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New tank...
2006 - Build
I built the tank in 2006. I actually built 2 of them! A little over 48"x 24"x 17" for about 80 gallons. 1/2" acrylic, large access ports with very comfortable rounded edges for arms/access. I'm not sure how to explain this, but when I sprayed the back black I didn't take the paint all the way to the edges, instead keeping the optical path through the side/top/bottom (as viewed from the front) clear. A small detail that when paired with the white foam insulation on the back frames the tank.
I always enjoy an engineering challenge so I modeled the tank in SolidWorks and sent it through FEA. CosmosWorks helped me pick 1/2" over 3/8" not for strength but for deflection. I truly dislike deflection. Then I built it.
I was real happy with how the glueup went as the seam quality is real nice. Each night I cracked at least one beer and wetsanded each seam. Took a while, but ended up with this.
This tank was always destined for fishroom duty and not for display in the house. As such I drilled it for a standpipe. It is not silent, but there are no noise restrictions (high WAF) in the fishroom. I used some of the typical tricks to quiet her (the tank) down.
2009 - Round 1
Fast forward a few years. Last fall I started a frag tank with the idea to start with few-polyp (tiny) frags and grow them up. It was a fun time trying something a little different. It did provide for some excellent SPS experience in a challenging environment. I finally ran out of room - experiment over!
2010 - Round 2
I needed a new rack system so I built one. I painted the deck of the tank shelf by adding a little grey tint to the primer so I wouldn't blind myself with reflected light. That little bit of grey helps attenuate the reflected light just enough. I plan to frame it in and insulate in the months to come, add air exchange system and ductwork, etc...
In the background you can see the glow from the other tank with Tony's stuff in there.
[Excuse]She's running - more to come, just have to get my pics off the camera and uploaded, etc[/Excuse]
Saw it in person. Very nicely built!
-Tony
"Are you out of your mind Tony, you know better than to mix Blood Sport and reefing."-Tuberider
"I need a Vanilla Ice to English translator 
"-Gresham
Awe man, I had a extended trial version of SolidWorks and it just ran out... and I had several projects still on my plate 
NICE tank and I like the rounded cut outs.... stronger that way 
Nice! Looks like you're going to need a 2-car garage to accommodate your future experiments.
Where's the car?
NICE tank and I like the rounded cut outs.... stronger that way
-Tony
"Are you out of your mind Tony, you know better than to mix Blood Sport and reefing."-Tuberider
"I need a Vanilla Ice to English translator "-Gresham
<<<< needs SolidWorks as <<<< only has support locally for SolidWorks and <<<<< friend with a HAAS CnC uses SolidWorks
Continued...
I wanted this build to be more conscious of thermal losses since it can get real cold in the fishroom so I added foam sheets here and there, insulated the plumbing, stuff like this... I say every bit helps in the long run.
Filled it, threw in some rocks from the frag tank, and started her running covered in blankets for the first 2 weeks. Overflow simply went into a 5 gallon bucket with a return pump. FWIW I like to start my tanks with a period of darkness. IMO it lets the tank get going, biofilms established, etc... before the illumination comes on and practically dares the algae to go nuts. It actually turned out perfect, since I was out of town during that time.
I cleaned up an old 55 gallon tank and modified it to accept input and output plumbing, and fit the skimmer. The sump is wrapped in 1" foam sheets on 5 sides, with a top cover. Time will tell about evaporation and thermal input needs but I expect less of both. Originally I was going to port over the sump from my other tank but decided against it, and have since "retired" it.
Don't mind the water level vs. that piece of tape!
Finally a good use for a 55g TruVu tank! Seriously though I got it brand new from a garage sale for the bartered price of $20 about 12 yrs ago. Rode home with it on my bike.
More to come...
Let's see if this works - I'm a rookie. This is blue overload I know.
Looks good. Need less blue and more brown.
Wow. Awesome. I want one
SF - Go Giants!
Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach a man to fish and he will eat for a lifetime.