800g Tank Reseal (for the 2nd time)!
- Thread starter Trouser Cough
- Start date
...AND...?!?!?!? 
Methinks this ominous silence does not bode well...
Methinks this ominous silence does not bode well...
...AND...?!?!?!?
Methinks this ominous silence does not bode well...
Don't count me out yet, brother!
Long story short I've been bouncing around at the confluence of a few different poop storms. One example is that the new-to-me rimless tank I bought leaks like a sieve. Last weekend I meticulously cleaned the interior surfaces on that tank and I'll do it again. My plan is to source some glass to try Euro Bracing on this rimless job before I tackle the 800g.
Not meant poorly, but I also think that I have a tendency to overthink much of my tank room anyway and learning so much and hearing as many cautionary inputs about different approaches to the 800g repair were beginning to make me think that this might be a larger issue than I could be prepared for. It's a glass box and it's not like I need to build it from scratch; that's already been done. All I need to do is throw out my now clearly incorrect impression of silicone's role in the tank and dive in to a new fix.
The big tank will be Euro Braced as well and in a feat of positivity I've chosen to view the smaller tank (roughly 180g + 60g sump) as a learning opportunity.
The next step will be to either install bracing in the new rimless tank, drive a few hundred miles to buy another big tank, or rub my eyeballs w/ a freshly cut habernero chili pepper and hang out on the couch. One of these has has got to work out well.
(Edit: All fish are fine and healthy.)
Updates! Yes!
- I've given a few Peacock Bass away
- I've given a couple Giraffe Catfish away
- The Black Arowana ripped through the top of a tank covered w/ 2" foam board and a 3g bucket full of rocks. He and I are lucky and healing nicely.
- I bought and set up an acrylic 300g that's working great.
- I bought and set up a 180g rimless, figured out why it was leaking, chopped all that metric internal filtration voodoo out and it works great now.
- I'm all healed up after the motorcycle wreck and climb in a tank like 225# ballet dancer. It's not exactly that elegant but it works. My wife has a sticker on the side of her SUV that shows a picture of a Dobermann and the caption says "you might get in but you won't' get out". That's a little like me teetering over the side of a big tank several feet off the ground and hoping I don't splat on the floor w/ a big pane of glass on top of the pile.
I've not done much w/ the 800g aside from constantly thinking about it. It seems to me that the frame might support something but not necessarily well or it wouldn't have allowed the bottom pane to flex under a concentrated load. The weight of all side panes rest on the bottom pane so this coming winter I'll lift the tank and put 1" foam board beneath the bottom pane but not beneath the frame. That will allow me to stand inside the tank w/out being concerned about my weight stressing the joint between bottom and side pane.
Once that's done I'll Euro brace the interior bottom perimeter. I'll leave the vertical joints between side panes alone as I don't think they're compromised. Might just do the longer bottom lengths as well in that it's the 10' front and back panes that are most worrisome... much more so than the 4' sides.
Once that's done I'll probably get something that's friendly and sturdy to put in that big tank. I'm ready for less tank maintenance nonsense for a while and have seen some koi over the last year that have been 3-4" and stunning.
Then again, I saw some 24k Golden Kelberi that are 3-4" as well and really sharp. Kinda like the freshwater morays, too. Hmmmm...
Or maybe 5000 Fat Head Minnows...
Or a couple thousand Tiger Barbs.
When the day comes that I finally keel over I'll be thinking about my next tank when it happens.
- I've given a few Peacock Bass away
- I've given a couple Giraffe Catfish away
- The Black Arowana ripped through the top of a tank covered w/ 2" foam board and a 3g bucket full of rocks. He and I are lucky and healing nicely.
- I bought and set up an acrylic 300g that's working great.
- I bought and set up a 180g rimless, figured out why it was leaking, chopped all that metric internal filtration voodoo out and it works great now.
- I'm all healed up after the motorcycle wreck and climb in a tank like 225# ballet dancer. It's not exactly that elegant but it works. My wife has a sticker on the side of her SUV that shows a picture of a Dobermann and the caption says "you might get in but you won't' get out". That's a little like me teetering over the side of a big tank several feet off the ground and hoping I don't splat on the floor w/ a big pane of glass on top of the pile.
I've not done much w/ the 800g aside from constantly thinking about it. It seems to me that the frame might support something but not necessarily well or it wouldn't have allowed the bottom pane to flex under a concentrated load. The weight of all side panes rest on the bottom pane so this coming winter I'll lift the tank and put 1" foam board beneath the bottom pane but not beneath the frame. That will allow me to stand inside the tank w/out being concerned about my weight stressing the joint between bottom and side pane.
Once that's done I'll Euro brace the interior bottom perimeter. I'll leave the vertical joints between side panes alone as I don't think they're compromised. Might just do the longer bottom lengths as well in that it's the 10' front and back panes that are most worrisome... much more so than the 4' sides.
Once that's done I'll probably get something that's friendly and sturdy to put in that big tank. I'm ready for less tank maintenance nonsense for a while and have seen some koi over the last year that have been 3-4" and stunning.
Then again, I saw some 24k Golden Kelberi that are 3-4" as well and really sharp. Kinda like the freshwater morays, too. Hmmmm...
Or maybe 5000 Fat Head Minnows...
Or a couple thousand Tiger Barbs.
When the day comes that I finally keel over I'll be thinking about my next tank when it happens.
The Sleeper wakes!
Glad to hear you're back in the saddle again. I've wondered on several occasions what the progress was on that big tank; it sounded like you might have been perilously close to throwing in the towel for a while there.
Keep us posted!
Glad to hear you're back in the saddle again. I've wondered on several occasions what the progress was on that big tank; it sounded like you might have been perilously close to throwing in the towel for a while there.
Keep us posted!
