150 Gallon Build

So the other day I found this tank and today I picked it up for $75. Was not ready to upgrade yet but I couldnt pass this up. Its 72" x 18" x 27", and needs a little bit of work before I will feel comfortable with it. The center brace is cracked, and the bottom corner has a silicone patch but with what I dont know. I will cut that out and redo it. Replace the center brace and the bottom frame is comming off, will either silicone it back on or when I build the stand I will have a built in frame for the tank to sit in.

 

Well i got that patch of silicone off, now im debating on removing all the silicone on the bottom pane. It looks like at one time or another it was re-caulked and its a blue green color, not sure if this contains any anti mildew in it. hmmmm....

 

So this morning I was able to go out and get a few supplies. I cut out the cracked center brace and epoxyed a piece of acrylic in its place. The questionable caulk has been cut out and replaced this morning. New caulk is setting up now and tomorrow we will start the leak test around the bottom pane. If every thing holds good then there maybe a test hermit put in a couple inches of water to test the rest of the caulk. I will be watching him for signs of stress. I dont think I have to worry about the rest of it though.

 

Sweet deal, Normally when you cut silicone out you should do it all and run one bead along the entire thing but hope it does work for you. The bottom edges of your tank hold the most weight.

 

I started to remove all of it but after 3 hours and only made it a foot on one side I decided to go with this aproach. It was resealed at some point and its so ****ing thick its taking a long time to remove even in small sections. Worse comes to worse I end up removing it all anyways.

 

looks like you did a good job from the picture though.

 

TY, tomorrow I will do a leak test and see how it holds up. Also I will be building a custom stand. I plan on getting some polystyrene and cutting it to fit under the tank to help support the glass. That way I wont have to worry about all the stress on the seams.

 

Things so far are moving along. This morning I started the water test after letting the caulk cure for 24 hours. I didnt not fill the whole tank I just want to test my seams first so I filled it about an inch above my highest point. So far so good, will let it sit till tomorrow and hopefully there are no leaks then I can procede to the next step.

 

Good Luck Jessel! If this works out for you you got a HECK of a deal on that tank!

 

Thanks heidimi. I just finishe the top portion of the stand. Its 72.5"x28". The center brace is 18" for the back edge of the tank. Its longer because I always feel the need to anchor the stand to the wall. Even though I probly never have to worry about it tipping over, with 2 little ones and a 75 lb pitbull running around the house it always makes me nervous unless its secured to the wall. Plus the extra with of the stand gives me a better piece of mind due to the addional stability.

Hmmm....cant get the pic uploaded right now. Hopefully Ill get it working soon.