My First Marine Tank

Sashimi · Oct 24, 2012

I spent the past 3 years converting my freshwater tank into a salt water tank. I made a stand and canopy to provide easy access to equipment and lights. In a few hours, I should have enough RO/DI water to finish filling the tank and turn on the equipment. Enough chit chat, how about some pictures? A montage of the past 3 years, so-to-speak.

Civicdemon · Oct 24, 2012

Ok Where the PIcs ???

Sashimi · Oct 24, 2012

Civicdemon said:
Ok Where the PIcs ???

Did I forget to mention I'm new to livingreef? I'm reading a thread to figure it out. LOL

Droskie20 · Oct 24, 2012

Sashimi said:
I spent the past 3 years converting my freshwater tank into a salt water tank. I made a stand and canopy to provide easy access to equipment and lights. In a few hours, I should have enough RO/DI water to finish filling the tank and turn on the equipment. Enough chit chat, how about some pictures? A montage of the past 3 years, so-to-speak.

welcome aboard!!!!! The easy way to upload a pic is to first upload it to Photobucket then copy the IMG code and then paste the IMG code on you post and just like that we get to see your tank!! :Cheers:

ErinCahir · Oct 24, 2012

Waddi's write up is excellent. Welcome!

315hottuna61 · Oct 24, 2012

Welcome . This is a great place for info !

Sashimi · Oct 24, 2012

This is the original stand and canopy. The doors on the front provided limited access to the equipment underneath. It was difficult to get the canister filter in and out for maintenance, or to find supplies. The Canopy provided access by lifting the lid and only half of it could be lifted due to a hinge in the center of the lid, instead of the rear. I could install a retrofit in this canopy either. These factors lead me to the decision to build my own stand and canopy.

Sashimi · Oct 24, 2012

Here are some pics of the stand. Frame was made out of 2x4, skinned in 1/4" plywood and then trimmed to look nice. The design involves 3 removable doors to provide access to equipment from all sides. The doors sit in a U shaped channel with the top being 3/4" deep and the bottom being 1/4" deep. To remove a door, you simply lift the door up into the top channel, freeing the bottom, pull the door towards you slightly and then lower door and move out of the way. I designed it this way to prevent my my daughter, who easily breaks through child proof locks, from playing in the salt water in the sump. It's worked for 2 years so far.

Sashimi · Oct 24, 2012

The Canopy was designed to also have a removable door, as well as a removable lid. The removable lid allows me to clean lights, reflectors, ect without knocking debris into the tank and reduces the risk of a cleaning agent getting into the water.

Ted · Oct 24, 2012

looks great...

Sashimi · Oct 24, 2012

After the stand and canopy were skinned with plywood and trim applied, it was time to seal it. I wanted to stain it a very dark espresso while still being able to see the wood grain. I tried a few stains, but it never got dark enough. When applied thinker, or left to sit, the stain would run and it looked awful. I eventually gave up, sanded it down and painted it black. The stain came out great on the doors, and I like it even more painted now. The handles on the doors were stained to help them blend in and the art work I found at a shop on Okinawa, Japan and I used double sided super sticky to mount it to the door.

Sashimi · Oct 24, 2012

All Stained and Painted. Now to install lights and fans.

Sashimi · Oct 24, 2012

I mounted fans on either end on the canopy to promote air circulation and keep the lights cool. I took a computer fan, cut off the plug, and stripped the wires. I did the same to a variable DC power supply and the twisted/taped the wires together. There is a screwdriver adjustable dial on the power amp the allows me to vary the amount of volts DC, controling the speed of the fans.

Sashimi · Oct 24, 2012

For lights, I chose T-5 flourescent. I wanted LED, but couldn't afford it. There are 6-54 watt bulbs, which should be enough to grow coral, anemones, ect. The lights are an IceCap retrofit and included reflectors. I like the water proof caps.

Civicdemon · Oct 24, 2012

Tham man stand came out great, dont really care for the 2 difrent colors but thats all personal prefrence. Did you add center braces ???? A full fish tank can weight a grip !!!!
The blue background kinda looks weird also to me it would look super sick if it was black. with your color scheme

Sashimi · Oct 24, 2012

Civicdemon said:
Tham man stand came out great, dont really care for the 2 difrent colors but thats all personal prefrence. Did you add center braces ???? A full fish tank can weight a grip !!!!
The blue background kinda looks weird also to me it would look super sick if it was black. with your color scheme

There are 2 braces going front to back on the bottom and one brace in the middle on top. You should be able to see it in the pics of the stand, especially the one where the stand is on it's side.

Civicdemon · Oct 24, 2012

Yeah i seen those but i meant a center brace like in the middle of the doors and in the same spot in front going from bottom of stand to the top.

Sashimi · Oct 24, 2012

nope, I got the design from someone who did something similar for a 90 gallon tank. The way the stand is made, with the legs being 4x4 and notched to allow the top and bottom parts of the frame to rest on the legs, the weight transfers through the wood, to the floor.

Civicdemon · Oct 24, 2012

Ok sounds good to me Great design then, it should give you alot of room to play with sumps and everything, i know my stand was a pain. i could not get a big sump in there so i had to use 2 sumps and put them toghether using pvc and bulkheads.

baeya · Oct 24, 2012

Very nice build! I always admire someone with the knowledge to build something like that! I can't wait to see it up and running. So cute the way you used it for a Christmas decoration, too!!

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