DIY - Projects & Ideas • 300 gallon plywood tank build

[lilscoots]

for mechanical before the bio, I have a a narrow chamber large enough for filter socks to go over the inlet pipes. The water then flows over a baffle into the drip tray

[rotccapt]

so i am trying to decided if i want to attach my sump return to my spray bar and under sand jets or if i want to run my jets with there own power heads. on my last build a 120 plywood build i did just that and made the sump return attach to the jets and it worked ok but the gravel i used was huge and the poo just got trapped anyways. but since i will have sand in this tank i think i will have a much better result.

so when i laid out my jets i found that i needed 11 jets so if i go by what i have found i would need 1100 gph fed to my jet system which i will have coming from my return pump and it would also simplify the build. so i think im going to go this route. to do this and prevent the possibility of siphoning out the tank when power or the pump quits i have to run the plumbing all the way to the top of the tank create a siphon break with the spray bar then go back to the bottom of the tank. now the thing with a setup like this, i would end up with most of the water going out the spray bar and not go down to the jets so i will add a ball valve to the spray bar line so i can tune the amount of water that goes to the bottom of the tank.

here is a pic of my 120 builds plumbing. this setup worked great on that build so i think it will work just fine for this one.

[mightyevil]

do you guys use some kind of mecanical filtration befor your pot scrubbies? i am planning on having a couple layers of quilt batting befor my scrubbies

I used to have a filter sock and while it did help some, it didnt help enough to make me want to keep it and have to maintain that as well. Over so many years of fish keeping, I have learned that keeping things simple are sometimes the best way to maintain and enjoy your fish. Here are a couple of pictures of my setup, looks clean (in my opinion) and in the sump there are only pot scrubbers and equipment (heaters, return pump, magnum 350 as a return)...




Yes, I know, weird community in there but my JD does not eat other fish unless they are agonizing...why? beats me! but she was supposed to keep the numbers down in the tank, not working (I have at least 12 1" baby Metriaclima greshakei in there. The red hook, my dad bought and threw in there without me knowing so...yeah!

Mightyevil,
I made a basket out of black window screen to make it easier when cleaning pot scrubbed. I just simply lift the basket and clean In a bucket. I then remove the egg Crates and fully clean the sump x2/yr.

I used to have mine in a laundry bag and I was able to toke them out all at a time but since they trap so much detritus I had to clean them one by one and it was just easier to take them one by one from the sump anyway so I ditched the laundry bag.

[mel_cp6]

If it as me, I would run the spraybar with the pump and use a separate power head to run the jet system.
I use a Tupperware by Lock&Lock as my mechanical box. I drill 1" holes for the inlet and 1/4" holes for the drains. It works great as it is water tight and fits perfectly on a 40g sump. Probably wouldn't apply in your case since your tank is much bigger.
Come to think of it, my 40g sump with the type of overflows were both using only empties about 10g when I turn off the pump and I do have all 3 tanks connected to it. Thats a total of 250g from all 3 of my tanks That uses exact same overflows with the 1/2 water change Valve. The only difference is I also use 1" Pvc overflow in each tanks tO skim the surface.

[rotccapt]

well i have decided to try the under sand jet system the way i had it before and if it does not work i will run a separate pump for them.

so now that i am done drilling holes in the tank for bulkheads i have started prepping the tank for fiberglass. to do this i took some "us composits" epoxy that i had from other projects and mixed in silica powder till it was at a frosting consistency. i used this mix to fill all the screw holes on the outside and also to fill in the seams between the 2x4 frame. after this drys i will be sanding it all down and applying more epoxy/filler to smooth out the seams so they and not noticeable when i paint the tank. for the inside i have also used the same mix to fill the screw holes and i am in the proses of making fillets in all the corners. for the front and side i will only fill the seam but for the other two sides i will make a round fillet. this project might get put on hold again due to some life events that will be using up some of the funds for this project. more to come.

