My 125 build thread....

In other words, instead of drilling a few big holes in the back, and plumbing them to an overflow box on the inside of the tank;
Slot/cut out the top of the back, and put the box on the outside, and plumb that.

It's been done, that's where I got the idea. There is a thread on it over on Reef central.

That build thread was done with a suitable blade on a circular saw, in his garage.

 

It is 31.5 inches inside height. 3/4" ply and 2x4 construction. You can see lots of pics on my build thread.

 

ELECTRICAL - I am going to put the electrical on one end of the tank, on the outside of the stand but rescessed INTO the stand and sealed off. Does anyone know or recommend a good multi outlet box to mount that might also have timers, etc - Having it sealed and recessed with a 1/2" drip edge should insure even in a total tank blow out no electrical gets wet....

I did some searching but just not finding what I want yet....

Thanks,
Tom

 

Well tank is sealed, whole house smells like silicone - waited til everyone went to bed LOL... It all looks beatiful and all looked factory until I touched one corner with tape and smoothed it, it had started to skim... grrrr - its sealed up tight still just one corner in a section isnt as pretty as the rest.

I found where the tank has previously leaked in one corner. there is a 16 inch stretch that did not have ANY silicone or sealant in between the glass and the bottom plastic frame. So we took a thick needle and syrenge and gently pryed it out enough to get the needle down in it and packed it with silicone right along where the seam meets, then we pushed it in tight, to pack it in the joint, pulled it back a part and repacked it.... It worked like a champ, I overlayed the areas next to it and it is clear the rest of the tank was still sealed good. I let that sit for 2 days before doing the inside.
Scraped for days, went through 15 blades getting even the slightest residue off, then rubbed it all with lint free rag and alcohol, then proceeded. Went back with a bright led flashlight and checked for air bubbles. It looks like it is sealed up nicely.

Water testing Sunday or Monday - have some pics of the silicone will post soon, will probably video and post the water test.

Also took a part the frame and raised it to 36", turned the bottom cross braces flat so with a 55 I will have about 8-10" of top working room, I framed out one end of the stand also to hang timer strips in - basically its recessed 5inces. It will be sealed up so if anything happens the electrical will all be protected...but all of the electrical will be recessed out of the way of ANY water mounted outside but hidden in the recess... will post a pic of that soon also, pretty slick design I think. I can also mount a reef controller inside it and easily read it. Made it plenty big.

Tom

 

TC

Great build.

Just one thing I'd like to mention about the electircal.
If you have any leak/blowout problems, do you really want the electrical to stay working?- I hope your answer is no

My house is now 21 yrs old, I've been here less than 3 yrs. But, where it's code, it has GFCI outlets.

However, my DT is in my family room, regular outlets by code.

So, I got a GFCI adapter from Menards (like a Home depot/lowes) and run everything off of it. So if any elctrical detects the slightest change in the ground (human getting shocked, a water leak on the electrical, etc.) it immediately shuts down the circuit. It works well btw, don't ask me how I know ;')

You can seal any electrical you like, but I'm sure others would agree, run a GFCI also.

Again, Excellent build, take your time (wish I did, still pretty happy though)

 

I am planning on running two of these mounted inside it.

http://www.reefspecialty.com/virtue...-reef-octopus-electronic-surge-protector.html

I also am replacing the standard outlet that is there now with a gfci outlet.

The cords will run from the sump/tank/lights through individual holes with rubber gaskets from the inside in the box where they will loop into the outlet. I was purposefully though not going to run a drip coil going into the final gfci for just what you speak of hehe...so if a MAJOR blowout happened it would kick immediately... putting the electrical in a box also will help slow down long term corrosion (so says a drinking electrician buddy of mine LOL).
Tom

 

Not sure how well you can see these pics - I taped the sides but I never generally tape the bottom. I believe less is more, the bead I cut out of this tank was 1.5" wide :O Rediculous. I prefer a narrow corner bead with a wider flat bonding area. I just think it helps overall, I have sealed, taken a part glass ends and resealed tanks in the past so I am confident the water test Sunday will go well

Tom

 

Man I am following along with you on this. I have a 90g Oceanic that I want to re-seal and am hesitant to do it. Also I will be doing a euro-brace modification on it just for kicks.

Your lookin good so far. Your silicone lines should come out cleeaaannn with that tape job.

 

Yeah they did, the edges are SUPER clean, and where not touched the sides are almost glass clear, checked it today a few times, good bonds everywhere.... The key is to get even the slightest residue of the old off - when you get into corners tightly you will start going through blades from touching the adjacent side, like I said, I went through 15 blades on the whole thing, most were from the removing the very very thin layers, once the blades go dull, it is hard to get those very very thing layers off.

Other than the couple places where I tried to touch up (dont do that) I am extremely happy with the seals and the bonding of them. Of course what I think might be moot e.g. Water test will tell all HAHA...

Tom

 

The tank is looking great man! I should have taped all of the baffles in my sump when i installed them.