120 build started!

[pascal32]

Do you have a pic? Can you silicone a patch over it?

it's cracked from the bottom to the bulkhead a few inches up. I'm not sure I'm feeling risking a sump failure which could result in the tank crashing down the road. doesn't seem worth the $130 for a new tank in stock 5 minutes from me. insult to injury is that you have to buy a cover and light strip with it.

oh well, so goes life!

 

[solRNY]

sorry to hear about the crack tank, dont toss it out you can replace that one pane another time, another project, oh this hobby

 

[pascal32]

sorry to hear about the crack tank, dont toss it out you can replace that one pane another time, another project, oh this hobby

Funny you should say that! I just got off the phone with a fellow reefer who pointed out the obvious - replacing teh side panel is less effort than moving over the baffles - not to mention it should be < $10 for a new 1/4" pane.

Off to remove the panel

 

[Haffs09]

Ooh...that's tough.

 

[pascal32]

On the way to picking up a new tank a fellow reefer pointed out that replacing the side panel is less effort than moving the baffles to a new tank. following his advice I headed back from the store with some more aquarium safe silicone and started the demolition.

The video is at the end for entertainment purposes.

after draining the tank and closer inspection of the damage. the crack did not make it to the edge and could not be felt on either side. I took measurements of the glass and the location of the drilled hole.

Whats a party without some tools. This was the started kit for taking a panel out. I forgot to put the gloves in the pictures. After getting started it was noted that you will also need some pliers, and a flat blade screwdriver. (just in case you want to try this!

I wanted the tank to know I meant business so I started with a carpet cutter. very sharp and strong blade.

it didn't take long to figure out i couldn't get the blade in between the edges so I had to resort to something with more punch. namely a pick which was used to break into my last house many years ago in a not so good area of town. Whenever there is glass to be broken i like to pull it out of the tool chest.

For your entertainment here is the video of the demolition. It was educational seeing how well silicone adheres to glass and how a little goes a long ways!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UWEDscK9Xh8

after the video ended i spent 5 minutes or so getting some smaller pieces out and another 10 minutes clearing the silicone. tomorrow I'll run out and pick up some chemical to help remove any invisible traces left on the glass before putting the new panel in.

The baffles are 1/4" which is slightly thicker than the panel i removed. chances are I will just have a 1/4" panel cut and put it in. nice part is that I get to drill the panel before putting it back in.

the removal took about 25-30 minutes including cleaning up the glass.

 

[dreaminmel]

This is one of the reasons I love RC... thank you for sharing the info and video on this! Hopefully it will help others feel comfortable taking on that challenge and being safe about it in the process. :thumbsup:

 

[pascal32]

This is one of the reasons I love RC... thank you for sharing the info and video on this! Hopefully it will help others feel comfortable taking on that challenge and being safe about it in the process. :thumbsup:

you are making the assumption I know what I'm doing! I'm learning as I go from other folks

 

[jaybfresh]

Just a quick thought, you might want to hop over to the DIY forum and ask what kind of silicone to use when putting the new pane on. I think I read it's not a good idea to use regular store-bought aquarium silicone for the job. Although in a sump it might hold.

 

[solRNY]

thanks for another kewl video
did you have to take off the top brace so to fit the new pane in?

 

[pascal32]

Jay - thanks for the tip! I called ABC which had AGA silicone that is supposed to be the same as is used in their tanks. I'll swing over to pick some up on the way home.

Lang - I am not taking off the top as I'm pretty sure it would break. I was able to clean it out inside the rim and am putting Ina piece that is 1/8" shorter. This will put it in the rim, but sit a tad down.

I will water test full cycling before dropping back to 9" to be sure

 

[pascal32]

Just a quick thought, you might want to hop over to the DIY forum and ask what kind of silicone to use when putting the new pane on. I think I read it's not a good idea to use regular store-bought aquarium silicone for the job. Although in a sump it might hold.

Followed your advice and confirmed that there are different "grades" of silicone. I picked up RTV108 by momentive at the local Grainger which is the preferred silicone. Glass panel fits, though i would have liked a bit tighter. Not worried about it holding considering I've seen 1/8"+ gaps and this is less.

thanks again!

