Tank Journal Archive

[mscott]

Well over the past few days/week, i managed to get the tank into position and fill it for a leak test, saddly to find that there was a rather large leak in the bottom left corner. During this time i also tried my hand (unsuccessfully) at trying to use black contact as a backing.
Well since then the tank has moved outside and i managed to find the leak and fill it with silicone (a rather small job). I also ripped off the contact paper and am currently painting the back and one side of the tank.

 

[Agent M]

Sounds like an annoying week! You will be glad you did it in the end :rolleyes

 

[mscott]

Haha, indeed. I think the worst part is that i have wollen carpet, so it reaks! But in the end itll be worth it. And mums boyfriends a professional cleaner so it wont be too hard to get the smell gone

 

[Agent M]

Oooohh thats nasty, reminds me of the time I spilled a whole cup of coffee on the carpet in the car, lesson learned!

 

[mscott]

Haha, yeah, well i learnt the lesson with the foam on the stand thats for sure, with only short people to help lift it it made it quite difficult to sit the tank on the foam square enough, so now I've just glued the corners of the foam to the stand so it cant run away

 

[mscott]

Oh yeah, for the tank, should i do a full overflow/weir (top to bottom) or just a little box to hide the bulkheads?

 

[mscott]

Alrighty, some photos of the painted tank, doing another leak test, so far so good.
Hopefully plumbing and cladding for the stand to come next week.

 

[mscott]

more photos *

 

[holly]

I love painting the back, you don't get those awful bubbles or weird looking patterns forming.

 

[mscott]

And its so easy to remove as well if you decide to change it later on haha.

 

[holly]

A sharp razor blade and some persistence gets the glass really clear again... I did half my sump once until I found a huge crack in it. The paint hides lots of things!

 

[mscott]

Oooo, cracks arnt nice. Hopefully the sump i have will be strong enough haha

 

[mscott]

Bit of a jump, managed to buy some plumbing bits from dural, hopefully they get here by the end of the week, even with the christmas postage. And hopefully ill be able to make a start/finish on the cabinet and plumbing before the month is out.

 

[mscott]

Rightyo good news, picked up my new skimmer today (model info in on the front page) and i must say im getting eager to finish this build off and get started on the tank!

 

[holly]

Nice job figuring out your plumbing. I have to at least make 17 trips to bunnings.

 

[mscott]

I think its time for a budget count. So far i have spent:
Tank: 50
stand+cabinet+hood (minus tools): 70
Skimmer: 150
plumbing: 20
grand total of :$290.

 

[mscott]

Alrighty, got all the bits in the mail for my plumbing so i put that together today, and wow, i really underestimated the pump im using as a temp. Its pumping around 2000-3000L at the moment. Looks like a trip to bunnings later for a ball valve

 

[mscott]

Alrighty, went and got a ball valve and another angle to create a direction for the return.
So far running through freshwater its going great, i'v turned my heaters on as well to see weather or not they are able to cut it.

 

[mscott]

Right well looks like i will be staying in the state so now i can really buckle down and get it done (can someone help me change my state back). So today i managed to put a door on my cabinet and i also added some carpet squares, both have drastically killed any noise, now i just have to silence my drain pipe and all will be good. Still havnt taken the dive into lights or wavemakers yet as i still havnt received funds to do so. Perhaps by the end of the week i will, but im not sure yet as i will start having to buy things for uni, im also looking for a way to store water so i can buy it 1000L at a time from K&J but i am still yet to find a viable option, an IBC would be nice but im not sure how heavy they are and if i would be able to get it carried into the backyard where i want it. A slimline water tank would be great but they are too expensive to be truely viable. Ummm i think that is all for now

 

[holly]

Right well looks like i will be staying in the state so now i can really buckle down and get it done (can someone help me change my state back). So today i managed to put a door on my cabinet and i also added some carpet squares, both have drastically killed any noise, now i just have to silence my drain pipe and all will be good. Still havnt taken the dive into lights or wavemakers yet as i still havnt received funds to do so. Perhaps by the end of the week i will, but im not sure yet as i will start having to buy things for uni, im also looking for a way to store water so i can buy it 1000L at a time from K&J but i am still yet to find a viable option, an IBC would be nice but im not sure how heavy they are and if i would be able to get it carried into the backyard where i want it. A slimline water tank would be great but they are too expensive to be truely viable. Ummm i think that is all for now

@K&J Aquatics can perhaps hook you up with an IBC? They can be lifted by two people or dragged by one empty easily.