chadmace
Reef Tarded
Here was the first go around. Now that I’ve had the time to get things going here is a little on the rebuild:
One of the major annoyances I had with my original set-up stemmed from the belief that my live rock was fully cured as indicated by the LFS that sold it to me. After the tank was set-up it turned into a constant hunt for the next crab, or trying to catch that elusive 4ft ribbon worm. Once my tank was taken down my live rock was scrubbed, boiled, and put into a Rubbermaid container with heat and flow to cure for approximately 1 year. Then I moved everything over to a 150 gallon trough back in March for the last step of the process. So now I have pest free rock that has been curing for quite some time now.
The inside of the canopy had some water damage. The canopy and stand hardware was rusting. So I painted the inside of the canopy and stand using several layers of Killz primer, and latex paint. I sealed all corners with silicone. I also replaced all hardware.
Canopy Before:
Canopy After:
Stand After:
My previous 125 had corner overflows which I didn’t live very much. The tank also had seen better days. I purchased a duel mega-flow tank from Barrier and painted the back with latex paint. I notice people ask on here a lot on painting their tank. So assuming they can use the search button: 1. Clean the surface you want to paint with rubbing alcohol 2. Mask off whatever you don’t want paint on (Frog tape is awesome) 3. Paint, several layers if need be. (As mentioned previously I used latex paint and a brush. Mainly because my tank was inside the house and I didn’t want to use an aerosol can.) If you ever sell the tank the stuff can be pulled off. Anything that sticks can be removed with a utility knife blade.
Frog Tape (Seen the stuff on DIY Network. It is all it is cracked up to be.)
Painted:
Tank on Stand:
I picked up a 55 gal tank for my sump. Purchased glass baffles so I would have a baffle blow out on me like I had in the past using acrylic. I was surprised how cheap the ¼ thick glass was.
Left side of sump in tank
Right side of sump in tank
My top of the line filter sock holders (PVC hangers zip tied to the pipe. An under $1 solution)
I rinsed my sand thoroughly before putting it in the tank. (I had absolutely no murky water once filled.)
Continued...
One of the major annoyances I had with my original set-up stemmed from the belief that my live rock was fully cured as indicated by the LFS that sold it to me. After the tank was set-up it turned into a constant hunt for the next crab, or trying to catch that elusive 4ft ribbon worm. Once my tank was taken down my live rock was scrubbed, boiled, and put into a Rubbermaid container with heat and flow to cure for approximately 1 year. Then I moved everything over to a 150 gallon trough back in March for the last step of the process. So now I have pest free rock that has been curing for quite some time now.
The inside of the canopy had some water damage. The canopy and stand hardware was rusting. So I painted the inside of the canopy and stand using several layers of Killz primer, and latex paint. I sealed all corners with silicone. I also replaced all hardware.
Canopy Before:
Canopy After:
Stand After:
My previous 125 had corner overflows which I didn’t live very much. The tank also had seen better days. I purchased a duel mega-flow tank from Barrier and painted the back with latex paint. I notice people ask on here a lot on painting their tank. So assuming they can use the search button: 1. Clean the surface you want to paint with rubbing alcohol 2. Mask off whatever you don’t want paint on (Frog tape is awesome) 3. Paint, several layers if need be. (As mentioned previously I used latex paint and a brush. Mainly because my tank was inside the house and I didn’t want to use an aerosol can.) If you ever sell the tank the stuff can be pulled off. Anything that sticks can be removed with a utility knife blade.
Frog Tape (Seen the stuff on DIY Network. It is all it is cracked up to be.)
Painted:
Tank on Stand:
I picked up a 55 gal tank for my sump. Purchased glass baffles so I would have a baffle blow out on me like I had in the past using acrylic. I was surprised how cheap the ¼ thick glass was.
Left side of sump in tank
Right side of sump in tank
My top of the line filter sock holders (PVC hangers zip tied to the pipe. An under $1 solution)
I rinsed my sand thoroughly before putting it in the tank. (I had absolutely no murky water once filled.)
Continued...
