The Fremont Runner

[milesmiles902]

In support of my new job in Queen Anne and move to the Fremont district. I am going to attempt a "cheap" aquarium build based upon everything I learned in Oregon. 

To start, I am going to use all my old equipment.

• Maxspect Gyre x180
• Ecotech Vectra M2 (2000 GPH)
• Reef Octopus Skimmer
• 48" 6 x T5 Actinic

Although, this time, I am going to build an acrylic runner. The acrylic idea came from @stylaster's 312 gallon. The running length idea came from @TheClark. It will be a 5 ft x 1ft x 1 ft. @badxgillen does have a runner with sump, but it's entirely glass.

To some extent, the length is dependent on the light, but the real width is definitely less than 2ft. All the plastics will likely come from TAP Plastics in Seattle at $10 a wall. To save money, I will likely have to cut the bubble catches in the bottom myself. 

Under the tank, will likely be a similarly sized aquarium. 

The lower sump will be resting on the steel frame to prevent the upper tank from tipping. I want the tank to be able to withstand a large earthquake, so the sump being equal or greater weight at the lowest point of center of mass is important. To prevent the upper tank from sliding around, I will likely glue the tank to the frame or go to the shoe store and get a strip of leather - wrapping it around the steel frame and base of the upper aquarium. I believe either is possible, but steel, stained oak wood and leather wouldn't look bad (better than tape or glue). @Exodus doesn't have leather, but he does have a cool stand and I've seen @MrBret's show stand at frag-fests - it's pretty cool. 

Also, I've never built a steel frame, but I'm going to try. I've seen enough of @spectra's metal frames to know that they can't be beat. The upper tank will likely be +-172 lbs of seawater and 1 inch x 1 inch hollow rectangular tubing with 1/8 width should be able to handle it, but honestly; I'm just going to go to a Seattle Steel shop and check-out what's cheapest. In total, it's about 30 ft of tubing that will likely be less than $100. 

I've never built one of these and I'm sure my Dad will have something to say when I attempt to weld it, but I attempted to brace most of the weight. The only thing I am afraid of is that if I utilize wood faces to cover the sump ( @Exodus ), the sump will have to be slightly shifted off of the frame. That being said, I'll likely move the lower braces to compensate. The current feet are because it looks top-heavy and the overall shift is because of the backward facing PVC piping. 

At the moment, it's looking like something I put against a wall, but it might be an island aquarium with wood on all four sides. If that was the case, I'd likely have a vertical return, rather than a back-facing entry with a non-shifted steel frame.

Also, I have stain for the oak wood, which makes it a bit cheaper.

The sump won't be completely filled either, but I'm guessing it will be around 60-77 gallons. 

Cost:

Acrylic = $100

Metal = $<100

Wood =$150. 

Total = $350.

As long as it's less than my rent - I'm a happy camper. 

 

 

 

 

Edited August 25, 2019 by milesmiles902

[spectra]

Looks like a great idea but I wouldnt go with 1".......to get the reveal like you have in the drawing 1 1/2 would be better. Yes .120 will work and you are going to need 2 sticks of material 20 footers.....material should run you about 125 to 140 not sure what the market is like up there. Also are you welding it up yourself ?

[Blue Z Reef]

Idk how TAP is in Seattle but at the Portland location I’ve never got anything of decent size for $10 unless it came from the “seconds bin”

 

I can appreciate a budget build, hope you can keep it cheap. Have you looked into the Mr.Aqua rimless tanks? I guess they are only 3x1x1 but still a cool dimension. Just suggesting, as someone who loves DIY, I can also appreciate the time savings when cost is appropriate to buy something already built.

[milesmiles902]

7 hours ago, spectra said:

Looks like a great idea but I wouldnt go with 1".......to get the reveal like you have in the drawing 1 1/2 would be better. Yes .120 will work and you are going to need 2 sticks of material 20 footers.....material should run you about 125 to 140 not sure what the market is like up there. Also are you welding it up yourself ?

Having 1 1/2 will be better support for the base of the aquarium. If you suggest it,  I'll try to find some. 

I'll probably cut the acrylic and steel tubing myself, but the welder is my Dad's and he'll be around. I've use his plasma cutter and arc welder before, but never MIG or TIG? 

Here's some of his work:

It's a Frankenstein with a '59 frame and 57' body. I think? Either-way, I am sure he'd be happy I'm showing the forum some pictures. I think he did that thing 2-3 times too. The box never laid level and he had to figure out the proper angle of decline through trial-and-error.

It's been years since welded anything, but you got any tips? I imagine you should spray paint and clear coat them - after you're done for rust?

