Drews 400!

[DJ_drew]

Well as some of you may know i recently purchased Jason Mck's 400 gallon former tank of the month!

its 6'6 Lx 36Wx 30H all glass, the only problem with the tank is the eurobracing is cracked, but i was assured by Jason and the tank manufacturer that the width of the glass is overkill for even a tank this size
http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn107/DJ_dru_2008/IMG_0393.jpg
The tank came drilled for a closed loop which is great because it saves me money on powerheads, it also came with an OM 4way for the closed loop

So we got the tank home on the only day its been sunny here in about 3weeks so we got lucky! but we got it back to my house and getting in the back yard one of the guys sliced his hand open on the euro-bracing so we had to stop and leave it there, so it has been sitting in the back yard now for a week.
http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn107/DJ_dru_2008/IMG_0392.jpg
so here it sits!
Trying to find people to come over and help me move it is ridiculously hard once people know how big the tank actually is and the fact it weighs about 1400 pounds dry
lol
What makes it even more difficult is the bulkheads on either end i dont wanna take off as it would cost me more then just moving it as is so im thinking of standing it up on end on blocks and then putting an industrial 2 wheel dolly under it and moving it that way, dun dun dun and now the hard part
down 2 small sets of stairs and around a corner in between the 2!

heres a couple more pics of the tank


http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn107/DJ_dru_2008/IMG_0391.jpg
http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn107/DJ_dru_2008/IMG_0390.jpg
http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn107/DJ_dru_2008/IMG_0389.jpg


now the reasoning behind the upgrade!
i had a 300 in the past and had to tear it down due to financial difficulty and down graded to a 125
well now that things are looking better i found a smokin deal on this tank so i couldnt pass it up
the 125 is now in my spare room with all the fish in hyposalinity to get rid of the small amount of ich in the tank (only affects the powder tangs)

http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn107/DJ_dru_2008/IMG_0397.jpg

this is the 125 thats being used as a temporary home for the fish, and believe me they are not to happy about it but they are troopers. I've had most of them including the naso and sohal since they were smaller then 2 inches :)

More to follow!

Drew

[KevinK]

depending what your situation is, it should be pouseble to move it with only 2

you only need help with the lift

when I put my 350 in, I made a dolly where the tank was on, roled it to the stand and jacked the dolly one side at a time to the levvle of the stand

I did this with my wife, and eventually we slided the tank from the dolly onto the stand with the 2 of us.

as mentioned, it depends how you have it, but I se you still need to lift it onto something, I had mine put on the dolly with a fork lift and roled it in a trailer

ohhh, we had to take the wall out so the dolly fit !!

wish you all the best, when you dont se the light anymore, think how nice this one will be,

I'm already thinking and gathering things for a 5.5 feet square

[DJ_drew]

haha if only it were that simple it has to go down 4 stairs and through 2 doorways then onto the stand
hence why i need help moving it
lol
for anyone interested im recruiting for help moving it in the next 48 hours because of the snow!
if u live in the coquitlam port coquitlam area and like free pizza and beer and fishtanks! let me know, we could totally use the help!!

Drew

[lastlight]

It's too bad I'm not closer. Most people around here know I'm HUGE and could likely lift this thing alone. Best of luck Drew.

[KevinK]

haha if only it were that simple it has to go down 4 stairs and through 2 doorways then onto the stand
hence why i need help moving it
lol
for anyone interested im recruiting for help moving it in the next 48 hours because of the snow!
if u live in the coquitlam port coquitlam area and like free pizza and beer and fishtanks! let me know, we could totally use the help!!

Drew

that is in deed a big big bummer,

sorry I'm free but in victoria

[Trabby]

It's too bad I'm not closer. Most people around here know I'm HUGE and could likely lift this thing alone. Best of luck Drew.

Totally.... You should run out there and help him.

[04scoobysti]

I can help if you need it. LMK.

Derek

[abcha0s]

Nice tank!

[muck]

I can help if you need it. LMK.

Derek

Derek's not much help... hes too skinny. :lol:

[KevinK]

cant se the crack in the bracing, where is it.

