265gal "Shepards' School" Build

Js.Aqua.Project · Jul 30, 2018

I believe the best place for me to start my build thread would be the back story on the tank itself:

July 2017 my wife and I are contacted about buying a used 265 in a home that a couple just bought but don't want the tank. We decide that since we just had our son, George, that it wasn't the right time for the investment but if they just needed it gone to let us know and we will take it off their hands.

A few weeks go by, and we are contacted by the couple again and told they are renovating the room the tank was in and they just want it gone. A few days later, after calling in on some favors, we arrive at the house to get the tank with some friends to help me disassemble and carry it out. The tank was built as a quasi-in-wall tank, it was on a stand in the office but it rested on a frame in the wall so it was also visible from the living room and appeared to have been a really nice freshwater tank, or a poorly planned/filtered saltwater tank based on the sump size and plumbing choices.

Let me stop for a second and say this, until we arrived at the house we thought the tank was around 100-150gal, when we got there we find the tank is 85" x 24" x 30" and glass. It is heavy. I had myself and four friends plus the husband of the couple who bought the house to help lift this beast. We get it off the stand but because of the doors and turns two of us end up carrying this beast out the door, about 30', and then joined by the rest to help get it in the trailer.

Again, because my wife and I had just had our first child, we decide to leave it in the trailer until things are more comfortable before setting it up in our home.

Next thing we know it is June 2018, I have just finished my 8th year teaching at the local high school, and it is time we can consider setting up the tank.

Js.Aqua.Project · Jul 30, 2018

As the school year was winding down we decided it was time to poop or get off the pot in regards to the 265.

Since the tank has been sitting dry for a year, I figured it was best to water test it. Over the course of 3 days it lost close to 40 gallons, so it doesn't hold water.

So time to redo the silicone, luckily @Jason35212 was kind enough to let me put the tank in his barn to be able to work on it.

So this is a reminder that I am not good at working with silicone, at least not making it look pretty.

We filled it and let it sit for a week, this time there was a 1" drop in water which was on par for evaporation.

BestMomEver · Jul 30, 2018

Nice! Keep going!

Js.Aqua.Project · Jul 30, 2018

Next phase, now that the tank held water it was time to build a stand.

I decided to go with a RE design that will be skinned at a later date. The goal is to be done skinning it by Christmas. The tank will have a 6-8" shelf around it that conceals the bottom trim and a canopy which will hide the top trim. We also decided that because the are going to have to use a step ladder to access the tank anyway, to build the stand at 38" tall to allow plenty of room to work underneath, as I pledged to myself to never deal with a short stand again.

I went with 2x8 for the top frame because I did not want a center brace to make access underneath even easier. The rest of the subframe was built from 2x6. I decided not to use a deck in order to make access to bulkheads easier.

Luckily I have access to the theatre shop at my school which made the work a lot easier, even using my own tools.

The last image here is to help you get an idea of size, I am 5'8" and George is about 27". The projector screen is about a 10' diagonal.

Js.Aqua.Project · Jul 30, 2018

Now, time for the install.

First, let me thank @Jason35212 @Old school 55 @the maverick for being among the crew to help me get the tank in my house.

So I decided to use wood filler to hide the screw holes and the seems in the wood work, but as I was sanding it down the sander died (I don't mean a battery, it is a 10+ year old corded sander). A painter friend painted it for me, after all, it will all be hidden later.

We decided to paint the back of the tank black, hiding the overflows as well.

Prepping to paint:

We put blue foam board between the stand and the bottom trim, cutting it to fit the edge of the 2x8 l. This will work both to help with vibration and levelling.

The tank finally in the house. George for scale. Currently the overall height sits about 68-69"

G8rNation · Jul 30, 2018

It looks awesome! I need to come up one night and see it in person

Js.Aqua.Project · Jul 30, 2018

G8rNation said:
It looks awesome! I need to come up one night and see it in person

Heck yeah man.

Next post will be over plumbing, we are still driving so it won't be until we trade or arrive.

Js.Aqua.Project · Jul 30, 2018

At last we can finally work on getting the tank wet.

For a sump I decided to go with an IceCap 36, which is slightly undersized for the tank (listed max tank size is 220gal), but, well, I had it.

For the overflows I decided to run dual Herbies. I was given a short deadline for the plumbing so I didn't have time to track down gate valves as they were not in stock at my local Lowe's, Home Depot, or Grainger's, and I didn't have time to order them in.

The return runs out the back panel of the stand then up over the right corner and then out the U-shaped notch the return would normally fit in to.

The tank is currently running a single LifeGard 6000, which runs about 1500gph, after height I am estimating about 1200 gph which will match the turnover rate of the skimmer I will use - an Eshopps S-300.

Filling the tank took me a while, and was done after aquascaping and filling with sand. I mixed saltwater in a Brute trashcan and made 30gal batches then pumped it into the tank, filling the overflows first to check for leaks in the bulkheads. I have gone with Red Sea Coral Pro as I use it in our 60 cube and have been very happy with color and growth rates.

Js.Aqua.Project · Jul 30, 2018

For the sand and aquascape and sand I decided on a mix Carib Sea South Sea Base Rock and Shelf rock, and Carib Sea Fiji Pink sand.

We practiced the aquascape on the floor using leftover foam board to protect the tile and a plastic sheet with the tank dimension married out on it.

For creating shapes/pillars we used a mixture of PVC bracing and Nyos Reef Cement.

So far the tank has 120 lbs of rock and 200 lbs of Fiji Pink.

We aren't done yet, there will probably still be another 100lbs added when we build a big floating component that will start in the right end of the tank.