[rotccapt]

well not much to say but i am still working on the project. i am almost done with the fillets and hope to be ready for fiberglassing by next week. i have my resin and cloth on order so i hope to get it next week also

[rotccapt]

well i finally have another photo update for this project. i am about 95% done with the filling and sanding on the front of the tank and about 50% done with the side. i still need to apply 6 more fillets to the inside of the tank but i am waiting on my current batch of epoxy to cure so i can flip the tank. so here are the pics. the first few are of the front of the tank. after sanding it all down i applied a bit of tan spray paint to highlight any dips and groves that i need to fill. also it shows how nicely the seams will disappear

[rotccapt]

hi all, well the next stage of construction has begun. all the corners have been filled and the front and side have been smoothed over and a coat of kilz primer has been applied to the front and side. now it is finally time to seal this puppy up.

for those that just tuned in, i will be using max acr epoxy resin (found on ebay) to seal my tank. after the initial thinned coat i will be applying 4 inch pieces of 6 ounce fiberglass cloth to all the seams and corners. after that i will be applying two layers of 6 ounce cloth to the bottom and one layer to the sides. i will also be applying resin to all my bulk head holes and also to the back of the tank around the bulkhead holes to prevent any water getting into the plywood. after all the epoxy work is done i will be applying kilz primer to all exterior surfaces to prevent water penetration. i expect this stage of the build will take about a week. more to come. what do you think so far?

[rotccapt]

i still have a bit of finish work to do to the front and side of the tank but i decided to stop where i was because i will most likely have to do some sanding after i get the fiberglass done. so befor i am done the front and side will be very smooth

[cantrell00]

Glad that you are posting this. Please don't be bashful with the photos when you apply the cloth and resin and seal the front glass.

A plywood tank is on my list of things to do.

Great work so far!

[rotccapt]

well first coat is down. now i have to wait till it cure to apply the fiberglass to the corners. the first few pics were taken by my 4 year old (pretty good shot for a 4 year old) last pic is the back of the tank around one of the bulk head holes

[fusion]

Still looking good

[rotccapt]

well i now have 8 ounce fiberglass in all the corners and have got a layer of 6 ounce on the bottom and curing on the back wall. up next is the sides and front. one thing that i do when working with fiberglass is to wait till the resin gets to its gel stage then i take a knife and cut off all the excess cloth. by doing it this way you get a nice clean easy cut but if you wait too long you either have to break out the dremel or the sand paper.

here are a few pics of the fiberglass process

before adding resin

just a test fit you want to make all your ruff cuts before adding resin otherwise it turns into a sticky mess

starting to work the resin

on this project i am using a bondo scraper to apply my resin i start in a corner and work my way across the longest side then in kinda a triangular pattern to work the resin into the cloth. it also helps to have a colored background to work on. it makes easier to see dry spots in the cloth

here it is a wet out

[rotccapt]

well i got some more done. i have finished all the fiberglass work, now im working on putting the final coats of epoxy on to seal everything up and cover up the wood grain. so i think i will need one more tinted coat of epoxy to color the tank. so when i am done i will have about 4 layers of epoxy on the tank so i should be good. now i need to finish up the outside of the tank by painting it with kilz primer. then i will put the finish coat of latex paint on the front and side then it will be time to work on plumbing and get the glass ordered. im hopping to have the tank built by mid October i am almost done but i will have to wait on the glass i can only get the glass from the company if i meet their truck on the 16th of each month so i have to wait on the funds to order the glass. so in the mean time i can work on setting up my plumbing.

so i need some thoughts from you guys. with my current stumps i am planning on adding a couple branches to the tank and some rocks and plants. should i still try to do a background or should i just leave it black? i figure if i decorate with the rocks and wood and plants the background will not really be seen

[rotccapt]

also i have finally decided on my sump. i will go with the pot scrubbies and for the sump its self i got a really good deal on a 55 gallon tank so i will be using it for my sump, this will save me a ton of time.



for a pump i am torn between a mag 18 or a Supreme Pro HY-DRIVE™ 1600 gph. both pumps coast about the same and at ruffly the same watts the hy-drive is 20 watts less. but at 5 feet of head i will get 1200 gph from the mag and 1400pgh from the hy-drive. has anyone used either of these pumps?