OT - Rickztah's Low Iron 22g SW Tank Update 11/28
I just wanted to start a new thread on this build so that I have an OP with an equipment list and everything is easier to find
As the title states, this will be a Peninsula tank. It is only 22g, but with rockwork it should be much closer to 15g. I'm hoping to offset that a bit with a larger sump.
So, here are the specs:
Mr. Aqua 22g Long (Low Iron) - 36x12x12
Maxspect Razor 16k 160w
Bean Animal side mount overflow
Sump 30g Eshopps - 30x16x12
Skimmer Eshopps S-120
DC-12000 Swapping this out for a DC-3000
DC-3000 This will be the second DC-3000 to serve as redundancy.
3 Way Manifold - will probably end up being run by the second DC-3000
Siporax in eggcrate for bio
Customsealife 1/5 HP
MP20
- Water Treatment - RO/DI & ATO
Spectapure 90gpd unit
JBJ ATO - will probably replace this with a Tunze soon enough
Still debating on which brand to go with
1 Pair of Designer Clownfish. Toss up between Frostbite / Phantom / Premium Black Snowflake (Amphiprion ocellaris)
TFL Phosban 150 reactor
BRS GFO & Carbon Dual Reactor
2x STC-1000 - Controllers for heater/chiller and box fans for stand
I like to overthink things and love paying attention to detail on builds, this is why this has taken me well over a year to even get to this stage. I have 80% of all the equipment needed.
As many of you may know, I love DIY, and the one thing that is left is the stand which is where I usually drain all my money in to, lol. I don't plan on doing that this time and will try to keep it simple yet still look good.
I hope you follow along this new venture with me :)
Here is a pic of the equipment so far:
https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7150/...fe8c046f_b.jpgDSC08431 by Rick Vasquez, on Flickr
https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7478/...0908f596_b.jpgDSC08432 by Rick Vasquez, on Flickr
https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7352/...c67f32ed_b.jpgDSC08435 by Rick Vasquez, on Flickr
Re: OT - Rickztah's Low Iron 22g SW peninsula tank
As I said , I love DIY. I chose to do my own overflow and drill and cut my own glass. Here's how that went at first:
https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7097/...7fde8418_b.jpgDSC08395 by Rick Vasquez, on Flickr
https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7433/...91b5e6b1_b.jpgDSC08397 by Rick Vasquez, on Flickr
That was fun :(
Here's my second try:
https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7560/...0f2a9b6f_b.jpgDSC08487 by Rick Vasquez, on Flickr
https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7763/...63c08866_b.jpgDSC08492 by Rick Vasquez, on Flickr
https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7048/...1727c0ba_b.jpg1 Hole - 2 Hole - 3 Hole by Rick Vasquez, on Flickr
I also tried to cut the glass myself, however, that was a complete and utter fail. I bought a cutting wheel, running pliers and oil but just couldn't get it to work. A quick tip for those that are planning on getting the equipment to cut their own glass, just save your money and leave it to the pros. They charged me $2.50 per cut and it came out much cheaper for them to do it than it did for me to get the equipment to cut. lesson learned.
Here is how the panes look once cut to the measurements I specified:
https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7519/...03769c10_b.jpgDSC08495 by Rick Vasquez, on Flickr
Everything siliconed in to place:
https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7633/...74cc8fd5_b.jpgDSC08496 by Rick Vasquez, on Flickr
https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7614/...ca34893d_b.jpgDSC08497 by Rick Vasquez, on Flickr
https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7653/...281d694a_b.jpgDSC08499 by Rick Vasquez, on Flickr
Sorry about the mess in the tank. I was pretty tired at this point and even taking that out and putting it back in wasn't appealing, lol.
Re: OT - Rickztah's Low Iron 22g SW peninsula tank
If for whatever reason anyone is curious of the sizes of the cut panes, here's this:
https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7428/...45328743_b.jpgDSC08437 by Rick Vasquez, on Flickr
the top piece will serve as a lid for the overflow setup
Also, this shot shows the difference between low iron and regular glass if anyone is curious about the difference between the two:
https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7703/...10eb2092_b.jpgDSC08438 by Rick Vasquez, on Flickr
Re: OT - Rickztah's Low Iron 22g SW peninsula tank
I will say one thing about the shattered glass pic of me drilling. There were a couple of things that I did that could have easily prevented this disaster. First, the bottom was unsupported. If you check out the pics of the successful drilling, there is a plywood piece as well as 1/4" Styrofoam piece when you drill through. Also, in the failed attempt, I forgot to lower the chuck to 1. When I hit full speed, it shattered immediately. Going slow at first on 1 will not allow you to go faster than you need to be. Once I got the groove going, I upped the drill to 3. Never really went full speed, because I decided to take my time because the small pane could have easily cracked because of the close proximity of the holes.
