commence system upgrade

[slyforestfire]

visited one of my lfs with the wife today. unfortunately, the owner is calling it quits. so everything needs to go...... which leads me to why im excited. due to the fact that i can get reef ready 50 gal tanks for $1/gal i have been given the green light to start stockpiling the equipment for a system upgrade!!!

 

[slyforestfire]

planning to plumb 2 50g tall tanks together and build a custom mechanical/fuge sump out of a 55g long. hope to start a build thread soon

 

[slyforestfire]

have 2 configurations in mind.... top- aggressives middle- coral/community sump- fuge/ mechanical
or..... top-reef middle- display fuge sump- mechanical
thoughts anyone?

 

[slyforestfire]

 

[slyforestfire]

before and after photos. tanks were painted on both sides and the back. spent about 4 hrs on one tank scraping paint, mineral deposits, and general grime..... they do clean up pretty nicely though.

 

[slyforestfire]

have to wait for warmer weather to remove the paint from plastic trim. anyone have better suggestion for the haze from mineral deposits, vinegar was effective @ breaking up the chunks but not making the glass 100% clear. for that matter is it better even possible, or is the glass etched.

 

[Wrx5803]

Looks pretty clean from the pics

 

[joshbbert]

Looks great man cant wait to see more

 

[slyforestfire]

thanks guys. might be awhile between postings. currently accumulating all the pieces to put this puzzle together, but real life and responsibilities come first. rushed setting up my first sw system and will not make the same mistakes again. have my wishlist of all the gadgets i want and will make purchases when possible.

 

[slyforestfire]

ordered my skimmer today from lfs. should arrive late next week. return kit is also on its way, that should be here sat. next, and probably biggest project, is getting the stand built. meanwhile i have to tear down my african cichlid tank so i can have the 55 to start building sump

 

[slyforestfire]

Skimmer and loc line return kits are all here finally. 160 is a BEAST can't wait to assemble and see this thing in action.

 

[mcarroll]

have to wait for warmer weather to remove the paint from plastic trim. anyone have better suggestion for the haze from mineral deposits, vinegar was effective @ breaking up the chunks but not making the glass 100% clear. for that matter is it better even possible, or is the glass etched.

Carefully scraping down the glass with a razor should do the trick. Could also try something stronger like CLR.

Two thing to keep in mind:

1) A razor can scratch and gouge glass while you scrape...I can couch for that. Take your time.
2) That haze will probably be invisible when the tank is full.

 

[slyforestfire]

Update time. Project is almost a reality. Donor tank has been torn down to become sump and I built a mockup from steel shelving. Have a friend building me a custom stand, should have it done by fall he said.

 

[slyforestfire]

The wishlist isn't really wishes anymore either lol.

 

[slyforestfire]

The wishlist isn't really wishes anymore either lol.

 

[slyforestfire]

 

[slyforestfire]

All I need yet is a pellet reactor as far as equipment. Then my list is all hardware store purchases. Pvc pipe, valves, glass for sump baffles.

 

[slyforestfire]

I am finally comfortable calling this a build thread. Everything but the Pvc that was just glued up this afternoon has been my doing. It's been a long process, with many changes and delays, including buying our first house. After 5 years as my own mental image all the pieces are reality. Administrators could a get this thread moved from diy to build threads? It's name is reefer's madness.

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[ReeferBob]

Uh oh...... I would totally not trust that stand to the weight you will have on it when those tanks are full. This has 5 o'clock news written all over it! I'll even go further and say there is NO WAY that stand will not fail at some point once the tanks are full. 100% chance. Please don't do it! Build one out of wood, should take you a day at most to build a strong, sturdy stand out of 2x4s.

 

[slyforestfire]

I trust it without a doubt. It's an industrial steel shelving unit, I took everything apart myself and rebuilt it with stainless nuts and bolts. Both sides of the stand were built independently and then more hardware on the center brackets to tie everything together. Rock solid. On top of that I have foam under the tanks to distribute the weight more evenly. And my final rebuttal point, my buddy was just over last night to run the pvc, he has almost 20 years experience in the industry, including making live aquaria what it is today, he got a good close look at the setup while plumbing and didn't mention any concerns.