jaggedfire

Could meet in South Austin for anyone it would be more convenient for.

I'm. Not in a hurry per say, but would like to place before end of next week. Guess it would depend on how many are interested.

I'm needing some supplies, around $100-150. Anyone else interested or need anything?

*EDIT*

Looks like we'll have enough people for a full on group buy.

It'll open on Tuesday 9/4. Please try and get me your info ASAP, so I can get BRS the list of folks in the group buy.

Here's the next steps:

* If you dont already have an account, create an account on BulkReefSupply.com

* PM me your LAST name and BRS email address.

And Then?:

• On the pre-determined Tuesday each participant will receive an email notifying them that the Group Buy has started.
  
• Participants can start buying as soon as they get this email. Please wait for this email before placing orders!
  
• During the group buy week participants will login to their own account to place their own order, which ships immediately.
  
• At the end of the Group Buy each participant's account will be changed to Preferred Customer. BRS Preferred Customer pricing is generally between our retail and group buy prices. This permanent upgrade is our way of saying thanks for getting your reef supplies with us!
  

I have been looking at this as well. Interested to hear what kind of temp drops you can get for certain power level of chiller. I was looking at a setup like Hydros in the garage with chiller and large evap. Haven't had the cycles to pursue.

3 small tubes of US version of E43 should be here by this weekend. "Stuff ain't cheap!" but worth a shot.

I have Momentive RTV103 in black that I will use for the 75.IF this works well and I cant get my hands on the Elastosil, I will press forward with the Momentive on the 120 tank. It is rated much higher (tear) than the other products already.Real quickly here is what I have dug up; Tensile is important, but from what I have read, the tear strength is the more important stat here. Some numbers are converted from metric while others are not stated. GE I silicone (GE012) is not included as I have not found a datasheet.

Yeah, the glass on its own is pretty easy. I have an old 75 in the garage that I decided to 'practice' on before tackling this larger seal next weekend. Time table is going to depend on if I can get this new silicone.

Anyone familiar with Wacker brand Elastosil products? The e43, e41 and e47 specs look to have 50% greater tensile and tear strength as the Momentive 100 and twice that of DC732, AND! comes in translucent. Supposed to have excellent adhesion to cured silicon also. The cheapest I can find it so far is around $40/tube....but, it would be worth knowing I wont have to worry. I am calling another rep tomorrow for sources and see if I can order in the US.

http://www.reefland....etable-filters/

I like combining a mud filter with a macro lagoon, or as Anthony Calfo says "Vegetable Filter.

Kind of off topic but, a great quote from the link you provided, "Be sure to always strain and discard the pack juices from thawed frozen foods; they are “rocket fuel” for nuisance algae!"

That is one of those things I wish I had known when I first started in the aquarium hobby.

I have a small colander which I use solely for this purpose.

I did in the begining...here is some more food for thought. None being gospel.

Aquarium Chemistry: Phosphate And Math: Yes You Need To Understand Both By Randy Holmes-Farley, Ph.

After reading this I didnt worry to much about the phosphates. I am running a small 'fuge on the 25 gallon and I have my ups and downs with it...but i think it has been more due to the type of macro I am using, not the over abundance of phos. or nitrate. I due plan on running a dsb and macro in the new tank....if I get that far.

Here is the challenge to rebuilding the entire tank:

Instead of a standard canopy The tank has this integrated moulding that is siliconed at the top edge.

don't forget the onslaught on curse words it seems to make it work better

Already started!

If we did not live so far apart I would invite you to bring the tank into my newly cleaned garage and we would break it down and rebuild the whole thing as a fun project. Problem is there is a giant city called Austin in the way....we should ask the city to move.

I am not opposed to packing it up and doing it at another location. I do/will have ~3 available hands though when reassembling at my house.

Dimensions are 51x25x22 ish, so it fits into just about anything. Not light though!

Any success with full teardown and reassemble? If this is even a 5% better chance of success, it will do it. The seams on the corners are beautiful though.....would be a shame.

Thanks Victoly.

That has been considered. Even thought about ordering new panels in star fire. Its not a standard dimension tank though.

I agree on the necessity of the plywood not being needed, but it was integrated with the surround and has to be used for the moulding. I also think the thickness for the silicon in between the ply and bottom/is a bit exaggerated....it will basically be pressed out and only form a skin.

I feel the weakest point in the plan is the corners. The pin point in the crevise is the Achilles on this.

@Bio: Do you know what Hydro used for silicon/cleaner combo? I dont doubt his skill at all. In fact, if I knew he had time to do this, I would sub this out! I am looking for lessons-learned.

I have been trying to strategize and formulate a plan of attack on this tank. After a few back and forths in another thread and more research, I am going to stick with a bottom reseal+brace/patch.

I started cutting out the lower panels last night...what a PITA! And messy.

This is just the beginning as there is a lot more to clean. Even though it doesnt show much, I am going through many many blades to scrape this away. To the tune of 1 for every 10 inches.

The plan is to use acetone to clean up the rest of the glass along with 00 steel wool before resealing. Any other suggestions on cleaning agents?

I am a bit apprehensive about moving the tank while the bottom is cut out, but what'cha gonna' do? I cut a new piece of 3/4" ply last night which will replace the previous 5/8" that was pretty flimsy.

