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Gnaw's 100g Tank Restoration & Stand Project


Gnaw
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randy: Thanks, I found it very useful.

GregL: Thank you, I'll continue with it until I'm finished. So keep checking this thread, it should be very entertaining!

Alright folks some more pictures. Wait, cancel that... photobucket is under maintenance. I'll post as soon as its up!

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Alright, so here are the materials I bought:

GE Silicone 100% I x 2

CLR

Scraper

Orion rings are optional :lol:

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I tested using the CLR on the smoky white stuff on the glass 3 times. First time, I did 2 min soak on glass diluted. Second time was 3 min straight cleaner, and third time it was straight for 10mins.

Before:

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After:

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I don't see a difference, maybe a little...

Moving on. This was the first strip I attempted to remove. I think it was a good decision to redo all the silicone because I found moisture and algae under it and some even make crunchy sounds!

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Unfortunately, I didn't think about purchasing more blades. As you can see this single one is in rough shape.

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So after about 40mins on scraping I managed to get the front panel off using Boom's suggestion.

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This sheet was 1/2" thick and was 22 1/4" x 65". I'm going to order a new one from AquaGiant tomorrow. Maybe I can use the old one to construct a lid? What do you think?

Here is a close-up of where the panel sat. You can also see the rusted angle iron, which is just a frame for it to sit on. I think I'm going to totally remove it altogether because it doesn't even provide any reinforcing strength for each of the four sides.

DSC06092Small.jpg

Going to pickup some more razor blades and some acetone from HD tomorrow as well.

Edited by Gnaw
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Building a sump is easy-peasy compared to the work you've already done. Find a cheap tank that'll fit under your stand. Try for a 33 or 50, IMO. Just silicon in some baffles, and get a pump. Drilling your main tank is probably the scariest part, but it's easy.

Of course, that's all extra work. You could just go out and get an FX5 and call it done.

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Building a sump is easy-peasy compared to the work you've already done. Find a cheap tank that'll fit under your stand. Try for a 33 or 50, IMO. Just silicon in some baffles, and get a pump. Drilling your main tank is probably the scariest part, but it's easy.

Of course, that's all extra work. You could just go out and get an FX5 and call it done.

Easy-peasy huh? I guess you guys want some more entertainment! What fun would there be in just buying an FX5?

My only concern with a sump is my lack of experience in building/maintaining one. Everyone says its easy, but this is me people!

I think I would feel more uneasy drilling a hole in a new tank rather a used one. I mean, have you seen my tank? could it get any worse? :lol:

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See if you can find an older tank in similar shape as your 100g. Check out CanReef - they often have sumps or sump-suitible tanks for sale in their Buy/Sell forum.

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Gnaw that looks great so far. The plan for the stand is awesome. May I suggest a few things tho? First, don't use 4x4 lumber. Your far better off using two 2x4's glued and screwed together. It's cheaper, and far stronger and more stable.

Your using 8" wood screws?? Also, forget the angle brackets. You can build the stand STRONGER without them, and save yourself $53! And lastly, don't forget in your plans that a 2x4 isn't actually 2 inches by 4 inches, it's 1.5" by 3.5". Make sure you measure accordingly!

Jason is right, building a sump IS easy.

Boom :boom:

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Gnaw that looks great so far. The plan for the stand is awesome. May I suggest a few things tho? First, don't use 4x4 lumber. Your far better off using two 2x4's glued and screwed together. It's cheaper, and far stronger and more stable.

Your using 8" wood screws?? Also, forget the angle brackets. You can build the stand STRONGER without them, and save yourself $53! And lastly, don't forget in your plans that a 2x4 isn't actually 2 inches by 4 inches, it's 1.5" by 3.5". Make sure you measure accordingly!

Jason is right, building a sump IS easy.

Boom :boom:

Thanks for your expertise boom, I'm always willing to save a few bucks. I'll get the lumber for the tank soon, after I make sure that glass is ordered.

I was interested to know why 2x4 isn't actually 2x4 and here's what I found out: 2x4s are not actually 2 inches by 4 inches. When the board is first rough sawn from the log, it is a true 2x4, but the drying process and planing of the board reduce it to the finished 1.5x3.5 size.

The more you know... :smokey:

Also, I'm not sure if I can fit a sump tank of reasonable size inside the stand. I mean, wont it have to be 11" or less to fit inside the stand?

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Atleast the theory behind a sump is easy...

Gravity (and pump) draw in your water and the pump shoots it up...

In between you have sponge and such lol

Yep, there's a sponge between my ears too! Be careful, if I think you seem like a knowledgeable person I may constantly start PM'ing you with many, many questions. I'm sure Boom regrets it already!

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Dimensions for your sump could be anywhere from....

50" + long and something like 12" or so wide and 20" or so high

Granted you'd definitely need to build the stand around the sump... with those plans...

Edited by thedarkstar
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Nick, your absolutely right about the reason for the lumber being "undersized", they final dimension it after the wood has been kiln dried. Thank you very much for the compliment. I'm not nearly as knowledgeable as I think I am. And no, I don't regret it. I got tons of help from people with my project so I like to help others or "pay it forward" as it were.

You DO NOT want to build the stand around the sump. If you do, and your sump ever breaks, leaks, or needs other work your screwed. You could quite easily change the design of your stand slightly and do away with the two middle verticle supports at the front, or at very least move them outwards, or even change it to a single middle one. Then you would have much more room to move the sump in and out as necessary.

I'm still curious what on earth you need 8" wood screws for???

Oh and I was also just going to add, be very careful when planning your dimensions. You have several measurements like 14.7" or 16.7" in your plans. Working with inches, it's very hard to measure .7 of an inch (it would be slightly less than 45 / 64ths of an inch) your gonna want to round up or down to easy numbers, like 3/4 of an inch (0.75) or similar. Of coarse once you account for the actual lumber dimension, your numbers are going to change anyway.

Boom :boom:

Edited by Boom
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You DO NOT want to build the stand around the sump. If you do, and your sump ever breaks, leaks, or needs other work your screwed. You could quite easily change the design of your stand slightly and do away with the two middle verticle supports at the front, or at very least move them outwards, or even change it to a single middle one. Then you would have much more room to move the sump in and out as necessary.

I'm still curious what on earth you need 8" wood screws for???

Oh and I was also just going to add, be very careful when planning your dimensions. You have several measurements like 14.7" or 16.7" in your plans. Working with inches, it's very hard to measure .7 of an inch (it would be slightly less than 45 / 64ths of an inch) your gonna want to round up or down to easy numbers, like 3/4 of an inch (0.75) or similar. Of coarse once you account for the actual lumber dimension, your numbers are going to change anyway.

Boom

Thanks Boom. I always appreciate your comments.

I was trying to wrap my head around those two verticals in order to fit a sump. I think completely removing them would be a mistake which would affect the over-all structural integrity of the stand. So I think I'm going to move the two middle one outwards.

Regarding the screws: I have a 1/4 of a box left over, I found it in the garage when I cleaned it out before the new year after I got the gas heater in there fixed (Its warm, and nice place to work in now!).

I'll try and redo the stand dimensions sometime today so I can get your feed back before the weekend (I would like to pick-up the lumber this weekend.)

I gotta run, class at 8:15

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