4' x 4' tank build

S

saltycrab

Guest
I was originally trying to find a fiberglass tank 4' long by 4' wide by 24" deep and that was unsuccessful. I drew up plans for the tank I wanted out of lumber and coated it in epoxy like Bronco300 did on his Plywood tank.
Here are the plans I made:
 
S

saltycrab

Guest
Once I start building I really get into it so I didn't take many pictures of the actual wood working stage. Here are the pics I did take:




I recognized that the weak point in a wood and epoxy tank would be the seems. Every side were the 2x12s meet have 15 biscuits and water proof wood glue. The left over 4' x 4' plywood scrap was cut into 4 equal size pieces and secured over the outside of the tank. The walls are 3" thick. The bottom was designed so that it can be placed on blocks on either corner. This was done because I am going to place the sump underneath the tank to maximize use of the space available. It was also built so that the bottom plywood ends rest on 2x4s at all four sides. A top rail was added to make it impossible for the sides to ever bow. It is also to lean on when doing maintenance in the tank and makes it manageable to move the tank with two people.
The wood cost me a little more than a $100. The fasteners were already available but would have probably cost around $25. There was very little wasted wood. Only a few small pieces of 2x12 and 1 small piece of 2x4
 
S

saltycrab

Guest
I decided to only use fiberglass on the seems. I purchased 50 yards of 3" 7.5 oz glass, 1.5 gallons of 2 part epoxy (thin set slow cure), colloidal silica for thickening epoxy for fill, and 4 oz of "thalo blue" pigment. The total came out to $120 with taxes.

I started by sanding and cleaning the wood. This is very important so that the epoxy will bind to the wood. I then mixed some thick epoxy to fill the sc-rew holes on the bottom.

I sanded the epoxy and I then thinned out a mix with 10% denatured alcohol for the bottom. I later found out that this is not necessarily a good idea because the potential loss in strength in the mix may negate the benefits of the increased penetration into the wood fiber. The alcohol may also prolong curing of the layer and down the road increase the likelihood of layer separation due to shrinkage. This was discovered after reading some articles on West Marine's website. At this time I also wetted in the first fiberglass in the bottom seems. I also installed two returns (1' sch 40) and one overflow (1.5" sch 40)

After sanding the epoxy and wiping up the dust with a moist towel I added another layer of epoxy. I used the excess for some fill in the rail.
 
S

saltycrab

Guest
After sanding I wetted in some glass in the vertical seems and were the 2x12s meet. I also added glass around the returns and overflows. I added epoxy over the entire tank ********.



I let dry for two days and sanded the tank. I thickened mix of epoxy was added over the tank.

After all my epoxy was used (1.5 gallons) I decided I wanted a thicker finish to add durability. I decided to go with a high viscosity epoxy used for table tops. This way I will not have to put on so many thin layers. I purchased a gallon for about $50.
Here is the tank after I added a thick layer.

This is as far as I have gotten with work on the tank. I have mostly been working many extra hours at my job to get a nice fat paycheck to cover the $1000+ dollars worth of equipment I will need to get this thing running.
Some of the equipment I will be buying:
100 GPD RO/DI Filter from Melev (I just installed this)
LumenMax Reflecter
Lumatek 400 watt E-ballast
400 watt 20K XM
Reeflo Dart Pump
Rubbermaid stock tank
Milwaukee pH controller
Ranco dual stage temp controller
6x 4" fans
1000 watt titanium heater
Black egg crate
Kill-a-watt meter
6x GFCI outlets
Here is the freshly unpacked RO/DI unit from Melev. This was one heluva deal btw.

Here is my dog Hobbs helping me unpack the unit
 
S

saltycrab

Guest
I am planning on building a water proof box out of acrylic for all the electrical and installing it on the side of the tank. In it will be the 6 GFCI outlets, the kill-a-watt monitoring energy pull on the master circuit, the dual stage Ranco controller, and the pH controller. Right now the pH controller will just be for monitoring fluctuations when I add two part solution but eventually it will be for a calcium reactor.
Today I am going to sand the tank which has been curing for over two weeks and add more epoxy. I am going to add two more returns and one more overflow as well.
 
spanko

spanko

Active Member
So a 200+ gallon top view tank. The blue is going to really set things off. What plans do you have for stocking?
 
S

saltycrab

Guest
The calculator I used said 180 filled to brim. I will have around 150+ gallons in it not including sump. Its going to be a frag tank with two sheets of black egg crate. I am going to be trying different propagation techniques on SPS towards the center. I am going to stock my Zoanthid, Palythoa, and Ricordia collection in it also. I will run carbon in the tank to reduce pathogens (right word?).
 
spanko

spanko

Active Member
Calculation is length x width x height / 231 = gallons, Measurements in inches.
So 48 x 48 x 24 = 55,296 / 231 = 239 gallons.
 
S

saltycrab

Guest
One 400 20K XM Halide in a Lumenmax reflector and a Lumatek ballast. The sump will be lit by 2 36" T5s
 
silverdak

silverdak

Active Member
its unfortunate that it will only be semi visible from the top tho.... looks good tho for what it is
 
S

saltycrab

Guest
The last coat of epoxy I added two weeks ago was bad. It was more like rubber than epoxy. I returned the gallon today and got a new one. It took me a few hours but I used a belt sander to strip the coat off. I then used an orbital sander. After cleaning up the dust I added a new coat over the entire tank. I also added another overflow and two more returns. I used silicone on the holes drilled for the pipes and added silicone to the pipes before I inserted them. Painters tape made the job clean.

It is hard to tell from the picture but the two returns added today are lower than the others. They will be below the egg crate and will add a circular motion to the water as well as keep detritus off the bottom. The two other returns will be above the egg crate and will move the water from one side of the tank to the other. I think the flow will be random and powerful with the Reeflo Dart (3600 GPH/4 = 900 per return) and eductors .
 
S

saltycrab

Guest
The new batch of epoxy is good. The layer I added last night was solid this morning so I sanded it and added another layer.
 
greenreefer

greenreefer

Active Member
Originally Posted by SaltyCrab
http:///forum/post/2710218
One 400 20K XM Halide in a Lumenmax reflector and a Lumatek ballast. The sump will be lit by 2 36" T5s
Will that light/reflector combo really light all the way to the edges of a 4 x 4 tank? I'm not saying it won't, just honestly asking. How far above the water will you hang the fixture?
 
bronco300

bronco300

Active Member
hey that looks great!
little curious, did i read that you put glass in there? and then epoxied to, or?
looks very cool, can't wait to see more!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top