Bulu Point

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Doc_Polit

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Nov 4, 2007
113
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Blackfalds, Alberta
I recently picked up a reef-ready 180-gallon tank with stand and 90-gallon sump for an absolute steal. :headbang2

When complete this will be home to my colony of 34 F1 Tropheus sp. Bulu Point "Cherry Spots". I will be adding 20 F1 Tropheus from a separate blood line and 8 F0/F1 Tanganyikan Goby Cichlids.

Gonna journal the process....

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Here is my stand (1.5" steel tubing) after it got sand-blasted to bare metal and received an awesome gloss white powder coat.

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My tank.

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Another look at the tank.

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Completely removed the black, plastic top trim.

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For anyone that has struggled removing trim, this worked like a charm.

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Did I mention that the blade is really sharp? What is a DIY project with no blood-shed? :grinno:

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This is as it sits right now. I have completely removed the center brace and euro-bracing to ease installation of the background.

Needless to say, all the trim and glass removal (combined with the residual substrate left by the previous owner) has resulted in a huge mess inside the tank. The clean-up comes next. More pics to come once I make some relevant progress.
 
After literally hours of scrubbing the tank is finally clean. I used acetone, pro-strength glass cleaner and about 75 razor blades. :irked:

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The odd lines on the right portion of this shot are silicone stain on the inner overflow glass. It is no issue as I will be covering it with black acrylic.

The grungy part of this project is finally done......on to the fun stuff. :nilly:
 
Nice work... keep it up we MFKers love our pics =]
 
I'd ditch the black plastic bracing and go with the already established eurobracing. Either way, great cleanup job. That tank looks fantastic now.

One thing... what's with the 70s coke nail pinky?
 
In answer to your questions, the center brace and euro-bracing will be going back on after the background is installed. The plastic is going in the dumpster.

The black plastic trim on the bottom will stay (just because it's easier than moving the tank to peel it off) but the sides of the stand will be built high enough to cover it.

As far as the finger, looks like I cut the flesh rather than the nail. :screwy:
 
I think Clay was referring to the coke nails <--- Urban Dictionary

I'd love to see the final project
 
Not much of an update yet.....sorry.

I discovered that the rip fence on my table saw likes to "wander" and is making accurate cuts nearly impossible. :irked:

Rather than continuing to fight with it I decided to make cut jigs (4' and 8') for my circular saw. This is the 4'.

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They are made from 1/2" MDF and have cut-outs for clamping. There is also 80-grit sand paper glued to the bottom surface to keep them from sliding.
 
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