Finally stepping up with the big boys.

No project at my house is never really a project until disaster strikes t least once. This one is a good one. A crack in the tank. Not just crack, but a crack on the bottom at the bulkhead hole. I don't know how I missed it before but its on the inside and I guess I didn't see it with the overflows installed. Glad I took them out to clean and polish after all. Lucky the crack isn't all the way thru or I would be listing a snake tank on CL right now. lol




but talking to a few people there is still hope. The crack has a little bit of flex to it, so the plan is slight pressure and work some Weldon 4 into the crack. Give it some cure time then cover it with a plate of 1/2" cell cast joined by a healthy coating of Weldon 4 with a bead of 16 all the way around the edges.

 

A couple updates behind, I been trying to keep up but work and other things are keeping me down.

I did as describer and gave some slight pressure on the crack and dropped some weldon 4 into it as best i could. If I had to judge I would say about 40% filling. I was too concerned with excess pressure furthering the crack or even break it to go more.

Here is the 1/2 plate over top of the crack and welon'd in place. I couldve possibly went larger but I opted to keep it with a size the overflow would fit on vs chopping into the overflow. I gave it about a 3-4 hour dry time. Braced behind it and drilled the hole with a hole saw. I then gave it a light sanding and a couple wicking passes with the torch followed my weldon4 where the plates connect inside the hole. 3-4 hours later I ringed all exposed edges with weldon16. and gave it a couple hours to sit with light pressured clamps on it.



Fast forward here is the bottom of the tank with bulkheads test fitted in place. They are in just for checking and are not tightened as I want the weldon to sit around 24 hours before applying ant pressure. The bulkheads are thread vs thread and the caps seen in the bottom are just there for the initial leak testing. I didnt want to get sexy with plumbing and glueing pvc in the event the plate dont work and I have to sell a snake tank on CL. lol



24 hours later stood the tank up, set it in place and the moment of truth time to add some water......







I only filled it between half & 2/3's full for the time being. I didnt have it perfectly level plus I could just seel my water bill flowing out the end of the hose.

I will say oh my was the hard work put into polishing the tank worth it. clarity combined with the feeling of accomplishment is breathe taking. There was one or two very minor scratches I just ran out of energy on that once below the water line are invisible.

 

So far I've had water in for about 7 hours and no leaks. There is a couple drops from the end caps but I didnt get hardcore installing them since they are just for the leak tests. Tomorrow I'll add a pump or two into the DT just for the purposes of creating some cavitiation and movement just for peace of mind. After that next on the list is getting it drained laid backdown and the overflows reinstalled. Unfortunately I have to either use weldon 16 or reorder some 4 since one of my helpers had an accident and knocked over my 4 today but at least I keep things seperated and it spilled on the floor and not on any acrylic surfaces including my other project.

 

I left it filled for over 24 hours and all was well so got the tank drained and off the stand.

I made a stop to visit one of my two LFS that has a giant selection of SW fish in their 3 x 10 gallon tanks of SW fish. lol. Nothing of interest but there were having a fathers day / overstock sale, so I managed to pick me up a sump tank. A shiny brand new 75 gal for $70. Too bad it was the last one or I wouldve been tempted to buy a second one for later down the road. Plus I found on these only the bottom is tempered which really works for me because I am on the line with either running an external pump or skimmer. Leaning more towards pump though.



Moved onto skinning the stand. kicked ideas back and forth a few things and tried to keep the country look I already have going in my basement. Opted for a 1x4" cedar skin. I made it kind of modular so all the decorative panels can come off in case of emergency or I simply want to stain or change the look later. At least I made it so it screws onto the stand cause total this thing weighs a ton!

This is my one end I did actually cut and frame that as a door. Right now its on with U clips on the inside, still debating hinges. Opposite side matches of course.



Using the 1x4"'s I think give a nice look but it presented some problems on the front. Having three acess openings and three doors just made it look too cramped. So I opted to build the front, tack on two false looking door frames, and split it down the middle. Gives it a more open and uniform look imo. Plus I can pop the front off and get total full width acess.





This is as far as I made it, getting some of the bottom and middle trim on and starting the uprights around the corner of the tank. The top section actually lifts on, like I said all modular. Yes I am doint corner posts, with the tank having rounded front it didnt look right to be with so much square edges and rounded corners on the tank. Plus it adds to the wood look I want.

 

Took a break from the wood for a bit to fiddle with another thing that had been on my mind. A cover for the top. Since I have debated a eel (maybe a zebra moray) I need a lid and with bigger more expensive fish I want zero jumper risk. So I came up with this idea. building a two layer lid out of thin acrylic, cutting the center out and siliconing BRS netteing in the middle.





After putting some weight on top to squish the silicon tight and some drying time.





Still need to trim some edges of the netting and round the corner to match the tank but I think this will work pretty good. I'll probably also drill a hole and run and plastic nut with a lever on each side so it can be locked down so to speak. Now to build one for the other side tomorrow.

 

nice. I thought about do this for in tank dividers for new livestock as well. Turned out nice. One thing to think about though is with an eel these need to latch down. I had a dwarf moray in a 12g biocube and he pushed open the door on the front with about a pound of 'stuff' on it and killed himself. Most eels can lift that frame if its not secured.

 

oh yeah I already have a plan for latches. That was what I was mentioning at the very bottom. I'll probably drill a hole on each side, instert a nylon bolt with a bar glued to the bolt not the frame so I can turn it and basically lock it.

 

Wow don't you hate it when noobs don't read your whole post before replying.