Taming the Beast (100 Gallon Tank Restoration Project)

As Lars On previously owned this monster of a tank, I was bestowed upon this beastly thing. She called it the Beast, and I am following suit.

This thing looks ancient. Has no center brace on the top or bottom of the tank, glass is super thick, I'm thinking it's 3/8" or even 1/5" . . . it's thick. And heavy. But still a beaut!
Lars On was unsure if it held water, so the first thing I had in mind, was to tame that sucker by resealing the tank, man...I've never resealed a tank before, and you can bet all your moneys on it, that I was nervous as all heck!

I figured this would be a nice summer project, but...I started growing impatient, and the beast needed to know who's boss! LOL!!

Here it is: [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]



Stripped off all the silicone seams, with a nifty straight edge razor. Went through about 8 of them, some of them broke, some snapped, and some just got dull REALLY fast.[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]



Went around all the edges with some paper towels and denatured alcohol...did this about 5 times, and scraped more silicon off the edges inbetween alcohol wipedowns.[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]



Covered the tank edges with painters paper/tape stuff, the beast would not stay still! Had to apply and reapply those things on there to get straight and even lines.[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]



LET THE SILICONE CAULKING BEGIN!! My maniacal self is determined to do this right! *maniacal laugter* SILICONE ALL THINGS!!![You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]



Look at that sexy silicone, nice and smooth. Mmmm... oddly, I only went through 1 tube of silicon... dunno how other people ended up using more than one tube. I kinda feel paranoid now, like I didn't use enough silicone, but we'll see . . . going to let this cure for a week or two, before I even start thinking about filling it up with water.[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

DW, no one's judging the Maniacal Laugh xD
I think we'd all do that, if we had an awesome tank like that to play with :]

BillHN, like a crazy mad scientist, in a playground....bwaaaahahahahha!!!!

It's like a fatkid finding his favorite cake in the fridge

I can't wait to see how this'll turn out man! the bow front was already awesome! this one'll be even better now that you have those new wood ornaments!

What size tank is that? I have a similar situation with a 150gal my friend is offering me. I have the silicone (GE Silicone I Window/door/attic) but am waiting to move, and for the summer weather. I am eager to see if one tube was enough for you.

. o O Your so weird! I like you

Looks great. I scared to try this. Let me know if everything goes okay.

CrazedAce, the tank is 60" Long x 18" Depth x 21" Wide. It only took 1 tube, but really...when I was watching youtube videos of people resealing their tanks (30-60 gallons) they said they used two tubes of silicone, so yeah. I'm still iffy about only using 1 tube. LOL

BillHN, OMG. LOL you pretty much nailed it with the fat boy w/ favorite cake. HAHAHA!!! too good XD

theChad, Hah! I was scared to even start working on this tank, but I was eager to get it done. Granted, I went slowly, and made sure I got most of the old silicone off as much as I could... the only thing I forgot to do was run some sandpaper along the glass portion where the silicon is supposed to go on. UGH!!

Good luck!

Soon you'll have more water volume than air volume in your house

PokeSephiroth wrote:CrazedAce, the tank is 60" Long x 18" Depth x 21" Wide. It only took 1 tube, but really...when I was watching youtube videos of people resealing their tanks (30-60 gallons) they said they used two tubes of silicone, so yeah. I'm still iffy about only using 1 tube. LOL

BillHN, OMG. LOL you pretty much nailed it with the fat boy w/ favorite cake. HAHAHA!!! too good XD

theChad, Hah! I was scared to even start working on this tank, but I was eager to get it done. Granted, I went slowly, and made sure I got most of the old silicone off as much as I could... the only thing I forgot to do was run some sandpaper along the glass portion where the silicon is supposed to go on. UGH!!

I wouldn't worry man, you did everything very well. I have resealed a 125 and 160 this year and both are 30" tall tanks which just adds to the paranoia factor lol! Just like in the machining world, it is ALL about the prep and setup, the actual operation isn't a big part of the process. Looks like you really took care in cleaning off the old and using the alcohol.

Nice to see another person on here that will just go for it! Well done!

pbmax, thanks! Hahahaha, yes pretty soon, my house will be a huge swimming pool! Bwahahahaha!!!

