New 150 gallon cabinet build

[pastry]

Moving next Friday and finally getting rid of the old cabinet. This is much stronger and almost done. I have trim that is nearly black. Two different types of trim that will clean up for the corners, the edges of the door, and the top and bottom of the front and sides. I will be putting in a 30-gallon tank underneath for a sump. I stained the Birch myself with light oak mixed with a tiny bit of black, then made black streaks. When done with everything I will put a protective gloss on. Later I will be making a new canopy as well as two pillars that will be flanking the sides of the tank. They will have water aging barrels inside of them but it will look like matching Furniture to the cabinet.

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[pastry]

Also drove an hour to lake moultrie where I have always gotten the best driftwood from. Can't wait to rescape. Replacing most of the sand too. Also getting hazy/cloudy piece of plexi to put on the rear of the aquarium with a strip of colored LEDs pointed upwards behind the aquarium (laid down on back of the top of the cabinet) for a lit, background. I'll try out different colors.

[Second Hand Pat]

Looking good Elliot :D I would suggest coating the inside of the stand with marine epoxy (same stuff used to waterproof boats) to help water proof the inside of the stand.
Pat

[Larry208]

Looking good Elliot, can't wait to se it finished, is gonna look cool with the lights and the hazy background.
Larry

[coralbandit]

Well done !
I love when keepers build their own stands ...
A quality stand adds to the quality of a well set up tank IMO .

[pastry]

Thanks all!

PAT!!! GOOOOD call (and timing... I have to have it ready by Thursday!). Worst case scenario, I'll use one of the spray membranes.

Larry, I am praying that the frosted glass turns out cool! Originally I was going to get frosted plexiglass from Lowe's but decided to first try a cheap roll of frosted film for windows. Then I'll get multi colored, stick-on roll of LEDs on a strip. I don't think Lowe's have multi colored ones but I might have to settle with all white and then figure out a way to tint them. Maybe tinted plastic or something... I feel like that's what's going to end up happening since I don't want to spend too much on the background LED lights. That's sad, I need to figure out how to color them. Back in the day, I used to use the red tinted plastic covering from prepared deli meat that can be found in any grocery store. We would recycle the clear container but I would keep the red tinted tops and put several underneath my lights here and there (cool, sporadic pink Ray... and with a little added red lighting it made my plants fatter and usually I find that blue makes them longer). I don't think I can get away with that this time but something similar yeah a little cleaner :P

Tom, me too brother. I love nerding out on watching what Father's Day of. At the same time, I have hated my current stand from the day I got it. Also scares me at well over 1,500 lb is being supported by basically untrue one by fours. I know that would straight up and down can carry some serious poundage but man it creeps me out saying that big tank supported by tooth pics. This current build is already heavy as hell and also made it wider. Although I made it wider, I still have studs straight up and down on every corner and in the middle. 2 by 6. Definitely killing a house fly with a slide hammer on this one!

[Shan_Evolved]

Looking good Elliot. Can't wait to see the build once complete.

Question - How important is the marine epoxy? I've built a few stands out of 2x4 and they are still strong. Just curious how important that is

[Iminit]

Great looking stand Elliot! It’s built better and so much cheaper!
Shan I don’t believe it makes that much of a difference. It will protect the stand better than regular paint. Me I use chalk paints. They cover great and you add a wax finish that will water proof it.

[Willie]

...Question - How important is the marine epoxy? I've built a few stands out of 2x4 and they are still strong. Just curious how important that is

Had a guy in town that built his own tanks out of plywood, with acrylic in the front. His entire fishroom was built this way, so we're talking 40 - 50 75-Gal tanks. (I helped him build a 800-Gallon tank, but that's another story.) He used marine epoxy to seal the wood and they held up really well for 10+ years. I've never used marine epoxy on wooden stands. I'm sure it works well, but I've had wooden stands last 15 years without any water protection.

Willie

[FischAutoTechGarten]

Elliot,
you would cringe if you saw what was supporting my 3 tiers of aquariums. LOL. but then again.... even with all of that, I'm still well under 150 gallons. I think a rhinoceros could nap on that stand you are building... strong!

[pastry]

I'm sure it works well, but I've had wooden stands last 15 years without any water protection.

