Mista's 28-ish gal. Bowfront Log

[Mistamurray]

Hello
This will be a log of my first salt water tank. Ive been reading tons on RC for quite a few months and slowly learning from others experences. I felt it would be a goo time to start a thread on my reef tank experences now that i actually have something to take a picture off. I don't even have water in it yet, but still this project has been taking up most of my spare time for a few months:p

So the tank:
I actually forgot to get the camera out b4 i started, it came stock with a brace down the middle.
It was sold as a 28gal. though im not sure if it holds quite that much water, its 24''W 19''H 12''D (15'' at the middle of the bow)
http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j158/Quickdrau/e2eacefb.jpg

After lots of different plans for pumping i bit the bullet and roto zip'd myself some holes and a overflow, it was way easyer than i had exspected, i just used tons of water and went to it...

http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j158/Quickdrau/ca594907.jpg

Making sure i didnt cut the holes too big:P

http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j158/Quickdrau/bff0195c.jpg

I ordered some loc line, bulkheads ect... all the black stuff, from the j&l aquatics, and picked up the rest of the stuff from a hot tub store locally.
http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j158/Quickdrau/DSC02103.jpg

sheesh its late already, have to work early tomorrow too, this whole 'posting' thing is new to me, (usually just read:P) ill keep it coming tomorrow

-Aaron

[James11]

Welcome


Keep us posted with the pics on your progress.

[kamla]

<img src="/images/welcome.gif" width="500" height="62"><br><b><i><big><big>To Reef Central</b></i></big></big>

Sorry james.. i had to... :)
Looks nice .. keep the pics coming of ur progress..

[hgbarwick]

looks nice. Lets see how its doing once water is in it and everything.

[SaltyMember]

Nice project. What are you planning for the tank? Softies, SPS, mixed reef? What other equipment are you planning for the tank? lights, skimmer, etc.

Thanks for posting your progress.

[Mistamurray]

The next step was to construct the over flow box on the back of the tank. I wanted to go with this style after reading another thread on RC about a 50 gal breeder tank, i felt it would keep the tank looking very clean aswell as giving me the most room in the display tank.
Now the only choice was what to make it out of... i had some 1/8th acyrilic kicking around from a past diy project for my fw tank, and i also had enough 1/4'' glass, the sorta stuff used for lids. I went with the glass...

This little nifty guy i used to score the a line on the glass then i put it into the jobmate's vice to break it off on a straight line.
http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j158/Quickdrau/glasscutter.jpg
http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j158/Quickdrau/DSC02107.jpg

i used a 5min epoxy to glue the peices together and then in place at the back of the tank, (Oh which i painted black by this point) then i used silicone on all of the joins.

While i was at the hot tub store picking up an extra bulk 1'' bulkhead (decided to go with two instead of one) an some other fittings i came across these which i figured would work perfectly for drain silencers.
http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j158/Quickdrau/DSC02105.jpg
http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j158/Quickdrau/DSC02104.jpg
Im not sure what they're called or what they are usually used for, and i haven't actually tryed them out as silencers but they look cool and seem like they will work:D

...and heres the box all together
http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j158/Quickdrau/DSC02108.jpg

SaltyMember - Im not sure what kinda corals i want to go with yet, as for a skimmer i just got in a aquaC remora pro, im still shopping around for lights... im leaning towards T5's but im also still in the planning stages for a stand/hood or not a hood:P

Next episode: The Sump! :D

-Aaron

[hgbarwick]

Looks good, keep up the good work!

[alien9168]

This is a cool looking diy tank project...i think its going to look awsome!
:)

[maxcab]

Looks REALLY cool.
I wish I had done as much research as you did on reef central before I started. I didn't know it existed until I had it set up with live rock and a fish.
Once again, excellent work!!

[Mistamurray]

Well after considering my options with MH pendants (i don't like noisy fans) im leaning heavily towards T5's, as much as i feel i could make a decent hood and go the retrofit rout, i like the idea of a slick powder coated fixture...