35 minutes ago, Blue Z Reef said:

Idk how TAP is in Seattle but at the Portland location I’ve never got anything of decent size for $10 unless it came from the “seconds bin”

 

I can appreciate a budget build, hope you can keep it cheap. Have you looked into the Mr.Aqua rimless tanks? I guess they are only 3x1x1 but still a cool dimension. Just suggesting, as someone who loves DIY, I can also appreciate the time savings when cost is appropriate to buy something already built.

TAPS Plastic has Acrylite, but I am unsure if they have a variety of thicknesses. Although, it doesn't hurt to scout the area. I'm sure I'll find something. North and South are aquarium manufacturers for in-home Acrylic tanks. There's bound to be an acrylic source somewhere. 

Also, I kind of want to build it to my size and practice building tanks. I'm sure it will come in handy. The 1x1 ft² dimension means I'll be able to have less thick acrylic too. Maybe a Euro Brace is needed, but that's a thought that can come later.

@Blue Z Reef What if I just want to duplicate @stylaster 's tank one day. You know? 

 

 

 

 

Edited August 25, 2019 by milesmiles902

[Burningbaal]

Hey, welcome to the area! (I live up near mountlake terrace). I like your idea, for sure. I'll be tagging along here as I'm excited to have more Seattle area people in PNWMAS!  I just realized my first few fish (in the restarting 29g DIY AIO) died because my refractometer was way out of cal; hopefully I'll have corals later this year 😕

[milesmiles902]

39 minutes ago, Burningbaal said:

Hey, welcome to the area! (I live up near mountlake terrace). I like your idea, for sure. I'll be tagging along here as I'm excited to have more Seattle area people in PNWMAS!  I just realized my first few fish (in the restarting 29g DIY AIO) died because my refractometer was way out of cal; hopefully I'll have corals later this year 😕

I doubt it's supporting members only, but you should log yourself in the member map: http://www.pnwmas.org/membermap/ (I just did my city for safety reasons). 

My friends live up in Mountlake Terrace, so I'll be sure to stop by. We can trade some corals and maybe even go down on a shipment from Oregon aquarium store's or friends. 

If you need a homemade calibration solution, check-out this thread: http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-06/rhf/index.htm 

It's one of the few places that cite their work.

[Burningbaal]

2 minutes ago, milesmiles902 said:

I doubt it's supporting members only, but you should log yourself in the member map: http://www.pnwmas.org/membermap/ (I just did my city for safety reasons). 

Just put myself on the map, don't know how I've been missing it. I used to work on Eastlake, which would have been super close to your work, but now I work in  Bothell. FWIW, OnlineMetals.com is along the ship canal just between Queen Anne and Ballard; you could get your stand material from them pretty cheap (they do will call, so you don't have to ship it).

I'll take a look at DIY cal solution, I have heard of some issues with purchased solution and with my wife and I's chemistry/biology background, we should be pretty decent at prepping it if we can trust our scale...that'll be the liability. Thanks for the link!

[pdxmonkeyboy]

The last place I would buy acrylic is tapp plastics.  They are SUCH a rip off.  For the price you pay for those strips of acrylic you could buy a whole sheet from professional plastics.  

BTW.. you want 3/8 acrylic not 1/4". ESPECIALLY if this is your first tank build. 

Good luck, looks like a cool project. 

[milesmiles902]

7 hours ago, Burningbaal said:

Just put myself on the map, don't know how I've been missing it. I used to work on Eastlake, which would have been super close to your work, but now I work in  Bothell. FWIW, OnlineMetals.com is along the ship canal just between Queen Anne and Ballard; you could get your stand material from them pretty cheap (they do will call, so you don't have to ship it).

I'll take a look at DIY cal solution, I have heard of some issues with purchased solution and with my wife and I's chemistry/biology background, we should be pretty decent at prepping it if we can trust our scale...that'll be the liability. Thanks for the link!

I'll have to check them out. It sounds close to where I'll be living. 

As for making calcium (Ca²⁺) solutions, it's all I've ever done. Some people use calcium reactors, which accommodate alkalinity (CO₃^2-) too, but I've never spent the money to get one. I prefer a doser and Randy-Holmes Farley Solutions..plus or minus the brand of reagents. I even added it to my model below. 

1 hour ago, pdxmonkeyboy said:

The last place I would buy acrylic is tapp plastics.  They are SUCH a rip off.  For the price you pay for those strips of acrylic you could buy a whole sheet from professional plastics.  

BTW.. you want 3/8 acrylic not 1/4". ESPECIALLY if this is your first tank build. 

Good luck, looks like a cool project. 

3/8" it is. I'll have to search around. It's looking like I'll have to make a jig for things like the Euro-brace, so I might as well cut everything myself.

