taking a new direction

E

eric b 125

Guest
Hahaha. There's a difference b/w taking your time and taking your time, if you're pickin up what I'm puttin down. I want to do things right so I'm not going to hurry but I'm also anxious to get this thing back up and running so I won't be sitting on my hands.
 
acrylic51

acrylic51

Active Member
Thanks Seth.....Anyone with the time is more than welcome to come over.....Better yet I will rip it all apart and then let the curious minds piece it all back together from scratch with my "anal" eye to detail to complete it......Patience is key which most don't have.....It humors me to see someone rush through a project only to come back weeks/months only to do over or repurchase from impatience........
 
snakeblitz33

snakeblitz33

Well-Known Member
Lol. Just ribbin' yah Shawn. I like your attention to detail and rather envy it most of the time.
I knew you would show up soon on the thread. Lol.
 
E

eric b 125

Guest
Long day. Didn't get as much done as I hoped but it was a step in the right direction nonetheless. I forgot how time consuming it is to drill holes!
Here's the tank before drilling- as you can see there's one hole at either top corner of the tank

I drilled two more holes on the left side of the tank (right side if looking at it from behind). The external overflow box will cover these 3 holes. The hole at the R corner of the tank will be covered up with glass but because of the coast to coast internal weir you won't be able to see that there was ever a hole there.
 
E

eric b 125

Guest
I didn't get around to drilling the overflow holes- like I said, I forgot how long it takes to drill through glass and I had to charge my drill b/w holes. I'm probably much more gentle than I have to be, taking more time, but I'd rather be safe than sorry. I did measure and re-measure for the bulkheads at the bottom of the external overflow and plotted that out. The plumbing should be as direct as possible from overflow to sump.
 
E

eric b 125

Guest
I also got around to starting to clean this mess:


I have a vinegar solution running through it with my return pump for circulation. I used to have one overflow feeding the skimmer chamber (left side chamber) and one overflow feeding the fuge (right side chamber) with the return in the middle. With this new plumbing scheme all overflow will go to skimmer chamber and the fuge will be fed off of a tee in the return line. Running the vinegar bath like this let me know that the baffles were spaced enough to handle the return pump w/ little head loss, so I won't have to reconfigure the sump chambers.
 
E

eric b 125

Guest
I was originally going to have the full siphon overflow going to the skimmer chamber and the open-channel overflow going to the fuge but it wouldn't have been enough flow and doing it this way will keep the plumbing to a minimum and I'll have more control over the flow through the fuge this way.
 
snakeblitz33

snakeblitz33

Well-Known Member
Yup, that looks like what my house would look like if I was a bachelor. lol
Nothing wrong with that - you'll get it all put together pretty soon and everything up where it should be. Not much longer now!
 
E

eric b 125

Guest
I'm working the next three days so I don't expect to get much done. I'll be happy if I can set aside enough time to drill a hole each day so that by the weekend I can start siliconing. There's still a good bit of work that needs to be done and a lot of down time, waiting for silicone to cure. The next 3 days are supposed to be sunny and hot so I'm going to leave the rock outside again. This weekend I might get around to getting rid of that hippo tang and clowns. Can anyone suggest something to put underneath the return pump to reduce the noise? It's a mag 18.
 
E

eric b 125

Guest
See, I was thinking that a mouse pad would be great, but all those chemicals in the glue can't be beneficial to our tanks. I also was thinking of applying a real thick coat of silicone to one side of the pump, but I don't think that would be enough for the vibrations.
 
snakeblitz33

snakeblitz33

Well-Known Member
Glue is for thr most part inert. We use epoxy putty and even super glue in our tanks - cant be any worse than that??
 
E

eric b 125

Guest
I think I might give one of those silicone pot holders a try. Something about the mouse pad just doesn't agree with me

Last night I did some drilling on the overflow glass. I got all the way through on the R bulkhead but didn't go any further because I need someone to pour water for me. I started the middle hole as well. Hopefully I can start siliconing everything together this weekend.

For the external overflow I'm using 3/8" glass and for the internal weir I went with 1/4" smoked glass. I thought the smoked glass would be less see-through. Here's a comparison b/w the clear and smoked. I drew a line on the wood so you could see how transparent it is.

BTW, that triangle is for one side of the internal weir. I wanted it angled to eliminate any splashing of water going over the weir. What I'm going to do is put a bunch of black silicone on the inside of the weir and thin it out with a credit card to black-out the weir.
 
E

eric b 125

Guest
I hope Lowes sells black aquarium safe silicone in the caulking gun tube size because I got three small 3 oz tubes from the LFS to start but they were $8.xx each and I'm sure I'm going to need a bunch more. The local Home Depot does not carry black silicone.
 
sweatervest13

sweatervest13

Active Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by Eric B 125 http:///t/389056/taking-a-new-direction/460#post_3522287
I hope Lowes sells black aquarium safe silicone in the caulking gun tube size because I got three small 3 oz tubes from the LFS to start but they were $8.xx each and I'm sure I'm going to need a bunch more. The local Home Depot does not carry black silicone.
I have not had any luck finding aquarium silicone at Lowes. Let alone black. Maybe they carry it in different locations.
I know of a local tank maker that should have black silicone. Great lakes aquariums (.com). They might be able to ship to you. Email Steve. He has helped me out in the past.
 
E

eric b 125

Guest
Is this what I'm looking for? It says 100% silicone but also says mildew resistant...
http://www.lowes.com/pd_219088-72643-LW5030_0__?productId=3084585&Ntt=black+silicone&pl=1&currentURL=%3FNtt%3Dblack%2Bsilicone&facetInfo=
edit: in the "community q & a" section of that page the question was asked if it is aquarium safe and someone replied that it is
 
E

eric b 125

Guest
Quote:
Originally Posted by sweatervest13 http:///t/389056/taking-a-new-direction/460#post_3522288
I have not had any luck finding aquarium silicone at Lowes. Let alone black. Maybe they carry it in different locations.
I know of a local tank maker that should have black silicone. Great lakes aquariums (.com). They might be able to ship to you. Email Steve. He has helped me out in the past.
Thanks man. If I can't find it at lowes then I'm just going to get a bunch of the smaller tubes just to cut down on the hassle.
 
E

eric b 125

Guest
Second thought: it's not worth risking it to save a couple bucks.
 
sweatervest13

sweatervest13

Active Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by Eric B 125 http:///t/389056/taking-a-new-direction/460#post_3522290
Thanks man. If I can't find it at lowes then I'm just going to get a bunch of the smaller tubes just to cut down on the hassle.
Yeah, I'd probably do the same. Getting stuff shipped in is a pain, especially when you are in, "taking care of business mode". I bought two tubes of aquarium same silicone when I resealed a frag tank (project that has been shelved,
) and built a sump. But I only had to drive a couple miles past the Lowes to find it. If I had to order, it would have been a bother.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top