The 6 foot!

[vcnt]

I'm FINALLY getting a 6'!

Current stocking is
Clown
Red Fire fish
Blue Tang
Algae Blenny
Mandarin
Gold-Headed Sleeper Goby
Coris Wrasse

Fish, I plan to add
Yellow Tang
Another Mandarin
Another Clown
And probably more, depending on how many fish this ends up being

I will be DIY-ing a stand, rocket engineer, can anyone comment on whether I need a front center brace or not?

Lights - Probably 3 of those 44HD's for now, I will be using my 4-foot 4xT5 fixture, and just not putting the corals in the corners.

Return Pump is hygger, flow is 2 maxspect 4000

Skimmer is the SUPEEEEEEEEER old school AquaC Urchin black box no moving parts type.

Sump idk
They're SO expensive, but I don't know if a 40B will fit because it's 18" and so is the 125


I also have an Aiptasia problem, but it's not the medium-sized red ones; it's the super, super tiny, clear ones that spot treating would not work. They are on most of my rocks, and my overflow inside is COVERED.

 

[Lowell Lemon]

Center brace yes.

Baghera nudibrachs for the aptisia.

Design the stand for the 40B to fit.

 

[vcnt]

Center brace yes.

Even if I follow this stand design and use 2x6's and plywood, and 2x4 for the legs?

 

[Fish Fan]

If you go with Rocket Engineer's stand plan calculator, you can use 2x6's for the horizontal rails without a center brace for your size tank:

Basic DIY Stand Calculator

This is a repost of my previous calculations. Again, this is not my design but has become connected with my name over the years. The basic principle of the design is two box frames connected by four legs. The upper one supports the tank and transfers the load to the legs. The legs are made of...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[vcnt]

Got the tank!!!

What do I do about this..

 

[Fish Fan]

What do I do about this..

About what specifically?

 

[vcnt]

About what specifically?

the inside silicone bead along the inside bottom rim is pealing up along with the overflow box is coming up

 

[Fish Fan]

I see that seam now. Honestly, that doesn't look like an easy fix to me. Maybe @UncommonSense can take a look for you, he's pretty good with stuff like this.

 

[hatfielj]

Get a dozen or so peppermint shrimp. I've had great luck with them eliminating aiptasia

 

[vcnt]

Get a dozen or so peppermint shrimp.

I have two, three but one disapeared. But im worried cause i need to catch the two gorillas first

 

[UncommonSense]

the inside silicone bead along the inside bottom rim is pealing up along with the overflow box is coming up

That’s very unusual…

The primary concern would be the bottom seam glass:glass silicone interface hidden behind that peeling silicone, the part actually connecting glass panes together!

If the overflow box is physically separating from the tank wall, it should definitely be removed, cleaned of old silicone and re-installed with fresh silicone… (both overflow boxes should get this attention if one is already separating; the overflow box silicone seals are crucial to prevent the system from flooding the room in a power outage if any standpipe seal isn’t perfect!)



— first step, can you carefully cut off that chunk of peeling interior silicone so we can get eyes on the actual structural glass:glass seam behind it? (We would be viewing this seam from inside the overflow box, at an angle through the tank’s clear vertical pane to try and see if the structural seam behind that peeling section is actually compromised)

— if overflow box seal(s) are clearly compromised, and overflow box(es) need to be cut out for repair anyway, this would help you get a better view through the glass at the structural bottom seams to examine for any defects! (The tank is only worth repairing if the structural glass:glass silicone seams are still in good shape!)

 

[vcnt]

first step, can you carefully cut off that chunk of peeling interior silicone so we can get eyes on the actual structural glass:glass seam behind it? (We would be viewing this seam from inside the overflow box, at an angle through the tank’s clear vertical pane to try and see if the structural seam behind that peeling section is actually compromised)

Ill slice the boxe(s) out and get a picture of that corner.
standby

 

[vcnt]

That’s very unusual…

The primary concern would be the bottom seam glass:glass silicone interface hidden behind that peeling silicone, the part actually connecting glass panes together!

If the overflow box is physically separating from the tank wall, it should definitely be removed, cleaned of old silicone and re-installed with fresh silicone… (both overflow boxes should get this attention if one is already separating; the overflow box silicone seals are crucial to prevent the system from flooding the room in a power outage if any standpipe seal isn’t perfect!)



— first step, can you carefully cut off that chunk of peeling interior silicone so we can get eyes on the actual structural glass:glass seam behind it? (We would be viewing this seam from inside the overflow box, at an angle through the tank’s clear vertical pane to try and see if the structural seam behind that peeling section is actually compromised)

— if overflow box seal(s) are clearly compromised, and overflow box(es) need to be cut out for repair anyway, this would help you get a better view through the glass at the structural bottom seams to examine for any defects! (The tank is only worth repairing if the structural glass:glass silicone seams are still in good shape!)

If this helps.

The bead of silicone running along the back wall came up very easily in one big peace

 

[UncommonSense]

If this helps.

The bead of silicone running along the back wall came up very easily in one big peace

I actually don’t see anything immediately alarming in the pictured structural seam!

Are you familiar at all with what some of the common silicone issues look like?


Given how easily the interior silicone fillet peeled off, I’m wondering if someone “resealed” this tank without thoroughly cleaning the invisible residual film of old silicone off the glass using solvents and scrubbing…

 

[vcnt]

I actually don’t see anything immediately alarming in the pictured structural seam!

