Starting w/ Broken Tank - Build Thread

[naterealbig]

A little background, skip if you like................

Ok, so I'm a poor college student, currently attending USF in hopes of one day earning my Mechanical Engineering degree. Before I moved to florida (was stationed in GA when I got out of the military, although FL has always been my home) I had a 110 that I sold off, and thought that my Solana would keep me happy. The reward I got from the small tank did not outweigh the time it took to maintain, and with going to school and working full time, decided it was best if I just didn't have a tank. I sold it off, along with a ton of other stuff, which some of you may remember.

Well my brother works in a LFS in Pensacola, and moves tanks as part of his job. While relocating a 115 cube, one of the guys who was helping move the tank, dropped his end onto a tile floor, severely damaging the bottom of the tank. My brother called me for advice, and I told him that repairing the tank would be a lot more involved then he realized, and the store owner simply decided to replace the womans tank and get rid of the cube.

I'm not sure at what point I decided I would ask my brother if they still had the broken tank, but I did. I talked him into keeping the tank for me, and made plans to meet him in Tallahassee to pick up the aquarium and stand in exchange for $100. And that's the beginning. The tank has been sitting in my living room for a coupe of weeks now, and I have finally started working on and buying equipment for it.

I am starting this thread, not because I feel I'm doing something amazing, but rather because I would love feed back and comments on my methods and planning. 50 sets of eyes are better than one. I have chosen my equipment after lots of research, and I am trying to avoid product wars.

Please give me your input and ideas, as I would love help with the big project. Hopefully I will end up with something that is appealing to the eye.

Enjoy,

Nate

 

[naterealbig]

So here are some shots of the tank. By the way, it is a 30x30x30 cube. It is sitting upside-down right now, and you can see the damage that was done when the tank was dropped. I hadn't pulled the bottom rim off of it yet, and I prayed that there were no large chips in the side panels of glass.

So first step, get the rim off.....no, first step, find a decent blade to get the rim off.

K, so I got the rim off using a knife ( I know, probably not be best idea) - that thing was on there tight! Doesn't look like any of the side panes were chipped.

Pulling glass of the silicone

Almost done

.....and a quick wipe down........voila!

 

[naterealbig]

Now time to take the panels apart. Once I had the bottom pane off there was a little flex in the side panes. I used this flex and "bent" the tank enough so that I could slide a razor blade in between 2 of the seams. Cut the silicone, and did the same thing to the other two sides and made the last cuts.

If you look close, you can see how I moved the tank. If you looked at it from the top, it would have looked more of a diamond shape than a cube.

I labeled the sides too, not sure if it would have made a difference or not. But done with all of the work for today......it was harder than it looked!

 

[naterealbig]

The next step is to use a razor blade on the glass to get all of the silicone off. I will then rub acetone on the glass to get all the stuff that I can't see. The seams will need to be 100% free of silicone before I glue the panes together once I order the glass. Is there anything that will work better than acetone?

Before I order the glass for it though, I need to figure out how I am going to do the bracing. I don't want the ugly black rim I know for sure, and I will probably go with euro-bracing. I would do it rimless, however I know that the tank is just too tall.

Should the bracing be like this (looking from top).................

Or like this..................?

 

[shibumi]

Interesting keep the pics coming please

 

[GrouperGenius]

I think (could be wrong) that the bracing would be equally supportive either way. Visually, first pic is nicer.

Question, why take the entire tank apart if it was only the bottom glass broke? Are you planning on drilling holes for external overflows?

 

[naterealbig]

shibumi - I'll keep them coming as I can, the tank wont actually be able to be set up until the beginning of october, as I am moving into a new apartment..........the majority of the build and planning will hopefully be done by then

GrouperGenius - I'll agree with you on the bracing. I just wanted to make sure I'm doing it right, as I'm not a glass worker. You have to take the entire tank apart, because fresh silicone does not form a strong bond with cured silicone. If you have ever poured concrete, it acts in a similar way. When replacing the bottom I would have to reglue it, but the bond of the bottom corners of the tank wouldn't seal good. For obvious reasons, that would be really bad.

