Newbie advise needed... Diary of a new tank junkie

[ensquire]

Thanks for the insight smallfry, I like the bean animal setup and was in the mix as well.
Did you DIY the whole setup? If I go this way I would probably need a box built. Who does this ?

[SmallFry]

Originally Posted by ensquire

Thanks for the insight smallfry, I like the bean animal setup and was in the mix as well.
Did you DIY the whole setup? If I go this way I would probably need a box built. Who does this ?

Pretty much the whole thing is diy, apart from the tanks, but I did replace the back panel in the main tank and then cut the slots for the overflow and resealed the sump. The overflow box wasn't hard to build, just remember to use thicker glass on the bottom like I didn't the first time!

Probably your glass shop would be able to build it, but don't know whether they'd have aquarium safe silicone. Really isn't that hard to do yourself if the glass is cut for you. Just remember, when working with silicone, masking tape is your friend....

The plumbing was pretty easy, just have to make sure you get the stuff dry assembled first to make sure it all fits at the right lengths etc. I also found that it's worth marking the pipes and fittings while dry assembled because you want to get things on the right way around and also the fittings slide in easier/further once you've got the adhesive on so you could accidentally end up with the pipe shorter than you planned, and with that glue you don't have much thinking time!

[ensquire]

Okay then, Now for a out of left field question.
Has anyone ever sealed off 2 bottom holes and not had problems??
What Im thinking is that I would like to eliminate the corner overflow box entirely and use a piece of glass and lotsa silicone to seal off the holes in the bottom. What are the chances of success????? I would then demolish the corner box and go with a rear exterior overflow and drill 2 return lines at both ends of the rear glass panel. Don't wanna do the over the top return.

Opinions???????????

[ensquire]

Just a couple pics to let you know what we are looking at. This is the tank as it sits right now....Just waiting LOL for fish and corals and whatever, probably going to be a large zoa tank.

[ensquire]

Opps Okay Milad How do we downsize these pics??????

[ensquire]

This is where I am at right now with the tank. Just finished skinning the stand, It's ready for painting. Just have to find some magnets and louvers for the doors.




Pic with Moonlights on makes weird glow



Moonlights with houselights off , All Iphone pics

[SmallFry]

Originally Posted by ensquire

Okay then, Now for a out of left field question.
Has anyone ever sealed off 2 bottom holes and not had problems??
What Im thinking is that I would like to eliminate the corner overflow box entirely and use a piece of glass and lotsa silicone to seal off the holes in the bottom. What are the chances of success????? I would then demolish the corner box and go with a rear exterior overflow and drill 2 return lines at both ends of the rear glass panel. Don't wanna do the over the top return.

Opinions???????????

Don't know about sealing off the holes with a piece of glass, my worry would be the load concentrating around the edges of the piece of glass you put over the top...

Of course you could simply cap off the bulkheads in the bottom. Sounds a little quick and dirty, but possibly a workable solution?

Rob.

[ensquire]

What exactly would one use to cut the tank? I went over your thread Smallfry and am a little unsure. Was it a dremel product diamond wheel? Checked the local box stores yesterday and could not find anything that resembles a diamond cutting wheel. Had to order all my fittings online cause noone in Yellowknife handles PVC to any degree,
This is gonna take forever.

[SmallFry]

Originally Posted by ensquire

What exactly would one use to cut the tank? I went over your thread Smallfry and am a little unsure. Was it a dremel product diamond wheel? Checked the local box stores yesterday and could not find anything that resembles a diamond cutting wheel. Had to order all my fittings online cause noone in Yellowknife handles PVC to any degree,
This is gonna take forever.

The slots in the back were made by using a diamond drill bit (3/8") to make each end, then I cut between the tops and bottoms with a 2" diamond cutting wheel from Princess Auto which was I think cheaper than the dremel one. I found that it was best to create an initial groove to follow with the cutting wheel on the dremel which is more manoeuvrable, then once that was done to do the rest of the cutting with the cutting wheel mounted in a drill which has the torque to use a reasonable amount of pressure (you just have to make sure you back off the pressure as you cut the last of the way through). Also, I found it caused less chipping if you cut against the direction of rotation of the cutting wheel. No doubt you could do it all with the dremel, but with mine, I couldn't apply enough pressure to cut sensibly without overheating it.. It was, however, Jobmates version of a dremel - enough said....

The holes in the bottom of the overflow were cut with a hole saw, also from Princess Auto.

Hope that's a little more clear - sometimes it's hard to translate what you remember into a coherent explanation on paper...

[ensquire]

Thanks Smallfry, what are the dimensions of your overflo box? Yours is glass ? Can lexan be used for external box? What adhesive is best ? Man I ask a lot of questions LOL
Ordered most of what I needed today because I could not find one thing here as far as plumging or bits etc. Probably take a week or so to get here. In the mean time I will tear tank down again and store the rock in a big bin with skimmer and powerheads. Paint and seal the stand, so there are things to do.
I wish this wasnt such a barren area for supplies and livestock.
I have been running the tank for about a month now and have a hair algae problem to deal with .