RedStickReefer
Community Member
I'd like to start by giving a little background on how this 180g build came about. I've been in the hobby since 2010, and back in 2015 I got this idea in my head of doing an epic reef build (as much as funds would allow...). The build centered around an 8'x2'x2' 240g reef being set up in my living room. I would enclose the small courtyard off my master bathroom for a "fish room" and run the tank's plumbing through the wall. At the time I had a 120g packed full of mature colonies of SPS (5 years old) and a 90g that was only a couple years old. Well, mother nature had other ideas and in 2016 we lost pretty much everything we owned in the flood here in Baton Rouge. We got almost 5' of water in the house. Fast forward to 2018 and my house has been completely rebuilt. I've been searching around locally (even during the rebuild of my home) for a used 240g either reef ready, or one I could drill, and haven't been able to find one.
Recently I saw a pretty good deal on a 180g tank and stand pop up on a local Facebook group. I couldn't pass it up. The tank is 6'x2'x2', not super far off from the original 8'x2'x2' dimensions I wanted. I wasn't a fan of the stand that came with the tank, but I bought it anyway and planned on modifying it to better suit my needs. My plan consisted of removing the cabinet doors and cutting the two center braces on the front to completely open it up; elevating it at least 4" with a platform; re-skinning it; adding an additional piece of 3/4" plywood on the top to create a ledge; trimming it out with base trim and crown moulding; and adding a magnetic door panel for easy on/off access to the sump area.
The tank is not perfect. It has a couple chips in the glass at the corners and scratches galore, but I think if I keep the glass clean you won't even really notice they're there. Especially once I pack this tank with SPS! This is going to be a long build process, so please stick with me guys! The tank will be set up as a normal reef tank with a sump until I can afford to enclose the courtyard area adjacent to my master bathroom and make it a fish room, and it'll be FOWLR for a while until I can save up enough for all of the associated reef equipment. I will be using 3 Radions over this reef and I would like to add the apex monitoring system. Other than that, I'm still deciding on the equipment list. Anyway, with all that said above here's a pic of the new 180g setup as it was when I brought it home!
2018-12-02_05-59-59 by Jensen Esneault, on Flickr
Over the last couple of days I made a little progress on the stand. I built a platform to raise the stand 4" to a total height of almost 38". Should be plenty high enough for me.
2018-12-11_04-41-34 by Jensen Esneault, on Flickr
I also got the cabinet doors off and removed the front vertical "bracing" between the panels to completely open up the stand. I say "bracing" because the 2x6s behind the 1x6 skin had almost 1/4" gaps at the top and bottom, so the horizontal 2x4 bracing was not actually resting on the vertical 2x6s beneath. The 2x6s were screwed into the 2x4s at the top and bottom, but it was pretty pointless. The 7 screws through the 2x6s were the only things supporting the horizontal span of the 2x4s across the front of the tank. It was pretty easy to remove the vertical bracing in the front. Once I removed the screws, a few light taps with a hammer was all it took and they just fell out onto the floor. The stand does have 3/4" plywood on top, which I'm sure helped spread the load throughout the stand. I will be adding additional skin and an additional 3/4" piece of plywood on top, so I don't have any doubt the 2x4s will support the weight of the tank across the front without the vertical support once I'm done.
2018-12-11_04-42-08 by Jensen Esneault, on Flickr
2018-12-11_04-42-36 by Jensen Esneault, on Flickr
A friend stopped by after work and helped me take the tank off the stand and put the stand on the platform. Then I nailed in a bunch of strong ties to tie the platform to the stand.
2018-12-12_06-08-52 by Jensen Esneault, on Flickr
I made not one, but TWO rookie mistakes while cutting the skin for the stand. I didn't want to waste any of my friends time, so in a rush to cut the skin (I needed his help to hold the thin plywood skin while I cut) I used the original measurements I took of the stand and didn't account for the height of the newly added platform.
ALSO, I didn't keep the grain of the wood going in the same horizontal direction when I cut the side panels....DOUBLE
It is frustrating, but truthfully it doesn't really matter in the end. The base trim and crown moulding I'll be adding will cover the gaps. I'm also painting the stand, and the skin is so smooth I highly doubt you'll be able to see any grain through the paint when I'm done. Every time I look over at the stand now I can't help but to shake my head and laugh.
I'll save myself some embarrassment and not share the pic of what the skin turned out looking like on the stand. LOL.
