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Thread: extreme home makeover: fish edition

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    Master Reefer boyesreef's Avatar
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    Cool extreme home makeover: fish edition

    ok, as you all may or may not know, i moved back from vermont to michigan. along the way we got stuck in traffic. well that turned a 16 hour trip into a 20 hour trip. long story short i lost every living creature in my salty hobby. bummer! so i decided to do a little remod while i ponder my next move. the tank i started with was a 14 gallon biocube. i started by getting rid of the biocubes major issues back before the move, i ditched the all in one lid because the bulbs didnt really do what i wanted them to, the fans were always going out because of salt creep (3 sets in 1 year). i replaced them with a viper 2 clamp on pendent 70w MH. wow what an improvement! when i ordered the light i also ordered a koralia 1, and a smallish pump like the one the biocube comes with. i bought some aquarium silicone and a sheet of acrylic at one of the big box stores for about 30-35 dollars and started cutting, about a week later i ended up with one of those hang on back fuges that everyone seems to enjoy with a nano tank. another improvement!


    it allowed me to have a 4" deep sand bed, 3 gallons of more water, a place for my skimmer, a place for my cheato and whatever the other micro algae was called, and a place to put more LR, all for $35! not a bad deal i should say. after this point this is what my biocube looked like.



    so i let the tank run this way for about eight months. stuff came up and the family and i ended up moving back here to the town i grew up in, Milford, Michigan. as stated above nothing made it. i was crushed. i had my mated clowns for three years, and some of the coral longer than that. ah well, live and let die i guess. so i figure it was time for an overhaul to make the biocube what it was intended to be... a monster. i started by taking the biocube base as it sat

    and started to cut down at a 45 degree angle between the 2nd and 3rd chambers at the divider, the 45 made the edge rounded when i was done, so i didnt have to do it later.

    when i got all the way to the bottom i cut the silicone all around the first and second and removed the chunk of not needed plastic
    Last edited by boyesreef; 11-10-2010 at 10:45 AM.
    we are all on the long road to our dream tanks, im going slow and enjoying the journey!

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    Master Reefer boyesreef's Avatar
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    i left the third chamber because it housed the pump and i didnt want to see it in the display, i hate trying to hide stuff behind rocks. i was amazed at how much room i made!


    and i was disgusted to see what came out of the lower intake of the 1st chamber. i clean the tank very thoroughly when its empty, but i still found bits of molted sally lightfoot in there, and he died in 2007! eewww! anyways, and heres ware you guys get to cringe and turn away, i broke out the welder and acetylene torches for the first time in my life. ever. i used some strap steel and some steel doweling that i had lying around and decided to make a carrier for the fuge. heres what i came up with




    i painted it with an epoxy primer before using rustolium gloss black as a top coat. the light is mounted to the cage on its own bushing, and is removable. its placed there because that is where i prefer my chaeto. you will see what the pegs do in just a moment. there are straps across the bottom that hold the tank up, and even pins through the pegs to let it do what they do safely. i way over built this thing, but thats because i didnt want to do it again, or worry about whether or not it was going to fail. everything is hand bent from flap steel strapping, all the curves twists and whatnot are just heated and bent.
    Last edited by boyesreef; 10-28-2010 at 10:50 AM.
    we are all on the long road to our dream tanks, im going slow and enjoying the journey!

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    Master Reefer boyesreef's Avatar
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    so finally, with much anticipation, this is what the pegs are for



    it uses the factory way over built brackets for the factory tops that are not used and allows it to hang from there. for all of you worrying about the strength of the plastic brackets, the fuge in the cage weighs 34 pounds full of water, and i put another 20 pounds of weight on that and let it set for a week. no stress marks anywhere. i made the arms for the pegs both point the same direction so you slide it in from the side, and put the pins in so it wont slide back out accidentally. the peg arms are long enough to allow for the base of my MH to be in its proper position, and the wires for the tank run through the gap also.for the bottom i rolled the steel into a fairly large foot and use it like a kickstand of sorts with felt glued onto it. it took me two nights to finish but im very happy with it. now to wait until the money is there and restart the tank. sorry about the long write-up but i wanted to show you folks what a little DIY can turn into. feedback is very welcome as i have been thinking of making this stuff for sale now that im in a state with more salty people!
    we are all on the long road to our dream tanks, im going slow and enjoying the journey!

