dmopar's 180 build thread

[dmopar74]

im finally starting on my second SW tank, converting my 180 to salt.
im bored so im going to post some pics along the way, here we go!

this is my 180 on my diy stand, still gotta finish my canopy one day
http://i386.photobucket.com/albums/oo305/dmopar74/swbuild180008.jpg

heres my 40g sump i just finished, and yes i use ceramic tiles in my sumps for baffles as they are very cheap, strong, and easy to work with.
http://i386.photobucket.com/albums/oo305/dmopar74/swbuild180001.jpg

my closet(wife gets the walk in closet) that will hold my sump and mixing station will be on the shelf above. the closet is in my bedroom and the tank is on the other side of the wall.
http://i386.photobucket.com/albums/oo305/dmopar74/swbuild180007.jpg

glass holes 1500 overflow.
http://i386.photobucket.com/albums/oo305/dmopar74/swbuild180006.jpg

80lbs of oolitic sand.
http://i386.photobucket.com/albums/oo305/dmopar74/swbuild180004.jpg

couple of future inhabitants!
http://i386.photobucket.com/albums/oo305/dmopar74/swbuild180002.jpg

i will update as i progress, hope to get the fw fish out whithin the next couple days and then drill the tank for the overflow...

[Recty]

I'm not sure you can drill a 180g tank, I think the front, back and bottom at least are tempered. The sides might not be. I looked into drilling my 210g and was told not to due to the glass being tempered.

You might want to research that... save yourself an expensive mistake.

[dmopar74]

I will check this tank but I've had another 180 that got a good chip taken out of the back panel while moving it, hence not tempered. Brand is aqueon.

[palmer373]

im pretty sure tempered glass can chip?

[dmopar74]

Not that I'm aware of, any break of any kind should shatter tempered glass.
Either way alls it takes is a pair of polarized glasses to check.

[joeyt66]

I'm not sure you can drill a 180g tank, I think the front, back and bottom at least are tempered. The sides might not be. I looked into drilling my 210g and was told not to due to the glass being tempered.

You might want to research that... save yourself an expensive mistake.

what brand is your tank? I have a 210 made by all glass aquariums which i drilled with no problems. Best is to just contact the manufacturer and ask.

[Recty]

Not that I'm aware of, any break of any kind should shatter tempered glass.
Either way alls it takes is a pair of polarized glasses to check.

You can chip tempered glass, cracking it usually results in total failure though. You basically have to put a weakness into both sides of the glass, but one chip out of a side or edge usually wont shatter the whole piece unless it's subjected to loads that would almost cause failure in a unharmed piece.

Drilling through tempered glass only shatters when the drill bit pierces both sides of the glass, you can make small drill holes into tempered just fine, as long as you dont go all the way through, although you do make a weak point.

Anyway, it's definitely worth checking to make sure it isnt tempered.

As to the other guy who asked, I'd rather not clutter up this guys build thread with info about my old tanks, but yes, mine was a 210 all glass aquarium. I wanted to drill the bottom at the time and I know that was tempered, I was told that the front and back are also but that was just by the LFS, not the manufacturer.

[dmopar74]

after the highly scientific test of putting on my shades and looking at the glass, i determined i am good to go so...

well today i got all the FW fish and equipment moved out to my shop and running. then came the fun part...

got the 180 ready for the drill...
http://i386.photobucket.com/albums/oo305/dmopar74/saltwatertank001.jpg

my ugly mug doin work...
http://i386.photobucket.com/albums/oo305/dmopar74/saltwatertank003.jpg

not too shabby, two 2" holes...
http://i386.photobucket.com/albums/oo305/dmopar74/saltwatertank012.jpg

overflow done...
http://i386.photobucket.com/albums/oo305/dmopar74/saltwatertank013.jpg

next to come, plumbing through the wall.

[Recty]

Very cool, that's a good idea having the powerhead push water up to cool, when I drilled I just had a little water and some plumbers paste around the spot for the hole. Both work, my way wouldnt work on a vertical surface though :)

The overflow looks nice, although it looks a little low... are you planning on having the water level of the tank higher than the teeth on the overflow? The way it looks to me, you'll have your water level about a full inch, maybe a little more, below the top plastic.

[dmopar74]

the bottom of the teeth are about a 1/4" below the bottom of the trim. the water level should be above the trim, although a little higher on my part wouldnt of hurt i guess.

[SmithZero]

Great idea with the pump. I'll use that idea next time I drill.

[dmopar74]

the bottom of the teeth are about a 1/4" below the bottom of the trim. the water level should be above the trim, although a little higher on my part wouldnt of hurt i guess.

actually there was enough wiggle with everything to get the bottom of the teeth inline with the trim bottom

[vegasr]

Looking awesome so far, can't wait to see how this baby turns out. Nice job on drilling the holes! About how long did the actual drill time take to cut each hole out?

[dmopar74]

the bit wasnt brand new but still in decent shape. id guess 10 minutes per hole through 1/2" glass, but it seemed like an eternity.

[Recty]

Can you take another picture of the overflow? Maybe I'm not seeing the original right, it sure looks to me like the bottom of the teeth is like 1.5" to 2" below the trim surrounding the top of the tank.

Again, this doesnt really matter, this is just to satisfy my curiosity.

[aleonn]

+1 great job on the holes. I'd be so nervous to do that myself!

[dmopar74]

Can you take another picture of the overflow? Maybe I'm not seeing the original right, it sure looks to me like the bottom of the teeth is like 1.5" to 2" below the trim surrounding the top of the tank.

Again, this doesnt really matter, this is just to satisfy my curiosity.

word
http://i386.photobucket.com/albums/oo305/dmopar74/180overflow004.jpg

[dmopar74]

double post.

[Recty]

Cool, thanks. I wonder how far up the teeth the water will actually go? I guess it depends on how much you're returning... Any idea how much you plan on running through your sump?

[dmopar74]

got my plumbing done enough to get her goin(still need to add unions). also started mixing up salt in the tank.

nothing spectacular, but its progress!
http://i386.photobucket.com/albums/oo305/dmopar74/180sump001.jpg
http://i386.photobucket.com/albums/oo305/dmopar74/180sump002.jpg

[Recty]

Very cool, it's nice when you can start seeing the water moving :)

You using any sort of auto top off eventually? I set up my sump a lot like yours, without a lot of room for evaporation and I bought an auto top off within a month of the tank running, I got tired of fill the chamber with fresh water every 2 days.

[dmopar74]

eventually yes. that closet also houses my hot water tank and i have a cold supply and drain from my FW drip system there, so there are some ways to automate my system.

[palmer373]

how many GPH can that drain handle? seems a little bit on the wimpy side? if it works it works though.

[dmopar74]

the drain is rated to 1500gph, it has two 1 1/2" drains.
im running about 750gph.

[vegasr]

Looking awesome, and really like your plumbing. What return pump are you using? So whats the next few steps?

[dmopar74]

well now that i got the SG up to 1.024 i have to add the sand and start cycling. i can also grab a couple cups of sand and a chunk of rock from my 54, and throw my media from my qt tank in the sump. im shure i will be impatient and add my eels and small volitan.

the return pump is a quiet one 4000 i had laying around. im also running a xp4 can full of glass/ceramic media for bio till i can afford some rock.

perhaps i will build the canopy. work is very slow and im looking for another job so all the fancy gadgets i want will have to wait a bit.