The Vision!:P
http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j158/Quickdrau/thevision.jpg

Soo... i got a hold of the guys at reefgeek to see what the deal was with shipping to Can and Greg got back to me right away with an estimate on shipping:
24" Tek Light: 4-24W T5 HO Fluorescents (Black) : Qty 1
24W Actinic/Blue Plus T5 HO Fluorescent : Qty 2
24W 6500K Daylight T5 HO Fluorescent : Qty 3 (1 as a replacement for a coralife fixture for the fuge)
24W 11000K Aquablue Plus T5 HO Fluorescent : Qty 1

Subtotal : $320ish

Estimate
UPS Standard (7 days) - $50
FedEx Express (2-3 days) - $130
USPS Airmail Parcel Post (7-10 days) - $65

which is right around what i expected to spend on the lighting, now the only thing which makes me nervous is that Greg said that USPS is usually the best because they don't charge much for brokerage/import fees however they don't offer shipping insurance... now i have no idea how much the brokerage/import fees would be on top of UPS's 50 bucks for shipping...


Does anyone else have any experence with shipping items into Canada?.. Or better yet know of anyone north of the border who carries Tek lights?


Thanks

-Aaron

[Mistamurray]

Well yesterday i managed to silicon in place the baffles for the sump which i had cut last week... and this afternoon i set it all up to see if she would hold water...

Heres a rear shot of the test, the coralife light is just for dramatic effect :P

http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j158/Quickdrau/RearShot.jpg

- A closer look at the sump, its a 20gal tank i picked up at a pawn shop for 10 bucks!; The Remora skimmer is at home on the left, and after the bubble trap will live some chaeto (SP?)... the gree weedy stuff! i cut some teeth in the last baffle hopefully to stop stuff from falling into the pump return, pretty easy to do with the router, just gotta use lots of water to keep things cool...

http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j158/Quickdrau/sump.jpg

OH ya... i had two spray outlets off of each bulkhead in the tank, which gave me nearly zero flow going on... or at least nothing which i could feel with my hand... Now the pump is pushing it through 10' of tubing for now *until i figure out the dimensions of its stand... so i figure that has a lot to do with the lack of flow, i also switched to just one spray on each side which got the water going alittle more...

any suggestions? feel free... things are easy to change now rather than later :P

-Aaron

[maxcab]

How's your overflow working out? Is it quiet? You said that you thought that those fittings should be quiet. Just wondering.
Thanks,

[Mistamurray]

Hey Max,

Yea the overflows work great, completely silent, i drilled one 7/64th'' hole in the top of each cap.

-Aaron

[maxcab]

Thats a really small hole!
I might have to do that to the tank at school. It's loud.

[kamla]

Nice work.. very clean….
Some Qs.. you painted the back of the tank before you siliconed the over flow to the tank.. right..
This way are you sure the silicone has a good join b/t the glass pieces. I mean b/t the back of the tank and the over flow box.
Because you painted it you have a line layer of paint b/t the back of the tank and the over flow. Will this hold well????

Also you have your return a little low. So when the pump stops you will siphon some water in to the sump.. Make sure ur sump can handle that water..

[Mistamurray]

Kamla

I did paint the back of the tank b4 attaching the overflow, though i glued the box together and to the tank with 2 part epoxy first then siliconed over the whole lot, it seems to have semi melted its way through the paint, theres a outline of the box visible from inside the tank (just barely), so im fairly confident that it will hold.

plus i tested it the way i usually test things i make, i bashed it a few good times to make sure it wasn't going anywhere :P

The siphon problem was one i forsaw, i used rc's sumpvolume calculator on the main page to make sure i left enough room in that empty square of space which is still inside the sump walls but not usually full of water.

i suppose one problem which might occur would be to have the chaeto stuff move into the pump section when the water lvl rises during a power outage... im gonna look into putting some egg crate stuff all the way up on that baffle with the teeth in it.

Max

Ya its small, it sounds like a weird size but its just the one down from 1/8th in the kit i have... i figured i'd go as small as possible, i figure each overflow is only running at maybe 40% of its capacity too which is probably why its so quiet.


thanks for the comments

-Aaron

[super-cichlid]

those overflows just looked like 360 degree durso stands. Is that about right? Defineately a good idea from what parts you came up with.

cool tank! have you started stocking it or are you still planning out the layout of it? (i.e. reef, FOWLR, etc.)

[maxcab]

What are you planning on using for a filter? DIY or manufactured?

