DIY 200 gallon Red Eared Slider Custom Build Documentation

Hello,

First time poster, long time lurker here. My wife has had the same, female, Red Eared Slider (named Slippi) for 17 years now. She has had Slippi since she was 4 inches long. Now, Slippi is over 12 inches long and has been in the same 60 gallon tank, with insufficient filtration for several years now. Last summer, I came across two tanks. One was a brand new, 180 gallon, glass tank that had two corner overflows, each pre-drilled for dual drainage and return lines. The 180 measures 6 x 2 x 2 feet. The other tank was a 55 gallon tall. It had been used before, but cleaned up nicely with no leaks or scratches. I bought them both from a guy on Craigslist for $400. He was in the middle of finishing his basement (where his tanks were to be installed), but had to cancel his project due to job relocation.

Purchasing those tanks initiated a project that was larger than I anticipated (aren't all projects that way?)

Prior to this project, I have had very little woodworking or plumbing experience (most of that experience was being a gopher for my dad while growing up). I did have a little experience with electricity since I built a custom canopy for Slippi's old 60 gallon tank. I decided to design and build a tank stand and canopy for Slippi's new home. Obviously, the 180 will be the main tank, and the 55 will be used for a sump. For some reason, I thought I would have this completed in 2-3 months. That was last July. Ha!

Here are some pics of the 180 from the original Craigslist ad with the tank partially installed in the seller's unfinished basement.


Within a month or so (already behind schedule!) of purchasing the tanks, I used Google Sketchup to draw up my plans for the stand and canopy. The original plans had a built-in side shelf that I later decided to scrap. Then, I altered the plans slightly to come up with the final plans. The canopy would have a double-hinged top door that would open and close by lifting the front facade. I wanted full and easy access to the tank and I figured this was the best solution.

With the help of my father, I decided to build the tank stand first. It is mostly built out of basic 2x4's, except along the top front and back, there are two 2x6's to help support the tank. There are also 1x2's along the bottom of the stand to support the 1/2 inch plywood floor.

All of the joints are wood-to-wood, therefore, no weight will be supported by just screws. Here are pics of the "finished" stand.



My father-in-law helped build the doors. But, once we finished the doors, the stand sat in my garage for 3 months before I could make any more progress on it. I didn't buy nice enough wood, so the wood ended up warping and I decided to scrap the doors and come up with a better design later down the road.

Since my brother was inheriting the old 60 and stand for free, I put him to work on the new stand. He sanded and stained the tank stand for me. Also, I completed the frame of the canopy. My dad helped me with the double-hinged door.



In the two pics below, you can see the double-hinged door.



Also, for kicks and giggles, check out Slippi's old 60 before the custom canopy was built.

The next stage of the project involved moving the stand and tank inside to its final resting place. The canopy is there just to see how it fits in the room. Also, you can see the 55 tank on the fireplace. This will be the sump.

The wall behind the tank is shared with the garage, and below the floor is a crawl space. The tank sits perpendicular to and spans 5 floor joists. The joists are 2x10s. In the crawl space, I installed a support beam that spans across the middle 3 floor joists and then a jack post in the center of the support beam. The support beam was two 2x6's laid flat against each other, then screwed together from both sides. This extra support was simply a $30 investment for some extra peace of mind for my wife.

I have to say, at this point, my wife and I are getting pretty excited about finishing this project. Plus, we think the tank looks great in the room!

Here is a pic of the sump partially completed. There are two baffles; you can see one, but the other one is hidden behind the stand's left-center support post. I built a very simple sump. The first (left) section is where the tank water drains into the sump. It is filled with Japanese filter mat. The water flows under the first baffle into the 2nd area that is filled with more Japanese filter mat, bio balls, and ceramic, round, hollow things. I used paint strainer bags to easily transport the bio balls and ceramic things. The 2nd section will have MUCH more filter media. I plan to fill it the rest of the way with bio balls. Then, the water flows over the 2nd baffle into the third section which will contain the 500 watt Catalina water heater, the Eheim Compact 5000+ water pump, and a thermometer.

Also, notice the main tank is filled with water and has the rocks looking good! I had also plumbed the return lines at this point. The two white, PVC pipes in the main tank are the two spray bars. They just aren't secured at this point. I used 1/2 inch vinyl tubing for the return lines.

Below is a picture of where I currently am in the project. The drainage lines have been plumbed and are working properly. The flow of the sump is working well. And the return lines are also working perfectly. In my weirs, I used Durso overflows through the larger pre-drilled holes, with 1-1/2 inch bulkheads. The return lines used the smaller pre-drilled holes with 3/4 inch bulkheads. Below is the top, and side view of one of the weirs. Note: Now the water level in the weirs are at a more appropriate level. Also, I shortened the Durso standpipes by a few inches.



About the sump, I used RTV103 Black Silicone from Momentiv to install the baffles. Also, I used a small piece of leftover Japanese Filter Mat to rest the Eheim water pump on. The GREATLY lessens the noise caused by the vibration of the pump against the glass.

You will also see the old canopy that I built for Slippi's 60 gallon tank. It sits on 2x4s that span across the top of the tank. I will be using the old canopy until I finish the new one.



I have my water pump set at max (~1300-1400 gph) and with the amount of head, I think I am netting about 1000 gph. Does anyone know how to calculate that?

Slippi seems to like her new home and she spends her time exploring every inch of the tank.

I will continue to post updates here as I finish more and more of the tank setup.

Here is what I still have to complete in the order I hope to complete them.
1) Functional design and installation of the canopy - lights, heating equipment, wiring, etc.
2) Aesthetic design and installation - add trim pieces, sand and stain the trim pieces, finish the door paneling.
3) Build, sand, stain, and install the doors for the lower part of the stand.
4) Improve design for the basking area.
5) Add artificial plants to liven up the tank and help conceal the ugly, white spray bars. (I wish I knew about black PVC before I built those!)

Thanks for reading!

fishguy306 said:

Project is coming along great, very nice! You guys have some very good wood working skills!

I cant tell in the pics with the tank back at your place, but I see in the pics at the seller's home there was foam under the tank. Are you using it as well? It does look like there may be some. If so, you will want to remove it, foam should not be used under rimmed tanks. It compresses unevenly causing the tank to twist, a twisted tank is one that is going to leak.

Edit- I can see with your last post there is foam, you will want to pull that out

Click to expand...

Thanks for the wood working compliments. I will pass them to my dad and brother!
Interesting tidbit about the foam though. I seem to have read everywhere else that rigid foam underneath tanks this large is highly recommended, although, I can't remember if it included rimmed tanks or not. (This tank is rimmed). Also, when I filled it with water, it was 1/8th inch off level with the left side being slightly higher than the right. This caused my overflows to not working properly. I used some shims to level it out, and it is working great so far. Would the foam have caused the tank to not be level? I only used shims because I checked the wood stand, floor, and even double checked the crawlspace to ensure my jack stand was in the center of the stand and not lifting the floor too high.