Lunchbucket's 48"x48"x20" Reef

[Hop]

Just so you know, I wasn't trying to be an a**. It just made me nervous. It could be nothing, but until we know for sure, I would hate to have the information get out there as it being acceptable and later cause major problems Let me know if your going to ask acrylics so we can find out a definite on whether it's acrylic safe.

 

[cbui2]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9570512#post9570512 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Hop
Just so you know, I wasn't trying to be an a**. It just made me nervous. It could be nothing, but until we know for sure, I would hate to have the information get out there as it being acceptable and later cause major problems Let me know if your going to ask acrylics so we can find out a definite on whether it's acrylic safe.

yeah I know no harm was taking, but I guess if something do happen in the future that I have enough tanks to hold all my livestock just in case of emergency..thanks

 

[kevinpo]

Hi Eric,
I have about 25 schedule 40 bulkheads in operation currently they are 4-6 years in operation. I have never had one crack or leak. So IMHO don't think it's worth the extra cost. I had one 1" union nut crack on me that was it over the years.

To keep the gasket soft I use a very small amount of silicone grease on them, that way they can be resused if needed. Even after a few years they look like brand new when removed.

HTH,
Kevin

 

[hypermikie]

As far as cleaning... Novus makes an acrylic safe cleaner. I used thier three step polish/cleaner to re-surface my 70g acrylic.

Mike

 

[Lunchbucket]

maxxII - Always a wise guy huh Great the 1.5's restrict. Guess I could have looked closer. But even then 1.25 isn't too bad for my outputs. I really don't think it will be that big of a deal IMO. So maxx, kevin, and others vote sched 40's. Guess I'll order some. Savko.com?

kevinpo - Thanks for the vote. I'll try just a touch of the silone grease I have laying around on the gaskets. Again thanks for the opinion.

hypermike and others - I have access to some Novus so I think I'll use that. We use it on the acrylic on our tanning beds at work.

I pm'ed Acrylics and he said that if It doesn't freeze (the tank) It will be a-ok in the garage. That is good to hear. This way I can leave it there and work on the plumbing since it is across the apt's parking lot and not across town. And the stand AND the tank fit in the garage.

later
Lunchbucket

 

[wayner1]

Since I've never owned an acrylic tank, but do know the hassel of scraping algae off a glass tank, easier now with the blade that attaches to the mag float, how do you go about getting coralline off of acrylic, I doubt you use a razor blade for fear of scratching., and if you do scratch acrylic, are there any new products out there that can buff the scratch out?, do you have to lower your water level to get at it?.

 

[Hop]

You use a scraper Usually made of acrylic or slightly softer material. But staying on top of it every few days with a quality magnet cleaner goes a long way. And yes you can fix scratches under water

 

[Lunchbucket]

I have two piranha float magnets from algae free. I have a TON of the acrylic safe white material left from when I got some for my shrimp sized magnet on an old 3gal cube I made

Lunchbucket

 

[Lunchbucket]

maxx - Not quite sure what you mean about the TUBV's narrowing down. Here is a pic of mine

I don't think it really narrows down that much. They have to narrow some.

Lunchbucket

 

[maxxII]

Those are different TUBV's than I have, but they do constrict in the middle some (at least it looks that way in the pic).

To explain better....

bring one of those to Lowes and place somw 1.25 inch plumbing in it. I'll bet you find its about the same inner diameter at the smallest place, that the 1.25 inch plumbing is....

I have 4 drains in my 120. Two are 1 inch, the other two were designed to be 3/4 inch returns, but I'm using them for drains. All drains empty to a 1.25 inch main line to the sump. While fitting unions and TUBV's to the 1 inch and the 1.25 inch plumbing, (I upsized the 3/4 inch to 1 inch for ease of plumbing...got tired w/ screwing around w/ 16 different sizes of pvc...), I had to upsize the 1 inch unions to 1.25 inch unions to maintain the same internal diameter as the 1 inch pvc. Same for the 1.25 inch main line...had to upsize to 1.5 inch to get an internal diameter of 1.25 inches...
Once I did that for my drains, I went ahead and upsized the unions & TUBV's on the return plumbing....less resistance by way of less head pressure.