Addicted2CAs, thank you! I still remember all the stuff you told me, back when I made that one topic about which silicone sealant to use ([You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]), and I also remember you were willing to help me out on this project, still very thankful for your offer! I ALSO remember you mentioning that I shouldn't worry about adding a brace, because the glass is so thick, but again, there goes my paranoia and I'm still thinking about adding a brace, but I have no idea how to go about by doing this... do I just get a small pane of glass/acrylic and silicone it onto the the edge trimming portion of the tank? Or do I silicone it directly onto the glass (front and back panels) itself, making it look like a bridge? Or.... am I just being way to obsessive over it? =P

PokeSephiroth wrote:pbmax, thanks! Hahahaha, yes pretty soon, my house will be a huge swimming pool! Bwahahahaha!!!

Addicted2CAs, thank you! I still remember all the stuff you told me, back when I made that one topic about which silicone sealant to use ([You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]), and I also remember you were willing to help me out on this project, still very thankful for your offer! I ALSO remember you mentioning that I shouldn't worry about adding a brace, because the glass is so thick, but again, there goes my paranoia and I'm still thinking about adding a brace, but I have no idea how to go about by doing this... do I just get a small pane of glass/acrylic and silicone it onto the the edge trimming portion of the tank? Or do I silicone it directly onto the glass (front and back panels) itself, making it look like a bridge? Or.... am I just being way to obsessive over it? =P

That paranoia is a good thing to have! You're protecting your time that you're investing in that beast! and the trust that lars on put on you to make sure that tank looks awesome!

Really can't wait to see the videos on how you scape out this tank man!

BillHN, Hahahaha!! Too true! I definitely don't want to have some kind of flash flood effect when I test it for leaks.... y'know, I don't need a huge tsunami in my garage/backyard... LOL

Basically, I don't need THIS...happening to me. =P

PokeSephiroth wrote:pbmax, thanks! Hahahaha, yes pretty soon, my house will be a huge swimming pool! Bwahahahaha!!!

Addicted2CAs, thank you! I still remember all the stuff you told me, back when I made that one topic about which silicone sealant to use ([You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]), and I also remember you were willing to help me out on this project, still very thankful for your offer! I ALSO remember you mentioning that I shouldn't worry about adding a brace, because the glass is so thick, but again, there goes my paranoia and I'm still thinking about adding a brace, but I have no idea how to go about by doing this... do I just get a small pane of glass/acrylic and silicone it onto the the edge trimming portion of the tank? Or do I silicone it directly onto the glass (front and back panels) itself, making it look like a bridge? Or.... am I just being way to obsessive over it? =P

I would certainly put a brace in if you've got a bit of paranoia, I did on both the 125 and 160 because I had the feeling as well! I don't pay a whole lot of attention to the aesthetics of those two tanks so they have a welded up brace made from 1/4"x1" steel strap. They fit snug over the outside of the front and back top brace and are over. engineered!

Keep in mind silicone doesn't like adhering to plastics such as acrylic. I would silicone it to the glass directly. You can see the one in the picture but it doesn't work as the previous owner had it siliconed to the plastic rim.

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Addicted2CAs............eenteresting...very very eeeeenteresting. Hmm... I would like a metal brace, unfortunately, I have no access to metal bending machinery! If I gave you the dimensions of my tank, would you be able to fabricate one for me? Do I only need one, for the top, or should there be one at the bottom as well?

Then you could bring it with you whenever you head up to Port Angeles when you visit your parents.

AND AND AND... Then I could also make you a wafishbox nametag, for future Seattle Area Aquarium Swap events! YEAH!!

....BUT WAIT!! WAIT WAIT WAIT (there's more!)
Would it be possible to use galvanized metal? Basically just pound the crap out of it to get the necessary bends, and length of it, so that it fits snug on the aquarium.... if that's the case, then I could do that pretty easily

PokeSephiroth wrote:Addicted2CAs............eenteresting...very very eeeeenteresting. Hmm... I would like a metal brace, unfortunately, I have no access to metal bending machinery! If I gave you the dimensions of my tank, would you be able to fabricate one for me? Do I only need one, for the top, or should there be one at the bottom as well?

Then you could bring it with you whenever you head up to Port Angeles when you visit your parents.

AND AND AND... Then I could also make you a wafishbox nametag, for future Seattle Area Aquarium Swap events! YEAH!!

....BUT WAIT!! WAIT WAIT WAIT (there's more!)
Would it be possible to use galvanized metal? Basically just pound the crap out of it to get the necessary bends, and length of it, so that it fits snug on the aquarium.... if that's the case, then I could do that pretty easily

I can certainly do this. I will need the most exact measurement you can get from trim to trim on the top, front to back. The better fitting it is the less it will bow when filled. Not sure galvanized will be the best way to go as it is usually a cheap zinc coating made for fence posts, etc. I would be worried about it eventually leaching to the tank water. I can however, throw it in a batch through work for a MIL-SPEC Type II gold zinc which is incredibly durable. The coating on there now is a rubberized undercoating for cars lol. Your choice!

