Tank Journal Archive

[Kharn]

Here is the steel awaiting to be cut and welded together then encased within a wood/board and finally painted!

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[VaultBoy]

Get to work then ;)

 

[Kharn]

Well today I got done what I could get done with the time I had fortunately I did get something done =) STAND C is virtually completed (minus its decorations) the skeleton of the frame is completely done and its built like a TANK to hold my 2 x 1200mm L x 150mm W x 600mm H (top tank) 700mm H (bottom tank).

It took quite awhile as there were lots of welds to perform all up I estimated around 3hours it took from cutting to completion however STAND A & STAND B will be much quicker to complete because they aren't going to need the "extra" attention this stand need (tanks being so slim and tall made me worry about it tipping forwards/backwards).

Both STAND A & B will be completed next weekend.

Phase 1 - Cutting the steel into lengths.
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Phase 2 - The cut lengths of steel. (Note this isn't all the steel we used for this one stand in the pic, there were smaller cuts made for bracing).
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Phase 3 & 4 - First tack Welding the pieces together for alignment then finally welding the aligned pieces together.
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Phase 5 - Completed stand waiting for "Decorations" like the wood panels on its side and rear + the wood hood flaps above and infront of each tank.
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Points of interest

The Red circles in these pics outline the FLATBAR steel that is used to help support the tops of the tall and thin tanks and prevent them from falling over, the inside will be lined with dense foam to prevent damage on the tanks and they sit near the tanks rims so they will NOT obscure vision (no water up there) in the end its not a dire need to have but it does give peace of mind!
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The Welding - My master craftsmen welder whom I shall keep private decided that watching me struggle with the stand alone was too much, he and I both knew who is the "true" king of steel where we work and that is him, so he said he would help me "Your making it look hard" he says so I thought considering he was so eager to help why not let the better man do the welding and what I got speaks for itself.......immaculate! These weld joints in the pics I took have been "untreated" by that I mean they were taken rite after the weld was done, no polish, no wire brushing (DO NOT grind it).
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Much more to come =)

 

[Sarg]

Nice work a handy skill to have when your an aquariest ;)

 

[Kharn]

Bulkheads

When I purchased my tanks off my LFS they also supplied the bulkheads, however I do not like the bulkeads they provided, don't get me wrong there is nothing wrong with them but there color is just way to "loud" and you would see them so easily in the tanks because the sides of the tanks are black and so are the backs....so I went for a Black Poly Bulkhead instead =).

OLD - As you can see the blue/aqua color just would make the bulkhead almost "standout' against the black backgrounds....
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NEW - With this type of Bulkhead I can make it virtually invisible & connect poly pipe fittings to the rest of the system, connecting one tank to the next in each stand, since these are low pressure areas just gravity fed mostly, these bulkheads need to be tinkered a bit and there are 10 all up lol...

firstly some of them won't fit because the hole cut in the glass is to close to the tanks lids so a cut needs to be made on the black bulkhead just removing the lip (not the 'nut') then it fits perfectly, also its rather simple to see that the threaded end is just way to long so that will be cut a fair bit down.

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DIY Bulkheads

So I just finished the overall look of the test bulkhead and it looks good so far although there are still some things to cut and a piece to glue it should end up looking better (more hidden/noticeable) then the previous bright blue bulkheads.

Here is a partially completed bulkhead or the test bulkhead, the outter most lip on one side was sliced of with a grinder so it could fit (won't need to do so on the bulkheads in the tanks for STAND C) also which I haven't done yet is the rubber inner ring also needs to be trimmed down for a snug fit then all will be set in place with silicon, I do like these bulk heads a bit more because they come with 2 rubber O rings rather then the single one that comes with the aqua blue old bulkheads. I made the grate out of a plastic storm water drain cover, using a drill with a circular saw blade in it I could cut a 2inch circle then trim it back to the cube as you see in the pic, its just glutac'd on for now (for pic purpose) but I'll silicon it down too.

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Although in this pic the bulkhead could of fit without the trimming, its because the bulkhead is on a tank that will be in STAND C and like I mentioned above those tanks don't need to have trimmed bulkheads.
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Still need to trim a LOT of the threaded end off as I do not want a LOT of pipe hanging off the sides so I'll keep them hugging the sides of the tanks going down as much / where I can.
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More to come =)

 

[Kharn]

Oh yeah I should also mention that by using the "NEW" poly bulkheads it makes it 100xeasier to get "matching parts" the bulkheads provided ("OLD" aqua blue bulkheads) are of a....weird size, I heard American dimensions so finding the typical piping required would of been well to annoying to bother with.

 

[Kharn]

Bulkheads have had the upper lips trimmed lol... ( so they can fit ) whilst the outer portion of the bulkhead remains untouched because they don't get in the way anywhere. Also the plastic mantis proofing guards are glued on and just setting with silicon which should hopefully be enough!

