65 Gallon Rebirth

[amkelly802]

Hey Everyone,

Welcome to my 65 Gallon build. I had been into keeping a saltwater aquarium back in the mid 2000s to about 2011 and have since stuffed away my 65 gallon tank along with others. Renewed interest (and owning my own house) has brought this dream back to life so I spent the day digging out my 65 gallon in the parents basement and I'm hoping to bring it back to its former glory.

Day 1- consisted of getting the tank pulled out, cleaning the inside with a mixture of white vinegar and water and wiping down the stand with a wet sponge. Once that was completed, I didn't want to get too far ahead of myself so I filled the tank to test the seals and if the stand could still hold the weight. I let it sit for 2 days and then emptied the tank with no issues. (First 2 pictures)

Day 3- scraping off excess algae, dead coral and anything else still around in the tank. Used a razor blade to get the majority of it off as best I could and then turned my attention to the stand where it needed some extra love to get the excess salt from its previous life off. Once that was completed I used a glass cleaner to clean the outside of of aquarium with some great success. (Last 2 pictures)

Looking forward to posting more updates soon!

 

[Dcal]

very nice good luck

 

[amkelly802]

Finally an update today. Since I filled the tank with cold water and the weather had been hot the tank ended up sweating a lot. I have been waiting for the stand to dry out since I last posted, I had left it outside under a car port during this time but the bottom was still very damp. Since then, I've moved it inside to the room it will be residing in. I put a heater on low next to it and a fan to help it dry out. I've currently primed the doors, as well as the majority of the stand that is dry but I'm patiently waiting for the bottom of the stand to dry. Once priming is complete I will paint the stand and get this baby going.

I was lucky enough that my brother had his rodi unit available that he doesn't use anymore. Two broken canisters so I've ordered replacements and will begin the process of curing the old rock I found in the shed from my previous tanks. Currently they are sitting dry in a bin, I'll add the rodi water in addition to salt and keep at a temp of about 82 for 2-3 weeks.

The process is slow, but I told myself if I'm going to do it this time, I'm going to do it right.

Hopefully my next post you'll see the stand ready to go and the tank in place!

 

[amkelly802]

New supplies came in this week. Replaced the RODI canisters and started to run the filter only to recognize a leak in the RO membrane. Currently waiting for that to come in next week.

 

[amkelly802]

Update incoming. Almost all my equipment has been hooked up and we are ready to go. The only thing missing is my new powerhead which I am waiting on a converter so it can be connected to the station. Anyway, here are some photos of the update.