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300 Gallon upgrade

ricwilli

ricwilli

Well, I wasn't sure if I should start a build thread as this is going to be a slow process and I have been pretty busy lately. I'm upgrading from a Oceanic 215 gallon tank. You can find the build thread here, http://www.njreefers.org/showthread.php?67566-Ricwilli-s-215-build.
When I purchased the 300 gallon tank, I gave no thought on the floor support. After talking with a few people, it was determined that it would be best to add more support to the floor. Some people said the floors were fine the way it was, but I wanted to sleep well at night and added support to the floors. I would like to Thank Paul (redfishbluefish), John (steamman) and Mike (from RC) for there advice/opinion on how to support the floor. These pics are a couple weeks old.

I added a 3 1/2 x 9 1/2 LVL Beam next to the steel I beam.

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ricwilli

ricwilli

Thanks Taz

Here is where I'm at with the stand. I have no idea how I'm going to finish it. I would love to be able to remove the front panel in one piece, but 8 foot is pretty long. I can do 4 feet but than there will be a line in the middle. I just might go this route. I wll have the panels held with magnets.

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shipwrecked

shipwrecked

Coming along well,I will tag along.I'd love to go that big but I'd be in the dog house for sure.I used magnets for the front panels of my doors.Couldnt be bothered with hinges and all the hassle that goes along with them.I used a company called K andJ magnets inc. They had a wide variety of magnets for all uses.
 
ricwilli

ricwilli

Thanks Bax

shipwrecked said:
Coming along well,I will tag along.I'd love to go that big but I'd be in the dog house for sure.I used magnets for the front panels of my doors.Couldnt be bothered with hinges and all the hassle that goes along with them.I used a company called K andJ magnets inc. They had a wide variety of magnets for all uses.
Click to expand...

I'm actually going to try some magnets that I got from some hard drives that I got from work. Never new the magnets in them were so strong.
 
downbeach

downbeach

Looks great Richie, nicely done. This might be a little overkill, but did you ever consider using some gusset plates on your support columns?
 
ricwilli

ricwilli

Some updates

I added some 1x4's arround the edges of the stand. I'm thinking that I might cover the stand with sheetrock and paint it to match the walls. Not 100 pecent sure on that yet.

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I was going to use multiple holding tanks to hold the water and rocks from my 215, but I found a 300 gallon stock tank on craigslist. I aslo built a so-call canopy to hold the led's over the stock tank. I will be using the same L brackets on the canopy to hold the led's. I will be spray painting them to prevent rust.

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downbeach

downbeach

Stand looks great. If you want to cover it with something, how about a high pressure laminate like: Formica, Pionite or Wilsonart?
 
redfishbluefish

redfishbluefish

Officer Emeritus
Officer Emeritus
Rich, looking good!

It looks like you are building the stand right in place. Having done the same design for my little five foot tank, you would have to. That beast is going to need a crane to get it into place…..it weighs a ton!

Keep the pictures coming.

As far as using sheetrock as a skin, I wouldn’t. Even the “waterproof” sheetrock does not take wetness too well. I’d go with an MDO plywood (medium density overlay). It’s exterior grade stuff (will handle wetness), that has a smooth finish like sheetrock, and once painted, you won’t be able to tell the difference.
 
asonitez

asonitez

i like your stand.. looks nice and strong. Hopefully when i get my 60X24X25 You can give me a hand with building it. LMK if you will need help moving "the monster" onto the stand. I got a dolly,2 arms, and i took my vitamins.
 
ricwilli

ricwilli

Thanks everyone for all the compliments. Its amazing, what a difference 1x4's makes on the stand. Lets get something straight though, I'm no carpenter. I've made lots of mistakes making this stand. LOL!

downbeach said:
Stand looks great. If you want to cover it with something, how about a high pressure laminate like: Formica, Pionite or Wilsonart?
Click to expand...
I actually went to lowes and home depot to take a look at the formica and didn't really like it that much. Specially the colors that they had. I guess I would have to special order a color if I went that route.

redfishbluefish said:
Rich, looking good!

It looks like you are building the stand right in place. Having done the same design for my little five foot tank, you would have to. That beast is going to need a crane to get it into place…..it weighs a ton!

Keep the pictures coming.

As far as using sheetrock as a skin, I wouldn’t. Even the “waterproof” sheetrock does not take wetness too well. I’d go with an MDO plywood (medium density overlay). It’s exterior grade stuff (will handle wetness), that has a smooth finish like sheetrock, and once painted, you won’t be able to tell the difference.
Click to expand...

Actually the stand will be going on the other side of the room where the 215 is. I was trying my best to keep this stand light but something always kept telling me that It was't going to be strong enough. LOL. So I purched larger wood dimensions than was suggested. Oh well, I feel good about it now. This thing is HEAVY......
I thought about using sheetrock cause the walls around the 215 tank are all fine. I don't remember me spilling any water or seeing salt creeps on the current stand. I will look into the MDO plywood.

On a side note. I'm happy that I was able to sell my 215. I literally sold it in less than 10 minutes.
 
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