Jack's going big, 90g build

[jackd625]

Just bought my first house and it has a finished basement. Time to go big!!

Planned on going 120 gallons or so, but Bruno put his 90 up and it was too good of a deal for me to pass on. Picked it up from him the other night and started getting it cleaned out.

Here's when I got it home.


Here it is after a cleaning


This will be its spot. That wood burning stove doesn't work so I'm going to pull it out and I guess just insulate the hole and cover it up with the matching tile.


Ignore the mess. I just moved haha

Hopefully more to come soon.

Not sure what I'm going to do for a sump, and skimmer yet. I have a 20L. Not sure how that will work out. Any experiences or opinions on that? I was thinking 29g but that doesn't leave much room for me to get my arms in and work around.

Thinking for a light I'll just grab a second evergrow d120. I have one over my 25g cube and even turned way down it's over kill, so I'm thinking two turned up a bit would be great. If it doesn't work out, at least it's cheap....

Hopefully more to come soon.

 

[higorc]

Dude, congratz to u man!!!! One day I will have my own place to build my dream setup!!!! Let me know if u have any questions or need any help with anything! Very happy for u!!!!


Higor

 

[Flame Angel]

First off Congrats on the home.

Second you need a build thread here or a blog off the forum.

Good Luck!

 

[stingythingy45]

Congrats, and what a great bonus having a finished basement. I have a 90 gallon plumbed to my basement sump.
Just me, but I like wood stoves. Especially at this time of the year.

 

[s_kelley]

Congrats on the house and being off to a good start! I would see if you can fit a 40 breeder under there but if not a 20 long will work too. The 29 is too tall for your arms as well as most skimmers, I had used one and swapped it out immediately afterwards because of it.

 

[nemodan]

Congrats for the house and all the best with the new tank !!!!

Would not be better to keep the stove or change it if it is not working ? It will warm the basement and will help your tank in the winter and your heaters bill.

 

[jackd625]

Was going to try to reply thanking everyone individually, but it was getting crazy. So thank you all!!

This thread is supposed to be a build thread, probably should have included that in the title. Whoops haha. Ill try to get that fixed.

I wish I could plumb it to another room or something but the way the house is set up, under the stand is best...

I dont think a 40b will fit. I was hoping but, dont think it will work out....

As for the wood burning stove. That one doesnt work, but the basement has its own heating zone anyways, and stays pretty warm from the dryer and furnace being there. Upstairs we have a wood burning stove that I just had cleaned, inspected, replaced a part and got it insured. Finished all the Monday, just in time for this cold. Now trying to learn how to effectively work it and figure out the wood situation. I'm petrified of getting bugs from it hahaha..... Anyways a quick non-fish picture or two...

 

[stingythingy45]

"This thread is supposed to be a build thread, probably should have included that in the title. Whoops haha. Ill try to get that fixed."


You could start a Build thread in the DIY forum and just keep it pure build stuff.
Or I could move this to the DYI at your request and change the title to "Jack's 90 gal. build thread" or whatever.

 

[jackd625]

Grabbed some glass at lowes today for the sump baffles. Thinking I should stop being an idiot and get 1/4" glass from a glass shop. Here's the plans with the thin baffles from lowes on the meantime.

 

[higorc]

Nah dude stop!!! Go get the 1/4" from a glass/mirror shop. Sorry to tell u, but there is no way those 1/8" glass (that's what they are right? It's been a while since I tried them!) will work trust me, I've tried.They break really easy and its gonna be a PITA to do it over when ur sump is running and u bang/break them... Just a friendly advise. Good luck

Higor


Sent from my Galaxy S4

 

[nemodan]

Nah dude stop!!! Go get the 1/4" from a glass/mirror shop. Sorry to tell u, but there is no way those 1/8" glass (that's what they are right? It's been a while since I tried them!) will work trust me, I've tried.They break really easy and its gonna be a PITA to do it over when ur sump is running and u bang/break them... Just a friendly advise. Good luck

Higor

Sent from my Galaxy S4

Or glue together 2 1/8 or use acrylic from home depot.