Are you familiar at all with what some of the common silicone issues look like?

all I know is don’t get the silicone between panes (when resealing) and that bubbles between are bad (and I don’t see evidence of either)

, I’m wondering if someone “resealed” this tank without thoroughly cleaning the invisible residual film of old silicone off the glass using solvents and scrubbing…

The guy said he resealed it, I’m thinking you’re correct.

 

[UncommonSense]

all I know is don’t get the silicone between panes (when resealing) and that bubbles between are bad (and I don’t see evidence of either)


The guy said he resealed it, I’m thinking you’re correct.

Ah! Well, you’ve definitely got the basics! Just look around at all the structural silicone seams really, really carefully… ideally from both sides of each seam you can actually see both sides of, and using a bright light or three!

Because this is black silicone, you’re looking for the usual bubbles/voids, plus little “cloudy” grey spots or streaks which persist when the lighting is moved… these indicate tears or voids within the silicone which allow more light to pass through than the surrounding material!



Yeah he didn’t clean the surfaces well prior to resealing, and/or used a garbage quality silicone… silicone prep requires borderline OCD levels of surface prep; these days, I start with a RODI rinse/scrub, before I use industrial grade (higher purity) acetone, followed by a thorough degrease and final clean with multiple scrubs of 99.9% anhydrous isopropyl alcohol on lint free rags…

 

[UncommonSense]

all I know is don’t get the silicone between panes (when resealing) and that bubbles between are bad (and I don’t see evidence of either)


The guy said he resealed it, I’m thinking you’re correct.

As a follow-up, would you like some advice on how to redo this properly?

 

[vcnt]

As a follow-up, would you like some advice on how to redo this properly?

Any advice is appreciated.

I resealed my old tank, the 110, and it’s been holding up just fine but I think this one might for an issue since the overflow box is involved.

Also, I’m thinking of replacing the top frame for strength, and becuase the middle brace giving me 2x36” is gonna scree me with lights. I’m looking at those KESSILS or 44HD, both are rated for 24x24 so I would prefer the two braces Rather than the middle.

Should I wait for new top brace to do all the silicone parts in a sitting?

Thank you!!

 

[UncommonSense]

Also, I’m thinking of replacing the top frame for strength, and becuase the middle brace giving me 2x36” is gonna scree me with lights. I’m looking at those KESSILS or 44HD, both are rated for 24x24 so I would prefer the two braces Rather than the middle.

Should I wait for new top brace to do all the silicone parts in a sitting?

So, over the edge is the only company I know of still making plastic rims reliably, and their six footer rims are a two-piece design for whatever reason…

Also, you’d need to confirm that the glass pane outside dimensions are EXACTLY at an inch line (18” exactly, not 18-1/4”, for example) for their rims to fit your tank!

Any advice is appreciated.

I resealed my old tank, the 110, and it’s been holding up just fine but I think this one might for an issue since the overflow box is involved.

Well, the big trick here would be knowing that you can still manipulate silicone for a few hours after it skins over!

— you’d lay and tool your silicone bead to “reseal” the bottom as usual, then lay a bead on each side and bottom edges of the overflow boxes before setting each one into place, angled bottom-first, then lay the top into place against vertical tank panes… you’d then tool overflow silicone as needed while final positioning, then let them just sit and cure! (The overflow box bottom corners will gouge into the still-fresh bottom seam “reseal” silicone, seating them as the overflow box vertical edges seat against the vertical tank panes!

The acrylic overflow boxes should be primarily mechanically cleaned of old silicone, as many solvents structurally damage acrylic! The best way I’ve found is scraping what silicone you can off with a plastic scraper, or other non-metal tool, then scrubbing the area thoroughly with 0000 steel wool; effectively microscopically sanding down the surface of the acrylic enough to expose new, un-contaminated plastic (and increase surface area!)

— once the overflow boxes are well scrubbed, a warm water and gentle (preferably unscented) soap can be used to scrub any remaining oils off the acrylic, before a final thorough tap water rinse, followed by DI water to remove water spots!

— as mentioned above, the glass can handle much more aggressive solvents; just don’t pour them directly in the tank, and work in a well ventilated area (Put some on a rag and scrub with that!)…

— hardware store (technical grade) acetone is currently of too low a purity to be reliably used for silicone prep on glass and leaves an appreciable reside! You want either industrial grade acetone (as found in the likes of an automotive paint supply store), or reagent grade acetone (as found from lab suppliers, or online)…

— you’ll likely have your best experience here spending the extra cash for Momentive RTV100 series silicone (RTV103 is black, IIRC), vs. ASI silicone… I say this purely because the Momentive RTV100 series has a 50-100% longer useful working time than ASI (15-20mins, vs. <=10mins)… oh, you’ll likely need 2X 10.8oz tubes for this job, maybe 3 tubes if you’re generous with bead size!


I know that was a lot, and in no particular order… I’m happy to follow up with further detail and answer further questions!

 

[vcnt]

@UncommonSense , thank you so much.

It’s late so I can’t think of a follow up , but will I be safe just pulling up the bead of silicone? Ofcourse I’ll clean it after and peel up reamaining, I just idk if pulling it all up will cause issues.