Nicks new tank build 100 Gal (1 Viewer)

[Niko5]

Im officialy working on a new tank this will be somewhat of a downgrade to my current tank yet somewhat of an upgrade also.

With this new tank I want to save money (1 light rather than 2 now) and I want to incorporate a few new things that I just cant do to the old tank. Bare bottom (epoxy sandbed), starfire glass and 4 viewing sides.

Tank is 100 gallons, sump is around 40 running gallons. Circulation is a 1000 gph return pump and 2 Ecotech Vortech pumps.

I drew up a plan today in Google SketchUp 6 (the most awesome program ever) and I wanted to get some comments/ideas from you guys before I really get building on this.

The stand will have 2 compartments the sump/equipment compartment (middle) and electronic compartment (bottom slide out shelf). The canopy will have a 250 watt MH with Lumenarc III fixture and possable 2 25 watt t-5's for sunrise/sunset but im not sure if it will be worth it or not... (comments?)

Well enough blabbing here is the picture.

 

[toan]

looks like it'll be a really nice project

 

[Niko5]

Oh and the stand finish is suppose to be red oak but Sketchup dident have that texture so work with me on that . And the top of the canopy that I show open will have opening assist from 2 gas springs to get the giant lumenarc reflector out of the way for tank maintance.

Thanks Toan

 

[toan]

tried working the program.. kinda hard
but i'll try to work on it some more.. im going to try and figure out what i can do with my lighting situation with the 144g half =\

 

[fishcraze]

very nice design. love that sketch that you made.

So it will be viewable from 4 sides? have you consider put the tank against a wall and view from 3 sides only?

Reason I asked b/c there are some advantage for putting against the wall:

- you can hide your equipment wiring easier (on the back side) and be able to put most of your powerheads on the back wall.

- since the tank is 30" wide, if you put against the back wall, you will have 30" from the front to back to do a deep (front to back) look landscape and you tank looks more spacious that way. If you make it viewable from all 4 sides then you may have to make a big pile of rock in the middle and the tank may look narrow from each side view - unless you are going to keep only little amount of rock/ corals and keep every thing low so the tank will still look spacious. just an idea to consider

 

[toan]

looks like it will be a wall tank, due to the overflow in a corner, i think if he wanted to do a 4side view he would've done the overflow in middle and just stacked the rocks against that?

 

[Guest]

i think if he wanted to do a 4side view he would've done the overflow in middle and just stacked the rocks against that?

that's what i was thinking. It would look alot cleaner with the over flow hidden.
great sketch work and design. its going to look awesome.

 

[MarkieB]

Nice Nick!

Nice to see another bare bottom on the way!
For years now I have firmly believed long term it is the best way to keep a tank.

I like the design. If it were me the only objection to the design would be having electrical items sitting on the bottom. in the event of spills, and you know they will happen, being flat you have a much better chance of damaging electronics.

Of course you are the perfect guy to build a arcylic cover to shield your electronics from spills.

 

[Niko5]

Mark,

The divider between the sump compartment and the electrical compartment will be completely sealed off, if by some chance... lets hope not there is a leak iv designed it so that the water will run out the doors on the 2nd layer same as if the tank leaks it will run down the sides and away from the electrical. The electrical tray is evated in that bottom compartment to help keep it safe.

The 4 sided view/3 sided/central overflow has been a big issue for me... originaly i was going with a central overflow but then stacking the rocks against that really limits my space and will force my rocks to be close to the front glass on all sides. Thats why i opted for the corner overflow i plan to have some wood trim that matches the stand cover the overflow on the back side that trim will be notched out to allow the wireing from the canopy to run inside the trim hiding it the only wire I should ahve exposed is one vortech on the outside of the tank the other will be placed on the bottom of the tank pushing water up.

I also thought about centering the overflow on one side do you think that would be less in the way that way?

Another large problem with placing the tank against a wall is that i have no wall left without a tank on it and that would meen id have to take down my tank i have now in order to set this one up and I dont want to have to stress the corals like that letting them sit in buckets that will also cause me to work faster on the tank and i want to do it slow and right so it turns out really nice in the end.

 

[Niko5]

Here it is with center overflow this almost looks better what do you think?

 

[FireEater]

I like the center overflow look better.

Though if it is going to be viewable from every side, how about the overflow directly in the middle of the tank? Then you could aqua scape all the way around it.

Providing there was enough room.

 

[Niko5]

Im just afraid there wont be enough room with the overflow in the center.

 

[toefu]

that sketch is just plain awesome. i'll have to play with that.

 

[wazzel]

Nick

Consider putting the ballast on top the canopy. I have mine there. It lets the heat from getting trapped in the stand out and keeps them from getting dripped on. My tank is so tall you can not even see them.

 

[crvz]

Great plans, Nick! It will be fun to watch this tank come together. I used a bunch of red oak on my stand/canopy, and I've been very happy with it. I bought it rough cut and planed it myself, which I would recommend. Good luck!

 

[Niko5]

Where did you get the roughcut wood at?

 

[crvz]

Where did you get the roughcut wood at?

Houston hardwoods, near 290 and 610. It was the only place I've looked for wood other than the big box stores (home depot/lowes, etc), and at $2.50 a board foot for better wood it was an easy decision (other places sell it for near $6 a board foot).

Of course if you don't have access to a planer, this isnt the best way to go. It sure made a nice finished product, though.

 

[Niko5]

I should be able to get a plainer from my bro, ill have to look into that. Im still trying to decide to either get the plywood with oak venear or do it taht way, yours looks really nice so im leaning toward that.

 

[Niko5]

Here is the tank with a glass external overflow and a box over it hiding the overflow, return line and wireing from the canopy. This really opens up the tank no overflow taking up usefull space in the tank. What do you think?

 

[tedu]

Just a thought, if you do the external overflow like that, would it make sense / be possible to put the electronics above the sump area now ?
Probably simplify the waterproofing, etc ?
Make 1 door that way with a sliding shelf instead of 2 doors, etc ?