Willie

Willie, totally agree but Pat knows one thing about me... Murphy's Law hates me the most!:antlers: I'm sure I probably do something stupid like bust the side of the sump I plan on putting in and then have a large amount of water so amor protection inside the cabinet the better for my crazy, not-so-lucky, not-so-unlucky, but very weird-lucky arse :p. I do have I have a short amount of time to do a few cans of a protective membrane that I can just spray on like a can of spray paint. That way if I have any mold on my top bottom, inside of the cabinet then I can simply wipe it off brows and trying to get it off wolf. The back of the saint will be open but there will be probably little air movement so I expect a little bit of mold probably since I plan to have a sump underneath. I'm sure for anyone else it might be Overkill but oh, trust me, I don't learn to hardest way but I definitely learned the hard way with my strange lock. It runs in the family. We call it Danish luck (it ain't bad, but it ain't good).

Well I did not have my airgun so I tried screwing on lattice on each side of the corners between the skirt Moulding which is on the bottom of the cabinet and top oh, but of course the lattice split after spending several hours staining them since I was trying to teach one of my kiddos has he stain and be patient while teaching him ( hard for me at times. My wife is so much more patient than I am but I'm working on it!). However, it's probably a blessing in disguise because the lattice was not wide enough and I didn't think it through on those cruise through the Birch on being closer to the edges so that it would be covered up. So I'm going to take it off, can I have to special order outside corner mold (because I can't find anything wider than 1 inch and 5/16). He'll make it easy to do because I don't have to screw that man, they are already connected as a nice clean corner, and for the corners I'm not even using an airgun... just liquid nail or epoxy.

For the doors I am using nah rectangles I cut out in the front of the stand. Of course they are skinnier now so I am using a different trim to outline each other front and side doors so that when the door is shut, I will use hinges that are on the inside and when I close them the doors spell shut flush with just the trim protruding ( I can think of another word to describe it. Essentially the tram wheel stop the door from swinging all the way in. Plus I'm going to use magnets on the inside so they stay close but not latched). Sent I will have the tram on those doors and they will be further out than the actual edges of the Birch piece of wood for the door, I am using hinges with long arms. That way I can avoid trying to open the door but then can't open it but only a tiny bit because the trim hits the side and stops it from opening much at all... which also requires a little more than just a long arm but there's an inside type of hands that pivot out words as you open it in order to do doors like that. I just can't remember what the heck they're called or where the heck I got them but I'm pretty sure I got them from Lowe's in the past.... and how did I learn about that? Because I screw up all the time! I learned that frustrating lesson and I passed out I'm just happy I remember.

Pete, I remember when I first learned how much a two-by-four could support if the weight is directly straight down. Blew my mind. That said, I am totally killing a housefly live with a sledgehammer! How is my luck, we will have that massive earthquake that Charleston has been overdue for sent over a hundred years ago. I've actually bought a reason I made this thing and even wider. At the same time, I won't be surprised with my luck if that happens in the damn thing Falls over anyways but I will still be happy knowing that I tried!

Just found hey 30 gallon tank on Craigslist in picking it up Wednesday. That's going to be my sump. I cannot believe that I cannot find regular, 36 inch long, 30 gallon tanks around in stores anymore. What the heck? I tried checking at fatca with the dollar gallon sale but it skips every 29 and go straight to 40 breeders. And of course my store always says out of stock but I know they got stuff there. Anyways, I hope they have a 40 breeder because I am also going to but my youngest son's mbuna group in a bigger tank. If discus did not exist, trust me, that 150 would have mbuna galore with nothing but sand and granite rock of different sizes piled up high from the middle backwards and almost all the way to the top. How is Juana coolest tanks in the past I ever had and it was cool because someone get killed off thought there was always a little bright colored little guys popping out of crevices when I never even knew at times that any had spawned. That tank. Only Mesmerize me because there was always something new, but anybody, and I mean anybody and everybody who ever pass at tank, what's table they were doing and sit there forever. But unfortunately, I love the hell out of discus! I just want to get a new Aquascape that is equal to what I had around 2011 through 2014. Lots of wood at is thought through and as best, aesthetically pleasing has my little brain can get it, with bright green plans all over the place that's of course some different areas have free swimming for the fish. That. Of time is when I had my favorite discus show tank. Hell they reproduced almost as much as my mbuna tank ( with a few little one surviving here and there without any or very minimal interference).

