Crusty’s 187 Gallon Tank & Stand Resto

[Crustaceon]

I’ve been planning a major upgrade for a very long time and here it is. A really weird, custom built 60x30x24 187 gallon acrylic tank purchased from a local reefer out here in So Cal (Thanks Karl). Much more to come in this restoration thread.

 

[Peace River]

Good luck with this new adventure!!!

 

[Crustaceon]

Here’s this weekend’s update... Sometimes you have to wonder why people do what they do in this hobby, but as mentioned, this is a restoration thread too... This is definitely going to be a fun project.

First off, let’s look at the “bones” of this stand, starting off with the rear inside corners.


Probably still structurally sound, but not enough for my taste. More columns will be added just in case.

The center column was “deleted” for unknown reasons as the sump that came with this setup could have easily been removed with the column in place. It looks like a power beaver was used to cut the 2x4. I’m actually not to upset by this as I was planning on seriously refurbishing the interior of this stand, which will include multiple additional columns to support the middle of the tank and be part of an integrated dividing wall within the stand.

With that out of the way, the underside of the stand isn’t too bad. It’s going to get some serious waterproofing for sure though.

 

[Mastiffsrule]

Evening,

Nice looking tank. The stand looks like it was built from rocket engineer plans so the center brace may have been there just for the doors. Sounds like you have a good plan on upgrades.

keep us updated

 

[Crustaceon]

This week’s update: Lots of stand reinforcement and a nearly completed canopy.

First off was the reinstallation of the front center brace. It’s a 4x6 because I take no chances and yes, I can still remove my sump with no issues.
Next up, I added an additional 2x4 in between each existing 4x4 because.... well, you know. And since I’m probably going blind from light spill on my current tank, I decided to build a canopy for this project. Not a bad start considering my Homer Simpson’s spice rack skills.

 

[Crustaceon]

This weekend’s progress

 

[Crustaceon]

It’s coming along.

 

[Crustaceon]

Filling and leak checking. Lights installed.

 

[Crustaceon]

Oh yeah, and the plumbing is done (going to add some clamps here and there to ensure I have even spacing between the pipes).

 

[Crustaceon]

So much more to be done, but so far I can tell my blue tang and niger trigger are extremely happy. They time the gyre pump pulse to swim into the strong current.

 

[Crustaceon]

Moved some rocks around.