Restarting a reef tank: best aquarium

[Anonymous]

So I just did 2+ hours of driving to go look at tanks. The glass corner tanks are bow-front. The acrylic ones are sort of distorted polygons with a wide flat front window, which is easier to clean.

I am still leaning to the 60" 100gal L tank. By default it comes with an overflow in one corner, but I can order one with two overflows presumably for some extra cash (don't know how much yet). Is this a good idea?

Also, where the tank is going is not level. The left side will be slightly lower than the right. I blew this off for the 55 gal, but for the 100L, it might be more of an issue, especially if I have two overflows.

What is the best way to deal with that problem? Seems like propping one end of the stand up with shims would be a bad idea, since it has to bare the weight of a 1000lb load.

Also, what should I do to protect the floor? The wood floor behind the fish tank clearly got wet and it doesn't look great. If I put a piece of plywood underneath, would that be a good idea, or would water possibly get between the plywood and the floor? Or maybe artboard?

 

[bleedingthought]

That's what I am thinking. I have had them for 6 or 7 years in a 55. Now they are penned up in a 50 T. So they deserve it. As do I.

I found some crazing on the bottom of the 55, making me think it might make a better lizard tank than a sump.

What kind of sump should I get for 100L?

Wow. Did you get the crazing from tearing the tank down? Rock falling?

Go with the 100G! Get another 55 for the sump since they're super cheap, (you can find brand new ones for 50 bucks!) that way you have room for everything and more!

 

[Anonymous]

I don't know. I definitely dropped a big-arse rock when I was taking it down. It also put a gnarly scratch in the front.

 

[bleedingthought]

So I just did 2+ hours of driving to go look at tanks. The glass corner tanks are bow-front. The acrylic ones are sort of distorted polygons with a wide flat front window, which is easier to clean.

I am still leaning to the 60" 100gal L tank. By default it comes with an overflow in one corner, but I can order one with two overflows presumably for some extra cash (don't know how much yet). Is this a good idea?

Also, where the tank is going is not level. The left side will be slightly lower than the right. I blew this off for the 55 gal, but for the 100L, it might be more of an issue, especially if I have two overflows.

What is the best way to deal with that problem? Seems like propping one end of the stand up with shims would be a bad idea, since it has to bare the weight of a 1000lb load.

Also, what should I do to protect the floor? The wood floor behind the fish tank clearly got wet and it doesn't look great. If I put a piece of plywood underneath, would that be a good idea, or would water possibly get between the plywood and the floor? Or maybe artboard?

I would definitely go with two overflows for various reasons.

You will have problems with the tank not being leveled like you presumed, though. How much is it off for those 5 feet? If it's up to 1/4" or so I wouldn't tear my hair out about it, but I'd definitely worry about more. You could try to put styrofoam (the house insulation foam is great for this) under the tank and it'll level itself but only to a certain amount. If you use shims correctly, especially combined with the styrofoam, you should be good.

And if the plywood gets soaked it'll go down to the floor. Maybe you can use some thick plastic or weather-seal material under the stand. But again, if it's soaked, the water will still run off the sides of the plastic.

 

[Anonymous]

shim the stand, not the tank. IMO having a tank slightly off level isn't that big of a deal - say, less than 0.25 inch end to end (as long as the tank is at least a couple feet long, heh heh).

I tried putting plastic under a stand but found that water managed to get underneath it to harm the wood floor anyway. My next tank was on a tile floor which got wet several times without damage. Hopefully someone will have clever advice for you on this one.

The 100L tank sounds great - but I do like having two overflows - it is easier to make quiet, and is good for safety. Either way you'll have a great new tank.

jayo

 

[Anonymous]

So I just did 2+ hours of driving to go look at tanks. The glass corner tanks are bow-front. The acrylic ones are sort of distorted polygons with a wide flat front window, which is easier to clean.

I am still leaning to the 60" 100gal L tank. By default it comes with an overflow in one corner, but I can order one with two overflows presumably for some extra cash (don't know how much yet). Is this a good idea?

Also, where the tank is going is not level. The left side will be slightly lower than the right. I blew this off for the 55 gal, but for the 100L, it might be more of an issue, especially if I have two overflows.

What is the best way to deal with that problem? Seems like propping one end of the stand up with shims would be a bad idea, since it has to bare the weight of a 1000lb load.

Also, what should I do to protect the floor? The wood floor behind the fish tank clearly got wet and it doesn't look great. If I put a piece of plywood underneath, would that be a good idea, or would water possibly get between the plywood and the floor? Or maybe artboard?

Water will wick or seep under anything you place on the floor and take much longer to dry out. If you really are worried about it you can put some spar varnish on the wood floor under the tank.



You can use long wedges to support the stand and level it.

 

[bleedingthought]

shim the stand, not the tank.

Obviously. :wink:

 

[Anonymous]

Water will wick or seep under anything you place on the floor and take much longer to dry out. If you really are worried about it you can put some spar varnish on the wood floor under the tank.



You can use long wedges to support the stand and level it.

Thanks, Andy. Actually the floor BEHIND where the tank was took the beating. The floor under the stand looks like my floor looked in 1998, i.e., it got protected.

My refugium (CPR hang-on the bag aiptasia/cyano breeding system) kind of trashed the wall a bit, but that at least was easy to patch and paint.

Now I understand why, as a kid, my parents made me keep the tanks in the basement.

 

[Anonymous]

Yeah - the weight of the tank presses down and forms a pretty good seal under the tank but if a piece if board or something else is sandwiched in between the stand and floor water will seep under it - at least it will a couple of inches away from the stand base.

You should be able to touch the floor up fairly easy. Is it black or white stained?

 

[Anonymous]

Here is how the floor looks:

 

[Anonymous]

close-up

 

[Anonymous]

Here's what the kids and dog did:

 

[Anonymous]

milzed

 

[Anonymous]

sorry if this is getting tiresome

[milzed]

 

[Anonymous]

If it is still wet let it dry and then lightly sand it with 100 grit paper. Peroxide may remove the stains - go slow with it. Then just brush a coat of polyeurathane over the raw wood let dry and do it again.

It looks like 2 diss floors. Is it just the pic or are they diff woods?



Ahh, what's the value of a pretty floor to old dogs and little boys?

 

[Anonymous]

Same floor.

I turned the flash off after the first pic.

The one with the dog paws is at the front entry and has received heavy water damage.

The idiot who built the house installed the threshold backwards! Then with heavy traffic, you can really see the grain.


Should I fill in the cracks with something like Crest or glue with sawdust mixed in or something?

 

[Anonymous]

The line behind the where the stand was looks like water damage and mold.

Did you try washing it with slightly diluted bleach?

Then after it drys it needs some kind of finish on it to seal it again.

Poly would be good.

 

[Anonymous]

The eurathane will fill them enough. f you try to "fill" them the filler will likely be pushed out as the floors expand and contract.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks. I'll do that then.

 

[trido]

The eurathane will fill them enough. f you try to "fill" them the filler will likely be pushed out as the floors expand and contract.

I disagree regarding the filler being pushed out. During new Hardwood installation all of the joints in the whole house are filled and then scraped off before being sanded. I can tell by the pics that the board on the bottom left is warped and cupped on the one end. The others are seriously water damaged. Verathane or Urethane will not fill those gaps in the floor. They will still stick out like a sore thumb due to the discoloration. As Knuck said. Wash them with bleach a couple times. Let them dry. Talk to your local ace hardware guy and tell him what you are up to and he can provide you with some natural colored filler. Use that before you sand and then seal. It will be far from new construction but the best anyone can do without replacing the wood itself. That is always an option to.