Building My 375gal Glass Reef

[GlassReef]

Well - the tank is on the stand. :bounce1: :dance: :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

My sleepless nights spent worrying about every possible catastrophe are finally over. It didn't fall off the trailer. It didn't get smashed by a crow bar while removing the crate. It didn't fall off the lift we used to raise it up to stand height. None of those terrible things happened - and I owe that fact to the great group of guys (many of them from the Tampa Bay Reef Club - TBRC) that gathered and did all the back breaking work that was necessary to get that 835lb tank from the driveway to the stand.

It started out peacefully enough. Just a couple of guys around a huge crate on a trailer:

Then, more and more of them arrived:

 

[GlassReef]

We backed the trailer up to the front door:

And removed the crating:

 

[GlassReef]

The tank was then moved of the trailer while still on the pallet. Pushing that 835lbs took some doin'.

We carried (read skidded it) to the front door - and finally managed to get it through the thresh hold and on 2 furniture dollies:

 

[reefrubble]

What a monster tank , More Pics , More Pics .

 

[GlassReef]

Then came the easiest part of the move - pushing the tank (on the dollies) the 40 feet to the waiting lift:

The lift was used to raise the tank to the height of the stand. It was a huge help and well worth the rental cost. Here are a bunch of pics to illustrate what a job it was getting the tank on the lift:

 

[reefrubble]

In the last pic , I see a very happy man , in the far left side of the pic . I think he has a Big Smile On His Face .

Ted

 

[GlassReef]

Ted (reefrubble) suggested we put PVC pipes on the stand so that the tank would roll on to the stand easier - worked beautifully.

The tank was pushed into the hole in the wall length wise. Here you can see it starting to emerge into the fish room.

A little farther:

 

[GlassReef]

And all the way in:

Once the tank was on the stand the PVC pipes were removed - sounds easy - but it takes lifting 825lbs. Then 1" compression foam was inserted under the tank:

Final adjustment of position:

And it's done

 

[GlassReef]

And then .... after a hard morning's work:

Well, that's the story of how a bunch of really great guys managed to get my tank from my driveway to my stand. Thank you is obvious not enough.

 

[GlassReef]

Just a note for those of you with the move of a large tank in your future. I would recommend that you consider renting the following two items:

This lift was invaluable in getting the tank up to the height of the stand. It is very difficult to left a large tank from the floor up on to a stand. Once the tank reaches the point where your elbows must bend to go higher, strength diminishes rapidly.

Make sure you rent 1 suction cup for each person. They make everything so much easier. Everyone said the move would have been impossible without them.

 

[reefrubble]

I must say I have never seen better quality in a custom made tank . The out fit that built this beautiful thing did a killer job . I would love to have one of their tanks .
Tom , you did your home work well .

Ted

 

[mflamb]

Tom, what exactly is the lift called?

 

[GlassReef]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13664044#post13664044 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by reefrubble
I must say I have never seen better quality in a custom made tank . The out fit that built this beautiful thing did a killer job . I would love to have one of their tanks .
Tom , you did your home work well .
Ted

Thanks, Ted. Actually it was just luck that I happened on the company. I first looked for an "economical" tank (I'm sure everyone know who I'm talking about) and quickly found out that economy means really rotten customer service. I then looked at the well established - in vogue - builders. I was quoted prices ranging from $4000 to $8000! Couldn't bring myself to go that route. Then I happened on conceptaquarium.com - in a thread here at RC. I thought, well Canada's a long way off but give 'em a call - what can it hurt. I talked to the owner Randy Cameron. Taking to him, you can tell right away that he is interested in providing you with a great product. What really impressed me is he was willing to spend whatever time was necessary to clear up all the questions I had. During the build, he would call up with suggestions on how to this or that a little. I was really just as impressed with the service as I am with the tank.

 

[GlassReef]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13664112#post13664112 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by mflamb
Tom, what exactly is the lift called?

Sunbelt Rentals (Lowes) calls it a Duct Jack. I'll see if I can find a more often used name. Duct Jack seems a little esoteric.

 

[mflamb]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13664170#post13664170 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by GlassReef
Sunbelt Rentals (Lowes) calls it a Duct Jack. I'll see if I can find a more often used name. Duct Jack seems a little esoteric.

The name makes perfect sense, for lifting large A/C duct work.

 

[Budgeon]

Electrical Help

Electrical Help

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13462910#post13462910 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by GlassReef
Help please!!! Any expert electricians?

Something just came up! Maybe someone can help. Had an electrician come out yesterday and run a line from the main breaker box to the fish room, where he installed a 2 slot distribution box. The line leaves the main box off a 40 amp 220 breaker (2 hot lines and a ground). Ends up in the distribution box as two 20 amp 110 breakers. So ... my problem: if I touch the outside of the distribution box (fish room) I get a small shock. Kind of like static from grabbing a car door in dry weather. I called the electrician and he just says nothing to worry about - but, of course, it worries me to no end. I'd hate to have a constantly charged aquarium. Are there any experts out there that can tell me what could cause the shock I'm experiencing and maybe more importantly, what I can do about it. Oh, BTW - after I've gotten the shock, it does not happen again until some time (undetermined) later.

I've been a Commercial Electrician for over ten years and done many projects like the one you are speaking of. My first concern is if you called the electrician and explained your situation and he told you there is nothing to worry about, I'd fire that electrician and get someone else b/c if you get shocked he doesn't know what he's doing. With that said. The wire from your main panel should have four wires in it if it is "Romex" there will be a black, Red, White and green if done correctly. The black and red wires should connect to the breaker
in the sub panel the white should have a separate buss bare just for that wire and the green
wire will have another buss bare or ground lug. The white and green wire SHOULD NOT BE CONNECTED TOGETHER in the panel in your fish room. This is called a floated neutral. The white and green wire is bonded together in your main panel so you don't need to do it again or you can have problems. Another issue is if he only ran two hots and a ground there is no way you'll be able to have receptacles (plugs) b/c 120volt receptacles require a neutral conductor. If you ran a 40 amp circuit make sure the wire size is #8 AWG for a 40 amp circuit. Sorry about the ranting but there's a lot of "electricians" that just plain scare me
when doing side work. So one reason for you "shocking" experience could be because the electrician is using that ground as a neutral and that neutral is carrying an load from another
circuit in the house. this is called a shared neutral and not done to often in residential applications but very common in commercial settings. So long story short make sure there is four wires going to your panel and follow my suggestions and I promise this will fix the problem just make sure also that all connections in your main panel (in the house) are tight
this includes all the white wires in the panel. If you have any other questions feel free to contact me.

 

[cj hill]

where did you rent the suction cups at
and the tank looks great along with every thing eles you have done

 

[GlassReef]

Budgeon - thanks for taking the time to give such a thorough explanation.

cj hill - thanks for the compliments. I rented the suction cups from the tool rental vendor at Lowes. The vendor at Home Depot has them also - at least here in Florida.

 

[shibumi]

OMG That is soooooooooooooo beautiful ... AMAZING sooo perfect. The stand and the lights ... you really think this project long enough. Congratulations !!!!

 

[Ed Reef]

What a beautiful house and tank you got!! Both are my dream house and tank too !!