I was going to take pictures of my latest status of the cabinet tonight but I have it covered since I had a feeling I was going to rain and thank God I covered it because it's outside. I will take updated pictures Wednesday or Thursday! Then we may have Friday and Saturday ( only moving 4 miles... but finally a bigger house can not only do I finally get a garage but I get a double car garage attached in a double car garage detached! The detached is all mine!). I plan to have the tank stood back up at the new house on Saturday with noose and, wood, and plants. How long with frosted film on the back glass Quest 11 light strip behind it. I'll put some tetras in first to make sure no funny business is going on and if they are good by the evening then I am taking the discus out of the several 32-gallon containers I have and putting them in. Once I get settled in then within a few weeks I will build the canopy that will match and the matching pillars I spoke about early on. So I will finally stop cutting Corners in regards to aging water and I will finally Edgewater get these My Life by not having them open as eye soars to her! I will have questions and requests for good ideas in order to make my water changes even easier since now I have an extra step. I might be able to put a t Brock connector underneath the sink there and run it through the wall to the aging barrels ( I guess if I only run one line then I might have to also incorporate a ball valve just before the first, closest Beijing water barrel and then switch it over she got further on the other side of tank to the other aging Barrel... totally open to ideas, Lessons Learned, or any other suggestions!). I would like to have a line that goes out the back wall of the house into the yard for draining water out of the tank but I have not brought that up with my life just yet. If I do that then I am definitely not having that line barely stick out of the house but I will instead haven't run a little ways from the house and probably into a garden or something. I just don't want water overtime getting under the concrete slab Foundation of the house. But I will also have to figure out how to run it far enough away from the house and not have it as an eyesore for my life you complain about. I also don't want it to be something that my dumb ars would hit with lawn mower). I have a new pump coming that is remote control and does not need to be submersible yet can connect into the aquarium to suck water out and shoot it out the outflow into that pipe that leads outside of the house at 4700 gallons per hour ( definitely not trying to get a finger stuck in that thing). I will probably use much smaller pumps in each of the Aging barrels and I can run lines discreetly into the sump more directly into the tank for putting water back into the tank. I am ignorant two sumps Sal please don't hesitate to teach me! Might be common sense to any of you but not to me! I will definitely be using my poret foam in that sump.

All right, sorry about a long novel of a post but, although I am so tired and ready to get his move over with, I'm getting extremely excited about setting up the tank, having my detached garage, finally having an office stays at the house, etc

[Larry208]

Elliot
I found less on amazon 16 ft lengths for 15.00 multicolored and water proof, that's what I am using in mine, if you need longers ones you buy 2 and they connect to each other.
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Just a thought
Larry

[Shan_Evolved]

We're excited with you! Also it's been hard for local stores to even get tanks in. There is a glass shortage and many manufacturing companies has slowed down production this year

[FischAutoTechGarten]

We're excited with you! Also it's been hard for local stores to even get tanks in. There is a glass shortage and many manufacturing companies has slowed down production this year

You are right about the glass shortages.... Lexan too.

When it came time to build the lids for my FishNook.... I couldn't find anything.. So I went with the thin precut 12"x36" panes from HomeDepot (only like $7 a piece) and trimmed them to 30 1/2". (It's a very close fit... so I've ordered some clips to prevent them from falling in due to any carelessness.)

I had considered Lexan of course, but it was $196 for a 4'x8' sheet before taxes and of course before I bought the specialized saw blade and cutter.... so.. yeah... went the $42 glass route instead for all 6 tanks. With everyone putting in sneeze guards everywhere... Lexan has just become sooooo expensive. That said... this summer... after everyone has been inoculated and restaurants and everyone else starts removing sneeze guards I'm going to make them some offers so that my cheap super thin delicate glass lids can be replaced..

[pastry]

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[pastry]

Okay, whoever came up with backlit aquariums is a genius! Every single person that came one more day to help me move saw it setup and it was hard for me to get them back to work! The strip has 20 colors alone, then I can still play with those colors with the light that's going down. Also can fade or brighten them. 44 bucks plus a cheap roll of frosted roll.

Even my crew of discus appear to be..."whoooaaaa...". Hell, first time ever I saw one of my dogs top, set, and stare at it

[jeep]

Very nice job on the wood! Nice build!!

[Shan_Evolved]

yeah Looks so good! I'm also planning on doing a backlit setup with my 125 build. Are you using frosted glass too?

[pastry]

Thanks Brian! I've never milled my own trim before but my contractor buddy is teaching me after this weekend. I have skirt mold on top and bottom already but then making custom 2.25" corner mold and then a TBD profile for trimming out the doors.

Shan, DEFINITELY order inexpensive frosted roll off Amazon. PM me to remind me & I'll send link. I got the remote controlled, multi colored LED lights from Lowes for $44. (16ft long). I just love the idea because I could never figure out what background floated my boat

[pastry]

Get'n there... not quite there yet though.

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[pastry]

Ugghhhh... why sideways??????? Sorry sorry... I didn't even turn my phone sideways this time!

[coralbandit]

I like the backlight idea but would build sides behind the tank so spill over would not happen .If all around the tank was not lit up I think it would be more impacting ?
I used to have 'shadow boxes' behind tanks with lighting and hardscape that never needed cleaning or grew algae ! Eventually the back glass will need to be cleaned which became a PIA for me ..