[wav3form]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7579376#post7579376 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by maxcab
What are you planning on using for a filter? DIY or manufactured?

My guess is live rock and a refugium like he has planned.

[Mistamurray]

So heres the story...

Im fresh water testing the system for leaks, everythings going fine for a day... i figure ill just leave it be.. i wake up to the sound of a cavitating pump! ... water everywhere...

So the back pane cracked from the corner of the rectangle i cut out down to the side...
http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j158/Quickdrau/DSC02169.jpg
http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j158/Quickdrau/DSC02168.jpg
http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j158/Quickdrau/DSC02167.jpg

Also i found the link of the DIY project i was taking pointers from
http://www.steve68.com/50%20gallon.html

I think what caused the problem was part the fact that i removed the center brace and part that because i had the bottom of my external overflow box near the middle of the back of the tank it caused extra stress on the sides since the middle wasn't able to flex under pressure...

So now im faced with a problem of where to go from here. ive been playing with a few options...
i really like the bow tank look, the size is nice for what im able to maintain..

now i could replace the back peice of glass with another, possibly tinted, but ill need to price that out, i could also just go buy the same tank over again, ($150ish) and not have to worry about trying to reseal this one... and the third, most mickey-moused, option would be to get a peice of acyrlic and silicone it inside and hope she holds together...

if i went with a new tank i would have the option of upping things to a 46 gal bow:P so may choices... what do you guys think?

Max
Ya i was just planning on some chateo stuff in that middle area of the sump, along with the skimmer and LR for filtration.

- Aaron

[maxcab]

OH NO! that's depressing and really unfortunate. I'd probably be safe and get a new tank, but that's expensive and a lot of work, so it's really up to your pocket and clock.

About the refugium, are you planning on building your own, using a glass aquarium or buying one?

[super-cichlid]

wow. Sorry for the setback. BUT, from every mishap something is learned right?

What about going with replacing the rear glass, but getting a thicker piece cut? What was it 1/4" or was it thinner like 3/16"? For something like a ~30 gallon, 3/8" should work.

[Mistamurray]

The glass is 3/16th... i like the idea of going with a bit thicker glass to replace the back with but i wouldn't be able to get the plastic trim back on... now i could just cut out abit of the back to allow the removeal of the back pane and leave the rest in place but im not sure if its a good idea to
1. try to reseal just one peice and not the whole thing at once;
2. will i end up with the front just falling off...

Hmm i wonder if i can remove the frame all together, or replace the support its providing with something else... so much to consider...

thanks for the imput super

-Aaron

[Mistamurray]

Max

the refugium will just be the small area in sump after the buble trap and before the pump return section:

http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j158/Quickdrau/sumpexp.jpg

[maxcab]

oh duh... I didn't look up to the middle of the thread.
Sorry Mistamurray, my bad. But it looks great!

[super-cichlid]

Who was the manufactured the tank? I'd get in touch with them and you should be able to get a new top frame. I helped with replaceing the top frame on a 125 bowfront when it had cracked.

Another idea I had last night was use the same thickness of glass, but around the high stress points (like where you cut out for the overflow) reenforce it with some more material. Like take another piece of glass big enough to give a good sized border around the overflow and silicone it on then cut out the opening. That way the areas most likely to flex will be re-enforced enough not to.

[super-cichlid]

Who was the manufacturer the tank? I'd get in touch with them and you should be able to get a new top frame. I helped with replaceing the top frame on a 125 bowfront when it had cracked and we just ordered the top frame from the manufactuerer - All glass I think it was.

Another idea I had last night was use the same thickness of glass, but around the high stress points (like where you cut out for the overflow) reenforce it with some more material. Like take another piece of glass big enough to give a good sized border around the overflow and silicone it on then cut out the opening. That way the areas most likely to flex will be re-enforced enough not to. Essentially thickening the glass in a specific area.

[kamla]

That SUCKS………..

If you bought a new glass and tried to re seal only the back wall you might have problems with leaks.
Old dried siclone does not bold well will new Silone. So you might have to take the whole tank apart and dot the whole tank with new silicone
You could try to do and internal overflow.

Anyways keep us posted..
GL

[AdriftQuasar]

It's expensive, but personally, I would opt for a new tank.