Pics of my 115 gallon and it's construction

[ggee1]

I'm new to the forum here and thought I would see what others thought of the monster that I have built Now I'm not a carpenter nor do I have have a workshop.... all the cutting had to be done in the apartment here and boy was it a mess!

This is what happens you have more ideas then money! I brought home this 115 gallon acrylic reef tank from work. Well the tank was in much needed repair since it had been sitting outside in the hot south Florida sun for almost three years. The tank use to be a reef display tank at the Key West Aquarium and was replaced because it had way too many scratches.

Well seeing it sit there I knew I wanted it and could spend the time rebuilding it. It took three weeks to sand and buff the scratches out and another few weeks to build the stand. Here are some pictures of the progress! Enjoy!

This is the tank prior to sanding and buffing out the scratches.


The stand is made of 2X6's and is your basic frame however, I measured the width of the stand wrong and ended up with 9 more inches then I really needed. It turned out ok though because I made a little tiled ledge that added character to the design.


I then created the hood frame, making sure that I allowed enough distance from the waters surface to the metal halide retrofit. Approx 9 inches away from the surface.


Next came the oak facing and simple 3/4" plywood doors ( left over wood from the last hurricane)


Then the whole thing was moved into an area of the living room where it would look the best. Water was added and a cheap light to the hood until money would allow me to purchase the metal halide. I also caught some test fish that I added to the tank while it cycled along with 100 lbs of live reef sand



While the tank cycled, my boss at the Aquarium gave me 200 lbs of Florida Live Rock to help the cycle. Pretty cool of him to do, not to say how much money he saved me!!!



I then decided to look for a metal halide... again my boss gave me a 400 watt w/ ballast and two 30 watt blue actinic w/ballast from one of our reef tanks at work that was older and had been replaced months ago. It worked out great since I did not need the hood, but only the equipment inside to retro fit it to my DIY hood.



The sump was pretty simple! 1 Rubbermaid container... skimmer (again another donation from my boss) and a chiller. Because the stand is enclosed, heat has a tendency to build so, like the hood two 4" cooling fans were added.



The fans are vented out the sides, one moving air in and the other one moving air out.


There you have it and it's still not finished! Stain still needs to be added!

[Tarasco]

Wow, great intro! Welcome to Reef Sanctuary! Keep us updated on how things are going.

[Reef Geek]

I love those tiles!!! Where did you get them??

I had to buff out a 6' tank one time. I paid my little sister $50 to crawl inside and do it for me. She did an awesome job!! I found some 2000 grit pads for a palm sander, it was the quickest and easiest way to do the job.

Any thought to moving the chiller outside of the stand?

[ggee1]

Thanks! No plan to move the chiller out of the stand as of yet, space in this apartment is luxury I do not have and the tank has taken up a lot of space. The tiles believe it or not came from Home Depot. I was pretty shocked when I saw them and new at that moment it would be added somewhere on the stand. I wished I could of hired my sister to sand the inside of this one, never thought of that lol!

[Travis]

Very nice! Welcome!

[ggee1]

Thanks, glad to be a part of the forum!

[Travis]

Not to derail this Greg, but my wife and I took our honeymoon in Key West back in July... left a little bit of our hearts there I believe.

Check out some of the pics >>HERE<<

And from the butterfly conservatory >>HERE<<

[ggee1]

Wow, I can see why with those pictures! Well, if you left a little bit of your hearts here then it gives you all the more reason to come back down and visit again.

[Gina]

Who is your boss? I want him!! LOL
I saw this picture in the gallery and just fell in love with your stand! You did a very fine job. The tiles are awesome and add so much character to the stand.
Welcome to our home!

[ggee1]

Thanks Gina, yeah I have it pretty lucky when it comes to my job. The only thing about the stand is that I made it 9 inches larger and it will not fit through the door if I should move. Thank God I'm not planning on moving soon!

[Woodstock]

to Reef Sanctuary!!!

Very nice tank~~

[mps9506]

Yes, Very very nice. I love the stand. My next tank will have a stand that is larger than the tank. I think it is more functional, even if it wasn't intended
Wish my DIY skills were good as yours, even if you claim not to be that good.
You would have laughed if you saw my first and last attempt at a canopy.

[NHLblues44]

Looks great, I love cube tanks for a reef.

[forestal]

wonderful job on that stand..fantastic...keep us updated onthe tanks' progression

[mkpaulson]

very nicely done! welcome to the reefsanctuary