This is what I did today:

I hid the plumbing into a vertical entry and the entire thing is now enclosed by wood on all four sides for a quiet, limited plumbing system. Also, I calculated the turnover on the tank and it was pushing 33 gallons turnover per minute..or in reality, the entire aquarium per minute. So, I made it 5 ft x 1.5 ft x 1 ft. It cut the turnover by half, so the aquarium now turns over once every two minutes -or- 30 times an hour. 

The entire tank is now 42 inches in height. It's center of mass is pretty low, with the light glare not being an issue anymore. 

  

The dosing system is now enclosed into the entire stand too. It will be calcium, alkalinity and a RODI container. As you can see, it's a four-stage Jebao doser. It's from my old tank.

One of the major improvements to the model is that it is almost the exact measurements of all the items. The containers are 1x1x1.3 ft, Vectra is 9 inch long etc. The entire build is up to the dimensions of 2 ft wide x 5 ft long. The tank again is 1.5 ft wide, but exactly 1.5 ft in the model. 

Also, the tank has a Euro-brace that I will have to make a jig for.

I am going to try to bring the emergency overflow within 1 inch of the Euro-Brace too. Both the tank and sump will be completely full, with the sump having a few inches of give for drastic situations. To make sure, I put a one-way on the return pump - as I had on my old tank. I believe they work pretty well, but some people believe they have troubles. So, even then, I made sure that the return doesn't come out, but within an inch of the top water-line.

I also added ball-valves to the return and overflow. All the other lower pieces have cut-outs for the plumbing too.

The lid to the sump is piece-wise and lays on the bubble-catches. It comes in three pieces, which are all supported - without building lips for the lids. There is a double-bubble catch and an earlier one near the skimmer, which will help. I imagine I won't get any salt-creep, nor sound coming out of the stand with lids and wood walls. The only think I'll be hearing is the Maxspect Gyre and light.

The sump has no light either. The only place is where it does have light is where I'll put my ball of chaeto - the overflow zone.

The stand is now symmetrical. There are three inch feet on all corners, but the lower sump will have slightly different dimensions than the upper tank - due to the vertical supports. I'm glad @pdxmonkeyboy found a place that doesn't do 1 ft strips because I will have to cut them all myself now.

The gallons are now pushing 115 with the upper tank being almost full and the lower tank being mostly full. The rocks will likely bring it down to 100 gallons.

I thought about adding lids to the upper aquarium. It would make it quieter, prevent spill and evaporation. The light transmission of Acrylite is limited in the UV region, but does absorb roughly 20% of the 400 nm light intensity, then higher-levels of transmission with anything below 400 nm. Also, it wouldn't be bad to have a lid to prevent the rest of the aquarium from UV cracking in the later years. So, I should definitely try to figure out how to do it without them falling in.

The price has gone up a bit, but compared to some commercial tanks of this size with sump, gallons, lids etc. It would definitely be more.

As compared to my rent, it's still cheaper.  

Edited August 26, 2019 by milesmiles902

[milesmiles902]

I might do 4 ft long - just for the sake of it. Although, because of the skimmer - the frame will have to be taller to encompass the dosing apparatus. 

In this case, the turnover will be 0.7 times per minute or 44 times an hour. 

For either case, I believe it will be a healthy aquarium. 

Edited August 26, 2019 by milesmiles902

[pdxmonkeyboy]

Miles, do you have a decent table saw? There are basically two ways to cut acrylic for a tank.
Table saw with diable laminate blade..$50
Or a router with a good bit.

You need a router anyways to trim the pieces when your done. I may be telling you what you already know.. but.

The top and bottom are cut 1/4" larger than the rest of the tank so you can use that extra lip of material to glue them.

On a tank that short, you may need clamps to apply a LITTLE pressure to the seam after you apply solvent.

The keys to a beautiful joint are:
1. Cleanliness..any dust will stop capillary action.
2. Pins... pins between the joints to apply glue.
3. Playing cards... you use these to shim the pieces so that all your pins have EVEN tension. Even the flattest table and acrylic will have a little wave to it.

I would suggest the smaller gauge needle applicator from tapp. It needs to be squeezed to make solvent come out. It will make life easier for you.

It is not a hard thing to do..I made an 8' acrylic tank that looks great, you just need to know a couple tricks.

Cheers


Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

[pdxmonkeyboy]

I thought of something else while reading the above about lids... 

acrylic can NOT be used for lids.. the combination of heat from the lights and moisture will make it warp.  It WILL warp.  trust me.  You want polycarbonate. 

Also, quality cast acrylic will not be destroyed by UV.  Acrylic is made form natural gas and it not subject to the degradation that a lot of other plastics do in UV.  For all intents and purposes, your cast acrylic will not become cloudy or yellow in your lifetime.    bombers from the 1950's have acrylic canopies and they are still crystal clear and they sit in the sun on the runways. 

