Keith's Frag Tank / Coral Propagation Tank Build

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bigbanker said:
Lol baby steps.

PS. Silly question. What glue are you using?

Also did you say you were putting the tank in the basement
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I'm using Weld On #16 and no the tank is going in our spare bedroom.

And you are so right......baby steps lol.
 
Well sump preliminarily finished. Tested design. Will fill in minor holes in fuge area with sealant tomorrow.

Bad news is I cracked the tank (again!) and this time it's bad. Trying to repair and its not gonna be pretty lol. Pic is of repair in progress. Ughh.
 

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Filled tank yesterday and has held water overnight. Still makes me a little uneasy tho......

Reef rock arrived yesterday. Well vat least half of it did. Somehow half arrived yesterday and the other half tracking shows arrives Wednesday. Funny cuz they both arrived to the same transfer station last Sunday and yet tracking shows them getting there via different routes.
 
Sniperhank said:
If you are still uneasy about the crack, are there any other ways to increase the strength in that area, like gluing some pieces along side or overtop?
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Yeah I glued the crack and also welded pieces inside and outside in a sandwich method to increase surface area. Bad news is a tiny leak showed this morning. Upon inspection the crack branched a new limb. Guess the pressure had to release somewhere.

Now I need to decide if I should just run it half full or buy a 140 gal frag tank from a friend but the prob with the 140 is that the overflow boxes' bulkhead holes fall right on my stands upright supports. Lol means redoing my stand :(
 
Yeah I am going with the 140 gal. It's less gallons but same footprint. Just need to modify my stand is all. Ughhhh.
 
Hang in there!


I know the anxiety of having a cracked tank. It wasn't worth it IMO. That being said though the other tank is extra work it was worth piece of mind
 
bigbanker said:
Hang in there!

I know the anxiety of having a cracked tank. It wasn't worth it IMO. That being said though the other tank is extra work it was worth piece of mind
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Thanks for the encouragement!

I agree the extra work (and extra $) is worth the piece of mind. Just upset at myself cuz sometimes I move to fast and don't wait for help when I probably should lol.
 
Busy afternoon after work today. Picked up the other frag tank and started the stand retrofit. This will teach me next time to not build another stand too sturdy (i.e glue, screws, nails & countersinking & filling), doesn't allow for disassembly easy lol. Because of that fact instead of taking part of it apart I am building it bigger and shifting the tank over and back. May not look so cool but will actually give me a bigger ledge to work off of later for fragging & whatnot. Gotta look on the bright side I guess. So I got most of the preliminary wood cut and mounted but I need to pick up more tomorrow and then I will finish it and run a quick coat of water seal. My other box of dry reef rock arrived also today so all in all it took less than two weeks for them to send me eighty pounds of sand and one hundred pounds of rock. Also I ordered black egg crate diffuser (2' x 4') pieces to match the black bottom theme and that shipped out today so it should be here by Friday. Now I gotta paint the bottom of this tank and hope I'm more careful moving it after this time lol. If all goes as planned I can finish the stand by this weekend along with building a mount for the lighting. After that all I have left is to drill the 55 gal and install the bulkheads and then wait one more week for the acrylic glue to finish outgassing (that I used for the 125 gal sump) and I can start adding water and get my cycle started.
 
Busy day again today. Got a few things done today even after squeezing in a Costco run, new tires for the truck, a smog test, and a trip to the hardware store. Got my mount for my lights framed up and water sealed, just need to mount on the LEDs and hang from the ceiling. Added top layer of 3/4" sanded maple plywood, drilled holes for the new tank, and got that water sealed too. Hopefully tomorrow I get some time to move a few things out of the room, test the sump for flow again, and finish painting the bottom of the tank. Also, my black egg crate diffuser arrived yesterday with a couple broken pieces (not unusable) and the good people where I ordered it from said they will ship me replacements Monday. Hoping I get enough done so next weekend I can install the three tanks and get them plumbed in. Oh I forgot I still need to drill the 55 gal. One more thing lol!
 
Yay! More progress! Where will you get your frags from? A wholesaler? Did you get a business license?

Also, did all of your rock come?
 
bigbanker said:
Yay! More progress! Where will you get your frags from? A wholesaler? Did you get a business license?

Also, did all of your rock come?
Click to expand...

Well I decided to get a 100 gal rubbermaid stock tank to replace the 125 gal acrylic tank I had planned on using. After testing it one more time, washing it, and moving inside I noticed a tiny chip on the bottom in a corner. Even though it did not leak I don't trust it so I ordered the stock tank and will use that.

Yes I received all my rock and sand a little less than two weeks after placing my order.

I have filed the papers for my business license (actually my wife filled them out) and they were returned to me last Friday as she filled in the country in the county section so because of a type O it is being re-processed. Needless to say she has been quite embarrassed about it and my needling keeps it going :p

As far as my frags go I have a few in my DT I have been cutting but not too many. I need the real estate before I frag more and plan on trading locally to build up stock and opening accounts at wholesalers after I get my business and resale licenses. I'm on the slow boat plan lol.

I did finish the painting today at least at picked up the mounting hardware for my AI lights. Now I need to wait for the stock tank and when that comes I will start the plumbing. Hopefully it didn't delay me more than a few days if that.
 
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Sheesh! You've had such a time with these tanks!!

Good choice on painting.

Lol your poor wife!!! Haha it happens. I can't tell you the number of times I've had to fix a typo! I was just wondering about the business licence. Its the banker in me ;)
 
100 gal rubbermaid stock tank I'm using for the sump arrived today. Pretty amazing as I ordered it Sunday night and it arrived Tuesday just after lunch. Also ordered a dual reactor from BRS and got a used calcium reactor (same brand & model as the one I use on my DT) off ebay. Just waiting for the Co2 regulator/solenoid valve and some plumbing parts to arrive. Ordered new sch. 80 bulkheads to replace the existing ABS ones and some loc line parts (which I've never used before & thought I'd try) and a couple odds and ends.
 
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