Here is the plan for reassembly and test:

1. Center lower panels on new ply on ground
   
2. Apply (copious amounts) RTV around perimeter and all joining edges including overflows
   
3. Rotate and lower tank around lower panels
   
4. Add silicone around perimeter where patch (3/8 x 1.5" panels) will be applied
   
5. Lay patch panels in and press into place (avoiding air pockets)
   
6. Continuous cleanup of silicon on edges (will need a few extra hands!)
   
7. Cure for 72-96 hrs.
   
8. Leak test at max fill for 1 week
   

This should not only provide a replacement seal at the original panels joining surfaces, but also strengthen the seal with silicon at the base<->glass and glass<->patch with a 1,2,3 seal.

Thanks Entropy for your input. I had really hoped to see or hear from someone who had seen this first hand.

PM'd

This seems that it would be good enough for my tank. I may remove just the bottom and then do this, but I dont feel the sides and top brace need to be replaced.

Thanks Rich!

Entropy, how long was this running after the repair? I like the single brace option.

I dont think I would need to use them around the entire bottom perimeter. Anyone else have success with this? My entire hesitation about a complete breakdown again is the front seals are beautiful and perfect from top to bottom. I dont want to sacrifice those.

Are you going to move the Fox and Angel to the 135?

I have noticed too that the mollies couldn't care less about the pods.

That was pretty awesome to see. How bad do you think they mess up the water after a procedure like that?!

Thanks Kim. I spent a lot of time on the rock and designed for future growth. The fish were already settling in and were really enjoying the room. I did manage to keep the hardest pieces to adhere (epoxy) together, so I should be able to get this back together mostly the same.

The next part of the budget was going into the light build.....guess that is on hold until the tank is holding water.....

It has been a long week.

I want to add some other info too.

I went back and measured the top of the stand to see if that was or could be a point of failure. While it was not 100% flat, it's deck was flat within 1/16" with the center being the lowest. With a base of the tank also having a deck of ply, I didnt consider this type of failure possible. I am sooo wrong.

I may add a center brace to the back of the stand as a non-permanent option as doing so permanently would limit my sump options.

Entropy,

This was my original idea. I wanted to brace the bottom perimeter with bracing to create a new seal. I however couldnt find it in stock. Largest I can get is 3/8 without special order.

One thing to note that is not in this photo though, the bottom plate sits INSIDE the perimeter of the walls, not on top. To help with this I had planned to cut a larger base of plywood and continue the lower moulding around the back as well to help reinforce this seal. The leak seems to be a combo of plywood bottom bowing down(allowing the glass to do the same) and the back plate bowing out.

Here is a new sketch:

My fear here is the seal wasnt just weak in the back center, it is weak throughout the entire back seam. That includes the overflows, but the seal from the lower plate to the overflows is good as well as the sides and front, so I "should" be okay for just a patch. I am just nervous as !@#$ to leave that with the chance of failure.

Scraping silicone and cleaning with a remover is also not so big of a deal, just time consuming. I do have a few extra rolls of fine emory if edges need to be cleaned. Other than mineral spirits and acetone any other suggested cleanup and removal solvents? I have several 100 packs of razors ready to go.

If I could get Hydro to reassemble for a good price I would definitely jump on that opportunity, but I understand his schedule will probably also be limited.

@Tim: I didnt reallize Momemtive was GE products until after doing the silicone research. Turns out GE sold that division to another company and is raking in the dough.

So my question now, should a 1"x 1/4" thick plate be sufficient for bracing the bottom? I had high hopes of just bracing instead of this, but that isnt going to happen now.

Again, thank you everyone.

Thanks for the replys eveyone. It isn't currently braced in the bottom currently, I was looking to do that in addition to or instead of reseal.

I do realize the monumental undertaking..it will be difficult but not impossible. My limitation at the moment is space and time.

I did extensive research on acetoxy one part silicone for resealing aquariums. I did consider the dc732, but it has 25% less tensile strength and 1/3 less tear strength of the momentive rtv 100series. There are even better silicone out there, but not at the same price point/availability that the rtv100 is. Specifically scs1200 was recommended,but difficult to find.

The rtv167 has incredible tensile strength, but seems to only be available in grey.

Im with Mike, 1st check your lease. Probably not on you for a full repair, but document everything!

Send your property owner a photo(s) and explain of potential damage that they may have to incur costs for if they dont take care of it properly. Nothing gets to a person faster than their wallet. Most AC units are covered by the home owner and have to be repaired in a "timely" manner so as not to cause to much of an upset to day-to-day life. We have had this happen many times, once without ac for 2 weeks. Lets just say after I was done speaking my mind and going back over my lease, we didnt pay rent that month. (Wife and kids[1.5yr old and 4yr old] were without anything for 3 days in 105* summer)

Then while messing with the skimmer (back side of tank):

Then I panic and bust out all the hoses, pumps and buckets I can:

Once I got all the water drained and rock, livestock and sand out, this is what I went to sleep, er...bed thinking about (after adding pumps to all):

After a few days someone loaned me a few 55 drums to condense the water:

So now, all corals are in my 25 or a 20L holding tank:

And I am still crying on the inside.... Here is a thread with the tank decon/refurb. This has been a long week...and this is a small tank! How did anyone with a big tank do it?!