Tremor took out my sump stand.

[duanes]

The island I live on, is basically the tip of a small mountain, so everything is always on a slant.
But.... the other day a 5.5 richter shaker, (along with some dry rot) started to dismantle the 125 gal sump stand, causing more slant than normal, and to deteriorate the stand even faster than it was deteriorating normally, being outside, and exposed to the elements.
Its deterioration from salt air, rainy season, and tropical sun, were not unexpected, but the tremor served to speed the timeline of the repair up a bi.

Especially on a back corner, the one I neglect to look at often enough, until recently.

With the help of a couple local muscular brothers (after removing 95% of the water), I was able to pull out the damaged half of the stand, and slip in 4 newly acquired cinder blocks.

Filled it only half way so far, to let i settle in. No leaks yet.

 

[jjohnwm]

So...you change 40% of the water in your aquarium every 15 minutes to maintain undetectable nitrates...but you set up the aquarium outdoors in a tropical climate, unprotected and exposed to torrential seasonal rains, termites, earthquakes and who-knows-what other environmental factors...on a stand cobbled together of what appears to be untreated wood?

Am I alone in thinking that these two actions seem jarringly inconsistent and incompatible?

Granted...I am a bit OCD. Whenever you show a pic of that system, I try hard to look at the fish...but all I can see is that crazily-tilting tank...and I start to twitch.

 

[duanes]

Yes
This is what I do, and yes, totally inconsistent, "in the parlance of our time".

 

[Backfromthedead]

jjohnwm beat me to the punch. That stand needs work duanes! Not that ive ever had to build one that could withstand the plethora of adverse conditions that yours is facing.

 

[neutrino]

..................

 

[duanes]

After the sump relocation, the sump water down by over 50 gallons, and out water pueblos plant out of order.
And the tropical sun was making an evaporation dent. so down even a couple inches more.
Luckily we had an all night monsoon event, and water is funneled of the foliage into the tanks.

By morning rain had added probably at least 70 gallons to the sump with out any effort from me.
The only rub, were the excess tannins that leached into the tank, making the fish invisible even a few inches from the glass.

 

[Trouser Cough]

I'm pretty sure I exceeded a 5.5 in this morning's constitutional roar. This site may need to pool its lunch money to send you a couple sticks of pressure treated lumber and a box of screws.

 

[duanes]

The tremor that took out my first tank at my first residence here, was above 7.
But add to the tremor the termites, and and it get wood stand prohibitive.
We will now see how the cinder blocks fare.