20g of solid starfire - My tank build and DIY

[Kimberly63]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14976143#post14976143 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Versus
Tank is coming along awesome Kim! I really cant wait till it all comes together , since mine is not coming up at the moment I will have someone elses build to drool over .

And everytime I see that cat picture I start laughing.

Hey the la monte , tin angel and delucas still there in pa? ahah sorry its about lunch time and im hungry

Thanks Brian!

Yeah, my cat claimed the frame of the stand after I built it. He would play on it all day doing flips on it. I'd come home everyday from work and he'd be laying on it trying to squeeze himself neatly onto a 2x4 lol.

 

[Kimberly63]

Yes the starfire is very nice - and definitely worth getting the edges polished. The only thing is, I heard it scratches easily because it's a softer glass. I used a razor blade to clean up some stray silicone but I didn't notice any scratches so we'll see.

 

[TomNeely]

VERY NICE KIM!!!

 

[Kimberly63]

I did my water test yesterday and my overflow bulkhead was leaking like crazy because I didn't have the nut tight enough. So I had to drain the entire tank, take out the sump, squeeze into the stand to tighten the nut then put everything back together.

Now everything looks good and I keep checking the bulkhead and it looks like there is still a slooooooooow drip. Not sure if it's from the water in between the tank and the stand from it leaking the first time and it's slowly dripping out or if it's still not tight enough. It didn't seem like I could get the nut any tighter so I let it run all night and I'm just gonna let it run for a few days and see what happens.

My pump isn't large enough. I got one rated at 296gph thinking it would be enough but I can barely feel the water coming out of my loc-line. I can't find the receipt either. lol

 

[fodupos]

if it is still leaking i know some people put silicone around the bulkhead too.

 

[TomNeely]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14991879#post14991879 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by fodupos
if it is still leaking i know some people put silicone around the bulkhead too.

I DID!

 

[cloakerpoked]

I've done it too.

 

[fodupos]

see i knew i wasn't crazy... i was just lucky and mine don't leak. although mine are on the side and not the bottom. i dunno if that makes any difference really.

 

[TomNeely]

mine are drilled on the side...

 

[Kimberly63]

I could probably get silicone in there if I have to. It's such a job to mess with the bulkheads since I don't have much room to work with when I'm inside the stand. I'm going to check again tonight and see.

 

[Kimberly63]

These are crappy shots from my cell phone that I quickly sent to someone yesterday. When I have time, I'm gonna post the better pics off of my camera.

It looks pretty sweet in person. I can't wait to see how the light looks over it.

As soon as I get the bulkhead problem fixed, I'm gonna start adding rock and sand and do start my cycle. I'd rather it run without livestock for awhile and see how the tank holds up.

 

[raynist]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14991918#post14991918 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by TomNeely
I DID!

me too!

 

[bigmatt1992]

that tank is sweet hey in a year or so when i leave for college if your intrested i might call on you to make a similer style tank.

 

[cloakerpoked]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14996160#post14996160 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by raynist
me too!

haha, has anyone NOT used silicone on a bulkhead? I'll bet TJ hasn't, he is always very meticulous:rolleye1: :rollface:

 

[Kimberly63]

I always heard you weren't supposed to use silicone on a bulkhead but eh, I guess you got to sometimes.

Tank is still running fine so far. I'll probably let it run the rest of the week and watch evaporation. I've noticed that I'm losing about .5g per day depending on how warm it is in my apartment.

 

[Yurko]

looking good Kim

 

[Kimberly63]

Thanks Steve!


Good news - my bulkhead is no longer leaking. I just waited it out and here it was just dripping water from it leaking before. Everything is bone dry. It has been running non-stop for 5 days and everything is working perfectly.

I started to make my door yesterday. I need to poly it yet - maybe tomorrow. I'll post pics up later this weekend.

 

[the2ofus]

Can't wait to see something in it.

Looks good!!!!

 

[fodupos]

are you running salt water or fresh water in it now? salt water will leave salt creep even when the leak is tiny. i found that out with fitting that was under my tank that was glued. it must have had a micro hole in it. nothing a little super glue didn't fix.

 

[Kimberly63]

Thanks Matt! I'm very excited to get rock in it.


fodupos - I'm running tap water right now. I wanted to run it for a week or so that way I can see if the tank would hold up and make sure my plumbing worked. I have to move the whole thing over to where I want it before I fill it up with saltwater because it's very heavy. I have it by my window now so I can just drain the tap water out easily.