Nano to Medium Tank Project/Build

blackknight08

blackknight08

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JHB - Randburg
I started with a nano marine tank about 3 months ago and have learned a lot. Went to LPS on Sat and they were selling three old 4ft tanks.. I bought all three. They leak and silicone is old and each has a filter on the sides.

The plan: Strip two of the tanks, re-silicone.. make one a DT the other a sump. So this is my project for the next few months.. to a year :thumbup: I need to know if this is a good or bad idea? before I hit this full on? :eek:

Any advice or threads you can direct me too wld be awesome..

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Stripping the silicone is a mission so if it were me then id rather start with new glass. If you have the time to do it then go for it.
 
Great thanks. Ja i only plan on building the tank up next year, so ill take my time. I'm still learning with my Nano and need to buy all the hardware for the "new" tank. What would it cost for glass to build two 4FT tanks?
 
So here the plans with the 3 tanks I got:

All of them needed to be stripped down, siliconed and redesigned.. of course :) Turns out the sides are only 5mm and not 6mm thick glass like the front and back, so two tanks are being used to make the sump and beef up the two sides and whats left used for DSB dividers

The 10mm base left over from the one tank will be used with new 6mm glass for the DT so it will be bright and shiny new :)

DT Specs:

1200 (l) x 450 (w) x 560 (h) = +- 300 litres

DSB Specs:

1200 (l) x 450 (w) x 400 (h) = +- 216 litres
Skimmer and overflow on left -> DSB -> Return

Not sure what the usable volume will be..mmmm.. Anyway here's a pic of the stripped tanks

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blackknight08 said:
Great thanks. Ja i only plan on building the tank up next year, so ill take my time. I'm still learning with my Nano and need to buy all the hardware for the "new" tank. What would it cost for glass to build two 4FT tanks?
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Get a quote from Rene Turck and Idol Marine...
http://reneturck.co.za/
 
Update:

Sump and DT finally built :) Looks amazing.. never had such big tanks so cant wait for it to all be running

Sump will be a DSB with some chaeto and all that and was made 1200 (l) x 450 (w) x 400 (h).. The plan is to have DSB, return and skimmer. The ATU will probably be separate and maybe a carbon reactor.. Will see next year I guess.

DT is 1200 (l) x 450 (w) x 560 (h).. Thought the making it a a bit higher will add to the look rather than leaving the glass at 460mm and will still allow light to hit the corals near the bottom.

Next step will be to work on the stand... but might be building it in to new place once I move in...???

Will post some pics soon... Watch this space
 
lol ja, you know them? A friend recommended Aquahadia to me, they build tanks of all sorts... Cant wait to get it running, but that's next years challenge unfortunately.

Going to tackle the plumbing, stand and painting the back this year. Also bought a 8 tube T5 light unit, just needs new tubes :(. Then in the next few months will be selling/swapping my Nano for a Protein skimmer and returns.

All in good time.. Not sure if I got the patients to wait for the new place. Mmmmmmm
 
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blackknight08 said:
lol ja, you know them? A friend recommended Aquahadia to me, they build tanks of all sorts... Cant wait to get it running, but that's next years challenge unfortunately.

Going to tackle the plumbing, stand and painting the back this year. Also bought a 8 tube T5 light unit, just needs new tubes :(. Then in the next few months will be selling/swapping my Nano for a Protein skimmer and returns.

All in good time.. Not sure if I got the patients to wait for the new place. Mmmmmmm
Click to expand...

yea i do they build both of my sumps
 
:welcomewave: Looking good, tagging along!
 
And i'm back.. Got me a protein skimmer. Think its a Reeftek TS2 may be wrong. Don't judge. So still got to get return pump, two wavemakers (bought a controller already), sand and LR.

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Awesome thanks @jacquesb. I cant wait to get the new tank wet. about 6 weeks before I can start working on it. In two minds about the sump now, either a DSB or a refugium with shallow sand bed. I'm all confused what to do :)
 
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Some advice please. Since i'm starting this tank with new saltwater.. Could I rather take water from a friends tank when he does a water change and use that.. Would it shorten the cycle period and reduce the die off on the LR? Anybody ever tried this?

Yes this is me being impatient to rush the cycle :jiggy::032:
 
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