180g (attempted low/easy maintenance) peninsula dirt bottom planted tank build

[twentyleagues]

I have done and will continue to do these things also. Tomatoes are a huge water consumer. Just be aware of that. Mine didnt work out great. I may try them again at some point. I have aquatic plants in most of my tanks and pothos and a couple others growing with roots in the water. I may set up a more specific grow bed for veg soon again....

 

[Oughtsix]

I have resigned myself to buying those red rubber balls that the supermarket labels as tomatos... someday I will build a green house... nights get too cold in Central Oregon for tomatos without a green house.

 

[duanes]

Shrimp?

Why would we keep the shrimp in the sump instead of the main tank?
.

My fish were all large enough to eat adult shrimp, so in the sumps the shrimp breed, and help to break down organic matter making it better and easily available to to the beneficial bacteria to process.
Also baby shrimp are small enough to be consumed by even the smallest fish, and angels can easily eat even semi adult shrimp

 

[duanes]

Shrimp?

Why would we keep the shrimp in the sump instead of the main tank?
.

My fish were all large enough to eat adult shrimp, so in the sumps the shrimp breed, and help to break down organic matter making it better and easily available to to the beneficial bacteria to process.
Also baby shrimp are small enough to be consumed by even the smallest fish, and angels can easily eat even semi adult shrimp.
I tend to think of sumps as not only filters, but as refugiums, and also plant sumps for fish that would destroy plants in a tank

 

[CrazyKoiCracker]

My fish were all large enough to eat adult shrimp, so in the sumps the shrimp breed, and help to break down organic matter making it better and easily available to to the beneficial bacteria to process.
Also baby shrimp are small enough to be consumed by even the smallest fish, and angels can easily eat even semi adult shrimp.
I tend to think of sumps as not only filters, but as refugiums, and also plant sumps for fish that would destroy plants in a tank

Plus it’s fun when you have company. “These are my polys, and look down here!!! Shrimp!!!”
“Oooooo....aaaaahhh”
Made a good point about their location in the tank though. Before or after filteration. I was planning to set them up on top of my ceramic media. Which would be after the filtration. I’ll have to reconsider. Definitely great for plant clippings though. I currently have like a pound of fire moss and susswasertang down in mine.

 

[Oughtsix]

The top of the stand (the ladder):




Those are four 2" x 6" 's planed and then laminated together for each rail of the "ladder".


The cross braces are set into dado'ed slots and screwed in with pocket holes.



The base of the stand built on top of to top to perfectly match



I put the plywood bottom on leveling blocks. Then attached the inner supports on top of the plywood.



With the inner supports glued and screwed I flipped the base over and mounted the plywood bottom. I managed a perfect 1/64" recess of the plywood bottom into the frame all the way around.


The results



This inside corner of the base



Mock up of the corner supports






The base of the stand was deliberately created as a tub to contain spills and leaks. The inside of the whole tub will be fiber glassed to make it water proof. I would love to paint the inside of the stand white before fiber glassing but I think this will negatively affect the bond between the fiber glass and the wood.

I have deliberately made the top and the bottom of the stand in two separate pieces so I can easily move the stand by myself (Just the ladder is a good 60+ lbs). There will be 4 corner upright supports and only a small 2" x 4" upright where the tank ends. A friend with a finite analysis program calculated a .023" deflection in the ladder without any other center upright supports. YEAH... 6' of clear span access under the tank! This is going to make it a whole lot easier to assemble the filtration and maintain everything!

So, my current quandary: Do I fiber glass the tub then mount the corner posts (so the corner posts can be removed) of do I mount the corner posts permantly then fiber glass them into the bottom tub? I am leaning towards permanently mounting the corner posts and fiber glassing them into the tub. My thinking is I can never get a perfectly flat fiber glass surface on inside corners which will make removable uprights much harder to fit flush and fiber glassed in will provide significant extra strength.

The upright posts will NOT be permanently mounted to the "ladder" top. That would make the stand way too hard to move. After the stand is setup I will sheath it with some nice maple veneer.

This 180 is going to be a peninsula divider in my great room. It WILL be quiet. I will be using an experimental bio tower design that I describe in the first post of this thread.

 

[islandguy11]

I can't answer your question in yellow but can just say I'm very impressed with your concept and effort. Keep it up and very much look fwd to seeing the end product, sounds like it's going to be really cool.

 

[phreeflow]

Nice woodworking not that stand!

 

[Oughtsix]

Thank you for the kind words of encouragement... I really do appreciate them!

I am to the point where I need to determine the proper height for the stand.

My main requirement is that it fit my favorite DE filter underneath the stand and that I can remove the filter from the stand without too much hassle if I find I need to! Here is the filter for judging the stand height.



I cut and planed all the corner upright pieces... it seems like it should be pretty quick but it was a few hours of work.


I glued and screwed all the outside cornet 2 x 6's and the inside 2 x 4's then cut them to a uniform length after letting them dry for the night.

To really get a true feeling for the size and height I drug all the pieces in from the shop and up the stairs. Here is the stand in it's intended resting place.


I am pretty sure that top piece weighs closer to 80 lbs... it was a ton of work getting it upstairs one step at a time!




I didn't actually assemble the stand I just used 4 screw to hold the uprights up while I put the top on. Yeah, that is a it of a gap I have to deal with... but that is the purpose of the test fitting. I am thinking a piece of 3/8" plywood for on top of the top "ladder". There is an inexpensive piece of Formica on CL that I am considering buying for putting on top of the plywood.

I completely ran out of energy and strength before I could get the aquarium upstairs... my daughter made me stop and take a break. I will hopefully get the tank upstairs tomorrow so I can get a better idea of how imposing it will be.

What do you guys think of the height? Too high? I left the uprights long because shortening is much easier than lengthening.

 

[Oughtsix]

I was able to get the 180G aquarium up the stairs and on the stand. I think I like the height and will keep it where it is at.

What do you guys think?