I had mine cracked as well right in the middel (2 years back), I went to get a strip of 12 mm glass (about 20 inches long and the with of the bracing, cleand the hel out of the bracing and silicone'd it on there, never a problem

watch out when you work in the tank, when you hang over to put things in ore maintain, you always lean, no matter what, unless you have the tank on the floor.

it is the leaning against it that cracks it (ore the belly hanging over it)

what I would sugest is to make a 2x6 frame around the tank on its flat side, to avoid the presure on the edge

[Wanderer]

Drew,

My spine has only just recovered from moving that damned thing last week


let me know when the snow clears, and we have 10 guys ready to move the tank

[DJ_drew]

haha no kidding we almost killed ourselves and there was 5 of us so the more the merrier!

im thinking friday afternoon 2:00 for those of you that feel up to helping!

[DJ_drew]

I can help if you need it. LMK.

Derek

hey derek!

thanks for the offer but its quite a drive for you from delta!
we would love the help! and i'll make sure to have an extar beer waiting for you if you like!!

[DJ_drew]

hey guys
so heres the details!
we are doing it this saturday @ 12noon so if you are free and willing to help we sure could use it!

there will be pizza and beer for everyone and of course the obvious tour and fish sightings!

pm me if you're free and are up to coming out!!

Drew

thanks a mill!

[DJ_drew]

So the move is on for tomorrow!! if anyone else likes free pizza and beer and wants to stop by please feel free!! we could use all the help we can get!

Drew

[fishytime]

good luck and strong backs to ya!:biggrin:

[DJ_drew]

ok so heres how things ended up after the weekend!
first things first i should tell you i have an insanely worrisome landlord!

so we started in the backyard!

http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn107/DJ_dru_2008/IMG_0410.jpg
Bruce was out to help us!
http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn107/DJ_dru_2008/IMG_0412.jpg
this is where the tank had to go!
so we ended up taking out the railing to make life easier
this is the space in front of the front door!
http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn107/DJ_dru_2008/IMG_0413.jpg

and unfortunately thats as far as we got!
the tank is 1mm to big to fit through the door! i %&$# you not! 1mm!
so we talked about taking the inner frame of the door off which has the weather stripping on it, not the outside frame and the landlord was having non of it!!
so the next step is either leave the tank there until i move which would be easiest or get one of the bottom panes of glass off the tank, get the tank in the house, and then redo the bottom of the tank!

now either way i have to get the eurobracing fixed so i might get the manufacturer to do all of the above!

heres the state of the euro-bracing now
http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn107/DJ_dru_2008/IMG_0409.jpg
http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn107/DJ_dru_2008/IMG_0407.jpg
http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn107/DJ_dru_2008/IMG_0406.jpg
http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn107/DJ_dru_2008/IMG_0405.jpg
any thoughts on the euro-bracing?
ive been told by jason that the mfctr of the tank has said regardless of euro-bracing the strength of the tank is uncompromised :)

so ya thoughts would be appreciated!

Drew

[KevinK]

ok so heres how things ended up after the weekend!
first things first i should tell you i have an insanely worrisome landlord!

so we started in the backyard!

http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn107/DJ_dru_2008/IMG_0410.jpg
Bruce was out to help us!
http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn107/DJ_dru_2008/IMG_0412.jpg
this is where the tank had to go!
so we ended up taking out the railing to make life easier
this is the space in front of the front door!
http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn107/DJ_dru_2008/IMG_0413.jpg

and unfortunately thats as far as we got!
the tank is 1mm to big to fit through the door! i %&$# you not! 1mm!
so we talked about taking the inner frame of the door off which has the weather stripping on it, not the outside frame and the landlord was having non of it!!
so the next step is either leave the tank there until i move which would be easiest or get one of the bottom panes of glass off the tank, get the tank in the house, and then redo the bottom of the tank!

now either way i have to get the eurobracing fixed so i might get the manufacturer to do all of the above!

heres the state of the euro-bracing now
http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn107/DJ_dru_2008/IMG_0409.jpg
http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn107/DJ_dru_2008/IMG_0407.jpg
http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn107/DJ_dru_2008/IMG_0406.jpg
http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn107/DJ_dru_2008/IMG_0405.jpg
any thoughts on the euro-bracing?
ive been told by jason that the mfctr of the tank has said regardless of euro-bracing the strength of the tank is uncompromised :)



so ya thoughts would be appreciated!

Drew

my crack was not as big as yours, however fairly close, and as mentioned on page one, my solution worked out perfect:

in case you feel nececerry, you could even laminate an entire length on top of the cracked, minr is fine with about 20 inches

cant se the crack in the bracing, where is it.

