Starting a build thread

[cdfjr1975]

This will be my first salt water tank and read I should start a build thread so here I go.

Back story, I have a freshwater tank running for a few months and learned right away a lot of mistakes I made so I have researched before starting this sky water project. This doesn't mean in any way I am an expert and will not act that way so please forgive some of my ignorance.

I bought a 100 gallon on craigslist for $150 to start, as much as I researched I didn't read about how a tank is built so I'm not sure I got the greatest tank but still think I got a good deal. Some of what I read about the tank builder, Fujimoto aquarium out of Gardenia CA is sloppy silicone work which I can see some. The real problem I have with this tank right now is the dirty silicone from being used, but oddly (or maybe not) but the silicone on the support bracket is filthy and I wonder if I can clean it, first option but if it doesn't work can I remove it, clean it, and reinstall? See pictures below (ignore the messy garage)

The seams look good, doesn't appear to be broken, chipped or nicked. The tank supposedly had water in it two weeks ago, but was not full since it was a turtle tank.






As far as the rest of the tank goes for future these are some basic thoughts

Dry rock (probably pukani)
Live sand (still determining texture)
Synergy Reef overflow bean animal drain
40 gallon sump (looking on craigslist for tank and will install baffles under over under between refugium and return)
Protein skimmer
Media pure plate in sump
Reef keeper controller
Build a new stand, the current one is awful looking and probably not the most sturdy IMO

Return pump, power heads and lighting still researching.

Fish and future coral to be determined later, part of the hold up on lighting.

I'm going to go slow, money and free time as part of the consideration in the set up time.

Set up steps
Get rock and cure while I do other steps
Clean tank
Clean or reinstall cross beam ( all advice welcome here)
Drill tank for overflow and return
Plumb sump
Water test tank and plumbing
Guess I'll figure out the rest later

All advice welcome if I didn't mention something please assume I don't know I will not be offended of being reminded of the nitrogen cycle since I omitted it in my setup steps.

Thanks everyone, sorry this was a long post!

 

[Kyle42]

First thing youre probably going to want to do is clean the tank out with a clean rag and vinegar/water solution to clean any nasties out of it. Then just take your hose and fill the tank with water to check for any leaks and leave it for a few days or whatever to make sure it can hold that much water for a period of time just to make sure

 

[cdfjr1975]

Thanks Kyle. I was going to do vinegar rinse but realized I didn't have any. Could if sworn we bought some at Costco but guess we used it already.

Started leak test tonight instead, hopefully the soak will loosen up some of the nasty stuff.

I put an LED flashlight on top of the glass brace to see how well it allows light to pass and looks good so far.





Filled tank about 40% for a few hours then filled it almost full and going to keep an eye on it.

In the process I found out my hose leaks though, go figure.

 

[thegrun]

Silicone yellows over time, there isn't much you can do about it. You cannot remove small sections of silicone, new silicone does not make a good bond to old silicone. You would need to remove all the silicone seams in the tank, do a very good job of cleaning the glass and then reseal the entire tank. That is a very big job that isn't worth the time or expense IMHO, and requires a fair amount of expertise.

 

[cdfjr1975]

@thegrun I looked at videos of redoing silicone and I wasn't thrilled about the prospect of doing it if this thing leaks.

Thankfully the yellow is only on the top brace so maybe I can find a way to hide it instead of replacing it. Especially since that is the support to help it not to bow (I just learned that by the way)

Sent from my XT1080 using Tapatalk

 

[homer1475]

You might want to ping a mod and have this thread moved to the Tank Journals and Builds section. It will eventually get lost in this section.

 

[cdfjr1975]

Thanks @homer1475 I unfortunately don't have enough posts for a PM so I sent a regular message to a moderator to move this post.

Sent from my XT1080 using Tapatalk

 

[Ztous]

Go slow when drilling especially as you exit. This is where the glass will want to clam shell/ chip. I sorta wish I had grabbed some scrap glass and did a few practice drills before the tank since this is what happened to me. If it's not to bad you can remove the stress from the glass with a good sanding but I wish I taken more time with that part. Your at a good spot since your here before adding livestock, don't rush it.

Also a softy tank is a great way to get into the hobby.Things like encrusting polyps, mushrooms and xenia will tolerate beginner mistakes and are much hardier. Alot of people get enamored with the idea of keeping LPS and SPS early on but they can die quickly under the wrong conditions. Nothing is more frustrating then dropping 50 bucks on coral and having it die before you really understand why.

 

[Capsle]

As mentioned the silicone can't really be cleaned. I built my tank about 2 months ago. Somewhat same situation as you.

For cleaning the glass / tank since your leak testing right now add a gallon of vinegar to the water. Let it sit for a day and then scrub it down. No point on refilling the tank a second time to clean. Then drain the tank and rinse it many times well.

For silicone, resealing is not difficult. It's tedious and takes a few hours but by no means hard to do or complex. If you do decide to do it just watch a few YouTube videos first. Take your time and make sure there is no silicone left on the glass whatsoever. I resealed both my DT and sump when I built my setup. It was a first for me and easy to do. Don't touch the silicone between the panes though (structural bond) just the corner beads.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Capsle]

One other thing, your sump baffles you will want them over under over as apposed to under over under. The baffles serve 2 purposes, 1- keep water level even, 2- bubble traps. For water level it doesn't matter what pattern you use, but for bubbles you want them to break when they go over the baffle.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[cdfjr1975]

@ztous great idea with the spare glass I just happen to have some to practice on. Do encrusted polyps have polytoxin like some zoas do? Thanks for the info.

@Capsle The corner beads look good it is just the top brace which has that yellow color so maybe I will remove and replace that section only, I will need to look at how the top rim is sealed so I don't damage the integrity. I will update as I progress.

Sent from my XT1080 using Tapatalk