SaM's 40 Breeder

SaM · Jul 25, 2011

Well I started drilling the tank.

Drilled for a 1.5" bulkhead for drain and 3/4" for return

Then cleaned all the mess to get ready to paint. Decided to move the tank to ease the painting and BANG! I hit it with an old acrylic sump I had near and there goes the crack

Heres a full view with the stand finished

Needless to say I'm ******!!!

Now I need to remove the top trim to replace the glass side cause there's no way I'm buying a new one and drill it again! wish me luck

SaM · Jul 25, 2011

Well I started drilling the tank.

Drilled for a 1.5" bulkhead for drain and 3/4" for return

Then cleaned all the mess to get ready to paint. Decided to move the tank to ease the painting and BANG! I hit it with an old acrylic sump I had near and there goes the crack

Heres a full view with the stand finished

Needless to say I'm ******!!! :angry:

Now I need to remove the top trim to replace the glass side cause there's no way I'm buying a new one and drill it again! wish me luck

Luisra · Jul 25, 2011

What the F!! That sucks! You should go rimless now that you have to remove the top trim. Everything looks great, except for the giant crack:D. Good luck with it, and if you need any help let me know. Saludos!

Reef Breeders · Jul 25, 2011

How hard did you hit the sump!?

SaM · Jul 25, 2011

Luisra said:
What the F!! That sucks! You should go rimless now that you have to remove the top trim. Everything looks great, except for the giant crack:D. Good luck with it, and if you need any help let me know. Saludos!

Hey Luisra! I've never removed one of this top trims. Some people say is a PITA but we'll see... have you ever? do you think this tank will hold without it? I'd love to go rimless

SaM · Jul 25, 2011

anemonekeeper said:
How hard did you hit the sump!?

man, apparently very hard! it didn't felt like it was that hard enough to break it. but oh well I did...

gar732 · Jul 25, 2011

SaM said:
Hey Luisra! I've never removed one of this top trims. Some people say is a PITA but we'll see... have you ever? do you think this tank will hold without it? I'd love to go rimless

I wouldn't chance it, those tanks are designed to work with the trim. The glass would be thicker if it were rimless. I've changed the trim on a 55gal I had. I cut it off in pieces, It will be tough to get it off in one piece since it's siliconed in. Does petco ever have the $1 a gallon sale over there?

PR_Reefers · Jul 25, 2011

Very nice work Sam... sorry to hear about unfortunate accident:squigglemouth:

btw... what kind of railing did you use to make the sliding doors? are you happy with them? I wanted to do this for my 40 breeder stand also but I ended up doing doors bc I wasn't sure if I could make it work properly.

gar732 said:
I wouldn't chance it, those tanks are designed to work with the trim. The glass would be thicker if it were rimless. I've changed the trim on a 55gal I had. I cut it off in pieces, It will be tough to get it off in one piece since it's siliconed in. Does petco ever have the $1 a gallon sale over there?

Well maybe a eurobrace might work....

We don't have petco, unfrotunately... only petsmart and they don't do that sale as far as I'm concerned

gar732 · Jul 25, 2011

I knew one of those were over there, i couldn't remember which one though. Eurobrace should work and it'll look a lot cleaner than the brace. It's a shame that it broke, it was looking good.

SaM · Jul 25, 2011

Gar732, unfortunately we don't have $1/gal sale here :( that's probably the only good thing about petco. A 40 breeder here goes from $130 to $160 so it sucks. I'll try my best to remove it in one piece, otherwise don't know if it will be easy to find a new replacement or go with euro bracing.

PR_Reefers, I got those sliding rails from a local hardware store in Lares. They were $6 for a pair. Don't think they'll last long in the salty environment unless you have them well greased and protected. Anyways still cheap if I need to replace them. It was a bit hard to install them and make it fit how I wanted but was right what I needed cause I could not have regular hinges in the doors due to space limitations.

Luisra · Jul 25, 2011

SaM said:
Hey Luisra! I've never removed one of this top trims. Some people say is a PITA but we'll see... have you ever? do you think this tank will hold without it? I'd love to go rimless

It's a PITA for sure!! You should call Alberto, he'll tell you how much work it takes and how he turned my old 75g into a rimless tank, he did cut down the glass a little bit, and used a different silicone but don't remember exactly the name. Eurobrace would be a lot safer IMO

SaM · Jul 25, 2011

Luisra said:
It's a PITA for sure!! You should call Alberto, he'll tell you how much work it takes and how he turned my old 75g into a rimless tank, he did cut down the glass a little bit, and used a different silicone but don't remember exactly the name. Eurobrace would be a lot safer IMO

Cool, I'll give him a call tomorrow. Thanks

SaM · Aug 4, 2011

here's an update. Just got the new glass from the shop. Is already in its place. I decided to remove all the internal silicone and just leave the actual joint and go with a new bead all around from the inside. Will let it sit for 24 hours and leak test. Then put the overflow in place and I'm ready to plumb this bad boy.

Don't recall if I posted about the pump. Scored a little giant from ebay for $70. It was a 700gph model and turns out i received a 3MDQX which is 1100 gph! pump is like new!!! I'm pumped :lol:

here some pics

it actually looks very sexy without the top rim! dangit. Ah yeah, I managed to get it out in one piece without breaking anything else. Now I'm painting the rim white with krylon to see if it matches better with the stand and lamp. Hopefully it will not be as noticeable as before.

Luisra · Aug 4, 2011

Nice work Sam, it looks great! Now I want a rimless tank

spotted jawfish · Aug 4, 2011

Hey Sam

Here is mine 40g Breeder 4 sides Starphire Glas. Looks a lot better without rim.
I do mine by my self.

SaM · Aug 5, 2011

Hey Rojas! it does look better without the rim but that's something I could not risk because the glass is just 1/4" thick. It could bend or break easily and I'd rather sleep well and relax. Nice tank by the way