That's all the progress on the new 180g build for now. Next, I plan on borrowing a router (mine got ruined in the flood) and cutting out the opening for the sump area; adding the 3/4" plywood to the top to add the ledge; and trimming out the rest of the stand. Oh, I also plan on adding a cabinet to the left of the stand to keep all of the Apex equipment and controllers in, with a touch pad on a stand mounted on top to show me all of my parameters and to use as the main controller for the tank. Should look pretty sweet when I'm done! Hopefully...
Recently I saw a pretty good deal on a 180g tank and stand pop up on a local Facebook group. I couldn't pass it up. The tank is 6'x2'x2', not super far off from the original 8'x2'x2' dimensions I wanted. I wasn't a fan of the stand that came with the tank, but I bought it anyway and planned on modifying it to better suit my needs. My plan consisted of removing the cabinet doors and cutting the two center braces on the front to completely open it up; elevating it at least 4" with a platform; re-skinning it; adding an additional piece of 3/4" plywood on the top to create a ledge; trimming it out with base trim and crown moulding; and adding a magnetic door panel for easy on/off access to the sump area.
The tank is not perfect. It has a couple chips in the glass at the corners and scratches galore, but I think if I keep the glass clean you won't even really notice they're there. Especially once I pack this tank with SPS! This is going to be a long build process, so please stick with me guys! The tank will be set up as a normal reef tank with a sump until I can afford to enclose the courtyard area adjacent to my master bathroom and make it a fish room, and it'll be FOWLR for a while until I can save up enough for all of the associated reef equipment. I will be using 3 Radions over this reef and I would like to add the apex monitoring system. Other than that, I'm still deciding on the equipment list. Anyway, with all that said above here's a pic of the new 180g setup as it was when I brought it home!
2018-12-02_05-59-59 by Jensen Esneault, on FlickrOver the last couple of days I made a little progress on the stand. I built a platform to raise the stand 4" to a total height of almost 38". Should be plenty high enough for me.
2018-12-11_04-41-34 by Jensen Esneault, on FlickrI also got the cabinet doors off and removed the front vertical "bracing" between the panels to completely open up the stand. I say "bracing" because the 2x6s behind the 1x6 skin had almost 1/4" gaps at the top and bottom, so the horizontal 2x4 bracing was not actually resting on the vertical 2x6s beneath. The 2x6s were screwed into the 2x4s at the top and bottom, but it was pretty pointless. The 7 screws through the 2x6s were the only things supporting the horizontal span of the 2x4s across the front of the tank. It was pretty easy to remove the vertical bracing in the front. Once I removed the screws, a few light taps with a hammer was all it took and they just fell out onto the floor. The stand does have 3/4" plywood on top, which I'm sure helped spread the load throughout the stand. I will be adding additional skin and an additional 3/4" piece of plywood on top, so I don't have any doubt the 2x4s will support the weight of the tank across the front without the vertical support once I'm done.
2018-12-11_04-42-08 by Jensen Esneault, on Flickr2018-12-11_04-42-36 by Jensen Esneault, on FlickrA friend stopped by after work and helped me take the tank off the stand and put the stand on the platform. Then I nailed in a bunch of strong ties to tie the platform to the stand.
2018-12-12_06-08-52 by Jensen Esneault, on FlickrI made not one, but TWO rookie mistakes while cutting the skin for the stand. I didn't want to waste any of my friends time, so in a rush to cut the skin (I needed his help to hold the thin plywood skin while I cut) I used the original measurements I took of the stand and didn't account for the height of the newly added platform.
That's all the progress on the new 180g build for now. Next, I plan on borrowing a router (mine got ruined in the flood) and cutting out the opening for the sump area; adding the 3/4" plywood to the top to add the ledge; and trimming out the rest of the stand. Oh, I also plan on adding a cabinet to the left of the stand to keep all of the Apex equipment and controllers in, with a touch pad on a stand mounted on top to show me all of my parameters and to use as the main controller for the tank. Should look pretty sweet when I'm done! Hopefully...
2018-03-13_05-45-50
2018-11-13_12-58-42
2018-11-30_04-37-47
2019-02-23_02-18-15
2019-02-23_02-18-44
2019-02-28_01-54-34
2020-02-19_12-00-16
2020-03-01_05-17-45
2020-03-01_05-18-03
2020-03-01_05-19-00
2020-03-09_01-15-30
Plumbing
Sump area
2020-11-02_03-37-17
2021-01-13_02-59-13
2021-01-13_03-00-02
2021-02-08_02-41-04
2021-02-08_02-41-29
2021-02-08_02-41-51
2021-02-08_02-42-14