Again I do not aim to actually have water reaching the tops of the bulkheads only the lower halves of them, like the bulkheads are not going to be totally submerged...hopefully... I also do NOT plan on gluing these bulkheads in place I am confident in the DOUBLE rubber flanges provided since most aquarium bulkheads or the original ones I got (the aqua blue ones) were single rubber flange in there case I would of used silicon.
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More to come!!

EDIT: There are only 8 in the picture because the 2 bulkheads on STAND C do not require modification, not even the grating because I do not see large spearers going through.....

 

[Kharn]

Here is a small demonstration on the different sized pipes used to hopefully help paint a mental picture for the curious few.

In the left of the image the smaller circle, is a small 1inch cutting off a FX5 inlet/outlet hose that comes with the FX5 this is around 20mm in diameter, to the right of that is the bulkheads that will allow for water to be transported from one tank to the next in each given stand, as you can see to minimize pressure the bulkheads are quite large to act as overflows these are 32mm diameter on the inside so should be more then enough to handle the water incoming/outgoing.
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[Kharn]

Well another day and another day of the weekend spent towards my build =) fortunately today was a good day in progression =) as there was a lot accomplished!

Both STAND A & B are now completed (skeletal/frame wise) which now means that all the stands are complete, the stands are extremely strong capable of holding far more weight then they actually will be holding and they weigh quite a bit too. The only thing left to do now for the stands is to lay out some pine wood sheets on each level underneath each tank, then lay out some sheets of styrofoam in the same manner above the pine wood sheets but under the tanks, this will ensure a good flat, safe base for each tank.

The stands need to be painted which I will be doing tomorrow and they also require there "Hoods/Maintenance" which are just sheets of pine painted the same color as the stand (black) with stainless steel hinges.

Then the tanks can go on and be filled!

Here are some pics of the progression made today.

The left one is STAND A (2footers/600mm tanks) and the right one is STAND B (3footers/900mm tanks).
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Here are all 3 stands clustered around in the workshop, STAND A in the rear, STAND B in the center and STAND C closest to the camera.
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In order to ensure the correct dimensions were made (double checking) I decided to place all the tanks in STAND A & B within there stands just to check and get some pics =) (except for the 2 tanks on STAND C because we already know they fit).
STAND A - with tanks (front view)
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STAND A - with tanks (side view)
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STAND B - with tanks (front view)
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STAND B - with tanks (side view)
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Again there are no pics of STAND C with tanks yet because we didn't feel the need to "check" knowing that we compensated for space due to the Flat bar welded across, basically I need to get some foam (the high density foam with a sticky side (like tape) just to run along the inside of the flat bar to prevent it scraping the tanks on STAND C having said that STAND C and its tanks are the most interesting ;).

Much more to come =)

 

[Kharn]

Although I would of liked to of got more done I was unable to do so due to bad timings... having said that I have managed to paint 6 of the 8 tanks the 6 tanks painted are for STAND A & B leaving just the 2 tanks on STAND C to be done.

In order to get a nice uniform coat of paint over the sides I desired (specifically the side which has a bulk head) I left the bulk heads in place and just painted over and around them, once the paint has dried after a couple of days I'll use a scalp and cut around the rim of the Bulk heads to get them off without peeling up the paint or taring a chunk of paint off in the process.

For some weird reason I keep buying things that I don't require RITE NOW lol for my current stage of the project xD and I :headwally: after I realize it and the time I wasted going to the store to get it...At least there not wasted purchases, since it will all be used inevitably.

Painted tanks down the left (minus the 2 for STAND C) with the stands to be painted on the right.
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STAND A top tank in view
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Top Left tank is the Bottom tank for STAND A whilst the Top Right tank is the Middle tank for STAND A. Bottom Left tank is the Top tank for STAND B and the Bottom Left tank is the Middle tank for STAND B.
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I ran out of paint on the 6 tanks had 1L lol...

 

[Sarg]

What paint did you use? Did you use prepsol or anything on the glass first or just a good wipe with metho? Looks like a good thick coating. I might use your method this time instead of the spray can.

 

[mscott]

thats what i was gonna ask sarg hahaha

 

[Kharn]

What paint did you use? Did you use prepsol or anything on the glass first or just a good wipe with metho? Looks like a good thick coating. I might use your method this time instead of the spray can.

Just wiped the glass down with Metho Pre-Paint and gave it all a good 4-5 coats, there not even done yet I recon...what I do is place a lamp inside the tank whilst I paint so the light shines through any gaps I keep finding some xD but there almost there, no more coats on these tanks just touch ups once there dry ad with the torch light.

The roller method is a great idea! Even layers no streaks really nice clean crisp job!

To make things even more uniform I had a little routine I did to help keep things simple.

1/ Dab the paint into the 'corners of the tanks linings to close the gap, I did this sloppy (on purpose).
2/ Dab the paint into the corners of the bulkheads to close the gap, I did this sloppy....again (on purpose).
3/ With those parts done I brought the roller to bare and rolled over it all really thick for each layer, since the roller evened out all the sloppy work on the corners etc.