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    Master Reefer SaltyDawg's Avatar
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    Good to see you back. You don't even have any water in the tank and you cant keep your hands out of it. Somebody has the salty itch and needs to scratch it lol. Engineering or design is not my strong points. But say the tank is 16" front to back...what if you were to put a piece of plywood under it that was say 24" front to back. Then extend the fuge down so it's flush to the bottom of the tank and basically make it freestanding with no brackets or bracing other than a brace from the top of tank to top of fuge? That would also remove any pressure points to the back wall of the tank. By no means am I dumping on your design...just a little food for thought.

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    Master Reefer boyesreef's Avatar
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    i thought about that salty, my issue is i cant just make something work, i have to over complicate things. just ask my wife. my winter project isnt just cleaning out the basement or something silly like that, im restoring a pre 1920s steam powered model boat, and a 1970s chopper style mini bike. plus, on the fuge thing, i wanted to play with the welder. did i do ok?
    we are all on the long road to our dream tanks, im going slow and enjoying the journey!

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    Master Reefer SaltyDawg's Avatar
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    You did just fine. If you were over doing it you would have the optional bracket for the ATO jug,shelf for the fish food and additives and a bottle opener on the side...lol.

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    Master Reefer boyesreef's Avatar
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    well, there is room underneath. i was thinking of doing a full custom stand next, we shall see how it goes.
    we are all on the long road to our dream tanks, im going slow and enjoying the journey!

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    Master Reefer boyesreef's Avatar
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    im thinking of picking up some acrylic and making a lid for this tank, for evaporation purposes. anyone know if i can use that with my Mh, or should i use glass up top, or just build an auto top off system?
    we are all on the long road to our dream tanks, im going slow and enjoying the journey!

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    verrrrrry nice boyesreef i like the upgrades

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    Master Reefer boyesreef's Avatar
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    why thank you!
    we are all on the long road to our dream tanks, im going slow and enjoying the journey!

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    Grand Master Reefer CarmieJo's Avatar
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    It looks good to me! I don't think I have ever seen MH with a glass or acrylic top. So, I'd vote for and ATO.
    Carmie


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    Master Reefer boyesreef's Avatar
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    ya, i think so too carmie. ive been drawing up plans that i have found here on TR that i will put into affect next time i set up the frankentank.
    we are all on the long road to our dream tanks, im going slow and enjoying the journey!

  13. #13
    Master Reefer boyesreef's Avatar
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    does a skimmer in the fuge negate the purposes of a fuge?
    we are all on the long road to our dream tanks, im going slow and enjoying the journey!

  14. #14
    Grand Master Reefer CarmieJo's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by boyesreef View Post
    does a skimmer in the fuge negate the purposes of a fuge?
    No, I don't think so. There is always debate if the skimmer should be up or down stream from the fuge. Mine is down stream by necessity but I think it makes the most sense to send the "dirtiest" water to the macro first anyhow.
    Carmie


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    i like what you did with the tank its very nice keep it up.

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    hey would u be able to guide me thru on how to build my own refugeum?

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    Master Reefer boyesreef's Avatar
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    E, i sure would. how are you at cutting, gluing, and shaping acrylic sheeting?
    we are all on the long road to our dream tanks, im going slow and enjoying the journey!

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    ummmmm dunno never tried it what do i need to cut acrylic and what kind of stuff do i need for glueing it?

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    Master Reefer boyesreef's Avatar
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    you would have to get an acrylic cutting knife, and you would have to buy some glue rated for use on acrylic. some of the guys on here has the brand name.
    we are all on the long road to our dream tanks, im going slow and enjoying the journey!

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    so what are the dimensions?

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    Grand Master Reefer CarmieJo's Avatar
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    Weld On is the glue that you use.
    Carmie


    Only disasters happen fast!





    Carmie's 54 Corner Tank
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    Master Reefer boyesreef's Avatar
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    14.5 inches tall, 15 inches wide, and 4.25 inches deep. it holds around 3 gallons of water with a 4 inch sand bed. it has a light so i can grow algae in there. i know its a crude drawing, but heres the layout.



    i build mine to these dimensions so that my skimmer would fit into the fuge.


    here is my original insperation
    http://www.fosterandsmithaquatics.co...18&pcatid=3618
    Last edited by boyesreef; 03-08-2011 at 10:48 AM. Reason: keep thinking of junk to add.
    we are all on the long road to our dream tanks, im going slow and enjoying the journey!

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    I like the design but how do I make and attach the return and overflow? sorry for all the questions I am new to this side of the hobby.

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    Master Reefer boyesreef's Avatar
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    kinda like this
    we are all on the long road to our dream tanks, im going slow and enjoying the journey!

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    ooo it seems like it involves drilling oh well any specific type of drill bit?

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