Our DSA Neo 105 Build

This is our second tank journal. To see our first check it out here.
http://www.bareefers.org/forum/threads/matt-asias-90-gal-bowfront.19742/

@Ashalye and I bought this tank used September 2015. We are still working on it and have been wanting to share our progress with you. We hope to have the tank setup before our baby arrives in late January. So, lets get started.

First we'll address with the stand.
I didn't like how the cut out looked for the plumbing pass through. It was a very rough rectangle with over cut corners. These are the pieces I removed to square out the hole and eliminate the over cuts.


This is what the plumbing pass-through looked like after I removed the pieces above and added a little stain to protect the freshly cut wood.

 

I decided to protect the stand even more and made a black ABS top for the stand. I attached it with contact cement as if I were installing formica laminate. Then I sealed the edges with black silicone.


Here's my dad with the newly installed ABS top.

 

Off to a good start. Having a deadline should help the progress along.

 

Looks good.
I like how you cleaned up that hole. Sure, nobody else will see it once tank is there. But you will know.

 

Looking good

 

What a good idea! How did you cut the ABS to size?


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I would have used my table saw but you could also use a skillsaw.

 

I cut the ABS rectangle with my table saw. (60 to 80 tooth carbide 10" saw blade, same as for cutting acrylic or hardwood). For the pass through hole, I used a jigsaw with a medium tooth blade to cut out the center while leaving 1/4" to 3/8" excess around the inside to be routed with a flush trim bit (carbide bit with a bearing on top).

 

Our existing tank is located in the kitchen and sits on a tile floor. The new DSA NEO is going to be located in the living room and will sit on the hardwood floor. In order to prevent or at least minimize damage to the flooring from spilled water, I decided to add feet to the stand. This should stop water from wicking in between the base of the stand and the floor, create an air gap for evaporation and provide a little access to get a towel or some sort of absorbent material underneath the stand when needed.

 

Very nice!!!

 

wow that ABS top looks sexy!

That's like a laminant like Formica you say? Never heard of something like that.

 

Thanks Mike,
Sorry for the confusion. ABS (acrylonitrile butadiene styrene) is a plastic, I was trying to get across that I adhered the ABS to the stand with contact cement. So I essentially used the same process and technique as if it were a laminant.


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Not everything turns out the way you want it the first or second time. I had done some touch ups with a similar stain and shot a light coat of lacquer over the stand and it turned out well. So a few days later I did some more touch ups and applied a heavier coat of lacquer. This second coat of lacquer did not yield a favorable outcome. The lacquer contains stronger (hotter) solvents than the stain and pigment. The heavier coat of lacquer softened the base coat of stain and caused the entire stand to orange peal. Totally my fault, I should have known better and double checked for compatibility. So for being in a hurry to finish here is what I ended up with. =(



Ok, so major oops. This happened back in August. I had no choice but to either go with the antique look of orange peel or sand the entire stand and start over. I was able to fix it in just a few days.

Here it is, freshly repainted after sanding away the orange peel.

I mixed some gold metallic into the black paint.

After drying, here it is out in the sunlight.


Close call, but saved.

 

That's awesome. One of the advantages of lacquer is that dries fast. You can spray on a light coat and by the time you're done it's usually dry enough to put on another coat.

 

Yeah, it would have been fine if I'd just put on several light coats. I got a little carried away, it was a good reminder of what not to do. Really glad that I was able to fix it.

 

Wow that IS awesome. Nice work!

 

Ok, now that the stand was looking pretty good, it was time to start thinking about filtration. I had several sumps on hand (Truvu Platinum and a Ruby Trigger system), but didn't really want to use either of those. I wanted more from my sump, but what to do? I liked some of the features I'd seen in the DreamBox but didn't want to have to clean twelve or more 4" filter socks at a time, so I decided to build my own sump. I adopted design principles from many different sumps I'd seen over the year and added a few of my own. I went with the larger 7" diameter filter socks to reduce the number of socks to clean.

Here's the initial layout and design concept of the sump and how it will fit in the stand. Jokingly I've called it MyDreamBox.



Getting started



Gluing on the other side. Say hi to @Ashalye

 

Love your drawing... talk about .. oh never mind that old saying. Your cabinet is going to be absolutely packed.

Just make sure 1) there's enough physical room inside the cabinet (what are the dimensions of the cabinet?) looks like you're pushing to 22.5" on the sump, if this tank holds a 24" wide tank don't forget the physical size of the plywood that's holding it up, I'm guessing you're taking into account the thickness of the plywood. Even if it does fit perfectly you'll want some air circulation around the whole thing.. 2) make sure you can physically get the sump into the stand, looks like you're at 33" for the sump, hopefully that front opening allows you to slide it in.

Damn those filter socks holders look huge! Hi, Ashalye

 

a person can fit into that sock holder!? Shaping up nicely.

Are you going to use the same type of sock in each slot? or increasingly finer? Where did the ATO go?

 

@<3-2-reef got big mesh filter socks. I think the ATO got kicked out, and will sit outside the stand like on our current tank.