210 gallon Dream tank

[MichaelB]

Nice update! Although you'll probably get the criticism from older reefers that this is another millennial fad of painting everything white lol.

Definitely makes it look more modern though. I would have gone with the white stand too if the black wasn't 30% off.

Nice update! Although you'll probably get the criticism from older reefers that this is another millennial fad of painting everything white lol.

Definitely makes it look more modern though. I would have gone with the white stand too if the black wasn't 30% off.

Lol, I didn't care for the cave feeling of darkness. I probably need to figure out a way to rig up sometype of ceiling hanging light.

It's dark to the point I had to break out the old school work light to see where I was putting the white paint.



Black is normally my prefered color for tank stands, but my wife said no black before I even mentioned I thought about painting it.

 

[MichaelB]

Hahaha I warned him about the criticism but I think it’s going to look a lot better. I saw the stand in his living room in person and it definitely made the room feel even darker.

Yea I can't argue the stand was beautiful as it, just couldn't deal with the color in a already dark room. Different conditions I wouldn't have touched it.

 

[MichaelB]

After 4 coats of primer,
and 2 coats of paint. I will most likely add 2 more coats of paint.

I still need to primer &paint the canopy and inside of the stand

There is still alot more that needs to be done. However it’s progress in any case.

 

[Chrism1330]

Wow looking good man, following along on this build cant wait to see your rock sculpture design.

 

[MichaelB]

Wow looking good man, following along on this build cant wait to see your rock sculpture design.

My current plan is to hit up coral reefer lmao. I've made all my previous structures. But not fully happy with my results. Building structures is more along the lines of being a artist, having the ability to see something in your mind, and having the skills to manifest your vision.
There isn’t a video or advice from another reefer that can give you that side of the equation. Bonding rocks together and hiding the seams are both easy once you know the process.

So I'm hoping to get some awesome structures from him. That way I'm happy with the end results.

 

[PjFish]

After 4 coats of primer,
and 2 coats of paint. I will most likely add 2 more coats of paint.

I still need to primer &paint the canopy and inside of the stand

View attachment 64545View attachment 64546

There is still alot more that needs to be done. However it’s progress in any case.

Wow thats alot of coats wasn’t it already stained and sealed ? Curious what paint you’re using? and if ur sanding between the last coats with 400 grit or above since you started with a nice flat finish.
There’s a few members on here who did amazing jobs on their stands better then most any bought ones don’t remember their handles..
Also regardless if oil/latex/ or acrylic or exterior paint Id do a final coat or two of water based polyurethane sanding between coats. Oil based may yellow over the white..That saltwater has no mercy!
In the past Ive used white gloss appliance epoxy on the inside since all the splashes holds up pretty good no chips or flakes falling into the tank if scraped like regular paint. Comes in spray cans or regular paint cans.
Some members here used rubber shower liners on the bottom of stand that the sump sits on that is stapled/ screwed up a couple inches so it holds some water in case of a slowish leak in plumbing or sump.. @Turkeysammich turned me on to them wireless leak detectors a while back so I could sleep Ha! I may change my handle to MashedPotaters now since I can’t stop eating Yukon gold mashed potatoes with roasted garlic since the holidays!
Not sure if you plan painting the top of stand ? If so choose wisely! Otherwise the tank and stand may become one lol especially with latex paint or some polyurethane products.They do make foam yoga mats white or printed with ocean sand texture looks like bottom of sea floor.. Helps if you’re going with a shallow sand bed that blows around.
Nice progress! Looks great.
Your getting me inspired to finish painting a canopy lol but I’m considering redwood burl veneer since the stand & doors are already skinned in rough redwood lumber and yes its kinda hippie-ish! ,, but I may have been born in the 60’s lol just something special about that wood!
Good luck

 

[MichaelB]

