RC75 DIY Stand & Sump

[rmchoi]

RC75 DIY Stand and Sump

This is me through the eyes and art of my daughter.



I started this build a while back, but had to let it go dormant due to circumstances. I'm starting to get back to speed. This is a 75 gallon build, highlighting a DIY stand and sump.



Started with a Great Lakes Aquariums 75G 48x18x22 with starfire glass.





Aquarium 75G 48x18x22
DIY Birch Plywood Stand 48x18x40H
Lighting Ecotech Radion Pro 3
DIY Sump 20G
DIY Sock Silencers
Skimmer Skimz Monzter SM163
Avast Marine Vibe for Zeovit
Return Pump Eheim 2400
Ecotech MP-40 & MP-10
Backup Ecotech Battery
Apex Controller & Ecotech ReefLink
Cobalt Heater
Dosing Pump GHL Profilux

 

[rmchoi]

Starting with the DIY Stand

I went with a black European modern style cabinet. The location limited the tank size. To maximize the inside cabinet space, I decided to go with all plywood construction, in lieu of 2x4 framing. This is a taller design for stand up viewing.



Actual size cabinet drawn on big sheet of paper. I drew the sump and equipment in actual size on this paper for fit. Then measured the picture for sizes of the plywood panel cuts. (Sorry the drawing is light)

 

[rmchoi]

I used two 4 x 8 sheets of 3/4" birch plywood for the stand. After making all the cuts, only a few scraps not used.

Plywood panels cuts.



Used a Kreg pocket hole jig. This is a great tool for assembling wood joints.



On back panel, I cut out large oval openings for cords and ventilation. In the past, I have experienced frustration because openings were to small from so many cords. This time I made big openings to pass through equipment and for airflow.

 

[rmchoi]

Equipment Tray

Lots of thought to the equipment layout in the stand, especially managing the cords. I wanted the cords to be out of sight, but not so difficult to unplug and remove equipment for maintenance or replacement. In my last tank, I had cords organized bundled neatly with plastic ties, mounted on the side walls or ceiling of the stand. It looked nice until I had to unexpectatly remove one piece of equipment. This ended badly by cutting every tie to find and remove one cord.

This plan has what I call an equipment tray that sits above the sump and just below the top. The stand is slightly taller for this. The tray width is narrow, with space between it and the back panel for plumbing; and the front doors for mounting controls. This also promotes air flow. The tray has doors are for mounting controllers for Apex and Ecotech . The back is lined up with the equipment holes. All wires can sit loosely in the tray.





Since the stand is taller and made of plywood, the equipment tray provides added side to side lateral bracing.





Front doors of the equipment tray open. The tray does not extend all the way to the back panel, leaving room for plumbing. There is a vertical lip on the back of the tray to mount the Apex Energy bar. The top holes in the stand's back panel match the tray height for easy access.

 

[redfishbluefish]

Very nicely done! Got to love Kreg, they are the best. Kept the photos coming. Want to see this thing done.

 

[rmchoi]

I know what you're thinking about wheels, but this was not my preference. I knew the tank would need to move a various times for various reasons. It's designed to move while set up in any direction, front to back or side to side without having to break down the entire tank. I found low profile wheels, rated at 300 pounds each.

For the record, since finishing the stand, I have moved the tank several times. Once to relocate the tank, another to move for new flooring and another to move for re-plumbing. The ease and time saved is priceless. The tank and stand is still stable and stays level.



The floor was built with two layers of plywood for added support for the wheels.



Finishing the last stand doors with European frameless cabinet hinges.

I was concerned about carrying the weight across the front. For this, I made a wood beam, made out of two layers of plywood, glued and screwed together. I added a center post to over engineer it. Its not needed; its a security blanket.







This is the final cabinet with the pieces assembled, including the equipment tray. 3/4" plywood was the only material used, besides the hardware. I will add a toe kick between the wheels in the front and sides to finish it off.

 

[Fin]

Nice idea with the tray. I did something similar on a smaller scale, but glad I did. Hardly any wires visible. Following along to watch this one come together.

