Tank Journal Archive

[Cosby]

Washing sand this morning. Waiting to grab my mounts back from the local hardware joint who is drilling them for me.

Then I can slip her back against the wall, and start filling it proper with water.

Through all these small steps I'm just waiting for the light bulb moment when I say to myself "Oh shit, I should've done that first!! #$@*%*%!". Hopefully I manage to get the tank set up without any major rookie errors.

 

[aussieant32]

I run mine to the top of the tank, then along the top of the rim and down the back

 

[aussieant32]

without livestock in there really nothing cannot be undone pretty easily

 

[Cosby]

without livestock in there really nothing cannot be undone pretty easily

yeah, that's what I'm hoping.

I've ran into a hurdle so far today. Cannot get any local hardware to drill through the mount poles as they don't have a S/S drill bit, so I'll have to take them to work and get it done. Luckily I have fitters at my disposal.
I dont have the room above the tank to use the Cade mounts, that sit much higher than the LED.

So I'm using the mounts that illumagic supplied and just drilling through, leaving the plug and a washer, to hold it from above. It should do the trick.

 

[MTG]

going to look nice and tidy !

 

[Phil]

can i make a suggestion just from what i can see in the pics.. if that bookshelf is sturdy (looks like it is with all that weight in from the books) . why dont u move a couple of books out of the way and drill through thr bottom for the wire on each side . pull the wire through and anchor it into the shelf the just attached the light through the standard fittings. ie just pull the cable through. height is adjustable .. then just put the books back and it will just be suspended from the bottom of the bookshelf. much neater imo. Of course i dont know how much width u have in the bottom shelf so i dont know if u can get them to fall over the centre of the tank from the side view

 

[Cosby]

can i make a suggestion just from what i can see in the pics.. if that bookshelf is sturdy (looks like it is with all that weight in from the books) . why dont u move a couple of books out of the way and drill through thr bottom for the wire on each side . pull the wire through and anchor it into the shelf the just attached the light through the standard fittings. ie just pull the cable through. height is adjustable .. then just put the books back and it will just be suspended from the bottom of the bookshelf. much neater imo. Of course i dont know how much width u have in the bottom shelf so i dont know if u can get them to fall over the centre of the tank from the side view

That was actually suggested by my lovely fiancé.

While I attached the shelves myself and they are sturdy, I don't really want to have any weight added to them.

 

[Cosby]

going to look nice and tidy !

Glad you agree. Took me a lot to convince the missus!

 

[daniel borja]

this TJ needs a fast forward button. you've got us all waiting in anticipation! looking very good!!

 

[Phil]

That was actually suggested by my lovely fiancé.

While I attached the shelves myself and they are sturdy, I don't really want to have any weight added to them.

haha fair enough i guess :)

 

[Cosby]

this TJ needs a fast forward button. you've got us all waiting in anticipation! looking very good!!

You and me both! But I'm going to resist the urge to take shortcuts....as best I can.

 

[OSCAR85]

Just a recommendation if its not too late. Use plumbers tape on your pipe threads and silicon the connections on the back parcel.

 

[Cosby]

Just a recommendation if its not too late. Use plumbers tape on your pipe threads and silicon the connections on the back parcel.

It's not too late, but I asked Brett about doing that(silicon)and he said it really wasn't needed. So I was going to leave it.

Did you have a bad experience?

 

[OSCAR85]

It's not too late, but I asked Brett about doing that(silicon)and he said it really wasn't needed. So I was going to leave it.

Did you have a bad experience?

No i havnt had a bad experience. If you don't do it, its not ever going to gush or leak badly but you might just have a drip. I bought mine from st kilda and they strongly advised me to use the tape and silicon. I think its best practise.

Its not difficult to use plumbers tape and i only used silicon on the back parcel joins not had one drip since the day it got wet. But i have seen a cade have salt drips

 

[Cosby]

No i havnt had a bad experience. If you don't do it, its not ever going to gush or leak badly but you might just have a drip. I bought mine from st kilda and they strongly advised me to use the tape and silicon. I think its best practise.

Its not difficult to use plumbers tape and i only used silicon on the back parcel joins not had one drip since the day it got wet. But i have seen a cade have salt drips

Well I decided I'd give it a little test after work.

Put about 3 litres of water in the corner parcel and then staked out the bottom of the tank to see if any little drips emerged. And what would you know?
I have a drip.
So it looks like I'll be siliconing some joins after all.

I also got my light mount sorted while at work. They're now in place and I'm happy

.

 

[lorby]

Light mount looks good!! It'll look great under the book shelf I reckon! Because it's LED you'll get some pretty cool reflections off the white paint.

 

[OSCAR85]

Hl

Well I decided I'd give it a little test after work.

Put about 3 litres of water in the corner parcel and then staked out the bottom of the tank to see if any little drips emerged. And what would you know?
I have a drip.
So it looks like I'll be siliconing some joins after all.

I also got my light mount sorted while at work. They're now in place and I'm happy
View attachment 15570 .

sorry to hear bout the drip. But glad you've picked up on it. Make sure you buy the aquarium approved silicon. The plumbers tape is only about $3. YouTube it if your un familiar

 

[OSCAR85]

Hl

Well I decided I'd give it a little test after work.

Put about 3 litres of water in the corner parcel and then staked out the bottom of the tank to see if any little drips emerged. And what would you know?
I have a drip.
So it looks like I'll be siliconing some joins after all.

I also got my light mount sorted while at work. They're now in place and I'm happy
View attachment 15570 .

sorry to hear bout the drip. But glad you've picked up on it. Make sure you buy the aquarium approved silicon. The plumbers tape is only about $3. YouTube it if your un familiar

 

[Cosby]

Hl
sorry to hear bout the drip. But glad you've picked up on it. Make sure you buy the aquarium approved silicon. The plumbers tape is only about $3. YouTube it if your un familiar

I tried for some aquarium safe silicon at the hadware joint, but they confused the shit of me when they said that it was fine to be used on Aquariums, but couldn't be submersed. I ended up buying an epoxy that is aquarium safe, but now I read in the fine print that it will not bond to poly plastics. Great job Mr Hadware man, and great job me!

When you say the aquarium approved silicon, do you mean the 'non asetic' type?

Off to the hardware shop I go again.

 

[aussieant32]

if you go to bunnings there is a selleys silicone that actually says it is aquarium safe