My 125 to 180 build thread

[FishN00b83]

someone has a few packages coming tomorrow

[LowHangingFruit]

If you don't mind me asking...how much did you pay for the overflow?

[FishN00b83]

Originally Posted by LowHangingFruit

If you don't mind me asking...how much did you pay for the overflow?

400+ shipping. It was expensive, but to me it's worth it. Coming from a megaflow tank, I wanted the maximum amount of space to aquascape/swim room for the fish. It was really the only option for me. Seeing how it looks in the tank now, I couldn't imagine having anything else in there. It's literally non existent.

[LowHangingFruit]

Originally Posted by FishN00b83

400+ shipping. It was expensive, but to me it's worth it. Coming from a megaflow tank, I wanted the maximum amount of space to aquascape/swim room for the fish. It was really the only option for me. Seeing how it looks in the tank now, I couldn't imagine having anything else in there. It's literally non existent.

It does look really good!

Does the inside box have any kind of bracing inside to stop it from bowing under the pressure of the water?

[FishN00b83]

yeah it has 3 braces on the inside and 3 on the outside box.

[FishN00b83]

I decided today that I'm going to build a new sump. it's going to be a simple 2 chamber for the skimmer and return. in the return section I plan on having a ATS along with the GFO and carbon reactors. I think I'm going with a 40 long so I can make the ATS as long as possible.

[FishN00b83]

drains are almost done...next are the return lines

[Hulkster]

looks great but you need to remove those shims before you fill up the tank. those kind of point pressure sources will crack the bottom glass.

as you have found in your research, glass tanks only need corner support and no metal (steel or iron) stands are perfectly straight. so gaps in the middle are fine, the bottom glass is designed to support the full weight of the tank. as long as the corners are well supported you should be good. contrary to popular internet misinformation, gaps between tank and stand in the middle are fine (even a big long gap, its normal with metal tube stands). even the manufacturers will tell you this.

styrofoam will not help (all it does is compress more at the corners and not as much at the middle where the bow of the stand is, so the middle is just as unsupported as it is without the styrofoam). Aqueon tanks are designed to sit directly on the stand with nothing in between (I have an aqueon 150g on a tube steel stand, my stand is the same) long gap lol). I believe styro actually voids the aqueon warranty, as the tanks are not meant to have anything between the tank rim and stand.

seeing those shims like that was scaring me, don't wan't to see 180g of water on the floor.

otherwise, awesome build! please keep up the good work!

[FishN00b83]

Originally Posted by Hulkster

looks great but you need to remove those shims before you fill up the tank. those kind of point pressure sources will crack the bottom glass.



as you have found in your research, glass tanks only need corner support and no metal (steel or iron) stands are perfectly straight. so gaps in the middle are fine, the bottom glass is designed to support the full weight of the tank. as long as the corners are well supported you should be good. contrary to popular internet misinformation, gaps between tank and stand in the middle are fine (even a big long gap, its normal with metal tube stands). even the manufacturers will tell you this.



styrofoam will not help (all it does is compress more at the corners and not as much at the middle where the bow of the stand is, so the middle is just as unsupported as it is without the styrofoam). Aqueon tanks are designed to sit directly on the stand with nothing in between (I have an aqueon 150g on a tube steel stand, my stand is the same) long gap lol). I believe styro actually voids the aqueon warranty, as the tanks are not meant to have anything between the tank rim and stand.



seeing those shims like that was scaring me, don't wan't to see 180g of water on the floor.



otherwise, awesome build! please keep up the good work!

thank you! I removed the shims.

[FishN00b83]

so I cleaned up the tank today because I'm getting ready to fill it Friday and I noticed a chip in the front glass and it's going to drive me crazy. does anyone know if you can use a glass repair kit on the inside glass? if so could it actually help?

I would say it's prob a 1/16 round...any chance of fixing it?

[don_chuwish]

Looks just like a rock chip you'd get filled by the quick fix guys on a windshield. Is there actually glass missing out of it?

[FishN00b83]

Originally Posted by don_chuwish

Looks just like a rock chip you'd get filled by the quick fix guys on a windshield. Is there actually glass missing out of it?

yeah glass is missing and it's on the inside of the tank. do you think if I bought the rain x repair kit it would be safe to use/work? I have two of them in the front glass and they are going to drive me BAT SH!T crazy

[Hulkster]

that sucks. did the LFS chip the inside while drilling? this was purchased new right?
I would try and exchange it if possible.

