darrellw Posted December 23, 2008 Share Posted December 23, 2008 Well, with our lovely weather I've been making a lot of progress building my system. And when I say build, I mean it! I decided to build my own glass display tank, and as practice I first started with a glass sump. The sump is 13" x 14" x 14" deep (about 10 gallons), size to fit inside my stand. I used 1/4" glass and black silicone. Here are some pictures from the build. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darrellw Posted December 23, 2008 Author Share Posted December 23, 2008 My sump build went well, so I built my display. The display is 17" x 17" x 18" deep (about 20 gallons), and I used 3/8" glass, with all the edges polished. The tank is going in a corner, so I have two "fronts" and two "backs". The two front panes are Starphire glass. After building and leak testing, I drilled the tank for my glass-holes overflow and return. You can also see me testing VorTech MP20. Then I spent the morning shoveling out the driveway so that I could get the cars out and cut the wood for my stand, which I'll work more on tomorrow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R-3 Posted December 23, 2008 Share Posted December 23, 2008 That looks great Darrell! You silicone lines look really good. Nice job. Are you using a AGA black silicone? I guess I know who to call when I am ready for a glass tank Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darrellw Posted December 23, 2008 Author Share Posted December 23, 2008 That looks great Darrell! You silicone lines look really good. Nice job. Are you using a AGA black silicone? I guess I know who to call when I am ready for a glass tank Thanks! I'm using GE RTV103. Supposedly it is better (stronger) than the silicone sold for aquarium use. It is reef-safe as it is pure silicone (no mildecide, food-safe, etc). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R-3 Posted December 23, 2008 Share Posted December 23, 2008 Thanks! I'm using GE RTV103. Supposedly it is better (stronger) than the silicone sold for aquarium use. It is reef-safe as it is pure silicone (no mildecide, food-safe, etc). Where did you find that GE RTV at? I looked for that at HD and Lowes and couldnt find it awhile back. That is the stuff that I see everyone uses on RC. It is a lot cheaper that the AGA stuff right? My friend owns a local glass shop in town and I might talk to him about some prices. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darrellw Posted December 23, 2008 Author Share Posted December 23, 2008 Where did you find that GE RTV at? I looked for that at HD and Lowes and couldnt find it awhile back. That is the stuff that I see everyone uses on RC. It is a lot cheaper that the AGA stuff right? My friend owns a local glass shop in town and I might talk to him about some prices. It is from their professional line, so it is a bit hard to find. Grainger carries it, but won't sell to individuals anymore. I found it here: http://www.drillspot.com/products/338801/GE_Silicone_RTV103_Black_Silicone Ironically, they drop-shipped it from Graniger in Portland, and charged less to boot! -Darrell Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andy Posted December 23, 2008 Share Posted December 23, 2008 Really nice work, Darrell -- looks fantastic! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andy Posted December 23, 2008 Share Posted December 23, 2008 Oh, and nice choices on the gear -- Tunze skimmer, Eheim return hiding in the back, and the Vortech. I look forward to hearing about how the Tunze works. Did you consider the new Tunze nano wavebox? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darrellw Posted December 23, 2008 Author Share Posted December 23, 2008 Oh' date=' and nice choices on the gear -- Tunze skimmer, Eheim return hiding in the back, and the Vortech. I look forward to hearing about how the Tunze works. Did you consider the new Tunze nano wavebox?[/quote'] Thanks, Andy. I test ran the skimmer, and it is nice and quiet (which was a major consideration), hopefully it will perform well also. I didn't know about the wavebox when I bought the VorTech (got a very good deal on the group buy over at Nano Reef a while back). I'm pretty impressed with playing with it so far. There was a few bits of debris in the water while I was testing it, and the pump really kept it suspended. Good eyes, my return is an Eheim 1250. Originally I wanted to plumb it externally (I'm trying really hard to keep heat out of the system), but I was having a hard time getting everything in the sump, plus having room for overflow, so I went ahead and submersed it. -Darrell Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R-3 Posted December 23, 2008 Share Posted December 23, 2008 The one thing with the Tunze 9002's Darrel is water level consistency. To get the most out of them stay at the recommended water level on the side. I see you have some sort of ATO in the corner so it shouldnt be a issue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andy Posted December 23, 2008 Share Posted December 23, 2008 Needn't worry about excess heat off the Eheim plumbed internally. First of all, they're really efficient so don't add much heat at all. Second, they're water cooled by design so running them externally won't cool things down appreciably. