New Tank Build

[ryanlio]

Am building something simliar to this from RC

cabinet will be from IKEA

yes, i know particle board is EVIL.. but i think with the smaller size tank.. it should work, yes?

Tank size will only be 24x24x12

Am looking at 2-3 years of use.

Thoughts?

[sunny03]

it is a no no using particle board... once touches water it will slowly disintegrate.. would rather you use solid plywood at least better then particle board if cost is a concern

[mjck]

Particle board is highly vulnerable to moisture. Will disintegrate when the water gets to it. But it's a nice design, I would build a wooden frame to be housed inside that cabinet as the main support.

[ryanlio]

Particle board is highly vulnerable to moisture. Will disintegrate when the water gets to it. But it's a nice design, I would build a wooden frame to be housed inside that cabinet as the main support.

+1 on reinforcements.

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[kaykay]

IMO the reinforcements in the interior is only good to support the box. However, once water drips into the particle board on the outside, the board will expand and warp. Ugly, although the structure is still strong with the support inside.

I built a cabinet from 25mm plywood. Come take a look later when you're dropping by?

[ryanlio]

IMO the reinforcements in the interior is only good to support the box. However, once water drips into the particle board on the outside, the board will expand and warp. Ugly, although the structure is still strong with the support inside.

I built a cabinet from 25mm plywood. Come take a look later when you're dropping by?

Tx Bro for sharing at your place.. will check out the supplier.. if u still have the laminate supplier do pm me..tx!!!

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[sunny03]

Laminate the board then seal the joints seam. With clear silcon to prevent water to skip in between the joint seam this should prolong the usage

[Guest]

It will be a nice "Top view" shallow tank.. However like some of the member mention, you should consider a good base to support the tank. Looking forward to your tank setting up pics..

[Sicklid]

Nice concept, please share progress

[ryanlio]

Sure.. when the build starts.. I'll try to Post pics..

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[ryanlio]

Decided to change tank size to

30X30x12. Rimless acrylic 10mm tank..

Consideration due to the intent to reuse existing equipment..

I've got 2x mp10.. So Max thickness will be 10mm..

My maxspect razor will b stretched covering 30inches.. else will go for 36x36.. didn't want to spend to get additional lights..

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[ryanlio]

Dillema on whether to do euro bracing..

From the shallow height.. 10mm should not have any bowing..

Pro.. sleek look..

Cons.. I'm rough when doing cleaning.. I'm sure tank water will overflow when cleaning..

Any other considerations?

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[ryanlio]

Plastic sheets bought.

The sheets are cut "raw".. you can still see the saw marks on each piece.

Note the the plastics can come in polish or unpolished, do choose the unpolished ones, the reason being the sheet will craze if the surfaces are polished when welded together.

[ryanlio]

Tools to work with the plastic sheets.

1. Fine grade sandpaper

2. Scrapper tool...this comes with disposable blades that i use normally to clean my 3 footer..

Now the real work begins....

Scraping the surfaces to smooth out the saw marks...

This is the end result of the scraping..

Followed by fine sanding.. with wet sandpaper to have a finer grind.. learnt all these in my secondary technical lessons.. Mr Darul (my technical teacher) i haven't forgotten the techniques.. hahaha :>

The prepared surface..

The one on the right farthest is the finished prep... ready to weldon.. not easy work..

[ryanlio]

After preparing all the surfaces.. took me a whole afternoon.. now the interesting part.. welding on the plastic sheets..

Things you will need.

1. Weldon #3 (Weldon #4 was not available)

2. Fine needle with syringe.. this is used to apply the weldon #3. They can be quite tricky to work with.. so do get some scrap plastics from supplier to practice on...

3. Weldon #16 (the syrup fluid kind. this is to seal up the joints)

Next square up a the portion of the plastic sheets with the base piece. using a right angle ruler, lined the pieces up and keep them in place.. i find my plastic clamps to be VERY helpful here. oh yes, keep the paper wrap on the acrylic on, this is to prevent any accidental scratches..

I'll be off to start my cabinet next...

