Dwolson's 135gal Build

I will be posting up pictures during the build, but I am starting with a 48*24*30 reef ready tank. Converting the dual overflows into a coast to coast bean animal like my 75. Going led as well. More to follow.

dude this is like 60 more gallons of sexyness

Well here is how it started out:


Going to be a black background, black stand and canopy, and re do the door so it opens like my 75 did instead of lifting up.

Cory, not more sexy, just different sexy.

this is tall and sexy

Is that stained plywood?

Here was the work I did over today and the past week:
Back painted black, still need to finish the rest of the trim:


First coat of paint on the canopy:


C2c test fitted and siliconed in:


Man I hate silicone!
Also notched out part of the dual overflows so the coast to coast will actually function.

sisterlimonpot wrote:Is that stained plywood?

Yea, which is one reason I am going to black. Also, I have been sanding the top to get a smooth finish on the black paint.

coryg wrote:this is tall and sexy

So tall I have to buy a stool to reach!

Jimmy, can I use that awesome table saw of yours for one cut? please?

hav you figured out where you are moving to?

coryg wrote:hav you figured out where you are moving to?

not yet, September is if I am lucky, November is more realistic.

so are you gonna set this up while you are out here?

coryg wrote:so are you gonna set this up while you are out here?

Yes and no, going to run fresh water for month, just to see any hiccups with the system, otherwise, I have almost a year to get the plumbing re done, it painted and make my few modifications, as well as transfer my equipment over.

well... let the ball busting begin

Well so far I have gotten what 6 months worth of Nick's progress done its going to be a lot slower once I get it painted. I need to build my leds, and probably am going to add another set of heat sinks with leds.

when do you plan to drill it?

coryg wrote:when do you plan to drill it?

its reef ready, so its already drilled. It has two returns and two drains, I am changing it to three drains and one return. The three drains are siphon, wet, and dry. It doesn't normally work on a dual overflow, but with the weir I added, it connects the two boxes. It actually serves two purposes, in connects them and gives me more surface skimming.

Ohh I see its essentially drilled for closed loop then?

Lol, no its drilled like a regular tank from the store, I am just trying to make it silent and fail safe.

ohh gotchya

Took a picture this morning, finished up the tank, second coat of paint on the canopy.

Difficult to see, but the c2c overflow is installed:


Also what the back looks like:

Better picture of the overflow:

Here is a full tank shot inside the garage.


The stand outside(except the doors) and canopy are painted, here is the outside of the stand:


The canopy is still drying.

Canopy was baking in the sun and is now dry. Here is the canopy on the tank/stand and a side shot.


After this its not going to go as quickly. Everything I would need the tank/stand/canopy outside to do(painting the outsides, installing the overflow) is done. Everything that's left can be done in place.

Next on the agenda is to cut the door in half and make it swing out sided to side, then paint the inside of the stand(black) and the canopy(white)

After all of the painting is done, I will focus on the plumbing.
Then start working on the lights.




Does anyone know if you could run vinegar through the whole system when the plumbing is done? Then I could clean as well as water test.

dwolson2 wrote:

sisterlimonpot wrote:Is that stained plywood?

Yea, which is one reason I am going to black. Also, I have been sanding the top to get a smooth finish on the black paint.

that's the fundamental basis of sexy

Did you go flat black or satin?

If you want to go gloss, like black laquor, then you need to paint with satin or flat black, sand and smooth it out, add more flat or satin, sand and smooth again, then about 4 coats of a high gloss clear. Wet sand with 1000 and then polish. It's a pain but I've done it before and it looks awsome. You just have to make sure it's smooth and flat or it will show any ripple.

I used a semi gloss, so more of a satin if you will. It came out on the flat side of the two, but I really like the look of it.

Plywood will do that unless you seal it first. Same with Pine.

Crusty Old Shellback wrote:Plywood will do that unless you seal it first. Same with Pine.

i didn't seal it, only sand it progressively down(up) to 220. I like the Glossiness of the finish though.

Did you use rattle can? or did you do it right?

sisterlimonpot wrote:Did you use rattle can?

Im sure he did haha

why coast to coast?

Looks good!

sisterlimonpot wrote:Did you use rattle can? or did you do it right?

by doing it right what do you mean? Yes, I did rattle can it, but I didn't like how it came out. So, I went and bought paint, and rolled it.

coryg wrote:

sisterlimonpot wrote:Did you use rattle can?

Im sure he did haha

Well I did have a can of semigloss black at home...

alexwbush wrote:why coast to coast?

two reasons, one I wanted to go to a bean animal overflow, to do that, I needed the overflows connected. I could have put a pipe between them, but that wouldn't have been functional nor asthetically pleasing. The other option was to notch out the back of the overflows and add a Coast to coast to connect them. It serves two purposes, better surface skimming and less noise. There is less noise because there will be less volume of water going over a single point on the overflow.

Doors are cut, now to hang them and paint them.

Nice!

Nice I like the dimensions of this tank!

Mando805 wrote:Nice I like the dimensions of this tank!

The only problem with this tall of a tank is I am to short to reach without a good step stool! Lol

right now is the perfect time to shorten it up. you have at least 6 months to get it right.

Personally id rather have a tall tank i dont have to hunch over to look at and not be able to get into without a stool than a short tank

Its not the stand that's too tall, its the tank itself. But I like the extra viewing space, so I am going to deal with the fact I can't reach all the way in the back. Maybe my arms will grow in the next 6 months. Lol

Evolution in the making!

as ling as you're happy with it. 2 years from now I wouldn't want you to wish you had taken the time to shorten the stand right now, especially when you have the time to do it right now.

I have thought about making it taller, but then it would be near impossible for me to reach into the tank. I really like the tank to be at eye level, and since I am short its a lot easier. The sand is lower than my 75, but the top of the tank is higher than my 75. Its just going to get some getting use to, to see the sand lower.

Such a sad emptiness:

Yes thats still my apex hooked up. I hope to have water in the new tank next month, and be running from out in the garage(freshwater only) I am going to add a gaming adapter so I can still have it connected to the network. I am intending on running it water only for a month or two to verify everything works correctly.

although it would be quite entertaining to watch, but you won't be able to ensure everything is working right with freshwater, you will have to fill it with salt to ensure everything is fit for when you set it up for a reef tank.

Yea, its not going to be as quiet, and the skimmer won't work. I may just use coast sea water after the water check.

Coast water is nasty stuff but if you run your skimmer like crazy you might be able to clean it up quite nice

It would only for water testing purposes, not to sustain life.