I had mine cracked as well right in the middel (2 years back), I went to get a strip of 12 mm glass (about 20 inches long and the with of the bracing, cleand the hel out of the bracing and silicone'd it on there, never a problem

watch out when you work in the tank, when you hang over to put things in ore maintain, you always lean, no matter what, unless you have the tank on the floor.

it is the leaning against it that cracks it (ore the belly hanging over it)

what I would sugest is to make a 2x6 frame around the tank on its flat side, to avoid the presure on the edge

[DJ_drew]

thats a good idea and the cracks are the v shape designs in the glass

[lastlight]

This is brutal. Why the heck was the landlord even there the day you tried to get it in? Does he live upstairs? I'd have just moved it down there, not told him of the clearance issue and just fixed the frame up later. Man this stinks.

[golf nut]

Do the front and back panes sit on the bottom piece of glass ?

Are you sure you are only 1mm too wide ie .039" or is it one cm .394" ?

[DJ_drew]

he lives upstairs yes and we needed his help to get it down the stairs
lol
its all on the same level now so i can always move it in and fix it later as well i just have to find a time when they are not around
lol
its really a must as i have lost 2 of my tangs in the past 24 hours due to the fact that they needed a bigger home!

[DJ_drew]

Do the front and back panes sit on the bottom piece of glass ?

Are you sure you are only 1mm too wide ie .039" or is it one cm .394" ?

yes the sit on the bottom pains! but the good things is we can take the very bottom panel off without tearing down the whole tank it would stay intact and then we would need to just re-silicone the bottom panel back on

[golf nut]

yes the sit on the bottom pains! but the good things is we can take the very bottom panel off without tearing down the whole tank it would stay intact and then we would need to just re-silicone the bottom panel back onHard to tell from the pics but have you removed the euro-bracing? is the base of the tank 1mm wider than the door?

[DJ_drew]

no the euro-bracing is still on the tank just on the front and back panels, and yes the tank is literally 1mm to big for the door!
im thinking of just shoving it through and repainting it after!

[golf nut]

no the euro-bracing is still on the tank just on the front and back panels, and yes the tank is literally 1mm to big for the door!
im thinking of just shoving it through and repainting it after!

Too wide where? on the height or the width.

Sorry just re-read the first post, why not remove the euro bracing?

Plan "B" a couple of car jacks will widen the door frame quite a bit:)

[DJ_drew]

haha yes they would! and its the height of the tank thats to much as thats the only way it will go through the door
on its side

[golf nut]

Kill two birds with one stone, lose the euro-bracing .

[fishytime]

looks from the pics like there is black trim on the tank????....would you gain the clearance you need it you just took that off?

[DJ_drew]

looks from the pics like there is black trim on the tank????....would you gain the clearance you need it you just took that off?

Unfortunately thats the first thing we thought of and no we didnt gain as much as we needed!

[lastlight]

The eurobracing needs to come off anyways. Why compromise the strength of the bottom seals when you can take that bracing off?

[DJ_drew]

The eurobracing needs to come off anyways. Why compromise the strength of the bottom seals when you can take that bracing off?

because the bracing is not actually sitting on top of the tank, it is siliconed around the inside of the tank

[lastlight]

Oh damn that's a bummer. Just giver and touch up that door frame. You know you want that thing in there and you know you don't wanna mess with the tank's bottom.

I managed to wreck a few door frames by using those expandable chin-up bars in an old apartment. If you can find one of those you'll get the expansion you need as well and the landlord will only suspect you're getting ripped.

[DJ_drew]

Oh damn that's a bummer. Just giver and touch up that door frame. You know you want that thing in there and you know you don't wanna mess with the tank's bottom.

I managed to wreck a few door frames by using those expandable chin-up bars in an old apartment. If you can find one of those you'll get the expansion you need as well and the landlord will only suspect you're getting ripped.

id love to get the tank in but as it stands now i just registered for my last year of school :)
and now my next priority is finding a new place to live as the place we are in now is way to exspensive so now im looking for something cheaper so i have more money to splurge on the tank with!
:)

anybody that has suite for rent! lemme know!
haha

[DJ_drew]

so it looks like we may have found a new place!! and the first thing the owner of the place said was he loves fish!! how awesome is that?!?!

[lastlight]

how awesome is that?!?!

Well the answer hinges upon the width of doors and windows there now doesn't it ? :mrgreen:

[golf nut]

how awesome is that?!?!




Well the answer hinges on whether he wants to watch them or have them on a plate.

[DJ_drew]

this is true, we are going to see the place this weekend so i will let you know after that!
haha

[lastlight]

Just tow the tank to the new place and do a few test slides in there for fun.