Destruction mode

[oscarmeir]

I had my sump made by a local glass place when I was young and dumb not to long ago and really made it not very smart.

It does function, but there are a few things that could it make it be much more efficient and practical.

For starters its way too high. My original plan called for the sump to sit on a 1/2 inch plywood sheet on four coaster. However that left about an inch from the top of the sump to the stand. Lots of obvious issues. The two that bother me most is 1. access to the sump is a pita. 2. the evap is causing rust to the steel stand. (It needs to be repainted. although the first painting was allegedly waterproof.)

Issue #2 is the compartments are a pure wast of space.

Goal #1 is to trim off 30% of the height of the sump tank.
Goal #2 is to redo the compartments, add a refug etc.

Should I just spend the $150 on a new tank - sump or can i pull this off?
I don't think they cemented the sides, just strong caulk, liquid nails stuff. Can i use a knife to get through that stuff then score and snap the upper third? (Pretty sure the glass is 10mm)

Thanks,
Oscar

 

[rwb500]

scoring and snapping 10mm glass will not be fun. How big is the sump? Usually the best option is to buy a standard glass tank and add baffles as you please.

 

[oscarmeir]

35cmx85cm with a height of 65cm

 

[Mrramsey]

It would probably be less of a headache to just build a new one. At least thats what I'd do.

 

[uncleof6]

2. the evap is causing rust to the steel stand. (It needs to be repainted. although the first painting was allegedly waterproof.

Thanks,
Oscar

The lowering the height of the sump is not going to do anything for the corrosion on the stand. However, there are plenty of reasons to make the sump shorter, and others have touched on that process.

The allegedly waterproof paint is not really the problem either, though it is true that the stand needs to be refinished.

For a painted surface to achieve any sort of corrosion resistance, the surface preparation is critical. First it needs to be sand blasted clean, and the degree to which it is sand blasted is important. If it is blasted too deep, the "peaks" will be too tall, and will protrude through the "anti-corrosion" layer. Depending on the ambient conditions, and the cleanliness of the steel surface, a "wash primer" (vinyl butyral, contains a solution of phosphoric acid to further passivate the steel and protect it from corrosion,) will need to be applied to a dry film thickness of .3 - .5 mil. If the wash primer film is thicker than that, your actual primer will delaminate, and the steel will rust right up. If the primer is applied in a dry environment, and soon after abrasive blasting, there should not be a need for the wash primer. However, if particularly concerned about corrosion (and in an aquarium stand we are) the wash primer should be used. After that a coating of Zinc-Chromate primer is applied, to a film thickness of around 2 mils. An alkyd paint can then be applied over the zinc-chromate, after it cures, to a total film thickness of > 3 mils total (the whole coating system,) above the peaks of the blast profile. Done right, your steel will not be inclined to corrode, regardless of the amount of evaporation, and proximity there is. The important considerations are surface blasting depth, dry-film thickness, and intercoat adhesion.

That said, it seems to me that repainting the stand is not such a good idea, considering the complexities of preventing corrosion. Far simpler would be to take the stand and have it blasted and powder coated, the most common method when dealing with steel aquarium stands, and is what should have been done in the first place. Tell the folks the environment is highly corrosive (salt vapor) and they will fix you right up. "Waterproof" paint is not going to get it done. Using *some* selected rust-oleum products, you may get good results, but they will not be as corrosion resistant, or as durable.