Reef Central Online Community - View Single Post - Picked up aquarium, have several questions, and critique my plan please

Icewing726 · 09/17/2018, 01:48 PM

I'll try to revisit and add more advice but here's one big piece. You saw that the base of the stand was warped, given the salt I'd wager there was a spill or two under there. I'd further wager that the water didn't stay on the wood and that the guy you got this from had water damage under the tank.

Odds are you too will do something stupid and cause water to spill under there. Save yourself the heartache and get a durable waterproof fabric to make a catch basin out of.

All I did was use a pvc shower mat (meant to go under a shower floor not the kind you stand on) from lowes and cut it so that it was larger then the base. Then I placed it and the ends curved up a couple of inch's on all sides.

I spilled some water just the other day, wasn't any issue whatsoever to soak up.

Your other questions:
1) Skimmer Maneuverability: I think the maneuverability of your skimmer depends less on the height of your stand and more on the height of your sump under the stand. Mine is very difficult to maneuver due to its size and I would think you would be close to if not identical to mine. A good way to test this is get a cardboard box that matches the skimmer dimensions and put it in and take it out. If it's a no go, consider another plan.

2) I wouldn't move the overflows unless you know glass working like the back of your hand. Pretty sure non tempered glass can't be drilled anyway.

3) Washing the sand sucks but you have to wash new sand too. My sand was a 90ish dollar purchase to get 2-3 inches in a 150 gallon tank (5x2 footprint). Your call on that, I wouldn't be worried about it though after washing it.

Couple of items I'd like to warn you about:
1) Looks like you have carpet in your home. DONT FORGET THAT SPIKE STRIPS DON'T COMPRESS LIKE CARPET PAD!!!!! I did, shimming a full tank is fun... You won't catch the leveling issue until you start filling. You may want to do a rinse fill before you do a real fill just to check for that.
2) Get a second return pump (a cheapee). You can mix salt water in a seperate bin and use this to pump it into the tank nice and easy. Really helps during big water changes.
3) Elevate your surge protectors underneath and consider a UPS for your return pump. Elevation is for potential spills.
4) Don't underestimate how much spray comes from the drain and contain it early, salt is very hard to scrub off of wood

Anyway, feel free to pm me with questions or discard my advice. Either way good luck sir.

09/17/2018, 01:48 PM	#4
Icewing726 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2018 Posts: 248	I'll try to revisit and add more advice but here's one big piece. You saw that the base of the stand was warped, given the salt I'd wager there was a spill or two under there. I'd further wager that the water didn't stay on the wood and that the guy you got this from had water damage under the tank. Odds are you too will do something stupid and cause water to spill under there. Save yourself the heartache and get a durable waterproof fabric to make a catch basin out of. All I did was use a pvc shower mat (meant to go under a shower floor not the kind you stand on) from lowes and cut it so that it was larger then the base. Then I placed it and the ends curved up a couple of inch's on all sides. I spilled some water just the other day, wasn't any issue whatsoever to soak up. Your other questions: 1) Skimmer Maneuverability: I think the maneuverability of your skimmer depends less on the height of your stand and more on the height of your sump under the stand. Mine is very difficult to maneuver due to its size and I would think you would be close to if not identical to mine. A good way to test this is get a cardboard box that matches the skimmer dimensions and put it in and take it out. If it's a no go, consider another plan. 2) I wouldn't move the overflows unless you know glass working like the back of your hand. Pretty sure non tempered glass can't be drilled anyway. 3) Washing the sand sucks but you have to wash new sand too. My sand was a 90ish dollar purchase to get 2-3 inches in a 150 gallon tank (5x2 footprint). Your call on that, I wouldn't be worried about it though after washing it. Couple of items I'd like to warn you about: 1) Looks like you have carpet in your home. DONT FORGET THAT SPIKE STRIPS DON'T COMPRESS LIKE CARPET PAD!!!!! I did, shimming a full tank is fun... You won't catch the leveling issue until you start filling. You may want to do a rinse fill before you do a real fill just to check for that. 2) Get a second return pump (a cheapee). You can mix salt water in a seperate bin and use this to pump it into the tank nice and easy. Really helps during big water changes. 3) Elevate your surge protectors underneath and consider a UPS for your return pump. Elevation is for potential spills. 4) Don't underestimate how much spray comes from the drain and contain it early, salt is very hard to scrub off of wood Anyway, feel free to pm me with questions or discard my advice. Either way good luck sir.