135 tank 1 step closer

[matttaylor]

So as a few of you know, my 135 has been in the garage for FAR too long, and the poor PBT has been cramped for far too long. I am finally one step closer, as a good friend is going to build an extension i need in order to place the new tank up on the wall. I should have the extention in less than 2 weeks. So in preparation, i need some ideas on how to handle the extra 2' of space. I really wanted to have some sea grass / sargassum on one end with the carpet as the "centerpiece" of that end, and then an atoll on the other side, but i'm not quite sure how to proceed.

That being said, if there's interest i'll show the tanks build up, and make this a build thread. However, as my budget isn't big, i will continue with my theory of less technology more biology. Don't expect big expensive fancy equipment. I'm not an sps guy, i love the movement of a soft coral above all, and like watching the interaction of my fish and their surroundings, not my electric meter spinning out of control. Lighting will stay the same, 2 250 watt MH's, and actinic supplementation. There will be a skimmer, but most likely due to tank design no sump. The rest of the filtration will be handled by the LR and sand.

First up is wall extension design. All i really need is 5" wide for the tank to fit. However i am probably going to make the "stand" about 12" in order to hide equipment under, but as for design and function i'd like some input. I'll take some pics of the area and give more info tomorrow after i take some pics.

[MrMikeB]

Matt,

Hola amigo! Good to see you getting off your a#$ and finally getting that done. :) Seriously though, good luck to you on setting it up. As for the 'extra' space, one thing I learned is to leave a lot of sand exposed. Its inevitable you will need something down there and having a ton of rock in the way is a real pain. When I put my 150 together, I did an 'M' design on the sandbad with rock, so like the space on the underside of the letter 'M" I have exposed sand, which has really helped. On one side I have Zoa Lagoon, and the other is Ricordia Bay. :)

Let me know if you need any tools or what not. You are more than welcome to my cordless DeWalts or use of the ShopSmith should you need it. Upload some pics so we can all give you advice on how to design it.

[matttaylor]

Ok here are a few pics of the area the new tank will go
This one is the view from the family room / front door upon entering
http://cgbackup.sytes.net/tank%20current%20from%20front%20door.jpg

This one is from the living room / side i see the most
http://cgbackup.sytes.net/tank%20current%20living%20room.jpg
notice the current equipment hanging off the end. This will be gone on the new set-up.

This one is to show where the stand / wall add-on will go in order to accommodate the larger tank.
http://cgbackup.sytes.net/stand%20location.jpg

The current tank is 4' long, and the new one is 6'. I'm thinking of making the stand 7' to 8' wide in oder to have book cases on either end, and the middle 6' will be where equipment will reside.

So now everyone put on their thinking caps and lets figure this out. And no my tank is not cloudy. I couldn't use the flash as the batteries in the camera are drained, and the tank is so bright in a dark room it overwhelms the camera lens.

Also say hello to my newest fish:

http://cgbackup.sytes.net/new fish.jpg

Matt

[matttaylor]

Sooooo, the guy building the stand for me came over last night. We decided to build a cap for the wall that will extend 2.5" out on either side to hold the tank. This way will be cheaper and easily removable. He is going to use steel in the main deck for added strength, and the entire piece will have crown molding for aesthetics. In addition, he is going to build a canopy as well, so thats one less thing i need to play with. Both pieces will match, and with all of that being said i should have them by saturday night at the latest. The new tank will be up and running by sunday night. WOOHOO!

[matttaylor]

a few steps closer now...

Heres the wall cap, it still needs paint:
http://cgbackup.sytes.net/wallcap.jpg

Heres the lid of the canopy, almost done with painting:
http://cgbackup.sytes.net/canopytop.jpg

Here is the base of the canopy. I still need to add fans, holes for wiring and the built in power center:
http://cgbackup.sytes.net/canopybottom.jpg

And finally here is the base rock, live sand, and seio 620's chillin in the garage waiting on Saturday to come.
http://cgbackup.sytes.net/rocksandseio.jpg

75% done on the wallcap and the canopy. Tomorrow i'll get the hinge for the canopy and get it in one piece. I'll also have the initial coat of paint on and sanded. All that will remain is wiring and the actual transfer. There is also a plan in the works for a "bookshelf" on the end of the tank to hide equipment, as well as an extension for the cpr overflow. More to come...

[kevin95695]

GO! MATT! GO! MATT! GO! MATT!

[Avalanche Wolf]

Maybe i am tired , trying to figure it out. So the cap is like a tray that will sit on the ledge ?

Either way that is going to look NICE !

[MrMikeB]

Matt,

Looking swell!

If you need some more LR since you are upgrading in size, come see me... got some new stuff the other day you might like.

[matttaylor]

Mike it's a deal. I'll call you and set something up.

Avalanche, yes the cap will sit on the ledge to give me the extra 5" i need to fit the tank. The cap is 1" thick solid maple, and has support wedges between the crown molding and the base. I was a little worried about sagging, but since the tank will only hang over each edge by about 2" i think everything will work out fine. Besides, if it does start bowing, my builder said he would build a stand to replace the cap.

[matttaylor]

Update.... Tank is up. There are a few things that still need to be done, but for all intents and purposes it's done.

http://cgbackup.sytes.net/livingroomview.jpg
http://cgbackup.sytes.net/familyroomview.jpg
http://cgbackup.sytes.net/livingroomview2.jpg

[eagleONE]

oh niiiiice! I love how the canopy turned out.


Jay

[matttaylor]

Thanks. The canopt still needs some fine tuning, there are gaps that light can get out of, and we still need to add a spot for my overflow box, but all in all, it turned out great. We are also going to be adding some accent trim, so once we're all done it'll look better.

I also apologize for not having more pictures, but my friend that was going to help with the lifting and moving had to go to work at the last minute, and at that point it was panic time, and the only thing i could do was focus on getting everything done.

This tank is massive, and right now im watching the wall closely just in case it can't hold the weight. But as of 6 hours in, no problems. I also still have a lot of aquascaping to do, so the tank will develop over the next week or so.