Build thread for my 300 gallon mixed reef tank + filtration room

[DurbelMcDillett]

Hey gang, I had the good fortune of buying a custom built 300 gallon glass aquarium and custom built stand from my dentist a few months back. I've been telling him for a few years that I want to buy the aquarium because he didn't ever have any water in it (the previous dentist in the practice used to maintain it and it was too much work for him). Sadly, the place in my home that I will place the aquarium has a dropped ceiling and the tank+stand+hood is too tall so I am "forced" to build my own stand. I say "forced" because I've built stands in the past and really enjoy it. Anyway, the aquarium is 66 inches wide, 36 inches tall, and 30 inches front to back. I am going to run all plumbing through a wall into a utility room where I will house my 125 gallon sump. Total water volume in the aquarium is 295 gallons and the sump will be about 75 or 85 gallons. Join me in my journey!

 

[SPR1968]

Sounds great and keep the pictures coming!

And welcome to R2R as well by the way!

 

[vetteguy53081]

Bigger is better and glad to have you aboard. IF YOU DONT READ THE RULES, THERE IS ONE YOU MUST KNOW .. . . . . . .
We are requiring you to Post Pictures as you go along with set up !!!

 

[DurbelMcDillett]

I thought I would include some pictures of the take down of the aquarium from the dentist office, just so everyone can see how the system was originally designed. As you can see, this was built with 1inch thick glass, with a single overflow on the back panel. It has a 55 gallon sump (only bio balls and a settling chamber as far as I can tell). It was lit by metal halide bulbs (4000K) which I'm not planning on using in my home. Know anybody who wants to buy metal halide?! Also, interesting to note that the building was built around this tank. You can tell by the floor drain, the tile being laid around the aquarium and the salt spray on the paint. It was quite a mess for the dentist to clean up!

 

[Deezill]

Keep the pics coming following

 

[Jeto2004]

That looks like fun! And you have plan..... Welcome to R2R!

 

[DurbelMcDillett]

Ok, because the weather is turning cold and I want to park in my garage and not in the driveway when the snow comes I started building my aquarium stand. This is just a quick 2x4 stand which will be wrapped in 1/2 cedar or oak and then painted white. The sump will not be underneath the stand, it will be in an adjoining room. Am I missing anything obvious? Do any of you experts have any advice to give since I'm so early on in the build? Am I going to flood my basement with 300 gallons of saltwater?

 

[najer]

Looks great, following.

 

[Dr. Dendrostein]

I thought I would include some pictures of the take down of the aquarium from the dentist office, just so everyone can see how the system was originally designed. As you can see, this was built with 1inch thick glass, with a single overflow on the back panel. It has a 55 gallon sump (only bio balls and a settling chamber as far as I can tell). It was lit by metal halide bulbs (4000K) which I'm not planning on using in my home. Know anybody who wants to buy metal halide?! Also, interesting to note that the building was built around this tank. You can tell by the floor drain, the tile being laid around the aquarium and the salt spray on the paint. It was quite a mess for the dentist to clean up!

Thanks for sharing, comrade. Beautiful tank.

 

[MrDellimore]

Great stand build! It is 36" tall?!? This looks like it will be a really cool setup

I am looking forward to see how this pans out!

 

[DurbelMcDillett]

Great stand build! It is 36" tall?!? This looks like it will be a really cool setup

I am looking forward to see how this pans out!

Excellent eye, the stand is 34" tall. The ceiling in my basement is only 80" tall so with 34" of stand and 36" of aquarium that leaves me with 8" for a hood and 2" of clearance space.

 

[MrDellimore]

Whoa that is going to be a tight fit to work inside the tank! Do you have scuba gear?!

I am in a similar boat as you. I only have about 12-15 inches of space for my hood on my build. The glass is 30" high and 1/2" thick glass. I wish it was 1" thick like yours, I would sleep easier at night!

Have you figured out how you plan to light your tank since it is so tall?

 

[Daniel@R2R]

Awesome! Following!

 

[DurbelMcDillett]

Whoa that is going to be a tight fit to work inside the tank! Do you have scuba gear?!

I am in a similar boat as you. I only have about 12-15 inches of space for my hood on my build. The glass is 30" high and 1/2" thick glass. I wish it was 1" thick like yours, I would sleep easier at night!

Have you figured out how you plan to light your tank since it is so tall?

Lighting... that is a great question. I am torn between

1) 4 Black Box LEDs on eBay (~$400) because they are known for having a very focused beam of light which will be good to reach the bottom of the aquarium or
2) BRS Recommended 61" Aquatic Life T5 Hybrid ($550) because it has the best shimmer and I KNOW will grow coral. I just don't know how it will look at the bottom of the 36" aquarium

What do you think would be best?

 

[Jon Fishman]

The stand it was on looked very nice..... interesting design for sure

 

[DurbelMcDillett]

The stand it was on looked very nice..... interesting design for sure

It was beautiful, I was sad that the dimensions were too big to get into my house!

 

[DurbelMcDillett]

Ok, here is the space the aquarium will occupy. I thought it would be wise to post a before pic for future reference if necessary. The door you see on the left goes to my furnace room where I will have the sump and other equipment. The small door on the wall goes behind the wall and is where I will run all my pipework. The aquarium will have about 12" on either side of the aquarium. Any suggestions on mitigating the damage to the carpet due to weight? I have an extra piece of carpet, would it help to put another layer down, or is the weight of 300 gallons of water going to crush any carpet I put it on?

 

[Malifry97]

Following

 

[MrDellimore]

Beautiful space!

What do you have under the carpet? I am pretty new at this myself, but I would be concerned for inevitable spills on the carpet. If possible maybe you could cut the space where the tank is going to go and expose the bare floor.

I think keeping the stand level and making sure that the floor that is there is going to hold up against stains will be the biggest priorities. That being said. shims are a little harder to get in on carpets.

 

[Jeto2004]

Looking good! How you planning to level the stand? I’m sure that shims or other ways that lead to single pressure will leave marks in the long run. Maybe you could tile the area. As suggested you would not have to worry about spills either....