5 Feet, 110 Gallons of Fun

cvrle1 · #1 11-01-2019, 07:51 PM

Another thing I never did was buff/polish. Not just acrylic, but anything at all. Again I spent about a week reading up various forums, watched videos and so on. I decided I will use Novus 3, 2 and 1 for this final step. I ended up getting a really good deal on dual action polisher, and bought Chemical Guys cutting, polishing and finishing pads.

I started off with Novus 3 and used Medium/Heavy cutting pad. I had DA at speed 2 out of 6. This is what tank looked like once it was done

I was really shocked to see this much of a difference, and definitely didnt expect it. I could still see light scratches from sander, but felt good about it, knowing I still have Novus 2 to use.

I used Novus 2 with same pad as with Novus 3 (new pad, but same type). After Novus 2, all the scratches were gone, and tank was looking really good. Again I wasnt expecting this

Finally, I used Novus 1 twice. 1st time it was with Light/Medium polishing pad and then with finishing pad. I felt that after 1st run, there was still some novus 2 left behind, so I wanted to use softer pad. After Novus 1, it looked great to me at least (all dirt is splatter from sanding and polishing on the black stand behind the tank)

There is a bit of hazing when I look through some panels, but I will take it. Once it is filled with water, it wont be visible at all, and considering what it looked like when I started this journey, I am extremely happy with how it turned out.

Next up, building a stand.

cvrle1 · #2 11-01-2019, 07:52 PM

I decided to use RocketEngineer's tried and true template for my stand build. There is a massive thread on RC with info on it

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1169964

Since it was a 5 foot tank, I decided to go with 2x6s for the top frame. Height of the stand is 37.5". That should give me plenty of room underneath to fit skimmer and all other goodies that will be needed, as well as do maintenance when needed. At 1st my plan was to use 40G breeder for sump, however I got IceCap 36XL sump. Issue now was that tank width is 18" but sump is 24". I had to modify my plans, and came up with this in the end

I extended top and bottom frame to 24" so that sump can fit at the bottom, and added 2 off centered vertical supports. These are mostly for doors or however I decide to skin, and to be able to separate equipment from the sump. I still havent decided how that will all work out, so that is TBD for sure. I will leave back completely opened for air circulation, and will leave opening between 18-24 inches at the top open as well. It will give me lots of room for plumbing and other things that need to move between DT and sump. Sides will be skinned, so only opening that will be visible will be that one at the top. I caulked all the joints inside and outside with Alex Plus Acrylic Latex and primed it with 2 coats of Kilz Original. Plan is to start skinning it this weekend. Will post up as it progresses.

Llorgon · #3 11-06-2019, 09:15 PM

The tank came out looking awesome! How long did it take to do all the sanding? I bet doing the inside and the corners were a pain.

I like your stand design. Having the extra space at the front of the stand will be nice. I had a old freshwater tank with a similar stand and I found it helpful to be able to just put something down on the stand when working on it.

Let me know how you like the ice cap sump. I have a 20 gallon tank as a sump for my 75 gallon and it's a real pain to work with. I have been thinking of going with a pre made one when I set it up again. Where did you get it from?

cvrle1 · #4 11-06-2019, 10:54 PM

I spread it out around 1 month or so, but I only did few hours a day, and not every day. I would say each grit took 2-3 hours to do, so about 10-12 for sanding. For buffing, 3-4 hours per Novus, so around 8 hours. Total I guess around 20 hours +- few

I got that sump from Coralvue Outlet eBay store. I was going to build my own out of 40g breeder, and figured tank + baffle kit would be around $200. I saw 36xl sump for $275, as manufacturer mucked up and used some sort of yellow glue in few seams. Because of that they couldnt sell it through regular store at regular price. I figured for $75 extra I may as well get much nicer and bigger sump, and not mess around with building my own.

LifeIsGreat · #5 11-07-2019, 02:56 AM

Wow, great work! I did a bit of car buffing when I was in high school so I know how hard it is to get a nice polish. Waxing the outside of the tank might get the clarity up a bit too, and hide the buffing swirls, just don't do the inside due to the chemicals.

bauder1986 · #6 11-07-2019, 02:59 AM

Man this tank is going to be stellar! I'm looking forward to the next few months of this!

cvrle1 · #7 11-07-2019, 03:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LifeIsGreat

Wow, great work! I did a bit of car buffing when I was in high school so I know how hard it is to get a nice polish. Waxing the outside of the tank might get the clarity up a bit too, and hide the buffing swirls, just don't do the inside due to the chemicals.

Truth be told I couldnt see swirl marks from buffing. I was using Dual Action polisher for it, so maybe that helped. I think that once water goes in, it will be crystal clear. When I got it, back was horribly cloudy, but it wasnt visible with water in it at all. Will have to wash it out with bleach/water mix, to get all novus residue out, so will see how it will look at that time as well.

Quote:

Originally Posted by bauder1986

Man this tank is going to be stellar! I'm looking forward to the next few months of this!

Hope you are right haha. It will be slow and steady sort of a build I hope. I am doing this in my townhouse garage, so it is cold in there now. I cant spend as much time as I would have during the summer. May have to fire up a heater to extend some work hours. With garage getting cold, I may only have 6 months timeframe to run QT tanks as well, as I am not sure if heaters will be able to keep water at correct temp when garage will be at like 0C during winter.

bauder1986 · #8 11-07-2019, 03:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cvrle1

Hope you are right haha. It will be slow and steady sort of a build I hope. I am doing this in my townhouse garage, so it is cold in there now. I cant spend as much time as I would have during the summer. May have to fire up a heater to extend some work hours. With garage getting cold, I may only have 6 months timeframe to run QT tanks as well, as I am not sure if heaters will be able to keep water at correct temp when garage will be at like 0C during winter.

Hmm....you should test it out. Put a big ass heater inside of a Rubbermaid with good circulation and a temp monitor. See if the heater and water flow can keep up to the cold temps. I'm thinking maybe at least 600 watts to 20 gallons of water to be sure. If that doesn't work quite well enough then entertain insulating the bottom and sides of the tank/container with styrofoam to trap the heat.