 

[rmchoi]

Finishing the Stand

It was a struggle how to finish the stand. Since this is standard tank with black plastic trim at the top and bottom, black would be the best color to blend the trim with the stand. I used Benjamin Moore metal paint with an oil base primer.







The bottom of the stand finish painted, including the toe kick boards between the wheels.



Painted the equipment tray separately.





I ended up going with a light gray interior. The lighter interior makes easier to see working inside the cabinet.

 

[rmchoi]

Installed the doors. The finished stand with gloss black finish.

 

[rmchoi]

The stand floor is finished off with this dense rubber coated flooring pad.

 

[rmchoi]

20 Gallon DIY Sump

My goals was to have a sump thats quiet, splash free and easy to maintain. This design had four chambers; a drain, filter sock, skimmer and return pump. Although I would have like to go bigger, I used the smallest size I thought I adequate, to make room for other equipment in the stand.

The Sump Build

I thought baffles could easily be done. I read about those buying glass baffles from Home Depot. They would even cut it to size. I found stores only carry picture glass (1/10” thickness). Glass from glass shops were well over $100 polished. I even went to a thrift store and found glass that looked old, which turned out to be tempered. It exploded into hundreds of pieces when I tried to cut it. I finally found 3/16” plate glass.

Cutting the glass was not to difficult. Once the glass was cut and edges eased with a sander, I wasn’t sure how to how best to hold the baffles in place and keep them square while caulking. I saw all kinds of bracing methods online, but I found the easiest way was to turn the tank on end and use wood for spacers. Gravity kept the glass panels square and made easy access for caulking. I used GE Silicone 1 for caulking.

Placed the first two pieces of glass supported by wood blocking:

 

[Fin]

Very nice work! Looks awesome!

 

[rmchoi]

Once the the two pieces were set, I turned the tank end over for the other side:



This piece of glass has a notch cut out in the corner. It was a tougher cut that needed a wet diamond blade cutter.

 

[rmchoi]

This piece of glass is a cross baffle to separate the drain chamber and filter chamber.

 

[rmchoi]

This is a glass cover over the drain and filter chamber to reduce noise and splash. The notch in this piece is for the drain line.

 

[rmchoi]

Here is the 20 gallon high aquarium with the baffles caulked in place.



On this view, you can see the drain chamber (the smallest section at the top right corner) is sealed to the bottom on all 4 sides.

 

[rmchoi]

Filter Sock Holder

The filter sock holder consists of two layers of 3/16” acrylic sheet. There are two different size holes in the top and bottom plate. The top hole allows the edge of the sock to sit lower than the top plate. The bottom plate creates a ledge that supports the sock. Together, the filter sock stays securely in place.



I used this acrylic hole cutter for the cut outs in the plexiglass. Its from eBay, about $15.



Very difficult to get the top holes perfectly centered with the bottom holes. You may notice the hole at the bottom is offset. I had to cut the bottom section in half, then realign the holes before gluing.



Here you can see the holes matching up, after sitting the bottom plate into 2 pieces. At first I was disappointed to have to cut the bottom plate to make this work. Then I realized the bottom plate would not be seen.

The last step; sand the edges and silicone the sock holder into the sump.

 

[rmchoi]

Here is how the sock holders turned out with the filter socks in place. The 20 gallon high allowed using a longer filter socks.

 

[rmchoi]

Drain Pipe Mount

I wanted to make sure the drain pipe was supported in place. For this item, I glued two layers of acrylic together. The bottom later was offset to accommodate the plastic lip of the black aquarium rim. I drilled a hold for the drain pipe bulkhead the siliconed it in place. This is the drain pipe holder siliconed in place with the glass cover notched out around it.

 

[rmchoi]

Filter Sock Silencers

I saw this item online called a sock silencer. It is designed to spread the water to reduce water noise. There is a 1 inch hole in the center that is designed as an overflow, if all the small drain holes plug.



Conveniently, I used the leftover round filter sock holder cut outs. First, countersink each hole, then drilled through the counter sinks. It turns out there is minimal benefit for reducing water sound, but they make a good filter for snails and larger debris.