working like a charm!
 
Water testing is complete! Time to put the system in operation....so tank is full of water, sand, rock. Sump & refugium are in place and ready to go. Here's pics of the rock work....starting from the left side of the tank, then center, then right side. Following that are pics of the refugium and sump (full view), then refugium with ATO and pump on the left end, sump with Matrix reactor & skimmer, sump filter sock end, then ending with a long pic showing the front of the sump and the dosing pumps in the front right corner. There's plenty of room in this beast! I'll get the wires all cleaned up in the next week or so.
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