DIY 30gal - Tank & Wall

[SirusX1721]

I just started on my DIY 24x24x12 (30gal...ish) project. I had the glass cut from a local company (Fox Glass), and ordered bulkheads and holesaws from www.glass-holes.com. I will be using a 1" for the drain and a 3/4" for the return. The tank will be put together using a food grade silicone from EMI (Black). Since the silicone isn't in yet I may re-order the front panel in Starphire. I will call about hat tomorrow.

To start things off I wanted to try a DIY Foam Rock Wall. I started by cutting a piece of eggcrate slightly smaller than the back panel. I zip tied some dried rock and PVC pipe to the eggcrate, and used Beckets Pond Foam to fill in the voids. I let the foam cure over night, and proceeded to carve out the foam as I seen fit. For the next step I was going to use Epoxy to coat the foam with before adding sand, but I decided to use silicone. The results were actually pretty nice. A few stops were left uncovered, but they will be covered with Epoxy Putty and smaller dried rock after curing (the silicone). As for the coating, I used a 1:1 ratio of crushed coral and aragonite sand.

Results thus far...

The PVP covered with CC/Sand...

Any Thoughts or Suggestions? I'm always looking to improve both the project and myself...

 

[SirusX1721]

I started the sump out of an old 55gal. A custom stand will come along shortly. Anyway, The center brace was cracked so I replaced with glass. I made it a little wider to support a 36watt PC for the fuge. I broke one baffle before I had a chance to put it in, so I will be adding it shortly.

 

[SirusX1721]

The Silicone came in this morning, so I started with the tank today. I was rather happy with the results. It went rather smoothly, lol

Taped and ready!

Silicone finished and tape removed. All the seams turned out smooth except the back one. Waited a little long, and the silicone started to rubberize =p

 

[SirusX1721]

The silicone is dried, but wouldn't say fully cured yet. I will let it cure for 24-48hrs before I do a water test. The foam rock wall was dry fitted here.

It fits rather snug. Once I do a water test to check all seams I will go ahead and put this baby in place. All the holes line up perfectly as well. All those years of installing kitchens and baths as a kid paid off when it came down to all the measuring, hahah.

 

[tydtran]

Looking good. Looking forward to watching your progress.

 

[SirusX1721]

Thanks, it's going along nicely at the moment. Did a water test this morning, and it's looking good after 3hours.

 

[SirusX1721]

Water Test #2

Small chip from drilling the drain hole. What would be best to fill it in? It's not very deep and is on the back of the tank. Epoxy?

 

[customcolor]

Re: DIY 30gal - Tank & Wall

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15659875#post15659875 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by SirusX1721

and used Beckets Pond Foam to fill in the voids.

good boy!!!

the wall looks good!

but....the drain looks a little high and you may need to cut that pvc down....the water level will be about 1/8"-1/4" above it (depending on flow to the sump) so keep that in mind.

and how is the bowing in the glass for being rimless and not euro braced?

 

[khanb31]

You should wait more than two days before really trying to test that bad boy with water.

I did ALOT of extensive tests on glass preparations before I put my tank together. I found out that after 2 days, the silicone on the inside of the seam was NOT cured. No where near it actually. I ripped one of my tests apart after 2 days and it was just sloppy uncured silicone.

I let it sit for 7 days before It got wet. Thats what it said on the bottle too.

 

[SirusX1721]

I was looking into that as well, and had me worried some too. I went with a wider thinner seal instead of a thick and slim. The silicone was firm to the touch, and showed no "play" in the glass. By this I mean no movement between the panes.

Yea I do need to cut the drain down a tad. As for the bowing I didn't see any. I didn't do an extensive water test because just like khanb31 said. May not be fully cured. It felt like it but hey...better safe than sorry. Also I have glass cut for the bracing, but decided to go rimless with a wider seal. If need be...I can always brace it.