I thought about the bending method and decided against it because unless you have a press to bend it, you can't get a sharp 90* corner on the inside to fit over the trim. There will be a big radius that won't allow it to sit flat on the top. It would work but would look bulkier.

Addicted2CAs, hmm... interesting, I'll shoot you a PM in a little bit, I thought about the metal not having a 90* angle, and had a feeling that, that would be a problem. I s'pose I shall leave the work up to you! LOL... I'll also give you the measurements ASAP (sometime later today, hopefully before 12noon)

Thanks again!

PokeSephiroth wrote:BillHN, Hahahaha!! Too true! I definitely don't want to have some kind of flash flood effect when I test it for leaks.... y'know, I don't need a huge tsunami in my garage/backyard... LOL

Basically, I don't need THIS...happening to me. =P

Oh my.. I hope that person taking the picture was okay! (He sure looked okay later on, but Idk) I would've been like "O S!*#$!%!# THE SHARKS!!!!!!!! (ps don't eat me bro")" LOL

@aDDICTED Dude you sure know your stuff o.o

PokeSephiroth wrote:Addicted2CAs, hmm... interesting, I'll shoot you a PM in a little bit, I thought about the metal not having a 90* angle, and had a feeling that, that would be a problem. I s'pose I shall leave the work up to you! LOL... I'll also give you the measurements ASAP (sometime later today, hopefully before 12noon)

No hurry, whenever you can. I may be able to get it done today or tomorrow and to you this weekend.

Thanks again!

BillHN wrote:

PokeSephiroth wrote:BillHN, Hahahaha!! Too true! I definitely don't want to have some kind of flash flood effect when I test it for leaks.... y'know, I don't need a huge tsunami in my garage/backyard... LOL

Basically, I don't need THIS...happening to me. =P

Oh my.. I hope that person taking the picture was okay! (He sure looked okay later on, but Idk) I would've been like "O S!*#$!%!# THE SHARKS!!!!!!!! (ps don't eat me bro")" LOL

@aDDICTED Dude you sure know your stuff o.o

Thats what I said! The hell with the water rushing at you, what is going to be sitting in your lap when you stop sliding across the floor lol!

Thanks bill. And the offer stands for anyone on the box who may need some help with anything metal related!

Addicted2CAs, looks like the upper trim from the outer most measurement from front to back is 18.5"

Here's a picture, for ya:[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

thats a pretty looking silicone job. People who say they use more than one tube, are probably just sloppy with it. I have caulked windows before, sealing is an art haha

jrmakawoody, thanks lol! Well, it only looks smooth along the long edges, it gets a bit ugly looking around the corners, but that's just my OCD kicking in. Hahaha!!

Update!

Continuing his quest to tame the Beast, the brave one sets forth and seeks aid from a fellow friend, Addicted2CAs. Obtaining the magical brace of Uhl'rah to keep the Beast in its place, preventing it from lashing at its foes with its magical powers by spitting shards of glass and creating powerful tsunamis, leaving a wake of dead monstrosities alike.

The magical brace of Uhl'rah has been obtained! Thanks to the help of Addicted2CAs help. I thank thee for assisting me in this mythical quest to tame the beast.

And the journey continues...

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Poke, every pic of you I see always has your mouth open
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Lamental Jester, hahahaha!! It's one of my signature "poses" . . . I try not to follow the "Asian Peace Sign" cliche, so I go with the "Mouth Wide Open" approach. =D

Fits my personality quite well, I think. LOL

Gotta ask, what are you stocking the beast with?

Addicted2CAs, it's just going to replace my current 55 gallon setup, so everything in there... dunno if I will add any more fish, because I think I'm already pushing my stocking limit with the fish I currently have in it.

10 Zebra Danios
15 Harlequin Rasboras
4 Otocinclus
1 Twinbar Swortail (Male) . . . I need to find it some mates.
4 Sunset Platties
3 Blackskirt Tetras (might have to get more of these guys)
6 Bleeding Heart Tetras
A couple red ramshorn/malaysian trumpet/bladder snails
And a few red cherry shrimp that have escaped. =P

Would be nice to have some congo tetras, but I have no idea where to find ones at an affordable price. Hehehe

Awesome, I just picked up a 125 with the same problem...going to be fixing it up this summer!