[dominik]

Wow, seldom see people in singapore to build their own tank esp not in their living room

[ryanlio]

Yes dominik.. I did felt the wrath of my other half.. haha

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[reefer guy]

bro, i have this computation sheet for thickness of acrylics used in fish tanks, and yours falls under 12mm if braceless -- since you have purchased and done up the tank, probably it is safer to add bracing. You can download the file here....

http://www.mediafire.com/?9h6vi6cbvv6xjwv

I am also at the midst of doing my own tank - - have built 2 frag tanks so far, a sump undergoing leakage test (for office reef tank) and another sump for my home under construction. As it is my first time to deal with acrylics, tested first on small items and going big -- my last and upcoming project is a 3ft x 5ft tank.

I am also doing my own timber stands -- purchased fine solid timber pre-cut and assembling it. It is a fun learning process and I am lucky to have a patient wife as my living room turned to a factory.

[ryanlio]

Reefer guy, wow.. appreciate the xls file.. yes, i do find myself DIY tanks once a while.. for the fun of it.. it really gives your tank the "ommpphhfff".. cos sometimes you want them in special spaces... for my particular project, some investment has been put into it..

ie.. the expensive 4ft clamps @ approx $50 each.. this will allow me to DIY tanks up to 4ft. :> .. it has been VERY useful as it has a quick release and "trigger-style" tightening.. suits 1 hand operations..

another item is a router.. its give a good edge that it easier to work with.. the scrapping i did on my sheets somehow slightly rounded the edge.. therefore, weldon #3 didn't kinda work well.. i had to reinforce with weldon #16.

Yes, after my virgin gluing experience ( i kinda made a real mess) i reckon i will have a peace of mind if i were to get the bracing going.. yeah.. so now my tank has braces.. looks sturdy enough..

wow.. for your 3x5 ft.. wow.. its going to be a HUGE project.. do get a build thread up... i don't see alot of acrylic build threads around.

Will be posting my cabinet build soon.

[ryanlio]

My cabinet built continues.. after changing the dimensions from my tank from 24x24 to 30x30. I decided to go for a kapor wooden frame with ply wood cover.

kapor timber is purchased pre-cut so that assembling them will be a breeze.. my cabinet height will be flushed with my sofa set at 70cm tall.. i may have a problem with my skimmer with such a short cabinet.. but we'lll see how it goes..

The pre-cut kapor timber assembled...

Lesson: do bore a counter-sunk to hold the head of the wood screws.. else, you may split the timber.. oh.. i also apply a layer of silcone glue on top of the screws, to "waterproof" them..

Top plywood plank is an 18mm thick one, ask for one that can resist water well..

The internal 18mm plywood painted with white acrylic spray paint.. assembled..

Pre-cut plywood 10mm cheaper kind.. covering the structure of the kapor timber structure..

[ryanlio]

with the basic cabinet built, i can now run my tank leak test.., laying a layer of newspaper to detect the leak..

[ryanlio]

joints are not good enough.. there's leak.. I kinda anticipated that.. lesson learnt: the scraping of the sides are not the best approach.. the reason being this will cause the edges to be slightly rounded.. maybe next time will purchase pre-cut acrylic with diamond cut.. i heard this will have better edges to work with..

Now back to running through all the seams with weldon#16..

[Guest]

Very detail tank build.. Will be camping here for more updates and thanks for sharing with us !

[reefer guy]

nice tank build.... yeah, i'm also beginning to gather alot of tools after my built -- i've got those clamps as well (600mm), plenty of screws, nuts & bolts, drillbits and such. How much and where did you get your router though? I purchased the acrylics from dama pre-cut; they have the acryfix but no longer carry weld-on glues. I got weld-on #3 from that acrylic supplier at Eunos Techlink (forgot the name) and yes weld-on #4 is not available. I ordered weld-on #4 from US as well as acrylic glue applicator (bottle type) I also have the syringe type but the bottle type is alot easier to use and control than the syringe. For the stand, i got the pre-cuts from a shop at Jln Berseh -- just tell them what you need and they will cut for you.

Although my skills in tank building is really lousy, i get the kick out of the knowledge and experience gained, and the process is really fun. I have plenty of pics for my built but have not yet uploaded on my blog.

[CKL]

Hi, a good step by step tank building process. Definitely a good reference for would be builders. Would you mind PM me the costings for the acrylic and kapour wood? Thanks.