No, I did not have a catastrophic problem resulting in a rebuild. I have been out of the hobby for about six years and have decided to hop back in. I had a post earlier asking folks if I should refurbish or sell and start new. There was a lot of support for refurbish.
I am still a bit mixed and may do a partial refurbish and partial new. What do I mean? I have rebuilt the stand (a meaningful story for me... more later) but I think that my plans to refurbish the old acrylic tank may not be feasible. The old tank had an integrated filter compartment and I am going to a sump. I was going to cut out the filter compartment but that is looking like a potential deal killer. So, while I figure out what to do with the tank, here is the story of the stand.
My grandfather and I built the stand about 20 years ago. It is probably stronger than anything else I own with six oak 2X4 posts with an oak 2X4 rectangle at the bottom and top. Filling in the sides is oak veneer plywood slotted into datos in the 2X4. It turned out great. Only problem is, at the time, I had no vision of a reef and protein skimming was not the norm it is today. The result is the stand is not tall enough to fit a good skimmer.
To fix that , I moved to the next generation and my son and I rebuilt the stand (good thing I had his help to as he stopped me from making a couple of incorrect cuts). We removed the top and created a joint to add another 10 inches to the overall height. We were able to reuse the top with some repairs. The original also only had two doors on the front. Obviously not enough room to get a sump in. So, we used a circular saw to plunge cut and create a square opening in the end. We then cut some thin oak strips with a bevel and used that to overlap the cut. Attached the strips to the cut out panel, added screen latches and the end is now removable to get the sump in and out.
On the inside, we wanted to damp proof the oak to avoid rot. So we painted the interior with truck bed liner. Should help to prevent problems with general moisture and small spills. We finished the exterior with stain and a clear urethane finish.
And since we know everyone loves pictures. Here they are:
I am still a bit mixed and may do a partial refurbish and partial new. What do I mean? I have rebuilt the stand (a meaningful story for me... more later) but I think that my plans to refurbish the old acrylic tank may not be feasible. The old tank had an integrated filter compartment and I am going to a sump. I was going to cut out the filter compartment but that is looking like a potential deal killer. So, while I figure out what to do with the tank, here is the story of the stand.
My grandfather and I built the stand about 20 years ago. It is probably stronger than anything else I own with six oak 2X4 posts with an oak 2X4 rectangle at the bottom and top. Filling in the sides is oak veneer plywood slotted into datos in the 2X4. It turned out great. Only problem is, at the time, I had no vision of a reef and protein skimming was not the norm it is today. The result is the stand is not tall enough to fit a good skimmer.
To fix that , I moved to the next generation and my son and I rebuilt the stand (good thing I had his help to as he stopped me from making a couple of incorrect cuts). We removed the top and created a joint to add another 10 inches to the overall height. We were able to reuse the top with some repairs. The original also only had two doors on the front. Obviously not enough room to get a sump in. So, we used a circular saw to plunge cut and create a square opening in the end. We then cut some thin oak strips with a bevel and used that to overlap the cut. Attached the strips to the cut out panel, added screen latches and the end is now removable to get the sump in and out.
On the inside, we wanted to damp proof the oak to avoid rot. So we painted the interior with truck bed liner. Should help to prevent problems with general moisture and small spills. We finished the exterior with stain and a clear urethane finish.
And since we know everyone loves pictures. Here they are:
