110g Updates W/pics!

[ikon]

Well! Its coming along really nicely. I have the stand built, the tank drilled with dual overflows, the sump in, and today i snapped some pics while testing the drain capabilities against the 1000+ gph pump. Im glad i did the dual overflows because they are struggling to keep up with the force of the pump on full throttle. But all is well. You can see how massive the tank looks next to the 55g sump...Obviously i havent put in the standpipes coming up from the bulkheads yet but i couldnt wait any longer for the test drive! i also just stuck the outlet from the pump into the tank for now, i will plumb it in later. And as you can see compared to the 75g in the background, i built the stand taller then average so i can see the tank at eyelevel instead of always looking down on it, never understood why they dont build the stands taller!!

 

[Mr Miagi]

Looks good, but I really dont like the look of your stand. Im not into DIY, and I know other might be more suited to commenting, but I don think the joins/contruction is suitable for the weight of 110g! If it was mine, id be extremely excited, but nervous as hell about that stand.

 

[ikon]

the stand is the least of my worries. ive built many a stand, but not as many tanks! im more paranoid of the glass bursting out from the pressure of the water...but the 24 hour test fill went fine so it should be ok. the stand is built from 2x6's, and very very sturdy. both the top and bottom have a 4ply sheet of plywood connecting everything together for added support, on top of the 6 uprights and 8 horizontal braces. i guess i could add some more support about halfway up from side to side. in fact i will. thanks for the comment.

 

[SkiFletch]

Those are 2x6's? If so thats more than enough, nice work. Can't wait to watch asit all unvelopes. Keep us updated, lookin great

 

[ox5477]

I agree with Miagi a little bit. I wouldnt worry about the 2x6's either ski, but I think what Miagi and I mean are diagonal bracing. It doesn't hurt to add two pieces of 2x4 or even better 2x6 to the back of the stand to add some diagonal rigidity. Much better to spend an extra 10 minutes and few bucks to make sure, than to lose a huge reef that costs 1000's of bucks in an instance just cause you didnt take a few minutes of work. Thats all we're saying.

 

[SkiFletch]

Yeah, I see what you're saying, but he's gonna get that when he finishes the sides with paneling like his dual 55g stand

 

[ox5477]

Yeah, I see what you're saying, but he's gonna get that when he finishes the sides with paneling like his dual 55g stand

I know what your saying, but what I'm saying is, after my experience with construction, I would just rather have a rigid piece of lumber providing support over a thin piece of ply or particle board. Just my feeling, I don't have much confidence in the strength of those

 

[ikon]

good and bad news...the stand held up fine. i got the stand pipes in, filled it to the rim and ran the pump and let it run for a while. everything was good. so i began the long process of moving all of the liverock, sand and livestock into a holding tub while i moved the 75 out and put the 110 in. got EVERYTHING in the new tank and it looked immaculate. 5 minutes later i heard...crackkkk... then the water started leaking. the crack stemmed out from one of the holes i drilled for the overflow on the bottom pane. the water started leaking faster so immediately dropped a mag 5 in there and started draining water back into the 75g and started relocating everything back to the 75. luckily there was no catastrophic cracking and all 4 sides stayed intact. so today i removed the cracked bottom pane. i have a 1/2" thick pane of glass being cut at the glass shop for me as we speak to replace the cracked bottom. the original glass was only 1/4" thick (which is what garf suggested to use in this application). i believe that by drilling the overflow holes it weakened the glass considerably and after i got all of the liverock in (100+ lbs) it couldnt hold up. so now i will go pick up the new thicker pane of glass and silicone it together and try again. im confident that the thicker glass will hold up just fine. i didnt lose any livestock and everything is fine for now. and the stand did hold strong. stay tuned! should have it up and running by tommorow night.

 

[Ter]

hey at least u where home... and controlled the situation
Ter

 

[rhysiboy]

ha that would be fun opening your front door and a tidal wave coming through. although spose it would just porbably be a ewet carpet and water damage why do things always ave to be boring wne applied to life

 

[Matthew5664]

Sorry to hear about your misfortune Something I'm in fear of all the time is the 'CRACK' sound of a pane going, however the love of the hobby keeps me going. Could I ask:

What kind of turnover are you going for and how are you going to createk it?

What lighting are you going to be using and how are you hanging it?

Can't wait for the updates! keep up the good work.

 

[SkiFletch]

Have you considered having the bottom glass tempered after you get your hole drilled into it? That would help prevent the wonderful cracking sound.

 

[ikon]

Matt...i already have all of the equipment. for lighting i will be using a nova extreme 48" t5 vho 4x54w 10k/actinic, as well as two 48" 110w dual 50/50 twin tube AGA Power compacts for a total of around 420 watts. the lights will rest on the top glass braces. for turnover, i have a quiet one 6000 rated at 1506 gph, about 1000 after head loss, with a 55g sump, as well as 3 maxijet 1200 powerheads in the tank..

i siliconed the new bottom piece on yesterday and its ready to be filled. after the accident i decided to start tiling the house earlier then planned given the wet carpet, and since i already had all of the tile sitting in the garage i layed the tile in the area the tank will sit last night, then grouted it today, which will make it easier then having to drain and move the tank in the future. now i must wait for the grout to set then the tank goes up!