Randy's Tank and Learn Thread

[Freenow54]

You mean of the bare tank, or of the current things in it?

No the bare tank that is or was in your garage for years Thanks

 

[Freenow54]

Making my own glass tank? No. That would, I expect, be a ton of work, not look great, and might still be more of a risk of failure than my old tank.

I've not heard accounts of tanks failing just by sitting in a garage. I did not consider it a big risk. :)

The sales guy I was talking to out west and remember he could not benefit and just his opinion hopefully based on experience was that the silicon degrades. I also was told years ago not to store them dry over 2 years. I am with you since I have been working with Acrylic lately. I think that it is a huge learning curve enough said

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

No the bare tank that is or was in your garage for years Thanks

Here’s a picture after I got it into the living room, before the hood was put on. The stand was also stored since the last tank.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

The sales guy I was talking to out west and remember he could not benefit and just his opinion hopefully based on experience was that the silicon degrades. I also was told years ago not to store them dry over 2 years. I am with you since I have been working with Acrylic lately. I think that it is a huge learning curve enough said

I'm not sure I agree with those comments of the sales guy, but in any case, I hope he is wrong and so far so good. I don't see why wet vs dry is any issue, and see no particular reason to think silicone degrades by getting cold. It is frequently used as a weather sealer on windows, for example.

 

[Lasse]

Once I reused a 300 L tank that have been empty for more than 10 years and at the time I put it in storage - it was already more than 7 years old - and the same silicone!

IMO - the degradation will be slower when its dry.

Sincerely Lasse

 

[twentyleagues]

@Freenow54 I currently have a 75g tank that was manufactured in 2006 running. It had been used for salt and freshwater off and on since then it probably sat dry for at least 10 years at one point. It is currently happily holding a random assortment of freshwater fish and plants. Last time I purchased a 75g tank it was around $250 on sale at petco normal price was $499. They no longer do the $1/gallon on anything bigger than a 40b and also stopped doing the 1/2 off sale on larger tanks. That 75g I bought was the last of the 1/2 off sales. That was in 2018 its currently the sump for my 80ish cube.

To replace the 180g marineland I have slowly been setting up would cost me around $1200 for something I paid $799 for in 2015. To get it from some of the "better" tank builders it would be somewhere between $3000-$4000 yes it would have better upgrades like eurobracing, armored seams, and external overflows but thats a lot of money. Trust me I checked and thats only tank not stand or canopy, looking around $9000 for the furniture too. You can get a 120g like @Randy Holmes-Farley for around $1000 new if you can find it they are not as common anymore for some reason. I purchased a new 120g in 2008 marineland again it was around $500 at that time. Most recent tank I purchased new was a 65b and it was $200 I was going to use it for my sump but after deciding what I needed and wanted out of a sump I went with the 75g instead the extra height allowed more water volume and a deeper fuge section.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Some pictures from just now.

 

[Freenow54]

@Freenow54 I currently have a 75g tank that was manufactured in 2006 running. It had been used for salt and freshwater off and on since then it probably sat dry for at least 10 years at one point. It is currently happily holding a random assortment of freshwater fish and plants. Last time I purchased a 75g tank it was around $250 on sale at petco normal price was $499. They no longer do the $1/gallon on anything bigger than a 40b and also stopped doing the 1/2 off sale on larger tanks. That 75g I bought was the last of the 1/2 off sales. That was in 2018 its currently the sump for my 80ish cube.

To replace the 180g marineland I have slowly been setting up would cost me around $1200 for something I paid $799 for in 2015. To get it from some of the "better" tank builders it would be somewhere between $3000-$4000 yes it would have better upgrades like eurobracing, armored seams, and external overflows but thats a lot of money. Trust me I checked and thats only tank not stand or canopy, looking around $9000 for the furniture too. You can get a 120g like @Randy Holmes-Farley for around $1000 new if you can find it they are not as common anymore for some reason. I purchased a new 120g in 2008 marineland again it was around $500 at that time. Most recent tank I purchased new was a 65b and it was $200 I was going to use it for my sump but after deciding what I needed and wanted out of a sump I went with the 75g instead the extra height allowed more water volume and a deeper fuge section.

So yes I wrote it down the 75 I bought just say 4 months ago I did not write down the manufacturer was a 75 because it gave me 6 more inches front to back . It was not garbage cost $300

 

[Freenow54]

I'm not sure I agree with those comments of the sales guy, but in any case, I hope he is wrong and so far so good. I don't see why wet vs dry is any issue, and see no particular reason to think silicone degrades by getting cold. It is frequently used as a weather sealer on windows, for example.

I have no idea . I obviously hope he is wrong , Because I have 2 other tanks one over 20 years old the other about 6 but the tank was full of fresh water and was at least 20 years old as I posted it was a 55 I got a 75 for three hundred.

 

[Freenow54]

Here’s a picture after I got it into the living room, before the hood was put on. The stand was also stored since the last tank.

Sincerely hope it works out however I had to do a lot of DIY work to mount lights because of the rim Mine is 1.5 inches ( my second tank not the one I am talking about )no bracket I have found opens that wide. Is it an Aqueon ? That's what mine is only one piping enclosure so for sure the replacement cost way more

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Damsel Nest?

One of the azure damsels is digging out the sand in the tank corner. It’s blowing it up onto the Duncan, so I’m going to have to intervene somehow.

I don’t know if this means it is getting ready to lay eggs, or as a way to try to attract a mate. Anyone experience this?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Manny on the lookout for pods:

 

[tripdad]

I have a yellow tail damsel that does that to sleep in that corner. I have a group of five btw

 

[dwest]

Damsel Nest?

One of the azure damsels is digging out the sand in the tank corner. It’s blowing it up onto the Duncan, so I’m going to have to intervene somehow.

I don’t know if this means it is getting ready to lay eggs, or as a way to try to attract a mate. Anyone experience this?

My yellowtail damsels always nest somewhere in the rocks. I never saw them move sand. Interesting.

 

[rishma]

Damsel Nest?

One of the azure damsels is digging out the sand in the tank corner. It’s blowing it up onto the Duncan, so I’m going to have to intervene somehow.

I don’t know if this means it is getting ready to lay eggs, or as a way to try to attract a mate. Anyone experience this?

I had an azure do that it was alone in the tank so isn’t think it was a mating thing. Made a heck of a mess

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

I had an azure do that it was alone in the tank so isn’t think it was a mating thing. Made a heck of a mess

Thanks. :)

 

[fandaga]

How’s the elegance doing?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

How’s the elegance doing?

It seems to be doing great. It expands nicely during the day, and it has not gotten pushed out of its spot in a long time. I suspect it was a turbo snail that did it since they seem quite the bulldozers as they cruise the rock. I’ll see if I can get a picture later today.

 

[fandaga]

It seems to be doing great. It expands nicely during the day, and it has not gotten pushed out of its spot in a long time. I suspect it was a turbo snail that did it since they seem quite the bulldozers as they cruise the rock. I’ll see if I can get a picture later today.

Oh that’s great! Do you know anything about its history and where originally collected? I bought an elegance in November from my LFS that they had in their main DT and were apparently aquaculturing for 10 years. So far it’s doing pretty well too, but I haven’t yet moved to my main tank.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Yes.

Oh that’s great! Do you know anything about its history and where originally collected? I bought an elegance in November from my LFS that they had in their main DT and were apparently aquaculturing for 10 years. So far it’s doing pretty well too, but I haven’t yet moved to my main tank.

Yes, but it won’t help others find good ones. It was given to me by Reef2Reef member Dwest, who had a big one for decades, and this was a baby of it. In any case, it is thriving. :)