A nano tank to replace my 140g setup

[tgunn]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14657779#post14657779 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Reefinabox
WOOOHOOO!!! I bet it feels good to finally have it!

It does! I'm quite impressed with how it was packaged too. Almost everything is double boxed with little foam shock absorbers between the packages.

I already fired up the disco-ball pendant. That'll give plenty of light for the tank. So far I'm liking the super blue tint of the 14k HQI bulb.

Now I just need to find the time to put it all together. Lol.

Tyler

 

[tgunn]

Hinge screws on Solana.....

Hinge screws on Solana.....

So I was installing one of the hinges on the Solana stand, and the head snapped off one:

So I tried again, and the head snapped off another. It's the two rightmost hinge holes.

Here's the head of a screw:

I'm going to have to rethink the hinges to see if I can perhaps mount them using heavier duty screws. I'm afraid to try again with these.

Tyler

 

[Reefinabox]

I know it would be a chore but you might try contacting Current. Someone else had a similar issue with their stand and they sent them a whole new stand.

 

[tgunn]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14662685#post14662685 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Reefinabox
I know it would be a chore but you might try contacting Current. Someone else had a similar issue with their stand and they sent them a whole new stand.

I fired off an email to them; we'll see what they have to say/offer. I could probably get the hinge mounted if I drilled new holes slightly down and used better screws. But I really shouldn't have to do that given what these things cost.

If they're to send a replacement stand I'll certainly expect them to ship it DIRECT to me, rather than me having to get it from a depot over the border.

Thanks,
Tyler

 

[melev]

Those screws are junk. Just get better ones. If you own vice-grips, clamp down on the old screws and carefully unscrew them back out of the wood.

I had the same thing happen with I put together the stand for the Solana at the LFS by my house. I was helping out just for fun, and felt badly when the screw head broke off. Since I used to do trim carpentry, I immediately knew it was cheap screws and we used some others instead. Unfortunately, some stuff that is imported comes with some ridiculously soft metal.

 

[tgunn]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14664141#post14664141 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by melev
Those screws are junk. Just get better ones. If you own vice-grips, clamp down on the old screws and carefully unscrew them back out of the wood.

I had the same thing happen with I put together the stand for the Solana at the LFS by my house. I was helping out just for fun, and felt badly when the screw head broke off. Since I used to do trim carpentry, I immediately knew it was cheap screws and we used some others instead. Unfortunately, some stuff that is imported comes with some ridiculously soft metal.

The downfall is that they broke off beneath the surface of the wood. I will have to see if I can get a grip on them with some needle-nose pliers first or something. I know I don't want to wait for a new stand to be shipped; that's for sure.

Would you say to use the same "thickness" (can't tell I know ZIP about trim carpentry can you?) screws or get a heavier one?

Thanks,
Tyler

 

[melev]

There is a way to extract them with a tool, but it is hardly worth the effort until you are just OCD about 'em. You would drill the core out of each screw, then using the extractor tool, carefully thread it into the broken half until it bites into the metal. Keep unscrewing that extractor and it will unscrew it right out.

Moving it down 1/8" is probably easier, and any similarly sized screw from Home Depot will suffice.

 

[tgunn]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14665851#post14665851 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by melev
There is a way to extract them with a tool, but it is hardly worth the effort until you are just OCD about 'em. You would drill the core out of each screw, then using the extractor tool, carefully thread it into the broken half until it bites into the metal. Keep unscrewing that extractor and it will unscrew it right out.

Moving it down 1/8" is probably easier, and any similarly sized screw from Home Depot will suffice.

Hmm, yeah the screw extractors I have aren't good for that small of screws. I think I'll just drill new holes for new screws a little lower as you suggest. Do you think a similar sized screw will have the breaking problem? I'm guessing its just the soft metal thats the issue?

Thanks!
Tyler

 

[melev]

What you have on hand are cast aluminum screws; essentially pot metal. The hinges are purchased in bulk, coming with the cheapest screws available (probably from China). I can just look at a screw, feel if it is light, and know if it is one of those evil screws.

Home Depot screws tend to be fine. If you want to predrill the hole with a smaller bit, that helps them go in more easily exactly where they should.

 

[tgunn]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14665986#post14665986 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by melev
What you have on hand are cast aluminum screws; essentially pot metal. The hinges are purchased in bulk, coming with the cheapest screws available (probably from China). I can just look at a screw, feel if it is light, and know if it is one of those evil screws.

Home Depot screws tend to be fine. If you want to predrill the hole with a smaller bit, that helps them go in more easily exactly where they should.

Hmm, that would explain why they broke so easily. :lol: Normally I can't even open jars with my arthritic hands. :lol: And here I thought I was "strong man" today.

Okay, I'll make a trip to home depot and pick up some new screws and an appropriate little wee drill bit for the pilot holes.