Make sense? Its not a deal breaker, but one of the issues I had/have with my 58 is a lack flow....I dont have enough IMO...and I'm pretty sure that the plumbing is the major cause of that.

Nick

 

[jnarowe]

I need to now decide am I going w/ Sched 80 or Sched 40 bulkheads? If I go w/ 80's I'm gonna need to make the holes bigger. If I use 40's they are cut the right size. Opinions? Are 40's really that crappy or I mean 80's that much better

Schedule 80 BHs have some advantages in that they are less likely to break, have much better gaskets, and tighter fitting threads. To make the holes bigger you can use a variety of methods like cutting a disk the size of the hole and using it to center for the new hole. But what I did was use a half-round file. This is a bit of a PITA but, I got very snug fitting holes. You only file out enough for an exact fit, and this can make a big difference in how well they hold water because your gasket will be fully seated.

"easyoff" on acrylic? You have GOT to be kidding cbui2! You really shouldn't even use rubbing alcohol or any reactive chemical whatsoever. As Hop stated, Kleenmaster Brillianize works really well for daily or occassional cleaning, and Novus has one as well. For removal of any glue or other surface contaminant, buffing with liquid abrasive made for acrylic is about the best way to go.

 

[cbui2]

yeah just try one side, oh well but came out nice with no haze at all, but thats all for now.hehe, also any kind of paper or terry cloth, i have to clean inside of tank too so same thing on outside.

 

[jnarowe]

research buffing acrylic. I used materials from Micro Mesh.

 

[Hop]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9592530#post9592530 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jnarowe
To make the holes bigger you can use a variety of methods like cutting a disk the size of the hole and using it to center for the new hole. But what I did was use a half-round file. This is a bit of a PITA but, I got very snug fitting holes. You only file out enough for an exact fit, and this can make a big difference in how well they hold water because your gasket will be fully seated.

To enlarge a hole, the easiest way I have found is to cut a jig out of wood with the appropriate size hole saw. Then clamp the newly cut piece of wood, now jig, over the old hole. It will keep the hole saw centered while you drill out the new hole

 

[kevinpo]

To enlarge a hole, the easiest way I have found is to cut a jig out of wood with the appropriate size hole saw. Then clamp the newly cut piece of wood, now jig, over the old hole. It will keep the hole saw centered while you drill out the new hole

My method too

Sometimes it is impossible to get a clamp on the wood but if you place it against the side or bottom so it presses in the direction the drill will turn it will hold itself. You can remove it as soon as you get a groove started.

Regards,
Kevin

 

[jnarowe]

I have no idea how that would work when drilling on a large plane like the bottom of a tank, especially when drilling from the inside.

 

[Travis]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9597248#post9597248 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jnarowe
I have no idea how that would work when drilling on a large plane like the bottom of a tank, especially when drilling from the inside.

I would feel pretty confident using a big enough piece of wood that you could stand on to hold it in place. Now if you were drilling the bottom of the tank from the outside and had to hold the wood push the wood "up" against the bottom of the tank, that would be a different story.

 

[jnarowe]

geez...you guys have to make everything so easy. What's wrong with using a file and taking a half hour per hole anyway???

 

[jnarowe]

Dammit LB, I just realized I could have visited you while in Aberdeen! I am so P.O.'d. I would love to meet a guy with such diverse religious tats! :lol:

 

[petedoc]

Jonathon is correct. I have used the template method with a piece of plywood to increase the size of the original hole and it was not easy. The hole saw kept getting stuck and the template was difficult to stabilize. A good half round file and a bit of elbow grease would be less traumatic. As an alternative you can use a zip saw and a well made template, that might work better yet.