[FishN00b83]

Originally Posted by Hulkster

that sucks. did the LFS chip the inside while drilling? this was purchased new right?

I would try and exchange it if possible.

yeah it was new and when they drilled it I guess they didn't cover the other side. I went down there tonight and I spoke with the owner...he was not happy about it, and he said he'd call me tomorrow to talk about it more. so the build is on hold until I talk to him. he was not happy about it, which kind of made me nervous but I'll just wait until tomorrow and see what happens.

[FishN00b83]

So the LFS has someone coming down this weekend to look at the tank. I told the owner I am looking to get a replacement and he said at least I'm being honest about it. He wants to make sure its not silicone or anything before he drills an other tank (which is understandable). He said if they do indeed replace it he will be able to do it during the week.

The lease is up at my old place the following weekend so this is cutting it WAY close for me. hopefully this happens sooner than later.

[swiftvision]

Good luck! Nice sized tank BTW.

[FishN00b83]

Originally Posted by swiftvision

Good luck! Nice sized tank BTW.

Thanks! Hopefully I'll have a full one in the next few days

[FishN00b83]

a girl from the LFS came down to look at the tank and take some pictures. she's going to go back and talk it over with the owner...hopefully I get a call tonight with what's going to happen. I'm running out of time with the lease at my old place so this needs to come together fast.

[FishN00b83]

so I haven't heard from the LFS owner yet. I called him this morning and again at lunch with no answer. if he doesn't call me by the end of the day I'm going straight there after work. my lease on the apartment is up sunday and I don't have a lot of time to paint,re-plumb, test, fill, and then transfer everything from the 125....im in mild panic mode.

[FishN00b83]

So after a lot of phone calls and a trip down to the LFS, the owner has agreed to replace the tank. Being that I am so pressed for time I asked him if he could help me out and paint the back glass before the delivery so I can connect the plumbing (thank GOD I used unions this time) and fill the tank (with hopefully no leaks). He didn’t have a problem with it so it should be here tonight or tomorrow. He did ask me to help pay for the delivery again just because he has 3 guys come with him to deliver big tanks. I didn’t have a problem with it (I really just want this thing in my house already) so that’s where it ended. I’ll have pictures up as soon as it’s delivered.

As far as the transfer, the guy interested in the tank is going to pick the old tank up Sunday morning. So this whole process of setting up and transferring is going to happen REAL fast.

[FishN00b83]

the new tank came tonight. it's not an aqueon it's a marineland with the black silicone. I wasn't happy at all at first just because I heard a few stories of marineland tanks blowing out, but it does look nice all cleaned up.

the one thing that drove me crazy was the owner forgot the back piece of the overflow, so I had to drive back to the store after to pick it up, but whatever. I didn't get to plumb the returns today so I will start that tomorrow and get this thing going. I'll post pictures with updates tomorrow night.

[FishN00b83]

I started the transfer this afternoon...all the rock is in the tank (I'm not real happy with the aquascape but it works for now. tonight I need to get the fish in, but I'm trying to get the tank heated as much as possible before I plop them in. tomorrow I will work on the enclosure for all the apex stuff and cut the pvc for the algae scrubber (everything is plumbed ready to go, I just need to grab my buddy's dremal to cut the slot.

I'll post more updates later on tonight...

[FishN00b83]

I got a lot done the past few days. the apex is all wired up and programmed, and I finished the algae scrubber and got it running. I need to drill the holes for the DOS units and get them calibrated next. my first water change will be sometime tomorrow so I'll post more pictures after.

[FishN00b83]

here's a few pictures of the tank. the scape has grown on me a lot, I'm thinking of leaving now. I'm going to put the corals in the rocks tomorrow . I'll post more pictures soon.

the light rack at the top is temporary until I can get some sheets of walnut ply to make the canopy and stand panels. Home Depot didn't have any so I might have to order them.

[FishN00b83]

My algae scrubber is now lit. I needed to get some poster board and tape it to the bottom of the tank so some light wouldnt get through (I was worried about algae problems on the bottom glass).

I also had a AI Sol Blue go wacky on me (they are kind of old). I decided to get new circuit boards, power bricks, and aux cables to rebuild them. I almost went for 3 Hydra 52s but I couldn't really justify it. For 345 dollars shipped I basically got 3 new AI Sol Blues, so that's what happened.

I had a clown go tile surfing (found it this morning) so I will order the BRS screen kits so that doesnt happen again (wife was devastated they've been with us from the beginning). My first order of fish was going to be a trio of lyrtails, so I'll just add a small false perc to that and hopefully they get along.