Kaosu, very cool! I just couldn't wait for summer to start on mine...lol, although, granted, if the tank holds water, I still have to work on the flooring and making it structurally safe to support the weight of the tank... that might take me a while, since money is tight lol. Alas, I shall have to wait for summer, regardless =P

Update!!

The beast has become reckless! It urges to break free of its solitude! The brave one must act fast, and quell this raging monster of a tank!

One week has gone by since I redid the sealant on the tank, figured I'd let it cure for one week, instead of the regular "48-72 hours" that most people do... Definitely no more vinegar smell, so that's a good sign.

ONWARDS!!!
The beast looks on, ready to stand its ground and fight for its life.[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]




The beast is strong! The brave one tries to strangle the beast with the hose, and soon the beast gives in as the brave one emerges victorious, prepping the beast for a splashing of mystic water.[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]




SPLISH SPLASH KISS MY GLASS! 50% filled up! No leaks so far! The center brace (of Uhl'rah) privided by Addicted2CAs seems to be working! I can't budge it anymore! Definite signs of bowing, had there been no brace on it. Thanks again for the brace Addicted2CAs! [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]




VICTOLY...er... VICTORY!!! (queue Final Fantasy Fanfare music. I wish I had a huge sword, but all I had was this Paddle...meh. It'll do.)
The beast has been tamed!!! Tank is 100% full, still no leaks, I will keep it in the garage like this for several days, and monitor it for any possible signs of leakage and/or weak sealant issues. But for now, the brave one can now rest, and is confident that the village can now rest in peace......................................for now.[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]




Only just a matter of time now.... before the beast decides to terrorize the village once again... but who knows when that will happen. (To be continued)....
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I'm waiting for LJ's response; he's far more clever than I.

Good job! Watch where you swing that thing though

pbmax, thank yas! Yeah, I was imagining myself swinging the paddle around, and hitting the aquarium by accident, and seeing cracks slowly forming all across the tank. Hahaha... not a pretty sight.

Make sure you have video running when you do that

pbmax, lolol but of course!

Just a tip....dont back the toyota out of the garage....I seriously hope you have another car!

nick_76, got a Dodge Grand Caravan that I use that I always park in the driveway... Toyota Celica is nice and secure in his little garage home.

Nice and secure.....or trapped?

pbmax wrote:I'm waiting for LJ's response; he's far more clever than I.

Ugh, I'm too tired to search for a clever Final Fantasy meme

nick_76, DEFINITELY nice and secure. for a couple days. It needs its rest. hehehe....

Lamental Jester, *gasp* D: I bet you, if I did find a sword, like Cloud's Buster Sword...this would be me.
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gotta say, my favorite FF was the original. by the time VII came around was when things started to fall apart for me.

ditto for metal gear as well

on an unrelated note, as you can see by my avatar, my tank is clearing up somewhat with the addition of some crud coagulants and a filter thats rated for my size tank....thanx ron!

the eheim ECCO isnt a bad machine, but when i stand it next to my older eheim theres no comparison.

the current project is to find an older ehiem so i can re-motor mine - a 2026- (it has a 220 V motor on it. if i plug it in here, the amperage would kill it dead!)

nick_76, FF6 was my favorite (or rather...FF3 when it came out for the SNES, here in the US)... followed by FF7 (but that's just how most of the fans are) . . . I do like the original as well, but I just can't stand 8-bit graphics anymore. I've replayed the PSP remakes and those were enjoyable

I got an Eheim 2232 ECCO from lars on, about two months ago... it was broken, and she was about to throw it out, but I asked if I could take a look at it and maybe fix it up, so she gave it to me, and I've been happy with it ever since.

K the ecco is by no means a bad filter.i do think its great...... My basis for comparison is the 2026 can swallow the ecco whole. The entire filter powerhead and all fits inside the 2026. If I had the time this morning id calculate the volumes...I imagine the 2026 holds twice the volume than the ecco.
The 2026 has a more robust connection for the hoses and the outside diameter of the ecco hoses is roughly the same as the inside diameter as the 2026s...small changes in diameter have huge effects on area (I learned this on sailboats where I found a 4 inch diameter vent has twice the area of opening as a 3 inch one)so my hope is to eventually run both but the 2026 will be the primary.