THanks,
Tyler

 

[melev]

I actually LOL'd at that strong man reference. Grab your wife and impress her with your incredible feats of strength!

 

[Reefinabox]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14666028#post14666028 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by melev
I actually LOL'd at that strong man reference. Grab your wife and impress her with your incredible feats of strength!

FESTIVUS!!!

 

[tgunn]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14667266#post14667266 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Reefinabox
FESTIVUS!!!

:lol: What's worse is that I made a Seinfeld reference without even TRYING!

 

[tgunn]

Well, Current-USA's response to my inquiry about my problems installing the hinges was that they've never seen this issue before. They offered to mail out a new set of hinges and screws.

I emailed back to say that new hinges and screws don't really help since I can't reinstall the screws.

They offered to ship a new stand to the border depot I originally used where I would pick it up; apparently they are "not set up to ship to Canada". Okay, I'm sorry, but R&L Carriers the company that they use to ship DOES ship to Canada (http://www.rlcarriers.com/canada_map.asp).

I didn't mind driving to the border to save on shipping direct, but I'm not going to drive to the border to pick up a new stand on my dime.

Well, I'll try fixing this myself and see how it goes. Hopefully it doesn't look strange with the hinge mounted in a different position.

Tyler

 

[tgunn]

Alrighty! I finally got the Solana set up in my living room!

:lol: you can still see the little hole to the left of the Solana where the sump drain went to the basement. That's okay, I'm sure my daughter will jam it full of crayons and toys.

So far the electrical portion of this setup is pretty simple. Lucky me I positioned the tank right over top of the old access hole into the basement fish room. So I already have a separate circuit running to my Solana.

I'm probably going to run some dryer vent ducting down the vent and connect it to the HRV so that I get some air intake cross-drafting across the water surface.

In the end I bought too big of screws to replace the hinge ones. So I just redrilled the pilot holes a bit bigger:

(yes, I forgot a screw)

Apparently the lid didn't make it. No bother; I wasn't planning on covering the tank anyways.

I still need to figure out something to use to shim up the feet a bit as the stand tilts to the back a bit. Any ideas of what would work to level the feet on carpet?

Later!
Tyler

 

[tgunn]

Well, got the stand leveled and the tank filled with water:

I'm currently using the skimmer it came with because I can't seem to fit my Tunze 9002 in the back compartment:

Tyler

 

[tgunn]

STILL waiting for the silt to clear in the tank. I'm going to hang a filter sock in the tank and set up a maxijet to dump water into it in an effort to clear things up.

I also moved the ballast for the HQI pendant to a little board underneath the stand. I found the cabinet was getting way too warm with the ballast AND ups in there.

The Solana skimmer is driving me nuts; its got such a loud hum sound from the pump. I have a feeling I may be giving a shot at making my own modified cup for my 9002 skimmer.

I'm also going to have to look into a proper ATO system. The little bottles that came with the Solana don't even last a day before needing a refill. :lol:

Tyler

 

[tgunn]

Well, the silt has mostly cleared out.
I'm off to Boston next week for a conference, and I figure when I get back I'll start building my rock structure and populating the tank. The rock is well seeded and cycled at this point so I don't anticipate any major cycle.

I still need to determine what kind of ATO I want to get for the Solana. Those little bottles are next to useless.

I'm between:
Autotopoff.com
JBJ ATO
Tunze Osmolator

I had originally planned on DIYing one but I think the premade route would be easier.

Tyler

 

[melev]

Agreed. It would be cool if you could use them to dose B-Ionic Part 1 and Part 2, but there's no way to measure it out accurately.

Maybe with the cover, those little bottles would provide that tiny bit you need, but for our reef tanks, they are just there for decor. :lol:

 

[tgunn]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14730623#post14730623 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by melev
Agreed. It would be cool if you could use them to dose B-Ionic Part 1 and Part 2, but there's no way to measure it out accurately.

Maybe with the cover, those little bottles would provide that tiny bit you need, but for our reef tanks, they are just there for decor. :lol:

I'm not sure I'd trust the bottles. They seem to burp out their contents at random.

I actually have a Masterflex dosing pump controller. At the moment its only outfitted with a single head, but I was considering getting one of the dual head attachments for it. Then I could set it up to dose 2 part.

My other thought was to build a small calcium reactor out of a 10" clear filter housing (since I've still got the dosing pump, and all my CO2 stuff kicking around).

Yeah I tried the cover on there. I was not a fan of how it looks with the cover (well, it doesn't help that my cover is broken so it looked a bit ghetto because of that). That and I'm sure the temps would skyrocket in the summer time too.

The nice thing is I can pull out the little plastic plate the bottles sit on and there's plenty of room for an ATO. Part of me wants to just get the Tunze unit despite its cost since I know it'll "just work".

Tyler