[kenji226]

Cracked my 75 gallon tank during transportation, so I decided to upgrade to a 100 gallon. Its an older tank, so the glass is thicker, making this tank very heavy. Also it was a salt water tank so it was very dirty and encrusted.

The stand was also in pretty bad shape. Added a plywood floor, a couple of coats of paint, and chrome hinges and handles.

Prepped the tank the same as the 75 gallon: Cleaned with a plastic scrapper and muriatic acid. Drilled holes for plumbing and installed glass divider.

Sucessfully passed the water test.

Then tested pump flow rate versus drain rate. The drain is plenty big enough to keep up with the pump, a Mini-jet 606.

 

[Ghost vivs]

Subscribed. I couldn't help but notice the company vehicle ... there are a lot of good froggers in the DFW area so you won't have to go far to find frogs and supplies.

What are the inhabitants going to be?

Casper

 

[stevenhman]

Nice restoration on the stand. I picked up a semi crappy looking stand recently and now I might try my hand at fixing it up!

How badly cracked was the 75?

 

[kenji226]

This is probably going to be home for a group of leucs and some cherry red shrimp in the pond section. The 75 gallon was cracked pretty bad. A dolly wheel caught on a door threshold, pulled to the side, causing a bulkhead to cach on a door frame and cracked it all around the hole. I tried to remove the frame so I could replace the glass, but the way the frame overlaped the glass, I couldn't get it of without destroying the frame. The stand rehab was pretty easy. The key is to sand everything and use spray paint for a smooth finish with no brush strokes. Go light with the paint and keep your arm moving to avoid any buildup. Also I used a satin finish, gloss shows too many defects.

 

[FIT BMX]

Nice tank!
Can't wight to see it planted!

 

[CALBerkGuy]

nice! i need one that big

 

[kenji226]

I plan on using a backpack air circulation set up like this:

http://www.dendroboard.com/forum/pa...osed-air-circulation-system-you-can-make.html

I am going to be drilling the back of the tank and having the intake and output coming through the background. My question is about placement. I see four possible options: Intake and output both near the top horizontally; both near the bottom horizontally; intake near the top, output near the bottom diagonally; and intake near the bottom, output near the top diagonally. Which if any would be best for internal air circulation and keeping the glass clear of condensation?

 

[kenji226]

Here is the pics of my backpack air circulation system:

26 CFM fan

Misc. PVC parts

Assembled

 

[kenji226]

Drilled the tank to mount the backpack.

First built a jig to hold the drill bit in place.

Marked the holes and taped the bottom side to prevent chipping.

Built water well out of modeling clay. Used yellow per Pumilo's recommendation.

Have you ever seen more perfect holes?

The glass is 3/8 in. thick so it took a while to get through.

End result

 

[Alegre323]

looking good. keep us updated

 

[wesly2007]

So what ratio of acid to water did u use to clean the glass.

 

[kenji226]

I work for a restoration company; mold, crime scenes, meth labs, fire. We have some gallon jugs of muratic acid at our shop for cleaning such as acid washing soot off of stone and brick.

The brand is Smart Muriatic acid. The label says 31.45%. They sell it at Home Depot. I just used that and a kitchen scrubbing sponge. Of course, I did it outside with a full face respirator and the appropriate cartridges and lots of rinsing afterwards.

I saw a post on here saying that muriatic acid would work better than vinegar or lemon juice.

If it weren't for all the tools and materials at work, I never would be able to build this tank in my appartment.

 

[kenji226]

Siliconed PVC risers to bottom of tank.

Started building the false bottom.

Installed egg crate for background.

Driftwood arrived, needs to be trimmed a little to fit into tank.

 

[kenji226]

Taping off to spread the silicone:

Installed cork panel after silicone:

 

[drutt]

nice... I was planning to do a ventilation system like yours, to bad it take so much space. I have to make a smaller one, although really like you build. Keep us updated.

 

[kenji226]

Installed epiweb panel on waterfall end of tank:

Broke up some slate floor tiles to build a waterfall:

Testing flow rate and pattern:

 

[Azriel]

It looks nice! Are you going to put ecoweb on the other side of the waterfall too? I think that would look good if you did.

 

[kenji226]

No, I'm going to embed some slate pieces into a GS background. I'm also going to attach slate to the ecoweb, and hopefully get moss to fill in.

 

[kenji226]

I am going to need something to cover the view of the false bottom from the pond side. Anyone have any suggestions? I was thinking of attaching some fiberglass screen to the top of the dividing wall and slope it down to the bottom, and back filling it with aquarium soil so plants can grow into it. Or maybe a wedge of ecoweb. Something to allow the frogs to climb out should they need to, or would the slate in the corner be enough for that?

 

[bratyboy2]

More options to get out sounds better to me