Point is I guess that I did all the nooks and crankys before using the roller because the roller is what made it even, also I used a foam brush for the "dabbing" parts.

 

[Sarg]

To cool 4-5 coats would be heaps. Unless your going to have light from behind the tank you wont see any thin marks. I know I had them on my six footer but you couldn't see it up against the wall. My next tank will be against a window so I will have to do better.

What brand of paint did you use?

 

[Kharn]

To cool 4-5 coats would be heaps. Unless your going to have light from behind the tank you wont see any thin marks. I know I had them on my six footer but you couldn't see it up against the wall. My next tank will be against a window so I will have to do better.

What brand of paint did you use?

I do not plan on having light behind the tanks only above and even then its fairly limited (my current 4 foot tank has 4x54W T5's (2xwhite & 2xblue) but this tank is also supporting corals and a clam all of which are thriving but will inevitably have to go...point is, over my 4foot tank currently there is 216watts whilst in my new build both 4footers (the strange 1200mmLx (600mm & 700mmH) x 150mm W) are only going to have 37watts LED each, a significatnly less wattage ratio but ultimately the lights aren't about supporting coral life.

These new LEDs I got a few weeks/month back are just SOOOO good I can't get over them! less then 1/10th the weight of the T5 fixture, 1/3 the total width (top to bottom & side to side) of the T5 fixture (this is VERY important to be able to fit the fixtures into the tank stands and it WOULD NOT happen with the massive bulky T5 fixtures) and I will NVR have to replace bulbs! WIN WIN WIN!

I'm not 110% on what brand I used but I got it from Masters (being closer then Bunnings to my house) on the weekend I'll get 5L mixed since I'll likely need it for the last 2 biggest tanks and the 3 stands.

 

[Kharn]

Looking at ideas people could throw at me with DIY Live Rock Holes....

Basically I want each of my smashers compartments to have at least 1 larger "center piece" of Live Rock with which I plan on drilling a hole through one side to the next, how I go about this "most successfully" is another manner ?

So far I am thinking of a Hole Saw drill bit on really slow speed .... ?

 

[VaultBoy]

One option would be to hire a "core drill" from somewhere like coates or kennards (if you have them there) they are basically a hole saw for drilling concrete. They wlll allow you to run water through the cut to lubricate the drill bit and help stop the rock from fracturing. You can get a range of drlil sizes up to 150mm diameter so you should be able to get what you want.

 

[Kharn]

One option would be to hire a "core drill" from somewhere like coates or kennards (if you have them there) they are basically a hole saw for drilling concrete. They wlll allow you to run water through the cut to lubricate the drill bit and help stop the rock from fracturing. You can get a range of drlil sizes up to 150mm diameter so you should be able to get what you want.

Thanks for the comment we have a handy hire around the corner where we have hired out tools that we don't have so there bound to have one of them!

 

[Kharn]

Progress =D

All the tanks and all the stands are now completely painted!

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Things left too do:

Get Styrofoam sheets cut to the under side of each tank to place beneath each tank (on top of the thin ply wood sheets I have, the ply will rest on the steel frame).

Some 5-10mm thick planks of wood to act as hoods on hinges to go above each tank and the stainless steel hinges to go with them.

Some rubber feet which I inted to cut from a big sheet of rubber that we got laying around at work, its about 10mm thick and these squares will sit under the feet of each stand to help even it out.

As far as hanging the lights go, I just intend to use hooks that will slot into the eye holes already on the LED's because the LED's are so light there shouldn't be a problem with weight.

Also more importantly rite now, I need to get the Poly Fittings required to connect each tank within there stand along with the Poly Fittings to make the DIY difusers that will be running in STAND A & B.

After all that (pritty sure I covered whats left) .... =) Substrate + Live Rock + Water, then let it cycle!

More to come =D

 

[Kharn]

Housing for each stomatopod should look something like this.

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There are a few adjustments I will probably make firstly, Zuzu the Unique MAY NOT end up in the stand (permanently just temporarily) I have plans to upgrade the current Nano he resides in, to a much larger system (I want a cube tank for it that I can house coral in so it will be sumped etc.) also the second part I may change is reducing both Leviathan and Morgoths tanks, via splitting them in half with a sheet of eggcrate, enabling me to double up and keep 2 more large spearers hopefully a female L.sulcata (for Morgoth) and a female L.maculata (for Leviathan).

As far as the bottom tank on STAND B (middle stand) goes I am undecided as its the one really workable tank, I can make it either another large spearer tank dividing it in halves like STAND C enabling me to keep 2 large spearers in it or turn it into another large smasher tank for a similar sized smasher to that of a peacock.

As it stands rite now, I could only afford to keep 1 more stomatopod (making it a total of 12) but, with a little bit of fiddling about in a neat manner =) I can turn its total accommodation into 16 with the ability to house 5 more (this is for when Zuzu is not in the stand and in his own system), the vacancies made would be for 1 small stomatopod and 4 of the largest stomatopods.