Journal: 150 Gallon Saltwater Community

TwistedGA

TwistedGA

Large Fish
#1
May 24, 2008
106
0
0
Paducah, KY
#1
Hey guys and gals. Haven't really held up my end of updating my Journal threads in the Freshwater Department, with as much help as we'll need with this thing, hopefully it will be of use tomany future users. :)

We aqquired our newest tank from the local car forums, scored it for $75.
The only problem with itis the center brace is cracked and in need of repair. Should be a cheap and fairly painless repair. To give you an idea of how n00b we are to advanced fishkeeping, we have no clue what the corner's are for or the drilled holes. Gonna need to do a LOT of research for this thing. It's an AllGlass brand aquarium, built in '99.. On with the dirty pics.




 

M

MatthewLaw

Large Fish
#3
Jun 29, 2008
490
0
0
PA
#3
Based on the overflows and look of the aquarium it looks like that tank has been used for saltwater for quite awhile.

i would recommend giving it a good cleaning (NO SOAP!!!!!!!!!!) before setting up an FW creatures in there!!
 

TwistedGA

TwistedGA

Large Fish
#4
May 24, 2008
106
0
0
Paducah, KY
#4
MatthewLaw said:
Based on the overflows and look of the aquarium it looks like that tank has been used for saltwater for quite awhile.

i would recommend giving it a good cleaning (NO SOAP!!!!!!!!!!) before setting up an FW creatures in there!!
Click to expand...
It's going to be setup Saltwater, I was just sayin that we've been slackign on keeping our Freshies threads uptodate. :)

According to the owner it was purchased brand new and used for saltwater since, sitting in a garage for the past 4 or so years. We're ready to take the venture into the Saltwater world.. :D
 

Joe Fish

Joe Fish

Superstar Fish
#5
Apr 21, 2006
2,126
1
0
Penn State
josy.isa-geek.com
#5
I would definitely replace the top of the tank. I had one break on me and it was impossible to glue back together. A new top cost under $20 I think. Definitely read the stickies in the forum before proceeding and also get yourself a copy of, the new marine aquarium. Do you know if the tank was ever treated with copper or other chemicals?
 

TwistedGA

TwistedGA

Large Fish
#6
May 24, 2008
106
0
0
Paducah, KY
#6
Joe Fish said:
I would definitely replace the top of the tank. I had one break on me and it was impossible to glue back together. A new top cost under $20 I think. Definitely read the stickies in the forum before proceeding and also get yourself a copy of, the new marine aquarium. Do you know if the tank was ever treated with copper or other chemicals?
Click to expand...

I planned on plastic welding the original frame for it to save money and time, are they easier to take off on larger tanks? Because I destroyed a 10 gallons frame just practicing, a 20tall came off fairly easy but it was from the 70's(found it in our barn's loft lol)... If they don't require messing up the silicone in the corners, I can deal with replacing it. I've resealed a 55gallon but a 150 gallons is a lot of water to have in a house because of a rookie mistake.

I'm unsure on anything done to the tank in it's past other than being a saltwater. I could surely find out though.
 

M

MatthewLaw

Large Fish
#7
Jun 29, 2008
490
0
0
PA
#7
Good luck!!

Will the tank be kept on the first floor of your home? If not, may want to insure the house can structurally handle the tank (since the water itself will be almost 1500lbs!!)
 

TwistedGA

TwistedGA

Large Fish
#8
May 24, 2008
106
0
0
Paducah, KY
#8
Bumping this thing up from the dead. I'm working on getting plans ready for a stand and plumbing on this tank and have a question concerning the overflow boxes.

Each overflow has two holes in the bottom of the tank, a large and a small. Then the overflow box has a small one towards the top of it.

My question is, are the small holes there for the returns and the large for drains?

If so, how can I prevent the water level of the tank from falling to this point during a power outage? The holes are well below the trim and it would just mean that much less I could have in my sump.

Could I get plugs for these holes and just run the returns above the tank? I'll have a canopy so it wont be a problem of unsightliness.

Thanks in advance!
 

TRe

TRe

Elite Fish
#9
Feb 20, 2005
3,645
1
0
ft. lauderdale
#9
it looks like the hole drilled in the side of the overflow should be used for the return aswell as the smaller hole on the bottom.... so youd have a pipe running from the sump to the bottom of the tank, and than from the bottom of the tank to the hole in the side of the overflow and into the tank.... in a power outage the water wont go lower than the top of the overflow as long as you have a small hole drilled on the top of the return line to break the back syphon... does that make sense? you can either silicone a piece of glass over the holes if you dont wanna use them or you can use a bulkhead and than get the correct size plus that would just screw on the bulkhead
 

TRe

TRe

Elite Fish
#10
Feb 20, 2005
3,645
1
0
ft. lauderdale
#10
oh and on the center brace the easy fix is to simply use a piece of acrylic (plexiglass) and drill a hole in both the center brace and the acrylic than use nylon screws to hold the acrylic in place!
 

TwistedGA

TwistedGA

Large Fish
#11
May 24, 2008
106
0
0
Paducah, KY
#11
TRe said:
it looks like the hole drilled in the side of the overflow should be used for the return aswell as the smaller hole on the bottom.... so youd have a pipe running from the sump to the bottom of the tank, and than from the bottom of the tank to the hole in the side of the overflow and into the tank.... in a power outage the water wont go lower than the top of the overflow as long as you have a small hole drilled on the top of the return line to break the back syphon... does that make sense? you can either silicone a piece of glass over the holes if you dont wanna use them or you can use a bulkhead and than get the correct size plus that would just screw on the bulkhead
Click to expand...

Not sure I follow the siphon.. I'd like to use the tank properly, but I fear my inability to find information on plumbing may cause me to close them up..

If the returns are placed lower than the overflows edge, why would water in the display not drain into the sump until the water level is below the return in the instance of a power outage? Without the restriction of flow into the tank, wouldn't the water just drain back through this until it couldn't anymore?
 

unwritten law

unwritten law

Superstar Fish
#12
Sep 2, 2008
1,471
0
0
36
DC
#12
That hole you drill, that he mentioned, will make it so that when the water level in the tank drops below it (power outage with no return pump) the siphon of water draining from the tank will stop. The water from the return lines (I think) will empty back down into the sump but it will not continue siphoning water out of the tank...Just need to leave enough space in the sump to hold the water that is in the pipes at one time... just a few gallons at most I bet.

I don't have one of these so I'm not too sure but my buddy has a similar setup and I think that's how it works.
 

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