pretty mad at myself right now....

J

Jim_Leyland

In Memoriam
So this guy gave me a 55 gallon tank right.. well i had the great idea lets pull my 30gallon sump out and replace it with the 55.. after a hr of cleaning and draining my sump i start working on getting it out from under my stand, its sitting on carpet so no easy task here.. finally get it out, now how do i get this tank in under the stand you ask.. hmmm good question oh yea before i did this i took all the baffles out of the 30 and got them into the 55.. im looking at the tank then the stand, well **** this isn't gonna work.. oh yea heres an idea so i take the end off my stand i can slide it in this way cool.. get the sump in now about 2 1/2 hours into this get my plumbing where i want it go to put my collection cup on my skimmer... guess what theres no way in hell that lid is going to fit under the stand and back on the skimmer! its about 1" to tall even if i take the cap off.. anyone have any suggestions beside emptying the 55 and putting the 30 back in? im so mad right now :mad2: :mad2: :mad2:
 
Pics would help us give any suggestions.

I'm sure you could modify the skimmer but that's not an easy task.

Can you run the skimmer external and have the output flow into the 55g?
What type of skimmer is it?

You might also be able to pry the stand up and block it up that extra inch then add a pc of quarter round to cover the gap. It seems drastic to gain another 25g in the sump/fuge though.
 
Why choose if you can have both? It might be possible to use the 30 as the sump and the 55 as a refugium, either near the the tank, or remotely located and connected to the system with tubing. If the 55 can be higher than the main tank, flow will be from the sump, gravity flow back to the main tank.
 
Hi,

Don't know if the back of your stand is open like mine but if you have room put the 55ga. behind the stand. that will give you the room for the skimmer. If its not open pop a couple of holes in your wood stand to run tubes to your new 55 ga. sump.

Dave
 
IMG_1920.jpg


IMG_1921.jpg


IMG_1922.jpg
 
Is that a metal frame tank? It's hard to tell from the photo. The stainless steel they used in most of them does not hold up to saltwater well.
 
Last edited:
I concure with Dan If that is a Metal frame tank, which from the photo's it appears it is, then I think you are setting yourself up for problems down the road. Again my .02 HTH
 
The metal frame tanks are either a steel or low grade stainless steel construction, either way saltwater and metal are not a good combination. I have seen rust on the stainless. Could lead to metals leaching into the water. Also the the glass is held in place with a black aquarium cement and not a contigous silicone seal like in all glass tanks. If it were ME I would not do it. You might be better off trading it with a freshwater guy for a glass and plastic frame version, but that still is not going to resolve your tank height issue but it might if you find one with the right height you need. HTH
 
Wow I can't believe any one had a 55g with the metal frame even lying around anymore, let alone it even holding water, at least it doesn't have the slate bottom.......I would get that thing out of there asap... Dan and John are right, the salt enviorment will eat that cheap metal up even if it is low grade stainless in no time, not to mention what it may leach into the water... and to be honest with you, you will be hard pressed to find a FW person who will take it also
 
if it does have a slate bottom, it will be grey in color and is actually a colectors item and at some fish auctions may bring some $$$
 
old reefer is right! Slate bottom stainless steel frame tanks are collectibles! They don't even have to be able to hold water since I think the collectors put something silly in them like peacock feathers.

They will not bring as much money at fish club auctions though they might go for more than a new all glass tank. People trying to breed freshwater fish covet these tanks. There are some kinds of freshwater fish that breed much better in the old slate bottom aquariums.

I have some of the old aquariums for saltwater that were made before silastic. They are all glass the hard way, cast in one piece. They are collectibles too. When the clubs used to do their displays, Vi and I would bring one of them and set it up.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10448018#post10448018 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Jim_Leyland
its grey/black it kinda looks like cement so its probably not slate, how old do you think it is?
Click to expand...
Slate and cement are both gray to dark gray. Sounds like slate! If the tank is as good and clean as it looks in the photo, someone will really want that tank.:D
 
Jim if it is as you claim, put the 30g back in there, clean this 55g up and sell it, it is truly a collectible, I have been doing fish for almost 40yrs and can't even imagine what that 55g cost then, I would say more than a 55g today
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

M
How everything change and keeps changing
2
Replies
33
Views
2K
kingone
K
S
Sump at Same Level as DT
Replies
9
Views
568
wvned
wvned
T
Free stuff - been out of the hobby for years
Replies
0
Views
255
tru2nr
T
Broken reefer
Redflex sump
Replies
3
Views
252
griss
griss
I
Plumbing an internal skimmer externally
Replies
4
Views
376
wvned
wvned
Back
Top