I don't know why this myth still hangs around, but it does.  Some people just regurgitate things without thinking. ...  got ich... give it some garlic...

 

 

Edited August 26, 2019 by pdxmonkeyboy

[milesmiles902]

6 hours ago, pdxmonkeyboy said:

I may be telling you what you already know.. but.

No, I don't know.

6 hours ago, pdxmonkeyboy said:

Miles, do you have a decent table saw? There are basically two ways to cut acrylic for a tank.
Table saw with diable laminate blade..$50
Or a router with a good bit.

You need a router anyways to trim the pieces when your done. I may be telling you what you already know.. but.

The top and bottom are cut 1/4" larger than the rest of the tank so you can use that extra lip of material to glue them.

On a tank that short, you may need clamps to apply a LITTLE pressure to the seam after you apply solvent.

The keys to a beautiful joint are:
1. Cleanliness..any dust will stop capillary action.
2. Pins... pins between the joints to apply glue.
3. Playing cards... you use these to shim the pieces so that all your pins have EVEN tension. Even the flattest table and acrylic will have a little wave to it.

I would suggest the smaller gauge needle applicator from tapp. It needs to be squeezed to make solvent come out. It will make life easier for you.

It is not a hard thing to do..I made an 8' acrylic tank that looks great, you just need to know a couple tricks.

Cheers


Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk
 

2 hours ago, pdxmonkeyboy said:

I thought of something else while reading the above about lids... 

acrylic can NOT be used for lids.. the combination of heat from the lights and moisture will make it warp.  It WILL warp.  trust me.  You want polycarbonate. 

Also, quality cast acrylic will not be destroyed by UV.  Acrylic is made form natural gas and it not subject to the degradation that a lot of other plastics do in UV.  For all intents and purposes, your cast acrylic will not become cloudy or yellow in your lifetime.    bombers from the 1950's have acrylic canopies and they are still crystal clear and they sit in the sun on the runways. 

I don't know why this myth still hangs around, but it does.  Some people just regurgitate things without thinking. ...  got ich... give it some garlic...

 

 

There's a table saw around and I believe a router. 

Although, I might just go the table saw route and buy a new blade. It's nice to have a table to work on.

Thanks for the help! I'm glad the tank is small enough to learn on. I hope this thread can help future stand and tank builders.

[pdxmonkeyboy]

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Diablo-10-in-x-80-Teeth-Non-Ferrous-Plastic-Cutting-Saw-Blade-D1080N/100043779?MERCH=REC-_-NavPLPHorizontal1_rr-_-NA-_-100043779-_-N

 

This ^   or a decent blade and a hand scraper. 

this is a hand scraper..  

https://www.lie-nielsen.com/product/handscrapers-hand-scraper-set-

 

If you don't have steady hands... like woodworker steady, just buy the blade and sell it on CL 

 

[milesmiles902]

32 minutes ago, pdxmonkeyboy said:

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Diablo-10-in-x-80-Teeth-Non-Ferrous-Plastic-Cutting-Saw-Blade-D1080N/100043779?MERCH=REC-_-NavPLPHorizontal1_rr-_-NA-_-100043779-_-N

 

This ^   or a decent blade and a hand scraper. 

this is a hand scraper..  

https://www.lie-nielsen.com/product/handscrapers-hand-scraper-set-

 

If you don't have steady hands... like woodworker steady, just buy the blade and sell it on CL 

 

Yeah, I have a circular saw and a saw-zaw. Although, my Dad has the table saw and rotary saw. I bet we'll figure it out what works best. He'll be happy I'm trying to weld something too. 

Thanks for the help. 

Edited August 27, 2019 by milesmiles902

[milesmiles902]

To save money, I'm going to: 

1. Setup my old 7 year - 75 gallon with the original stand and sump - in home. I will get the rock going at my new place. 
2. Build a 1 ft high x 4 ft long x 2 ft wide out of acrylic with my old wood stand and build a medium-large sized sump on it. I will not set this up, but eventually use it for a quarantine with my old 75 gallon parts. 
3. Scout small business and commercial spots in the Fremont area. I found tons of small art studios and small work-areas for people - below $215 a month. They're real close too. 
4. Setup my quarantine and slowly build a small coral home. It will be called the coral home. 
5. Slowly build it up as I live in the area.
6. Beneficially doing it off-site, so that I don't have to deal with moving my main tank again. I appreciate all the help from @Exodus @R-3 and @badxgillen, but it's too much work to ever do another time -or- twice in a year. 
7. Probably go to UW for physics, privately tutor, and work in the area for the rest of my life. 

This project will continue when #1 comes around. It's going to be a long road of collecting coral. 

Edited August 27, 2019 by milesmiles902