SC Aquariums Owners Thread

Ordered the 50gal PNP for $649, free shipping off the deal of the day. Pretty excited. Bummed that I didn't order the solid wood stand after reading through this entire thread.

I emailed Steve about possibly switching it out, and I'd have to pay for return shipping, which I'm sure isn't cheap. Really worried about the MDF holding up now. I was planning on coating the stands interior with white, water proof, appliance paint and siliconing the joints. Any other ideas or suggestions that I'm missing?

We've got a good Amish population around me, maybe I'll have one of them whip me up a nice custom stand.
 
Ordered the 50gal PNP for $649, free shipping off the deal of the day. Pretty excited. Bummed that I didn't order the solid wood stand after reading through this entire thread.

I emailed Steve about possibly switching it out, and I'd have to pay for return shipping, which I'm sure isn't cheap. Really worried about the MDF holding up now. I was planning on coating the stands interior with white, water proof, appliance paint and siliconing the joints. Any other ideas or suggestions that I'm missing?

We've got a good Amish population around me, maybe I'll have one of them whip me up a nice custom stand.
I had no issues with the 50gal pnp tank or stand. Even if the stand is not solid wood, no problem at all.
All I did to my was silicone all the joints with black silicone since my stand is black.
 
Just got a 90g PNP in today. I have not had a rimless tank before. Are the 2 thin black styrofoam sheets supposed to go under the tank and sump? They seem too thin to really accomplish anything. Wondering if they are necessary? Or if I should buy something different to use.
 
Ordered the 50gal PNP for $649, free shipping off the deal of the day. Pretty excited. Bummed that I didn't order the solid wood stand after reading through this entire thread.

I emailed Steve about possibly switching it out, and I'd have to pay for return shipping, which I'm sure isn't cheap. Really worried about the MDF holding up now. I was planning on coating the stands interior with white, water proof, appliance paint and siliconing the joints. Any other ideas or suggestions that I'm missing?

We've got a good Amish population around me, maybe I'll have one of them whip me up a nice custom stand.

I would check and see what that return shipping fee is exactly.
A solid wood stand will last many years longer than an MDF stand will.
 
Just got a 90g PNP in today. I have not had a rimless tank before. Are the 2 thin black styrofoam sheets supposed to go under the tank and sump? They seem too thin to really accomplish anything. Wondering if they are necessary? Or if I should buy something different to use.

Mine came with one thin styrofoam sheet(same tank). I used the styrofoam with no issues. It's only supposed to take out any deformations in the stand. People have used yoga mats as well.
 
I'm still debating on the eurobraced vs. rimless. Any opinions either way? Live in the midwest so earthquakes aren't a consideration. I do question why the eurobracing is down a bit vs. being flush with the top?? Also, I don't want to use a canopy because I really like the open look that tanks are going to now like the rimless but I question the water level with the eurobraced models and also the salt build up on the rimless. A LFS here has one and there is a ton of salt build up on the top and shows the water line and such with the rimless. Any photos or videos of the water line would be great. I have looked on Youtube and through this post as well as other with the SC aquariums to try and get a good idea of how it would look with the EB and no canopy and not really getting a clear picture.
Thanks in advance!
 
Tank size and dims may play a factor there, but me personally I prefer euro braced for the strength and longevity over aesthetics, though I get what you are saying, the rimless do look cleaner especially if going w/out a canopy.
I've had many rimless tanks, I love the looks, but I'm kinda over water splashing, snails crawling out, and you'll need a screen to keep jumpers in.
I can tell you my rimless tanks needed to be wiped clean of water and spots way way more often.
 
I've made some progress this evening.
I've come up with two questions:

1. If you don't use the leveling mat that came with the tank, what are you using in its place? I believe I may need something a little thicker.

2. Those of you using the SC-301 skimmer, do you remove the clear cylinder from the base and screw the fitting through the base into the water pump?

Ted
 
My foam pad broke apart in my last move, so I just used the insulation foam from HD, thinnest they had, think it was 1/4", but really you should not need anything thicker than what they provide, foam does very little to over ride any deviations, and I would not expect it to solve any real deviation issues.
I also agree the thin yoga mats are also a good alternative.
 
Tank size and dims may play a factor there, but me personally I prefer euro braced for the strength and longevity over aesthetics, though I get what you are saying, the rimless do look cleaner especially if going w/out a canopy.
I've had many rimless tanks, I love the looks, but I'm kinda over water splashing, snails crawling out, and you'll need a screen to keep jumpers in.
I can tell you my rimless tanks needed to be wiped clean of water and spots way way more often.

Thanks for pointing those things out. Something to think about.
 
Its New Year's Eve and I thought I'd post a couple pictures on the stand and tank progress. I'll begin plumbing on Monday or Tuesday with hopes of having water in the tank by the weekend.
Happy New Year everyone.

Ted
 

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Spent all day getting my 90 set up. Went to connect the return pump and realized there is no fitting to adapt from the 1/2" connection on the pump to the 1" return line. Pretty frustrating end of a long day. I at least filled the tank and have the salt water mixed. Just have to hope lowes is open tomorrow. I was really hoping to have everything flowing so it would be clear by morning.
 
Pfan,

Could be a good time to take a break.:thumbsup:

Yea just annoyed me a little that I went to lowes 3 times in the last day but I never even thought to check the pump connections. I assumed a system that is sold as PNP would come with the necessary fitting to actually plug it in. Only a few dollar fix I guess. Everything else seems pretty nice with the system
 
Found my second frustration. The back chamber appear to have a slow leak which allows water to drain into the back chamber and then down to the sump. It's a very slow. Not sire if I'm going to bother trying to fix it. This was how much it dropped overnight:
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I would patch with silicone. If you were gine for a day or two your sump might not hold all the water.

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I'd like to but I would have to take everything apart again and I'm not dealing with that. My plan for now is to raise the primary drain pipe up a few more inches so the water can't drain beyond that height. I'm hoping I'll still be able to have enough of a difference in drain pipe heights for the herbie to work without constantly having to adjust the gate valve.
 
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