Wow thats alot of coats wasn’t it already stained and sealed ? Curious what paint you’re using? and if ur sanding between the last coats with 400 grit or above since you started with a nice flat finish.
There’s a few members on here who did amazing jobs on their stands better then most any bought ones don’t remember their handles..
Also regardless if oil/latex/ or acrylic or exterior paint Id do a final coat or two of water based polyurethane sanding between coats. Oil based may yellow over the white..That saltwater has no mercy!
In the past Ive used white gloss appliance epoxy on the inside since all the splashes holds up pretty good no chips or flakes falling into the tank if scraped like regular paint. Comes in spray cans or regular paint cans.
Some members here used rubber shower liners on the bottom of stand that the sump sits on that is stapled/ screwed up a couple inches so it holds some water in case of a slowish leak in plumbing or sump.. @Turkeysammich turned me on to them wireless leak detectors a while back so I could sleep Ha! I may change my handle to MashedPotaters now since I can’t stop eating Yukon gold mashed potatoes with roasted garlic since the holidays!
Not sure if you plan painting the top of stand ? If so choose wisely! Otherwise the tank and stand may become one lol especially with latex paint or some polyurethane products.They do make foam yoga mats white or printed with ocean sand texture looks like bottom of sea floor.. Helps if you’re going with a shallow sand bed that blows around.
Nice progress! Looks great.
Your getting me inspired to finish painting a canopy lol but I’m considering redwood burl veneer since the stand & doors are already skinned in rough redwood lumber and yes its kinda hippie-ish! ,, but I may have been born in the 60’s lol just something special about that wood!
Good luck

Kitlz for the primer.

I didn't sand anything at all. Just went with lotsnof coats to ensure wood doesn't show through and extra thick for scratches. Inside the stand i may only use primer. I only care that it’s white not glossy. I have barely used any of the paint outta that gallon. So any future finish issues i can always brake out the paint again. I'm still not sure if I will actually use the canopy or not at this point. The tank is already extremely tall adding the top would put it a ft or less from the ceiling. If i do use the hood I will have to add vents/ fans. They had some mold growing inside the top of the canopy. I would also possibly get a small can of polyurethane to do 2 layers of clear container inside the canopy and possibly over the top of the sump.

Any links to the yoga matts you refrenced never considered those?

Even though more than likely I'm leaning towards crushed coral. Though I won't rule out sand at this point either.

In my 65gallon tank I did use shower pan liner at the bottom. This tank stand doesn't have a bottom brace across the bottom. The back is a complete flat drop off excluded the 2 10 inch vertical braces in the back. So a liner wouldn't work without adding a bottom rear rail or brace to support it.

 

[MarcosD]

View attachment 64575
Kitlz for the primer.

I didn't sand anything at all. Just went with lotsnof coats to ensure wood doesn't show through and extra thick for scratches. Inside the stand i may only use primer. I only care that it’s white not glossy. I have barely used any of the paint outta that gallon. So any future finish issues i can always brake out the paint again. I'm still not sure if I will actually use the canopy or not at this point. The tank is already extremely tall adding the top would put it a ft or less from the ceiling. If i do use the hood I will have to add vents/ fans. They had some mold growing inside the top of the canopy. I would also possibly get a small can of polyurethane to do 2 layers of clear container inside the canopy and possibly over the top of the sump.

Any links to the yoga matts you refrenced never considered those?

Even though more than likely I'm leaning towards crushed coral. Though I won't rule out sand at this point either.

In my 65gallon tank I did use shower pan liner at the bottom. This tank stand doesn't have a bottom brace across the bottom. The back is a complete flat drop off excluded the 2 10 inch vertical braces in the back. So a liner wouldn't work without adding a bottom rear rail or brace to support it.

I would recommend at least painting the floor of your interior stand with the glossy paint. Your bound to have spills and it makes cleanup easier

 

[MichaelB]

I would recommend at least painting the floor of your interior stand with the glossy paint. Your bound to have spills and it makes cleanup easier

Will do. I have the paint to use as in I can. More so was saying I'm not sure if i really needed to. I just want inside of it white. I'm also having stronger thoughts of not using the canopy it’s so tall I doubt the cats will even attempt to get on top of it. They haven't tried so far at least.

I may even modify the stand to just use shower pan liner. I haven't gotten that far into my considerations yet.

 

[Turkeysammich]

I’m not caught up but regarding the stand/ sump area. This is what I did on my 190. I tried painting the stand floor it. Sealing it. Epoxy it. It all still leaked over time. The best thing that worked was. I put down a sheet of plastic right before I installed the sump. Being careful not to rip it. Then I taped the edges with gorilla tape. For the plastic I used a plastic tablecloth from Amazon. It was like 10 dollars. Waterproof stand. Crazy right. It works tho.