Ff7 was not bad by any measure and the ones that came after it were pretty games to watch...but thats the whole point...with 7 came cinematics that grew to overwelm the game to the point where it felt as if u were watching a movie where u get to make occaisional choices. Not bad games...and I umm played mostly through most of them but I like the older ones better. Ff1 was groundbreaking, the newer ones are primarily a display of the latest systems capabilities.
Like I said, metal gear has fallen into the same trap

nick_76, I have to admit, I felt exactly the same way for FF13/FF13-2 . . . felt more like a movie than anything else. FF9 was nice, as it tried taking a step back to its "roots" with the classic Job System, rather than having everyone gain the same abilities (FF7's Materia System, and FF8's Junction System) which gave the players too much customization, which... I thought was cool, but it got old fast. Currently replaying FF8 on my PSP, and it's nice reliving the moments =P I just hate grinding, but fortunately, FF8's monster level adjustment things even things out and doesn't require you to grind levels as much. Don't even get me started with FF11 or 14. Ugh. Have you tried the FF: Dissidia games?

As for the eheim filter, or any canister filter for that matter... I have no experience with canister filters until I got the eheim 2232 and fluval204 from lars on... lol, so I'm just grateful that I got em from her for free

after my first canister filter, i never wanted any other type.....its hard to beat them for the amount of filter material. I had a fluidized bed filter for a brittle star tank i did once, but they can be a pain restarting...once the water stops flowing, the sand compacts pretty quickly..of course they may have found ways of overcoming this in the past 15 years since ive had mine

HOBs have almost no filter material compared to ...say an eheim or fluval canister. I saw an API one that was expandable that looked pretty worthless as a canister, it seemed to essentially have several small HOB type filters placed inside

as for gaming, i havent used my ps3 as much as id like, i have a whole stack of half finished games. my time i can afford to invest in it seems to run in long cycles...same with comp games.

*reads prior posts and facepalms*
FF8 was where it's at, and by the way, what happened to fire emblem?
Don't you people know your true favorites????


On a fish note,
O.O The whole canister filter stuff is spanish to me = no bueno, no se.
lol

Looks like ur doing a great job though angelo!

BillHN, believe me, there are just way too many terms and model numbers and things like that when it comes to canister filters.. .I won't even start on what types of bio media there are out there. omg, it really is like trying to learn a new language. I already speak English and Tagalog, that's good enough for me! XD

FF8 is...... so-so. I...I've yet to get Selfie's "The End" spell. I remember being SO pissed because it turned up during her limit break, but a monster killed me before she could use it. Then it showed up AGAIN, but I accidentally pressed the option where you re-roll instead of cast...UGH. Never again.

I didn't catch on with Fire Emblem I liked Star Ocean: 2nd Story on the PS1 though, been replaying the remade version of Star Ocean 1 on the PSP and it's fun being able to play the first star ocean story from the SNES.

actually, cans are pretty simple as long as u subscribe to the more is betterer approach to filtration.

compare this: [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

thats a HOB filter media compared to the filter cartridge for my 2026. fill it with the same stuff, same filtration rules apply...just instead of some carbon in a tiny cotton or poly "sock" you have a ginourmous monolith of filtration. also, you have options on what you fill it with...but the choices arent exotic or anything, you can just tailor the filter to your own needs, and use lots & LOTS of filter material....meaning lots more room for our friendly crud eating bugs to grow in. after going to cans i knew id never go back..not by choice at least

i cut my teeth on rpgs on the nes....slowed down on genesis, and by the time i got my original playstation, i was more focused on the comp. games like fallout (from teh original onwards) and elder scrolls series pretty much had no need for cinematics...

generally with rpgs i prefer them to be on the comp anyway

..........jargons. Too. Many. Jargons. *mind implodes* @_@

I've got to say, if your looking for a bacteria filter that is easier to maintain than a fluidized bed a wet/dry takes the cake. I have them on all tanks and the difference is clear, literally! Just my two cents on filtration for larger tanks! I hope I don't start a fight! lol

i considered doing a wet/dry...well, when i saw an eheim wet/dry (ive been scouring for parts for mine, and came across this) and i read a number of reviews saing the wet/drys dont like to play nice with planted tanks...or co2 setups or something i cant remember, but it seemed unsuitable for what i had planned..but it is something id like to play with at some point

youre not starting a fight here, ill try anything twice...but so far cans are my favorite

I know filter threads can get a little opinionated at times thats why I say that! The problem with a wet/dry pertaining to a planted tank is the massive amount of gas exchange that goes on. Meaning if you Co2 inject it would all off-gas when it hit the wet/dry and O2 would be added, great for a non-planted tank, not so good when you need the Co2!