The Nautilus peninsula aquarium

[Cyclist]

I thought it would be a good time to tell you all about a build that I have going on right now.


A little history about my entrance into the hobby:

When I was younger and living with my parents I ran many freshwater aquariums up until my last one which a 50 gallon I built myself. I bet you all already know why it was my last one. I’ll point out that I had never built an aquarium and to (date myself) at that time there was no internet to learn from. Not long after the build and set up I was awoken one night but the sound of a “whoosh” or a” gush”. That ended my desire to keep aquariums.


Not long ago I decided to introduce saltwater aquariums to my three boys. We were limited on the size due to living in a condo in La Jolla CA, but found that an IM 30 gallon was a perfect fit for our family and living space. Quickly out grew that aquarium we started looking to purchase a larger tank. We ended up ordering a custom 65 gallon rimless Lee Mar. The aquarium was perfect. I built the overflow box and drilled the tank myself.


Recently we moved into a house and I had the opportunity to upgrade to a larger aquarium. So I quickly sold the 65 gallon and moved all my fish, sps and lps into a 40 gallon petco tank back in December 2015.


Live stock:

2 Clowns hosting an anemone

1 blue tang

1 Khole tang

1 red star fish

1 peppermint shrimp


Equipment:

2 Hydra 52

2 Mp40 QD’s

Apex controller



Life in the 40 gallon has been interesting. Every fish seems happy, and the sps corals have actually been growing faster than normal. No skimmer, no filtration, and no sand and only 5 pounds of live rock. Am I living on borrowed time? I do weekly water changes at 50% total volume which seems to keep everything thriving.


Now about the current build:


Tank: All starphire glass except the bottom 48x26x26 custom built euro bracing and 12mm glass. My only regret is not going ¾ and rimless.


I am doing another custom over flow box that is made of glass. (more on this later)


Sump: 36x20x17 Still in planning but should run 40 gallons during operation. Large refugium will be utilized in this system.

 

[fragit]

Following along, who's building/built your tank?

 

[Cyclist]

Yours truly in a way.

It's a long story and I just don't feel the need to bash.

One thing, I am still bent on is the fact that I only got 12mm glass. I wish I had 3/4. The reason: I just want to go rimless again, but I really think that the 12mm glass needs the support from the euro brace.

So I am still trying to figure out if I can add the euro brace to the bottom or if that wont accomplish anything and it needs to be added to the top.

 

[fragit]

Let me guess, must be SCA, or CAD lights?

 

[Cyclist]

The stand

I've been toying with the idea of a metal stand until I saw the weight. I decided that metal was a no go.

I built a wood stand that is nice and solid, but does not leave me with a lot of options for additions.

Then while doing some research on a cnc router, I came across 80/20. Been in contact with a local reseller and 80/20 and think I have a solid plan on using 1530 for the frame. Next step is to place the order and have them ship all the parts out.

 

[Cyclist]

The stand:
Ok got pricing on the stand.
I could use 2" X 4" which they call 2040

Or 1.5" X 3" which they call 1530.

They price difference is $30 total.

Which way would you go?

 

[fragit]

The stand:
Ok got pricing on the stand.
I could use 2" X 4" which they call 2040

Or 1.5" X 3" which they call 1530.

They price difference is $30 total.

Which way would you go?

Most of the aluminum stands I've seen on here are 20/40. If I were going to use aluminum I think I would go that route (2040) just give you a more proportionate look I think, maybe more surface area for skinning it if you decide to.

 

[Cyclist]

Most of the aluminum stands I've seen on here are 20/40. If I were going to use aluminum I think I would go that route (2040) just give you a more proportionate look I think, maybe more surface area for skinning it if you decide to.

Thanks Fragit and thank you for your input along the way.

I was leaning the same direction. Guess I double check measurements and place my order.

 

[fragit]

Your welcome, try doing a quick search on here. There are some pretty nice looking aluminum stands. I will be following your build, as I'm doing an almost identical build to yours.

 

[revhtree]

I like your aquarium name! HA!

 

[Cyclist]

I like your aquarium name! HA!

lol I have always like the name Nautilus, the pelagic octopuses is super cool!

 

[Cyclist]

The Tank:
Part list
4 @ 40” part [HASHTAG]#2040[/HASHTAG] long cross supports (2” X 4”)

4 @ 22” part [HASHTAG]#2040[/HASHTAG] short cross supports (2” X 4”)

2 @ 22” part [HASHTAG]#2040[/HASHTAG] center short cross supports (2” X 4”)

4 @ 32” part [HASHTAG]#2040[/HASHTAG] fixed ends (2” X 4”)

I am opting for 10 Series 10-32 Standard Anchor Fastener Assembly with counterbores for securing it all together.

 

[Cyclist]

The 2040

The counterbore

 

[Cyclist]

Thought I would share a photo of my external overflow box.

 

[Cyclist]

The Stand
The order was just placed on all the hardware and it will arrive cut. If I had them do the counterboring, it would have added about another $300 to the cost.
I figured it was a good time to buy a Sears drill press for $129 and do the counterboring myself. I'll just have to make a jig to make sure it aligns perfectly.

 

[Cyclist]

The Overflow.
Well I made a mistake in trying to run the return line through the overflow box and out the sides.

The exit lined up perfectly with the holes drilled up in the tank which made it impossible to run any plumbing.

So I just got done ripping the sides off the overflow box, cutting glass and rebuilding the sides.

On a positive note my silicone jobs are looking like Elos style. Edit* ok not really Elos quality, but better then I was doing them when I first started.

 

[Cyclist]

Overflow:

External box mounted!
Glass cleaned, black background trimmed and ready to mount.

Mounted.

 

[Cyclist]

Not much done today. The kids had the day planned out before I rolled out of bed at 6am.

I did get the internal box mounted and just did not leave myself much room to do the removable weir. Also wrapped the internal box with poly to hide the glass.

Built a lid for the external box that actually looks better than I had planned.

The next step is to get some water into the tank and play with water levels until I get it dialed in. At that point I'll set the weir.


Pictures to come.

 

[Cyclist]

Got word the my stand parts will be delivard this Monday.

Drill press to be delivard next Thursday.

So it appears that I have plenty of time to design my sump.

 

[Cyclist]

Still trying to figure out what skimmer to get.

I was so sure about getting the RLSS DB8-I but got turned off my Aquarium specialty customer service that we just threw in the towel on that one.