 

[pascal32]

I picked up the replacement panel on the way home along with some Momentive RTV108 which appears to be the preferred silicone for building tanks. from what folks are saying the Marineland aquarium safe might or might not do the job, so why risk it.

Total cost: $11 for the panel + $10 for silicone (one tube) = $21

I picked up two tubes just to be safe, though i didn't use the second one.

While the panel was out i drilled it. went smoother and faster than the first time. accuracy tremendously improved, though i still had some chipout on the back.

There is just over a 1/16" gap on each side of the panel.

Started by running a bead along the bottom before inserting the panel. once in I taped the panel in place from the outside. When caulking i applied a fair amount of pressure to ensure the silicone made it all the way through. The sides were easy because I could push it all the way though as per the pictures. I put some tape on to make it look pretty, but I put the tape too far away from he corner so it didn't really do anything.

Now I just have to wait 24 hours to water test. To be safe I'm going to wait till Thursday. till then (finally) back to building the stand for the 120!

 

[Haffs09]

Nice! You have to love the exciting turns you take in this hobby!

 

[solRNY]

Total cost: $11 for the panel + $10 for silicone (one tube) = $21

way to go!! nice lines with the silcon

 

[pascal32]

made a little more progress after loosing time to the cracked sump. stand is built! next up is the skin and then maybe some water!

stand construction same as the sump except 2x6's on the top

The return line is unfortunately close to the edge. For a factory drilled location it's a little surprising and unfortunately I didn't notice it sooner.

One thought was to add a stud and notch this out so i can get in there. After some more consideration I'm leaning towards making enough room on there to get the nut part of the bulkhead in-between the tank and the 2x6 (turn it on while lowering the bulkhead). then adding an extension pipe and coupler to the rest of the plumbing. Unfortunately this means the pipe will need to be cut when removed.

 

[Willistein]

I've got the same tank and the same problem - I'm planning on just cutting out the 2x4 to make it fit going straight down. It is too bad they didn't keep it 2 diameters away from the edge.

 

[pascal32]

I've got the same tank and the same problem - I'm planning on just cutting out the 2x4 to make it fit going straight down. It is too bad they didn't keep it 2 diameters away from the edge.

It does seem like a strange location, though there might be a good reason for it. Cutting out the top runner is an option, though I'm a little concerned about the loss of rigidity (is that word?) side to side. The tank weight is down, what if something bumped the side?

At lowes they have coupligs that use rubber seals that wou can slip on. If it was the drain I would go with those, for the return I'm reluctant though.

When you make the cut be sure to post up some pictures!

 

[Willistein]

will do, I may even glue an extra piece of plywood on the backside to stiffen it up.

 

[pascal32]

This weekend got off to a rocking start before a last minute downfall.

On Friday I re-installed the bulkhead in the sump (correctly), remounted the pump and have been running a water test since with no issues. The replacement panel is holding and there are no signs of leaks

Next order of business is to skin the tank. We found a neat design we liked so that is the starting template:

I felt like challenging myself a bit so we decided to get fancy with the pillars. Instead of just pillars I thought a design in the pillars would be neat, so instead of regular boards I took Oak plywood and edge banded oak to the sides and finished it up nicely. It turned out to be more work than I thought (as usual), but the results are great! The oak plywood is a different thickness than the trim. after cutting the tongue and groove, glued up, then flush trimmed with a flush trim bit on the router table. A nice surface sand it it is smooth as can be! All excited I headed tto the kitchen to start mocking up the skin!

ready for for test:

test fit:

glue and clamp:

finished product:

 

[pascal32]

and the mock up:

This is where things went south. I noticed a gap under the top trim and started investigating. turns out I missed noticing that not all the 2x6's were sitting flush. The gap was about 1/8th of an inch which was enough to instill concern. After about 10 minutes of trying to figure out why this didn't line up I measured the 2x6s - turns out they are off 1/8th of an inch.

here is a corner with the original piece, other than the crappy picture, notice the tops don't line up:

Same corner with another 2x6 in place, notice they sit flush:

I don't have enough 2x6 stock left, so back to lowes tomorrow. this time I'm buying 2 pieces of the same length. if the top needs to be redone, be it so!

That is the weekends adventure. off to work in the AM