Ok, over the weekend I ended up picking up a 40b and got to work on it. I can't believe this process literally took me 9 hours to complete, but once I started I had to get it all done. I moved all the livestock into a 20G tall QT tank I had lying around, set it up with a heater and air pump.
I know a lot of people are scared of the idea of drilling a tank, I know I use to be. Now I find it super easy, especially with a new drill bit. You can find drill bits for <$10 on
Amazon. However, these cheapo bits I don't recommend using more than 2x, they dull out fast on top of the rusting.
I utilized the same overflow and return, but plumbing was a pain. Not pretty but it works. I put the same frosty background on the tank as well and to hide the plumbing from the view.
Since the 40B measured at 36.25" wide with the trim, it was .75" wider than this red sea stand. So, I picked up a piece of wood that I cut and painted to cover the difference. I cut it for slightly wider and to give a slight lip. Light rack was adjustable up to 36" so that was easy.
I went to HD and got some brown window frame and I had left over clear screen. Looks much better than the white one I had on the 20L.
It took some time to move everything into the tank. I put water in it and ran it with a heavy amount of carbon to catch any chemical release from the pvc cement curing. Then after that, I had to cool down the tank cause my mixing station is in the garage and the water coming out of it was 84 degrees. I used bags of ice and a fan, took about 2 hours to get it down to 78. Overall, it turned out great, fish are fine, however I do have one ticked off torch.
