In case you guys didn't know...

DevinWolfe

DevinWolfe

New member
Bi-Metal hole-saw bits don't cut glass holes very well...

It turns out that what I though was an icon for a pane of glass on the package was actually tile.


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Oh well, might as well finish the hole and move on to plan B (orignally plan A)

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Tomorrow I will get a pane of .220 inch Lexan and cut it to size with a proper hole for a bulkhead. Plexi/Lexan are SO much easier to work with (jigsaw).

This will be my new 15 gallon refugium for my 75 w/ 20L sump.
 
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Laugh all you want, I was a 'tard who should have read more before I cut. I bought it on sale at PSP for $23, so even if I was gonna throw it out it wouldn't be THAT devastating.

I had honestly planned on just breaking out the panel to begin with and just replacing with Lexan to cut for the bulkhead. Just thought I'd attempt to cut the glass first to save myself a step.

Now I just have to figure out how to cram this next to a 20L under my 56 inch stand. There is a shelf that runs front to back on one end, if I cut it out I could stick them in there side by side. If I have to raise the fuge above that shelf I will have almost no room in the top for the mangroves or light.
 
Yeah, those hole saws will do ok on wood, but the teeth are a bit too close together so they can be a bit slow on wood. They're really made for cutting metal. They will cut a lot of holes if you keep them cool.

The type of hole saw you need for cutting glass doesn't have teeth. Imagine a hole saw with no teeth, crossed with the salted rim on a margarita...except that the salt is diamond particles or something like that.

Mangroves may just be a bit more than you can really fit in the tank. Chemical methods
may be better than cramming all that stuff.
 
But the little guys have gone through so much to make it this far it'd be a shame to do without them. They haven't been in a really suitable environment since I got them from Travis weeks ago. But each time I've temporarily planted them they seem to perk up.

I am about 90% certain the shelf has no load bearing duties. It was the original location for the T12 ballasts the guy had on the tank before I got it.

If I just saw out the center 12" of the 16" shelf then it would make for a great support for the riser I will have to set the 'fuge on to let it gravity feed back to the sump.



Oh yeah and I did look up diamond hole saw before I got that one, but couldn't find any at Home Depot or Lowe's so I got the closest thing I could just to try it out. Good thing Lowe's cuts Lexan/Plexi to size so I don't have to mess with that part.


P.S. if anyone is wondering where that is cuz of the nasty carpet and the huge copier, that is my office. I do all my aquarium projects there when I can.
 
Got my plexi ready to go and put my drain together. I had such great results with my full size 1 1/4" durso I decided to try the same on this 1/2" version.

If it doesn't work like I'm hoping then I will just remove the "T" and run with just the upturned 90 and the small pipe.


Drain.jpg



Dry fit in the 'fuge

DryFit.jpg




Plexi plastered into place with gobs of silicone. After this dries I just need to add the parts that are already cut down and fit together.

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Tonight I will be sawing that small shelf out of my stand to fit the 20L and 15 side by side. I will be doing it with the tank up and running with my upper body under the stand so if you don't hear from me again just assume something went terribly wrong.
 
LOL, it will be a jig saw. I will need to leave the ends attached as the shelf creates an "H" between the two sides and the vertical supports meet at the shelf.
 
A quick shot on a 7" riser I just threw together with some melamine and pine we had laying around. I didn't make it pretty, thankfully this will be hidden 99% of the time.

This will make the bulkhead clear the 20L sump and give the 'fuge some gravity to work with for the drain.



Riser.jpg
 
One thing I always try to keep in mind with stuff like this is that when a spill happens, you want to be able to clean it up without moving stuff. Tight places trap water that can mold, and rot the wood. If I were you, I'd cut large holes in this so you can put a hand and towel inside it.

In one of my stands, I didn't want to put a sump directly on the bottom of the cabinet, and couldn't find much to use under it. I got empty cat food cans and drilled a lot of holes in them. This gives me just enough room I can clean up water that gets under the sump. The holes mean that if I can't slide the cans around, it will let air circulate through them and hopefully allow the moisture to dry.
 
The ends are open on the "riser" as I only used the pine on the long side of the melamine. One end will be again a wall, so I should still be able to put stuff or dry out underneath it.
 
Hey, you said your GSP's died off the other day. I may wind up trading an old skimmer for a good sized piece of it soon. If I do, we'll work out something to get you some more.
 
Well... as it turns out they all opened back up eventually.

I thought all my corals had died from the 30ish hours at room temperature but 3 days after being back in the tank with a heater and flow they had all opened up.
 
While tearing down the 20L sump I found this guy in the LR rubble section. I made an ID thread, but just wanted to know what you guys think.

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?p=17610871#post17610871

I bought to LR rubble from Coral Reef and they let me know then that there are Bristle Worms in some of their LR/Rubble. I'm fine with that as I have heard that Bristle worms aren't a bad thing, just ugly as sin. Just making sure these guys are Bristle Worms before I let them back into the new sump.

What do you guys think? Keep them or get rid of them?



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Worm.jpg
 
Yip, that's what it is. They won't do any harm. Some people leave them in and some take them out. Myself, I just dont' want the tank or sump to get over run with them, so if they are easy to get out, they're gone.. but I don't panic if there's one or two in there.
 
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