!! 300 gallon water change onto basement floor

jeremyjoslin said:
Sealing a bulkhead off is not an option. Patching the glass might be.
Click to expand...
sealing off by patching is what I meant ;)

of course!

Just do it. The double pane/seal reinforces the aquarium bottom. This is a beautiful aquarium. It should have NEVER been drilled like that in the first place. (Recall my comment in your build thread?)
 
Gary Majchrzak said:
sealing off by patching is what I meant ;)

of course!

Just do it. The double pane/seal reinforces the aquarium bottom. This is a beautiful aquarium. It should have NEVER been drilled like that in the first place. (Recall my comment in your build thread?)
Click to expand...

Found a shop locally that will do 3/8" glass plates for me. Is there a rule of thumb for size of patches? Will 5" x 5" be sufficient for a 1" diameter hole?

Then, the question of what to do with the bottom now that there will be patches everywhere.

8198639780_54f146edd3.jpg

(pic from build thread)

Bottom ideas?
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2369464
 
I would think a 3" square would be enough, to give a 1" overlap. More than that won't really add anything. I would probably have a minimum amount of substrate to cover them.
 
Thanks @Willistein. Do I have a second for that motion of 3" sufficiency?

I'm considering mixing up some epoxy and black sand and pouring a 1/4" layer on the bottom of the entire tank. I realize it's permanent, but I'm never going back to closed loop, and whoever may buy this tank one day can add white sand on top if they choose.
 
jeremyjoslin said:
I'm being persuaded...

I've been wanting to go bare bottom, too. If I put in the 6 patches, the bottom will look bad. Guess I could put in a piece of "cutting board" plastic on the bottom? Any other way to make it look un-ugly?
Click to expand...

Worst case get a single piece of glass that covers the entire bottom. So it'll be 3/8" shallower.
 
+1 on the 3" patch

I would thoroughly clean the area of the patch with xylene and then clean it a few times with vinegar to remove any residue xylene. Xylene should be strong enough to remove any biologics and residue from previous seals, silicone, etc.


Sorry to hear, that is disastrous!! Glad the fish survived
 
I think the 3" patch should be plenty too. I wouldn't have an issue doing that on my tank if needed.

I'm really surprised to see a valve fail like that....what a p.o.s! The reality is that the value wasn't under much pressure at all...maybe 5-6psi and they should be able to withstand a lot more than that.
 
So sorry to hear dude... Good reason to start over and make things even better based on what you've learned.

Unfortunately this is not the learning experience I'd like to go through even though I have many times already.
 
wow, looks like the pressure literally broke the end of the union off at the weak point. I've looked at these unions and prefer to go to the double union which looks beefier, never had more reason than "it looks better" - now there will be a reason.

For the glass covers I have done it on a 125 which was reef ready and converted to a sump. I used 1/4" glass pane. In that particular case I went front to back on the tank, only because a divider was going above it and I was looking for an even surface.

with no quantifiable data to support it I would go at least the size of the hole in each direction which is in line with the recommendations above. also use a decent silicone like RTV108 from grangers, not that for this application it would make much of a difference, it's a good habit to use good silicone.

from an esthetic it isn't going to look good, especially if you go bare bottom. the re-sale on the tank will be reduced also. The only half way decent thought is to put in panels which will cover the surface - my conflict with that is if you only silicone the edges you have a slight gap which could cause a crack, and if you coat the surface it will look like crap.

If in your shoes I would lean toward putting in new slip bulkheads and seal them in the inside with a cap painted black with krylon fusion paint.
 
Blurry said:
wow, looks like the pressure literally broke the end of the union off at the weak point. I've looked at these unions and prefer to go to the double union which looks beefier, never had more reason than "it looks better" - now there will be a reason.
Click to expand...

Yup. You're welcome.

Blurry said:
also use a decent silicone like RTV108 from grangers, not that for this application it would make much of a difference, it's a good habit to use good silicone.
Click to expand...

I will take any advice on making this a better seal! Thanks.

Blurry said:
from an esthetic it isn't going to look good, especially if you go bare bottom. the re-sale on the tank will be reduced also.
Click to expand...

If I had someone pull up to buy the tank tomorrow, fine. Otherwise, I'll be stuck with this tank for awhile and when I do eventually sell, I can only imagine the new owner agreeing with me ;)

Blurry said:
The only half way decent thought is to put in panels which will cover the surface - my conflict with that is if you only silicone the edges you have a slight gap which could cause a crack, and if you coat the surface it will look like crap.
Click to expand...

Explain this more.... not sure I get it and don't want anything to crack...

Blurry said:
If in your shoes I would lean toward putting in new slip bulkheads and seal them in the inside with a cap painted black with krylon fusion paint.
Click to expand...

The edges of the holes aren't "clean" with a few small chips here and there from the drilling. This makes the seal of the bulkheads really difficult. I went through several to get a seal when first setting up. The crapping thin bulkhead flanges crack if you tighten too much. The beefier bulkheads don't fit in the locations because the holes are kinda close to the tank walls. I hate it.
 
Those single union valves are not "pressure rated" according to the sticker and cannot be shutoff when the union is removed. Use the double union type to make a pump removable or unthread at the union on the pump.

Source: experience.
 
blueramSeattle said:
Those single union valves are not "pressure rated" according to the sticker and cannot be shutoff when the union is removed. Use the double union type to make a pump removable or unthread at the union on the pump.

Source: experience.
Click to expand...

+1... That valve did not fail, that's how it is designed!
 
If you take a large panel and put a bead of silicone around the edges and press it down, the inside area is somewhat above the surface below it, not sure if it is susceptible to breaking or not.

I've never had an issue with bulkheads even with some chipping, though it does seem like there could be less wiggle room between the hole and the bulkhead.
 
Static head for water is 2.31psi per foot. So, if the valve is 12 feet below the surface of the display tank, the pressure is more like 28psi. I'm not sure what those PVC valves are rated for...
 
I removed my old finger overflow and changed to a coast to coast. In doing so I had (3) 1.5" holes on the bottom. The tank bottom is 3/4" as is the rest of the tank.

I siliconed around the each hole.
Then around silicone a loop around all the holes.
(I ensured each silicon loop had no breaks and was approx even height.
Then used 3/8" glass to cover the holes
I wiggled, and pressed the glass downward to force setting of the silicone - you can actually see the silicone through the glass and how well it distributes.
Let it dry for 2 days.

I have had no leaks or issues. This is a 550g tank 7'x'3'x42"tall and the holes are on the bottom.

I confident you can do the same without worries of future leaks related to covering the holes.
 
smb2415 said:
I removed my old finger overflow and changed to a coast to coast. In doing so I had (3) 1.5" holes on the bottom. The tank bottom is 3/4" as is the rest of the tank.

I siliconed around the each hole.
Then around silicone a loop around all the holes.
(I ensured each silicon loop had no breaks and was approx even height.
Then used 3/8" glass to cover the holes
I wiggled, and pressed the glass downward to force setting of the silicone - you can actually see the silicone through the glass and how well it distributes.
Let it dry for 2 days.

I have had no leaks or issues. This is a 550g tank 7'x'3'x42"tall and the holes are on the bottom.

I confident you can do the same without worries of future leaks related to covering the holes.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the anecdote... helps me feel better.

I'm curious on everyone's thoughts on replacement pumps now that I'm ditching the CL system. I am considering an MP40 and MP60 because I know they work better in pairs.... but my tank layout doesn't lend itself to "opposite facing" pumps.

I started a new thread asking the Vortech folks their opinion, but please chime in if you have experience or knowledge of gyres. http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2369678
 
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