tank bracing and plumbing question

[johnhenry1]

so i recently acquired a used 300 gallon glass fish tank. it was in pretty rough shape. i leak tested it and it held, no leaks. the tank is all 1/2 inch glass and the dimensions are 96 by 24 by 30 tall. it is braced with two inch glass strips along the bottom and eurobraced and cross braced along the top. the silicone from the cross brace has a large gap in it. Is this a result of poor craftsmenship? or is it the glass bowing? the glass bowed about 1/8 of an inch when filled up with water. do the braces need to be resiliconed?
as for the plumbing question, my pump is a reeflo gold dart. its going to have 7 feet of head. the intake is two inches, but the hole drilled in my sump is 1.5 inch. will it hurt the pump if i just got adapters? and are there any negatives to using flexible tubing over pvc pipe? thanks!

pictures

 

[uncleof6]

The seperation is due to the tank bowing. 3mm of bow is pretty much panic time, in terms of the sturctural integrity of the tank. 3mm is .118 inches, 1/8" is .125 inches. It can probably bow more, before self destructing, but that really is not the point. Re-doing the brace, will result in the brace seperating again in time.

The glass is too thin to be using a euro-bracing support system (held together by silicone alone) and should REALLY be built using 15mm glass, or use a full metal rim. Whoever built that tank, was...ummmm....really did not know what they were doing. 300 gallons is a whole lot of water to have all over the floor....

For the pump: With the head loss you are going to have (7ft + friction loss) you are going to need to get every last drop of power out of the pump that you can, for the tank you are working with (see above.) This means 2" return plumbing, which means you cannot reduce the intake pipe size to 1.5" unless you like burning up impellers, and bending mainshafts and the like.

Reeflo is one of the very few companys that tells you, straight up, that the inlet/outlet size does not determine the pipe size, rather what you need the pump to do.

 

[Mrramsey]

Pretty wood floors.... Scary.

 

[johnhenry1]

The seperation is due to the tank bowing. 3mm of bow is pretty much panic time, in terms of the sturctural integrity of the tank. 3mm is .118 inches, 1/8" is .125 inches. It can probably bow more, before self destructing, but that really is not the point. Re-doing the brace, will result in the brace seperating again in time.

The glass is too thin to be using a euro-bracing support system (held together by silicone alone) and should REALLY be built using 15mm glass, or use a full metal rim. Whoever built that tank, was...ummmm....really did not know what they were doing. 300 gallons is a whole lot of water to have all over the floor....

For the pump: With the head loss you are going to have (7ft + friction loss) you are going to need to get every last drop of power out of the pump that you can, for the tank you are working with (see above.) This means 2" return plumbing, which means you cannot reduce the intake pipe size to 1.5" unless you like burning up impellers, and bending mainshafts and the like.

Reeflo is one of the very few companys that tells you, straight up, that the inlet/outlet size does not determine the pipe size, rather what you need the pump to do.

Ok so I guess i'll have to ditch the tank. As for a new tank builder, miracles and lee mar are the only two that you recommend, right? Is there any reason to go with one or the other?

And as for the plumbing question, is it possible to increase the hole already drilled to 2''?

 

[johnhenry1]

oh and what about an acrylic tank, do you know of any good builders?

 

[shaginwagon13]

oh and what about an acrylic tank, do you know of any good builders?

Go with Staphire Glass you won't regret it. No matter what, over time with acrylic you'll get scratches on the walls.

I know the owner of Miracles and his tanks are top notch imo.

 

[uncleof6]

Ok so I guess i'll have to ditch the tank. As for a new tank builder, miracles and lee mar are the only two that you recommend, right? Is there any reason to go with one or the other?

And as for the plumbing question, is it possible to increase the hole already drilled to 2''?

Shipping cost. Really depends on where you are. Lee Mar is in Vista, California. Miracles is in Mono (or Orangeville or...), Ontario, Canada, northwest of Toronto.

If you are very careful, the hole can be enlarged to accomodate a 2" bulkhead. You need a 3" hole saw (77mm.)