Re: OT - Rickztah's Low Iron 22g SW peninsula tank
As I said, going bare bottom with this tank. Painted the tank bottom with Rustoleum textured paint and added flat white in to the mix to better look like reef sand. I have been using this textured paint for years and love how it looks. It gives a good balance between BB and sand, at least I think it does. Better than no paint IMHO.
https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7601/...bd7f7725_b.jpgDSC08501 by Rick Vasquez, on Flickr
https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7637/...98709f1a_b.jpgDSC08502 by Rick Vasquez, on Flickr
After a good round of masking
https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7540/...43caaf20_b.jpgDSC08503 by Rick Vasquez, on Flickr
and done
https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7092/...8cd695df_b.jpgDSC08504 by Rick Vasquez, on Flickr
It will look better from the inside, I promise :)
Next I am going to try to make my own lid out of acrylic. Does anyone know, can you use a jig-saw on acrylic?
Re: OT - Rickztah's Low Iron 22g SW peninsula tank
I am excited for this. Great craftsmanship. Love the idea of painting the outside bottom, gives me an idea for my next tank.
Re: OT - Rickztah's Low Iron 22g SW peninsula tank
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Discus-n00b
I am excited for this. Great craftsmanship. Love the idea of painting the outside bottom, gives me an idea for my next tank.
Thx Matt. I should also mention that I will be painting the overflow box white but I won't paint it until I get the actual paint for the stand and use that so that it matches perfectly
Re: OT - Rickztah's Low Iron 22g SW peninsula tank
Great recovery there Ricardo, looking pretty sweet!
Re: OT - Rickztah's Low Iron 22g SW peninsula tank
Very nice so far Ricardo. Looking good.
Re: OT - Rickztah's Low Iron 22g SW peninsula tank
A fellow RC member was nice enough to give me some extra acrylic he had. I had originally intended to use the acrylic as baffles but then I thought I may just make a tank lid out of it.
Originally I was going to use glass as a top but I cringed at the idea of possibly dropping the lid and it shattering inside the tank. I didn't want to use a whole piece of acrylic because it bows badly. So, I figured I'd try to make a lid which just had the edges and use fishing line to prevent jumpers. So far I have just done the cut out but still need to drill the holes and buy the fishing line.
Also, I need to buy 2 more clips because the way it sits still bows in the middle. Of course there is no telling if all of these things will prevent it from bowing regardless, but I will cross that bridge when I get there. For now, this will be my temp solution and it came at no extra cost, so why not?
Here are the pics of it in progress:
This is the way the tank looks with the painted bottom btw:
https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7337/...e7903172_b.jpgDSC08505 by Rick Vasquez, on Flickr
https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7678/...45e509ae_b.jpgDSC08509 by Rick Vasquez, on Flickr
So first I cut the acrylic sheet down to size and make sure it fits:
https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7687/...a6721289_b.jpgDSC08510 by Rick Vasquez, on Flickr
This is what we started with:
https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7751/...043a0f6d_b.jpgDSC08511 by Rick Vasquez, on Flickr
All areas marked off. The inner lines represent where I will clamp down a T-ruler and give enough space for blade clearance. Notice I marked little tic marks. Those represent where I would stop with the drop in circular saw so that I could round those corners. Worked out fine:
https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7449/...6f648559_b.jpgDSC08512 by Rick Vasquez, on Flickr
Drop ins done and now time for the jig saw. When cutting acrylic with a jig saw, find the finest blade you can and it would go through acrylic like butter:
https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7169/...27ba112e_b.jpgDSC08513 by Rick Vasquez, on Flickr
All done:
https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7526/...4ee64a2a_b.jpgDSC08514 by Rick Vasquez, on Flickr
Here's the lid on the tank:
https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7003/...48171076_b.jpgDSC08515 by Rick Vasquez, on Flickr
So, few things, I wish I would have marked the outside white paper to do the cutting. I had taken it off initially because there were areas of the acrylic that were cut. I didn't want to use a cut section so I peeled one side off to check which area to use. Then, I didn't want to place the unpeeled side down in fear of scratching it so I marked on that side. Now, I cannot get the marks off by wiping it away. I will have to sand it off I suppose. No biggie, but lesson learned.
I still need to clean the edges as well, but I ran out of time.
Later this week I will make a jig to drill all the holes and get the fishing line to finish this little project. Hope you liked ;)
Re: OT - Rickztah's Low Iron 22g SW peninsula tank
Re: OT - Rickztah's Low Iron 22g SW peninsula tank
Looks great, I love watching DIY projects.
Re: OT - Rickztah's Low Iron 22g SW peninsula tank
I would say your off to a promising DIY project. That is pretty thick glass to have cut on your own and you nailed it.
A friend told me the best way to cut glass is on a rubber blanket/mat but your method worked out just fine.
Great work my friend and will follow this project build to the end.
...Ralph
Re: OT - Rickztah's Low Iron 22g SW peninsula tank
Can't wait to see it wet. Find something like bird netting at the hardware store, would be easier than trying to weave something yourself with fishing line, maybe that is what you mean anyway.....just trying to save you some work lol
Re: OT - Rickztah's Low Iron 22g SW peninsula tank
Ricardo,
Looking great...really great. You've done an awesome job documenting the build out too. I'm enjoying this one alot.
Going to be a sweet love nest for those clowns!
Al