Thanks to a case of strep throat that cost me my voice and a few days of work I'm just now beginning to work on the tank again. I ticked my wife off when I finished the stain and polyurethane on the canopy and stand while I was sick but at least I got something done. I will get some pics of the finished cabinet and stand into the thread once I get the tank in the house and everything in place. If I may say so though, I think they turned out very nice. I also figured out what I'm going to do for the doors. I'm going to build a frame with mitered oak hardwood boards, use a router to cut a rabbit on the inside edge and then place an oak panel in the center. I'll stain it mahogany and then I'll mask off about an inch wide stripe all they way around the door with a very thin pinstripe inside that. I'll stain the stripes with ebony stain and then put a poly over the whole thing. Click on the video tab at the
Minwax site and you'll see what I have in mind.
Yesterday and today I did the plumbing. I installed a Bean Animal overflow with three standpipes leading to 1.5" PVC down to the sump. I'm got true union ball valves on each leg to adjust the siphon and allow me to break down a leg if there's a problem. I also built an overflow box that will run coast to coast along the top of the tank. I have to let the RTV setup on the overflow box tonight and I'll finish the rest of that install tomorrow. Friday night I'll drain the 125 and move the critters into their temporary home.
Pics of the overflow box being built. I did it in the kitchen on a glass tabletop because it was the most level place I could think off. Notice the red tomato? I use the pin method to apply the solvent. I braced the pieces with tape, insert pins into the seams, applied solvent and slid the pins out. Spacing the seams apart with pins allows the solvent to cover the entire surface and begin to soften the acrylic. When the pins are removed the joint comes together and the bonding begins. First time working with acrylic and it came out great. Most of the spots that you see at the seams is from the flash catching the edge of the seam. The edges look much cleaner in person.
Here are some pics of the overflow box install. I used RTV 108 along the edges, pressed the box in place, and smoothed the edges. I finished by wiping the glass down with acetone to remove residue. In the last few shots you can see the the cutout for the part of the overflow that will run along the back of the tank.
Finally, shots of the back of the tank showing the plumbing. Because the previous owner had the holes drilled vertically I had to run the PVC at a 45 but I checked with the guy who came up with this standpipe setup and he says that it will work fine. If he's wrong I guess I'll find out just how long it take a Barracuda to empty a sump all over the floor.
Tomorrow I'll finish up the overflow and then I'm done until I get the 125 drained. Once that's done I'll put the sump under the new tank and finish the plumbing. After that I'll hang the plywood that I'm going to use to mount my Reef Keeper Elite. Once I'm satisfied with that I'll break the plumbing down at the valves, move the tank into the house, and reassemble the plumbing. Finally, I can see the finish line.
Mike
