Krish
RF STAFF
That's really cool Jason! Thanks for sharing
DIY- Converting my stand into a sump!
- Thread starter JasonD
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I suffered a setback. After filling the tank with saltwater. I noticed an oily film on the surface of the water. Just to be safe, I decided to drain the tank. I took the garden hose and sprayed down all the surfaces. I filled the tank back up and the next day it was leaking. It was not a bad leak and my tank is on a tile floor. So, there was not any major damage, but I was not happy at all. When I was spraying down the tank, the jet of water must have broke lose the edge of the rubber. Over night the rubber completely separated from the glass. I did read that the product does not adhere well to glass. In the instructions they sent me for constructing a plywood/glass aquarium, it did not mention doing any prep work to the glass. They did send me a separate set of instructions that had section in it on glass installation. I believe it mentioned etching the glass. I guess I should have had the edges etched. I ended up draining the sump completely. I trimmed the loose edge of the liner off the glass. I am going to run a bead of aquarium silicon between the rubber and glass. This was very disappointing. I was hopping to have frags growing in the sump by now. Hopefully the silicon will do the trick?
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Scooterman
Well-known member
Yea I would of siliconed it first then rubberize it on top of that.
aquarookie
Pure Poison :)
Wow! I am sorry to hear about your setback, but your idea is awesome and you did a great job! Makes me wish I would have done that with my bowfront stand! Not that I could have done it that well...
RandyStacyE
Well-known member
Did you apply a bead of the LRB/TAV mixture between the glass and the wood just before you set the glass in place?
Yes inside and out. I think that is why the leak is so slow. The outside seal did not take, but the inside one almost works. It has a very slow leak.
The silicon did not work. It sticks very well to glass but sticks very poorly to the Permaflex.
I am going to contact sanitred and see if they can help. I think I need to etch the glass and then apply more Permaflex.. I will see what they say. I don't have anymore Permaflex. So I am hoping they will sent me some.
The silicon did not work. It sticks very well to glass but sticks very poorly to the Permaflex.
I am going to contact sanitred and see if they can help. I think I need to etch the glass and then apply more Permaflex.. I will see what they say. I don't have anymore Permaflex. So I am hoping they will sent me some.
I finally completed my sump.
I had a small leak and I was out of product to fix it. I contacted Sanitred. Their customer technician was great. I asked for a solution and some more product at no charge, so I could fix the leak. The did both. First they wanted to figure out where I went wrong. I am not the first one to use this product on a plywood/glass aquarium. I found out the product does not adhere very well to glass. I made the mistake of using the product like silicone. I did put product between the glass and plywood, but I just put a small about in the corner. The product stayed between the glass and plywood trim (that is why it was a slow leak and not a flood), but felled on the interior side of the glass. I should not have applied any product on the interior side of the glass. I should have filled the entire void between the glass and plywood trim.
Since the glass was already installed. I needed a different solution then the normal application. They sell an epoxy paint for glass application. The epoxy paint adheres well to glass and the sanitred line adheres to the epoxy. I used a razor blade and removed all product from the glass. Applied the epoxy paint. Then applied the product to the interior. The sump is now holding water.
Success at last!
The sump is hooked up. I now have a custom 48"x24"16" - 80 gallon sump under a 120 gallon tank!
Next step is to install the lights. I am going to start with one 175watt halide. I will have to take some updated pics.
I had a small leak and I was out of product to fix it. I contacted Sanitred. Their customer technician was great. I asked for a solution and some more product at no charge, so I could fix the leak. The did both. First they wanted to figure out where I went wrong. I am not the first one to use this product on a plywood/glass aquarium. I found out the product does not adhere very well to glass. I made the mistake of using the product like silicone. I did put product between the glass and plywood, but I just put a small about in the corner. The product stayed between the glass and plywood trim (that is why it was a slow leak and not a flood), but felled on the interior side of the glass. I should not have applied any product on the interior side of the glass. I should have filled the entire void between the glass and plywood trim.
Since the glass was already installed. I needed a different solution then the normal application. They sell an epoxy paint for glass application. The epoxy paint adheres well to glass and the sanitred line adheres to the epoxy. I used a razor blade and removed all product from the glass. Applied the epoxy paint. Then applied the product to the interior. The sump is now holding water.
Success at last!
The sump is hooked up. I now have a custom 48"x24"16" - 80 gallon sump under a 120 gallon tank!
Next step is to install the lights. I am going to start with one 175watt halide. I will have to take some updated pics.
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james734
Well-known member
Get some pics up. I need see this. I was sceptical in the begining, but glad you got it to work. Great Idea..
james734
Well-known member
That's cool. Great idea. I would of never thought something this could of been done. Good job..
Scooterman
Well-known member
Nice work Jason, glad to see you got it fixed & working, really good of them to help out like that.
Thanks for the compliment. Yes, the tech support from Sanitred was really a life savor.
RandyStacyE
Well-known member
Just curious any updates?
The sump is doing well, no leaks, no problems. Access is good. I installed a Radio Shack fan in the back to remove heat. I have been running the 175watt halide 20k light on an opposite schedule to my display. I did some rearranging in my display to make some room for more SPS. Some of zoas and shrooms where suffering from too much light under the 250 halides. So I moved some softies and zoanthids down below, so my frag racks are a little full right now. The zoas and shroom are all recovering nicely in my sump. It sure is nice having all the extra space and a place to let corals recover after being stressed. Here are some pic from tonight.
class clown
Well-known member
KOoooooooooL! boy, look at all of those frags down there. Jason - still have those frags from my tank? if yes, how are they doing?
The zoas did not make it. I am not really sure why. They opened up for the first couple of days, then would not open. Then the hermits came and wiped them clean. It might have been the lighting. I maybe should have started them in indirect lighting. I know you had them under some bright lights? The green slimer is doing great. How are the frags you got from me doing?
class clown
Well-known member
All doing well, I like those redish one's the best. Sorry the blues didn't work out. Stop by and I'll give you a couple more to seed the tank. I had them at the bottom of my tank in indirect light (rock sort of hanging over them to protext), so that is where I'd start them in yours too.
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theexp
New member
Wow. amazing idea to get the maximum sump volume. really cool looking. Congrats
edwing206
Unregistered Member
Just found this thread. Awesome job on that. Any updates?
It held up for about a month and then sprung another leak. I gave up on the idea. If I was going to try it again. I would not use glass for the front. I would have just used wood. That way I could have done a full liner for the inside. The product does not stick to glass very well at all. Plus having a glass panel that low is pointless. You have to get on your hands and knees to look through it. It is just one more piece of glass to scrape coralline algae from.
It was very nice while it lasted. The top down view was pretty cool. It was easy to maintain and it was nice having all that extra space for frags.
It was very nice while it lasted. The top down view was pretty cool. It was easy to maintain and it was nice having all that extra space for frags.