 

[GrouperGenius]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15321089#post15321089 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by naterealbig
shibumi - I'll keep them coming as I can, the tank wont actually be able to be set up until the beginning of october, as I am moving into a new apartment..........the majority of the build and planning will hopefully be done by then

GrouperGenius - I'll agree with you on the bracing. I just wanted to make sure I'm doing it right, as I'm not a glass worker. You have to take the entire tank apart, because fresh silicone does not form a strong bond with cured silicone. If you have ever poured concrete, it acts in a similar way. When replacing the bottom I would have to reglue it, but the bond of the bottom corners of the tank wouldn't seal good. For obvious reasons, that would be really bad.

Gotcha. Can't wait to see this progress.

 

[forddna]

Interesting!! Tagging along!

 

[naterealbig]

I'm planning on drilling three holes in the bottom pane, 2 for (2) 1" drains for a silent overflow, and the third will be fore a 1/2 in return line. I know a lot of people would plumb 3/4 for the return, but I don't want a ton of flow through my sump, as it helps out with bubbles in the display from the skimmer.

I'm going to do a diy overflow made out of a 1/4 inch sheet of black acrylic that I will bend with a blow torch.

 

[naterealbig]

Here's the list of some equipment:

1. 400w 12k reeflux on a lumenarc pendant powered by a blueline e-ballast for display: on the way here now

2. for the sump, a 150w 10k coralife bulb on a reef-optix pendant powered by a sunlight supply mag-ballast - also on the way

3. Octopus DNWB 200 recirculating skimmer - not shipped yet

4. 2 Coral Vue High Seas powerheads @ 1500 gph each (will be sps, so might need more )

5. Mag 7 as return

6. 20 gallon sump: 1/2 fuge, 1/2 coral prop system

I will eventually save up for a controller, probably the apex, along with an o3 generator, and maybe even a calcium reactor. I'm trying to keep it cheap for now though, want to be able to make it through school.

 

[boydx6]

The only advice I have since I don't know anything about DIY tank building (I want to learn) is don't walk around in that room without shoes unless you want to take a chance at getting glass in your feet.

 

[naterealbig]

I hear ya on that! I luckily only got stuck once, and yes, that was through the leather gloves I was wearing! Every few minutes I vacuumed the carpet with my Dyson, so no foot wounds yet...........

 

[unda_da_see]

was this a used tank? are you gonna use black silicone?

 

[naterealbig]

Yeah, it was used, and broken during a move. And yes, I'm going to use black silicone for the seams. Still haven't found a place to buy it. Anyone have any suggestions?

 

[naterealbig]

Ok, so quick update. After doing more research on the octopus dnw200 external skimmer, I will be running a modded laguna 1500 on it. This turn the skimmer from ~ 100 gal capacity to ~ 300 gal capacity.

 

[sedor]

Awesome. I wish we didn't have to wait so long to see this thing come to life.

 

[Tampa Aquarium Service]

If your taking the trouble to drill you should still drill the return for 3/4". It's way easier to size down the return from 3/4" to 1/2" or simply use a 3/4" return and valve down the return flow at the pump outlet. Trust me on this one.

John

 

[GrouperGenius]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15325069#post15325069 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by naterealbig
Yeah, it was used, and broken during a move. And yes, I'm going to use black silicone for the seams. Still haven't found a place to buy it. Anyone have any suggestions?

FAOIS has the black silicone from All-Glass. It's in the squeeze tubes though.

 

[naterealbig]

ryaldlf - Me either. I am spending so much time on the research on this thing, I really haven't had time to actually do any work or take pics ( and I know that's what keeps up the interest). : ) I promise 1. as soon as I actually get done with something I'll post, and 2. It will be gorgeous when all done.

T.A.S. - I'm with you as far as drilling a bigger hole. I actually was just going to drill a 1" hole as I have a 3rd bulkhead handy, and it will save me money by not having to buy a second hole saw.....what do you think?

Ok, so I just heard from someone that the laguna runs too hot to be used externally too. I'm really bummed now. Back to the drawing board I guess.......... If anyone has any suggestions for a pump, please chime in.

Grouper: heard on the silicone, but I am thinking I will need a pretty large amount to do the tank. I'd like to be able to use a caulk gun, as it will be a lot quicker as well. I'll check on the price though, as if it is significantly cheaper it may be worth the hassle.