Tank Journal Archive

[Sarg]

Tank, sump and light have been ordered!

Skimped on the starfire as the budget is tight so I skimped on the polished edges too. Glass is only 10mm so the starfire won't be overly noticeable and I have never had starfire on previous tanks so I don't know what I'm missing out on :)

Hopefully have the tank and sump and pump by next weekend so i can plumb it all up (got some tj's to browse through) and get the light the following week unless it gets here sooner?? ;)

 

[Rob]

What are you doing to brace the top, euro brace ? where's the tank being built

 

[Sarg]

Yeah all round brace at the top, didn't splurge on the laser cut euro though. Getting the tank through Bunarong i'm not sure who they use to build them.

 

[Sarg]

yea!!!! well don........hang on, I can still see wood grain..lol

Wood grain??? Where..... wait i see it too ;)

I put a piece of 90x35 across the bottom where the hole is and also a piece up either side stonger but mainly for a door stop... but cause i'm a useless handyman the door doesnt open so need to chisel a little bit out :rolleyes

Staining what a pr!ck of a job... first go not to bad though.

Thats with two coats of polyurathane gloss i'll throw on another tomorrow and see how it looks. I have enough four a fourth coat I think. Got a few run marks though :mad: It's hard to see properly with the lights in this place and the overcast weather atm.

Overall it has come up ok there are a few rookie mistakes but on the whole i'm happy with it since its the first I have built on my own.

I Joined the reefuge last december and since then have been planning this tank and now i'm so close I cant wait.

edit. Recon it needs a back on it? I never had one on my freshies (running sumps) butthat was in sunny brissie. I have a piece of MDF (might be chipboard not going out in the cold to double check lol) i got from work and cut to size. I have put 3 coats of paint on it to seal it but if I dont really need it i may not bother. Plus due, once again, to my handiman skillz you would be able to see it from the side which would detract from the finish.

 

[chimaera]

Nice job on the stand, looks flush and well fitted!

 

[zeebull]

Nice job on the stand Sarg. will complement the tank nicely I think.

 

['vspec']

sh^t that came up a lot better than expected dude.

Well done. ;)

 

[Sarg]

Up close it is not as flush and fitted but it will do!

 

[192k]

Stand looks good. Will you finish mine for me ? :)

Everything is coming together well.

 

[firebird]

Stand looks good. Will you finish mine for me ? :)

Stop pushing in-stand in line-me first:p

 

[vpreef]

Where's the Tank??:p

 

[Sarg]

Hopefully the tank will be enough divert attention away from the flaws that stand out like the dogs you know what's ;)

Tank will be ready tomorrow ;) though I probably won't pick it up till sat morning. Also I think the sump and wier in the tank were only finished off yesterday so I'll have to wait till next weekend for it to cure properly I guess.

Also given the public holiday the substrate may not arrive tomorrow also. I was hoping to get it going this weekend but I'm going to differ for 7 days :)

 

[chimaera]

So I heard a rumour that you got your tank today ... =0)

 

[192k]

Pics or it didn't happen ;)

 

[Sarg]

So I heard a rumour that you got your tank today ... =0)

Funny that :) Did you buy anything after I left :p

Dont have any pics yet the tank is sitting on timber out the back waiting for some paint and nothing else has been sorted :rolleyes Not enough time in the day!

 

[chimaera]

Funny that :) Did you buy anything after I left :p

Hah, no we didn't actually (for everyone else's benefit, I popped into Bunarong Aquarium today and bumped into Sarg picking up his spanking new tank, return pump and some plumbing supplies).

I was looking at the SPS, only for the assistant guy (slightly punk looking?) tell me that nano tanks cannot sustain SPS and I needed to look at a larger tank. Some LFS staff are so narrow minded.

 

[Sarg]

I was looking at the SPS, only for the assistant guy (slightly punk looking?) tell me that nano tanks cannot sustain SPS and I needed to look at a larger tank. Some LFS staff are so narrow minded.

Haha I got the same guy on my first visit to the store and he told me my 3x15x15 wouldnt be suitable for a marine tank, at least he didn't tell you to stick to freshwater. On nils advice I went back and spoke to brett and he is good and knows his stuff. Luckily for nils or I would not have spent a cent in the store.

 

[Sarg]

Painting the back of the tank black. Small light coats to start with then heavy coats for the final few. I'll put another couple on tomorrow as today the wind @#%ed it up a little :(

I was hopeing to get it all on the stand today but ended up spending half my day at a school working bee. I shot home at 12 for another coat of paint at 1ish got a call from the neighbour saying he will be going past in an hour and he could help lift it on. At 130 remembered the drill battery needed charging, 2pm went and grabbed some hole saws. Drill battery hadn't charged enough so its still sitting on blocks :(

Any good ideas for covering the weir? Is acrylic the only real way?

 

[chimaera]

Looking good!

 

[192k]

Yes black acrylic is the best to cover/hide the overflow.