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darrellw Posted December 23, 2008 Author Share Posted December 23, 2008 The one thing with the Tunze 9002's Darrel is water level consistency. To get the most out of them stay at the recommended water level on the side. I see you have some sort of ATO in the corner so it shouldnt be a issue. Thanks for the tip. I do have an ATO, but I'm only going to be able to put about a 1 gallon container of top off water in my stand. But the skimmer isn't on the side of the sump that will vary in level, it is before the bubble trap which will keep the water level at 9". -Darrell Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darrellw Posted December 23, 2008 Author Share Posted December 23, 2008 Needn't worry about excess heat off the Eheim plumbed internally. First of all' date=' they're really efficient so don't add much heat at all. Second, they're water cooled by design so running them externally won't cool things down appreciably.[/quote'] Good to know, I knew it was efficient (that was one of the criteria I used), didn't know about the water cooling. Having to run a chiller would have killed the whole project (it is going in our dinning room, no place to put one, and the noise would be a deal breaker), so I've been pretty obsessive about how much heat I'm putting in. Seems a little silly at the moment with the weather we are having, though! -Darrell Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andy Posted December 23, 2008 Share Posted December 23, 2008 Have you decided on lighting yet? That'll be the primary source of heat. FWIW, my son's 20gal nano has a 175W MH and has no problem with heat at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darrellw Posted December 23, 2008 Author Share Posted December 23, 2008 Have you decided on lighting yet? That'll be the primary source of heat. FWIW' date=' my son's 20gal nano has a 175W MH and has no problem with heat at all.[/quote'] I'm going to use LEDs (Solaris I5 14"). -Darrell Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
impur Posted December 23, 2008 Share Posted December 23, 2008 Wow great job Darrell. I'll be doing something similar around 90gal, can't wait to get started! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andy Posted December 24, 2008 Share Posted December 24, 2008 Yeah, you'll have no problems with heat -- also looking forward to hearing how you like the current Solaris. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darrellw Posted December 25, 2008 Author Share Posted December 25, 2008 also looking forward to hearing how you like the current Solaris. Me too, I went back and forth on the lighting choice for a long, long time. BTW, I thought I'd share my stocking plans. I plan to have a collection of zoas and rics, with one hammer/torch/frogspawn. I'll have a clown fish, or maybe a pair, and a goby, probably a clown. I really like hermits, so I will take a chance on a few, and maybe some type of shrimp. Does that sound reasonable? I masked and painted the back today, and continue to work on the stand, which just looks like a plywood box at the moment. -Darrell Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darrellw Posted December 26, 2008 Author Share Posted December 26, 2008 Didn't get much done today, it being Christmas and all, but did get a little time to work on the project. Got the my overflow and return installed, and did some more layout on the stand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smann Posted December 26, 2008 Share Posted December 26, 2008 I'll have to say this is a true "build project" when it includes the tank!!. looks awsome cant wait to see the progress to tank completion, stocking, etc. keep the thread updated , your work is very impressive and I am also intrested in the solaris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darrellw Posted December 30, 2008 Author Share Posted December 30, 2008 Been working away at the stand for the most part. Got the framing on, cut and routed the doors, and test mounted them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CA2OR Posted December 30, 2008 Share Posted December 30, 2008 I would like to see what you used to plan your stand. I am in need of building one myself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darrellw Posted December 30, 2008 Author Share Posted December 30, 2008 I would like to see what you used to plan your stand. I am in need of building one myself. Just pencil and paper :-). I worked at my Grandpa's cabinet shop during high school and college, so it wasn't too hard for me to lay out on paper. He could have just done it in his head. -Darrell Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CA2OR Posted December 30, 2008 Share Posted December 30, 2008 I was implying more towards judging how strong to make it for the gallons you are housing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darrellw Posted December 30, 2008 Author Share Posted December 30, 2008 I was implying more towards judging how strong to make it for the gallons you are housing Ah, OK. I didn't use anything. I figure the display will be around 200 lbs, and I figure that 3/4" plywood is plenty strong. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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