Please help

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
S

Scott_OR

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Sep 25, 2015
26
2
3
50
I might have taken on more than I thought...

I bought a 180G tank ad made the stand myself. It's been slow, but worked on it while the tank was on order. It's not perfect, but exceeded my expectations. There is just on thing...it's not 100% level. It's filled right now and holding water and there is about 1/8 of an inch from left to right shift in the water level. I think I can fix this when I remove the tank and prep it to drill the back for the sump.

That is the other question, sumps. WHAT HAVE I DONE?!? I have a 40G tank that will fit under the stamd with about 6 inches of clearence for my arms. Now...the drilling. I bought the new 3 hole thing from glass-holes and there are 3 1.5 inch holes kinda in a bean style? How do I plumb this? I have no idea where to begin.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.
 
not to worry my friend, many of us has been at this stage before... ive build all my stands since the first one... 1/8 is not something to fret about. if you are really worried a shim will do the trick. as for the sump system.. it all depends on what kind of sump you want to build. from the way you sounded from your post im assuming you've never built a sump before. easist sump to make is a submerged sump. minimum requirement is 3 glass baffles. just 1 chamber for the intake, 1 chamber for the filter media, and 1 chamber for the outake. if you want to go more advanced go ahead and use more baffles. Please send picture of set up. then we'll talk about the flow of water going in and out of your sump. good luck to you! and do not only listen to me, especially if you feel uncomfortable. this forum has thousands of people who have made their own filtration system and will tell you 100 different things. the most important things to note for use to help you is -

What kind of Fish
How much Fish

then we can help you build your sump!
 
  • Like
Reactions: boldtogether
Don't panic. It sounds like you are competent....especially if you are drilling the tank....that isn't for the faint of heart!
Lots of easy configurations with drilled back panes....just make sure two of them at least are near the top....not too high...you don't want to catch the edge of tje glass while drilling...and you want to be able to properly place the bulkhead.
Like said before....
 
Thanks for all your responses. I'm not sure what happened, but no e-mails were sent with updates to my thread. I didn't take a pictures of the shift in the water levels, but the tank held water overnight and I drained it the next morning. I did a some more measurements and from left to right, it was just over 1/4 of an inch difference. I got a buddy to help me play jenga with my tanks and moved the new tank where the old one was sitting (90G) and took the tank to the garage so I could work on the stand. I have a few things to accomplish this week.

1) Drill holes in the back of the stand for plumbing and electrical
2) Flip the tank and use orbital sander on the bottom (remove any stain so it doesn't get on carpet)
3) Take off the 3/4 plywood and look for the uneven sections. I think I saw one of the top cross braces sticking up some where it looked like it would make sense. I have a hand planer that I can shave off some thickness to get things good.
4) Get black expoxy and secure the top to the stand so no water leaks. I was a little sloppy with cutting the top and have some small gaps between the top plywood and birch hardwood to cover that black aquarium trim.
5) Finish the interior flooring of the stand.
6) Mount all the power strips

I will upload some pics tonight of the stand. I am super happy how it turned out.

Thanks everyone. I taking some deep breaths now...
 
A little info on the fish and stocking level. I will be keeping African cichlids. peacocks and haps. I hope to get a few of the larger ones 8-10 inches (I know, these are no monsters...) and keep it more on the heavily stocked side. Probably around 30+ fish eventually.
 
Scott_OR said:
Thanks for all your responses. I'm not sure what happened, but no e-mails were sent with updates to my thread. I didn't take a pictures of the shift in the water levels, but the tank held water overnight and I drained it the next morning. I did a some more measurements and from left to right, it was just over 1/4 of an inch difference. I got a buddy to help me play jenga with my tanks and moved the new tank where the old one was sitting (90G) and took the tank to the garage so I could work on the stand. I have a few things to accomplish this week.

1) Drill holes in the back of the stand for plumbing and electrical
2) Flip the tank and use orbital sander on the bottom (remove any stain so it doesn't get on carpet)
3) Take off the 3/4 plywood and look for the uneven sections. I think I saw one of the top cross braces sticking up some where it looked like it would make sense. I have a hand planer that I can shave off some thickness to get things good.
4) Get black expoxy and secure the top to the stand so no water leaks. I was a little sloppy with cutting the top and have some small gaps between the top plywood and birch hardwood to cover that black aquarium trim.
5) Finish the interior flooring of the stand.
6) Mount all the power strips

I will upload some pics tonight of the stand. I am super happy how it turned out.

Thanks everyone. I taking some deep breaths now...
Click to expand...

A little confused. ...are you going to sand the aquarium?....
 
boldtogether said:
A little confused. ...are you going to sand the aquarium?....
Click to expand...

I too had to re-read, as that through me off as to why the aquarium would be touching carpet.

OP, post some pictures of the overflow and drilled tank...we could provide some ideas to run some clean plumbing :-)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
MonsterFishKeepers.com
Top Bottom