Will that work Higor ?

 

[higorc]

Or glue together 2 1/8 or use acrylic from home depot.

Will that work Higor ?

The glasses they sell at Lowes/Home Depot/Ace Hardware are so flimsy I wouldn't even try doubling them by gluing them together. I guarantee the first time you hit them with your pump/skimmer/etc or put some kind of pressure on them, they'll break.

I suppose using acrylic could work, I never tried it myself. I always get 1/4" panes cut and polished from a Glass shop. On another note, be careful which silicone you use as well. Most are not meant for Live Aquaria. The best one to use IMO is Momentive RTV108 (http://www.grainger.com/product/MOMENTIVE-Silicone-4UH12) which you can order from any Grainger store and pick it up the next day.


Hope this helps...
Higor

 

[jayinh]

I have had great luck with the glass from lowes, just don't " hit them with your pump/skimmer/etc or put some kind of pressure on them" and you will be fine. sand down the edges with sandpaper so you don't loose a finger!

I have used acrylic in the past with success but have heard of the expansion cracking glass sumps.

 

[Marshall O]

I use the glass from Home Depot (same as Lowes) in a couple different sumps. Been in use now for at least 6 months, and no issues. The key is to keep the water level not too much lower on one side vs. the others. When water is at the same height on both sides, there is 0 pressure on it and so you will never have any issues. The only one that sees any pressure is the last one before the return pump. I have heard of people doubling up on the panels and haven't heard of any failures after doing this, so it is an option.

 

[higorc]

Why even take a chance I say?! There are already too many things that could go wrong in our hobby. You will find that Redundancy and Caution could be your best friends to avoid disasters and problems in the future.

In the end it's up to each hobbyist to do what they think is right and convenient, I am just sharing my experiences and thoughts...

 

[RMc]

Enjoy the build, it's the best part! I've made baffles from some pretty flimsy glass before - the hardest part is really getting a complete seal with the reduced surface area. Never had one break though, even with extreme water differences. As long as your water diff isn't huge and you're not super clumsy in throwing your pump around I don't think you'll have a problem. But the 1/4 inch does make for a much nicer finished product .

PS: Grats on the house - very jealous of your finished basement.

 

[Pat02026]

I've done a bunch of baffles with hardware store 1/4" acrylic and it works just fine. You need to cut them small, and let the silicone fill the gap (you will get away with 1/16" gap between baffle and glass and be fine) just use CD cases to set the spacing evenly while the silicone dries for a day. If you have enough cases you can do them all in one shot. Also for what it's worth most Home Depots I've been in have "100% silicone" right where the glass and acrylic is. Red and white tube, mfg by GE. If you look at the back, it says momentive right on there, which is the actual manufacturer of the product. I can confirm that it is fine to use for putting baffles in a sump.

 

[higorc]

Also for what it's worth most Home Depots I've been in have "100% silicone" right where the glass and acrylic is. Red and white tube, mfg by GE. If you look at the back, it says momentive right on there, which is the actual manufacturer of the product. I can confirm that it is fine to use for putting baffles in a sump.

Be careful with that silicone, I have used it in the past with not so good results. Didn't crash my tank, but it turned greenish/yellow and I could't keep it from growing algae around it which is a give away sign it's leaking something. Use a silicone that's Acetoxy Cure based and stay away from anything that has mold inhibitors.

 

[Pat02026]

I've used it on more than one occasion, and it's running on a sump I built some time ago on my 90 and still hasn't done anything out of the ordinary. I should clarify that the product I have use is in a "toothpaste tube" and not a caulking gun cartridge (although I don't see why they would change products vs. packaging)
Here's the stuff I was referring to:

At the bottom shows "momentive"

 

[higorc]

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