Jump to content

Rimless Starfire 40 Gallon Build


Stephen

Recommended Posts

Hey everyone, after being out of the hobby for a year or so I have decided to build another tank. I have been working on this for the past 4 months and hope to have water sometime really soon! The tank and stand were both designed and built by myself.

Tank specs: 24"x24"x16" 3 sided starfire glass 3/8" thickness

Rimless

External overflow

3 drains

2 returns

29 g sump

20 g refugium

Here are some pics of the stand construction.

post-662-0-45633500-1348770183_thumb.jpg

post-662-0-29823800-1348770210_thumb.jpg

post-662-0-35653500-1348770245_thumb.jpg

I consider myself pretty lucky.. My girlfriend let me build the stand and tank in our kitchen smile.png

post-662-0-36904400-1348770155_thumb.jpg

Test fit.

post-662-0-61014300-1348770626_thumb.jpg

Drilling the glass for return lines.

post-662-0-13904100-1348770457_thumb.jpg

Covered the glass in paper and blue tape to prevent silicone from getting everywhere. This worked out well the first time. However, when I had to cut out the front panel and resealed I didn't cover everything and got silicone everywhere sad.png

post-662-0-56865100-1348770524_thumb.jpg

post-662-0-57061400-1348770491_thumb.jpg

Nice clean lines

post-662-0-19207600-1348770621_thumb.jpg

End result. Ready for paint!

post-662-0-82575300-1348770790_thumb.jpg

Here's the Refugium I built. Passed the water test.

post-662-0-51006700-1348770814_thumb.jpg

Testing to see how things are going to fit in the sump. Still need to baffle the sump.

post-662-0-61002800-1348770778_thumb.jpg

post-662-0-69061700-1348770752_thumb.jpg

Tank is now ready for plumbing. Getting so close!! I'm really excited.

post-662-0-25190700-1348770826_thumb.jpg

post-662-0-64348600-1348770559_thumb.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Love the sump and fuge, that's a difficult dimension to work with. My dining room is currently in a state of reef disarray for the pending stand move, still room to eat dinner though.

Do you have any specific plans for the stocking?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...
  • 1 month later...

Here's a pic of the plumbing after I testing and paint.

post-662-0-54336200-1353985953_thumb.jpg

Finally have water.. No big deal right? wink.png

post-662-0-60822800-1353985982_thumb.jpg

Here's a pic of the fuge and sump. Skimmer is running like a champ!

post-662-0-33219400-1353986002_thumb.jpg

Here's a view of the front of my tank. I'm really satisfied with the rock work. What do you guys think? Have had a few corals that bleached out a bit, but they seem to be bouncing back.

post-662-0-61510800-1353986083_thumb.jpg

View from left side.

post-662-0-33219400-1353986105_thumb.jpg

View of right panel

post-662-0-33050700-1353986125_thumb.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks for the comments.

Looks great. What did you use to cut the glass for the over flow? I think I might do that to my biocube.

I had the guys over at Biswanger glass cut out the notch for me. Just sent them the diagram and they did the rest. Excellent work by the way.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...

Here are some recent pics of the display. I added a bit more rock to create a top shelf on the reef. Also, picked up some amazing frags from Roland. Thanks bud! Anyways, I wish I had a better cam, these iphone pics don't capture the corals very well.. I bought a dual reactor from brs and added Gfo and carbon. Upcoming things in the works are a 2 part and vodka dosing. Going to add onto my existing led fixture too. It's currently 24 3w LEDs and I'm going to add either 12 or 24 more. post-662-135933604787_thumb.jpg post-662-135933611502_thumb.jpg post-662-135933614191_thumb.jpg post-662-135933617654_thumb.jpgpost-662-135933623314_thumb.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 4 weeks later...

very beautiful tank. i was reading briansrocks' upcoming tank purchase thread and asked myself "self, it cant be that dificult or that expesive to build a tank" (not taking anything from your amazing build btw) and you my friend have motivated me to make my next aquarium be one built by me. thanks for the inspiration. thumbsup.gif

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Very nice build Stephen! Puts my crude build to shame!

Lol, thanks man. Your tank is solid, Can't wait to see it with some lights.

very beautiful tank. i was reading briansrocks' upcoming tank purchase thread and asked myself "self, it cant be that dificult or that expesive to build a tank" (not taking anything from your amazing build btw) and you my friend have motivated me to make my next aquarium be one built by me. thanks for the inspiration. thumbsup.gif

That's great! I'm loving my tank and it honestly wasn't that hard to build. The stand was 100 times more difficult with all the sanding, cuts and stain. Heck, I don't even have a cabinet door for my stand yet and it's been up for 4 months. lol, anyways If you need any help let me know! I put together a binder of different tank builds and advice on building tanks. It's pretty thorough and would be worth checking out.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...