 

[MichaelB]

I’m not caught up but regarding the stand/ sump area. This is what I did on my 190. I tried painting the stand floor it. Sealing it. Epoxy it. It all still leaked over time. The best thing that worked was. I put down a sheet of plastic right before I installed the sump. Being careful not to rip it. Then I taped the edges with gorilla tape. For the plastic I used a plastic tablecloth from Amazon. It was like 10 dollars. Waterproof stand. Crazy right. It works tho.

Yea, I mentioned above the back if the stand is completly flat no water proofing is possible with it’s current design. The is no lower wall that rises up on the back side. It's flat like a table top if that helps you get the idea. There are 2 8 inch braces that rise from the floor to the top of stand in the back but nothing else. So I would need to add maybe a 1×4 across the bottom back to attempt to water proof it. If I do I would go with a showe pan liner. Like I did on the 65gallon tank.

It's the grey part under sump.

It was like $40 but 100% water tight and capable of actual holding water.

 

[MichaelB]

Two items aquired, although minor they are vital to actually getting the tank going.


Bought 2 new heaters. I plan to run them in this Inkbird. I have currently have 2 of them one on the 65gallon tank and the other was for my main biocube32 but it's been 7 months and it's still not hooked up like the dosing pump I've had in the box for over a year as well. I should probably do something about it one day.


I was also lucky to grab this salt from @richiev for a insane price. It won't be enough salt considering the tank is 210 gallons and the sump is 40gal. So I will probably need more salt to make up the
20-40 gallons this batch will fall short on.

So not really exciting news yet it's more steps foward.

 

[jhuynh]

take in consideration for what alk level you want to be at. that salt runs at 12 alk. if you are planning sps, its best to get the blue version since it mixes at 7. i run 7.5 - 8 for my sps dominated tank.

 

[MichaelB]

take in consideration for what alk level you want to be at. that salt runs at 12 alk. if you are planning sps, its best to get the blue version since it mixes at 7. i run 7.5 - 8 for my sps dominated tank.

Thanks for the warning.

Yea I'm actually aware this has high alkalinity I plan to get maybe regular instant ocean to cut/ make up the difference. I wouldn't use this high alk salt in any of my current tanks with coral. It was cheap and this tank will need a crap ton of salt starting from plain rodi water. Saving that up front will allow me to get other items needed to get the tank started. Also for $20 compared to $90-$120 plus shipping hard to pass up on it.

After the tank is started I will find another salt to use for water changes going foward. I've been using mainly reef crystals for my other tanks. When I wasn't buying water from Neptunes.

I'm down to my last 4th of the bucket of reef crystals so will need to get more as well in the next month or two

 

[tribbitt]

I use coral pro, but I run my alkalinity relatively high (10), and I use this salt for regular, small water changes.

I think it's a great salt but when you fill the tank for the first time, the parameters advertised are a bit high. Speaking of filling: the entire sack won't even finish filling your tank. the water volume's huge!

 

[MichaelB]

I use coral pro, but I run my alkalinity relatively high (10), and I use this salt for regular, small water changes.

I think it's a great salt but when you fill the tank for the first time, the parameters advertised are a bit high. Speaking of filling: the entire sack won't even finish filling your tank. the water volume's huge!

It won't be enough but should be pretty close. But i will also use instant ocean mentioned above so may not need the entire bag. Just for when i get tank started which is still some time away.

 

[Alexander1312]

It was the first salt I had that someone at Aquatic Collection sold me. Never again, the parameters do not make sense in my opinion. If this only covers 10% of your need, then should be fine, but try to avoid this salt.

 

[tribbitt]

It was the first salt I had that someone at Aquatic Collection sold me. Never again, the parameters do not make sense in my opinion. If this only covers 10% of your need, then should be fine, but try to avoid this salt.

I think the intended user is someone with a nano who wants to replace dosing with water changes lol

 

[Arvin R]

It won't be enough but should be pretty close. But i will also use instant ocean mentioned above so may not need the entire bag. Just for when i get tank started which is still some time away.

IO mixes at the same elevated or sometimes even higher alk than coral pro. You will end up fighting the high alk for awhile as your consumption will be very low for a long time. If I were you I'd save this for use for water changes but fill up with either NSW from Bob or red sea blue. Your corals will thank you.

 

[Darkxerox]

Second the Bob suggestion, was way easier than doing buckets for initial fill.