my tank

[ejit]

thought I would just post a load of pics of how I got to where I am now :)
Taken from another site :)

so came down one morning and something didnt
look right with the unit the tank
was on so had a closer look and it seemed the new rock I had put in the tank
was just too much for the unit to hold




so first thing was get the rock into a drum....this was such a downer as the tank had been
running for a while and I thought there was no more work to do.



so the zoa's, christmas,tree worms and leathers went to the sump and the rest stayed in what was left of the tank




so after that it was time to make another stand,
this one wasnt going to fail like the last one

basically used 12 meters of 75mm x 40mm planks
and one sheet of 20mm thick mdf.the whole lot cost £26
then make two rectangle shapes 1 1/2ft x 3ft like this



one with a center divider and one without.
then just join them together with planks 3ft in
length and you will have a frame like this..

view from front


view from rear


now just measure the sides and top and go buy the mdf
from B&Q, they will cut the sheet into the sizes you need.
first three cuts are free.
easy made but does the trick.

this is it finished but need to add a lick of paint and some other decorative bits.





made the stand larger than I needed for my next upgrade (thinking ahead lol)
and the lesson....well plan ahead and dont rush your tank set ups even if like me
its your first. all part of the learning curve eh lol.


so now I am going to upgrade my living room nano to a 3ft tank I though it would be worth
covering each step of the upgrade as its done

[ejit]

so step one...... drilling the holes

firstly you need to get the drill bit, the ones that we use can be found at
all B&Q shops.They are a diamond dust hole saw usually priced around £10



for drilling them the best method we found was using a thinner bit of glass and drilling the two
holes in this.This will then be used as a guide for drilling the holes into the tank.



We then tape the guide into position on the bottom of the tank and get drilling.
when drilling the holes dont put a lot of pressure on the drill or it can break the glass.
You are nearly letting the weight of the drill do the work for you.It is also good
to have someone give you a hand as you need plenty of water poured around the drill
bit to keep it and the glass cool.
so a sore back later you should have your holes drilled lol.
Clean the holes well, apply silicone to the tank connectors
and fit them in place like so




Your LFS should have the silicone you need,dont buy normal silicone as it has
additives that are a big no no for your tank.
This is the stuff we use



so now let the silicone dry and kick back with a coffee and some brownies after all your hard work 8)






next we will cover the wier build..............

[ejit]

next step as promised....building your tank weir,

At this stage you can just measure up the glass needed and get it cut...
but we on the other hand have a few spare tanks lying about(from other projects)
so we thought we would show how easy it is to cut your own if you have the glass.

firstly the golden rule "measure twice cut once"
a good glass/tile cutter is a must as you are wasting your time
with a cheap one and a good straight edge.
put a bit of masking tape along the glass in the rough area you
want to cut.then mark the line on the tape with a black pen,
remember when making lines for cutting to allow for the width
of the blade.when you mark it up flip the glass over and you
should be able to see the line through the glass like so



now score the line in the glass using the straight edge to keep the blade
running straight.then simply put a prop on the underside of the score(we use the straight edge)
and apply pressure on each side of the score and it should break easily.
check youtube videos on glass cutting if you are still not sure.
you should now have the two pieces of glass needed for your weir



remember to handle waste glass carefully as learned from previous builds its easy
to cut yourself on the glass



so now its time to call on the friend that helped you with the hole cutting to get the weir
put together.best method is hold the glass in place and get your mate to stick tape
on the tank along the lines that you want to position the glass but position the tape
about 5mm out from the position that the glass will be put.the reason being that after
you silicone the weir and use your finger to smooth off the silicone it will spread out
until it goes over the top of the tape.then when you peel off the tape(before the silicone cures)
you will be be left with nice straight edges on the silicone.now leave the tank for at least
12hrs to make sure the silicone has fully cured before testing for leaks.







so only jobs left to do now is acrylic on the weir,weir overflow cone and painting.
these will be covered soon but for now its time for another coffee and maybe
some cookies this time lol




be back soon............................

[ejit]

so the acylic arrived (very fast,next day from dispatch) thanks again to the plastic man.
so tools need are,

jigsaw,
square,
tape,
marker.

find out what width of blade the jigsaw has then you know how many
slots you need to cut to make up the flow needed for your
intake to the sump..........



so to work, I stand back an take pics while andy does all the hard work.....as usual :lol!:



and this is what you are left with





the camera does not do the colour justice, perfect shade of blue for tank building :D

then basically stick it in place



and thats it all done





now just to fill it and get it running......Ill post the results.

so a very professional finish for a little time and effort but all worth it

[ejit]

well the D.I.Y section has the tank being built so I thought I would start a thread
on getting the tank up and running.

so from my last tank thread you would have noticed the stand I got built
was larger than the nano on it.The reason for this was I knew there was
an upgrade coming sooner or later :lol!:

so all the corals into the sump and the fish into another nano tank
using the water that was in the main tank.then measure up
all the holes and where to put everything



mess everywhere :D



and heres the pics of the tank in place





and a shot of the way my standpipes are done



so now just to get more water and thats it up and running

[ejit]

heres with some rocks from the last tank.....need a load more of course






blue LED's fitted :D (mobile phone cam so low quality)



need a coat of paint now but thats nearly all the woodwork finished now


















so there you have it.few more things added and taken away ie lights,skimmers corals etc
will have to get more pics

[pak1802]

some nice looking corals .
I like to see other peoples DIY . ( get my brother to all mine ).....

[Styler]

top job

[ShyTalk]

I remember when the first stand started bowing etc, great to see how its all come on since then mate, looks great now.

[lr85ninety]

good job mate! will be nice to see this mature