[pastry]

Tom, I thought the exact same thing at first and said that to my wife and she told me, " don't you dare! It makes this portion of the house look like hey high-end Chicago cocktail bar and for some damn reason I love it"

It actually doesn't spread much further left or right because of walls. The wall on the left is a false wall that's only about 6ft long so it sort of breaks out that room from the rest of the downstairs. I can also feed them down or up in case at times it's too much for me. That said, I'm still going to clean it up a little bit by putting some wood trim that blocks the side view of where the LED lights are actually stuck to the top of the stand in the back so I can't see the actual light strip from any angle.

I just ordered hand overflow and 20 long for sump. I wanted the old school 30 gallon tank that is 36in long but I can't find them anywhere anymore. I barely found a 20 long right now. So in a few weeks I will start hooking up the sump can use mostly or at firm. I will also use plexiglass pieces I have and silicone in them and to the walls that will make the chambers. Please, if anyone has recommendations on my first sump then please let me know! But remember, I am still a jar Jarhead from the past and continue to eat my share of crayons from time to time, so hey keep it simple stupid schematic or explanation on layout would be big time appreciated by me! By the way, I will not be drilling through the bottom of a tank obviously. Someday I would like to do that but not with this Aquarium. Not only is it obviously set up, but that's something I want to practice on a much smaller scale because I usually screw up the first few times when learning something and, while I am confident in plumbing, I am fearful of water and drywall, wood floors, birch cabinets, and having my testicles attached to me without my wife threatening to detach :antlers:

As for trimming out the corners, and the outer frames of the doors, I am going to learn for my carpenter buddy who is going to teach me how to route my own trim.

I'd like to source a pair of apisto. nijenssi or panduro if anyone knows a good source at this time who has them in stock. Apisto Dave only has one female Pandora. I've had other apistos from him in the past and they have been awesome but trying to find a pair of one of those particular apistogramma. Willing to pay a little more than what Dave usually prices but I really love how Dave has full confidence in shipping USPS. I know a lot of folks gripe about him but once you get what you order, it's worth it. He's not a bad dude although me and him had a blow up the very first time we did business together... he won... I ordered 2 pairs of borellis and 3 pairs showed up. I felt like a ginormous turd. It's also nice for fish that aren't discus to not have to pay discus shipping prices. I'll pay discus shipping prices for discus but not for other fish.

[pastry]

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I'm willing to bet after posting that I'll realize the new canopy can't be seen ... if so... I'll get daylight pics.

Still need to put doors and side-vertical trim on the sides. I'll also take pic of hard-plumbing from:

-under kitchen sink 3-way + ball valve connection that goes through (hidden)adjacent bottom cabinet sections and then into the wall where it goes outside.
-a 3/4 inch 90 degree PVC connection hold one side of 3/4 inch pvc "bar" compromised off multiple ball valves for water going into 2 exterior aging barrels.
-same bar also has output valves to push aged water towards other end of "bar"... to the other 90 degree connection back through wall and into house (chrome collars to make it clean and closed off to critters with help of caulking)...
-back inside the input tube goes back into aquarium (for now... can I put it into sump?... anxiety trying to figure out multiple flow routes with pumps and head length)

ALSO:
Simple, separate drain line that goes directly from tank (not drilled), out the wall (clean fits in clean holes), to submersible/ non-submersible option 2400 gph pump that I ended with a brass, standard garden hose adapter for watering raised beds and/or leading water into the woods

Not completing cabinet until sump is put in. Wanted to use at least 30 gallon long... but it leaked (was prior owned). I've repaired but still don't trust. Couldn't find any damn 30 gallons (new) for sale so I barely obtained a 20 gallon long. ... ... ... so.... yeah... I'll have a 20 gallon sump for a 150 gallon tank (still better than canisters IMO). Once again, nervous as sh** trying to figure out the damn math with water flow and smallest sump ever. I could DEFINITELY use any advice (and I've been researching like hell). Using PF-1000 for overflow... at this point it's not about building the sump system... it's about me getting smart AND growing some balls to build the damn thing with fail- safes in place so I don't flood the house :sorry:

[pastry]

Sump installed and running! ...but forgot to put protective membrane on the inner portion of cabinet (daaaaaamn't). I just don't want mold on the inside of cabinet. Pat even reminded me to do that and I still forgot :bomb:

I'll still do it but.... dang it!

[pastry]

I'll try to remember to take new pics tomorrow. I've installed a new sump, cabinet doors (due to new puppy who thought it was cool to sneak in and chew on poret foam & pvc plumbing), and more.

[pastry]

Still a ways to go. But current status pics...131856

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