My New 90 Cubealicous

[deaclauderdale]

Well I guess the time is now to start my build thread, now that I have my new tank in hand. It's a 90 gallon cube 36x24x24, 1/2 thick Starphire (rimless) glass on three sides. I got the tank from a local reefer and it's a beauty. I also received the stand and a custom built of a beauty, rimless sump.

Pics coming shortly!!

 

[deaclauderdale]

Just after getting it home, I laid it on its back to make it easier to remove the sand and to be able to clean it out.

Got out as much sand as i could, now onward to the water hose!

Looking a bit better

All cleaned up (still needs a vinegar and warm water bath).

And a couple of shots of the sump (still needs a cleaning).

 

[cheeks69]

Very nice deaclauderdale !
Congrats on the new tank I love the dimensions it'll give ya, alot of options when you aquascape.
Mine is 30x30x24 and I'm using one halide what are your plans for lighting and what do you plan to keep ?

 

[deaclauderdale]

Hey cheeks how have you been? Yes the dimensions are amazing and I already have a great idea for the aquascaping. As far as lighting still a biton the fence; I believe that I'll be going with a T5 setup, but a nice 175 watt halide with T5 supplement is an option as well. Once again I'll be going full reef; SPS, LPS, and a few well selected and well placed sorties.

Sadly I do have a slight problem with my RO unit (leaking) but I'll head up to Lowes and buy a couple of new O-rings and see if that fixes my issue.

 

[deaclauderdale]

Well I have good news, and I have bad news; the bad news is, I have a small hairline fracture on the sump, I'm hoping to silicone it and water test it, and if that doesn't work simply replace the entire pane, the good news is.....I saved a lot of my by switching my car insurance to Geico...lol

 

[sasquatch]

lol, just dont discount the house insurance! if its a small crack you can get a small piece of 1/4'' glass big enough to cover and silicon it on the inside, beautiful tank!

 

[deaclauderdale]

I'll take and post some pics (this evening) of the tank in its final resting spot, and also of the crack and you can tell me if that repair will work, or if a total replacement is a necessity.

On a lighter note; plumbing is almost done, the tank came with 40 lbs of sand (cleaning it now), and I'm almost done bleaching the rock so aquascaping will begin shortly. I'll be fitting all of the rock together dry as to gaurantee a good bond as my scaping requires it. The rock will rest on pieces of PVC cut at 2 1/2 lengths (just in case I want another pistol).

 

[deaclauderdale]

here's the crack, I'm open for ideas!

 

[sasquatch]

crap, that one will "run" , you could laminate it but if you do go big or stay home, sandwich as much as possible or rip it out and replace, not a big deal and Ill walk you through it if need be

 

[deaclauderdale]

Okay replace it is, I'll contact my local glass company (Healy Anytime Glass) tomorrow and get a quote. The measurements are 30x20 which hopefully won't cost to much. Thankfully this is a minor issue and will only delay me momentarily. Anything in particular I should request from the glass company?

crap, that one will "run" , you could laminate it but if you do go big or stay home, sandwich as much as possible or rip it out and replace, not a big deal and Ill walk you through it if need be

 

[catran]

Hey, that is cubealicous! Awesome tank! Just get the same thickness... someone can tell you, I'm sure you need to have or you can grind the edges yourself. Glass is easy, I was afraid you had acrylic, I didn't look too close...

 

[catran]

Hey, that is cubealicous! Awesome tank! Just get the same thickness... someone can tell you, I'm sure you need to have or you can grind the edges yourself. Glass is easy, I was afraid you had acrylic, I didn't look too close...

 

[deaclauderdale]

Thanx Cat, I'll have the glass company address the edges just to save me a little time. Should I request tempered non-tempered glass or anything similar?

Hey, that is cubealicous! Awesome tank! Just get the same thickness... someone can tell you, I'm sure you need to have or you can grind the edges yourself. Glass is easy, I was afraid you had acrylic, I didn't look too close...

 

[sasquatch]

I find tempered is more vulnerable than regular glass as most damage is edge related, regular glass will do what you have now, tempered would be a big hole where the glass was lol, ask for an arris edge (they just knock off the sharp edges)

 

[deaclauderdale]

Glass has been purchased, 30x20 1/4inch, with ariss edges= $25 bucks...yeaaaaaa!!! So now, how do I go about removing the broken pane?

 

[sasquatch]

slowly and carefully lol, I like to cut a piece of 2x4 about a 1/4''shorter than the distance between the broken pane and the opposite, cut a wedge and apply a small amount of pressure to the glass with the wedge, you may need to tape it in place up near the top, now the fun bit, its razor blade time, trim away the bead all around then increase the wedge pressure a bit and try to run the razor between the two pieces of glass, start at top and alternate side to side, just go slow and work at it, once it starts it easy. You have to remove all the old silicon, fresh razors work best, check back with ya soon

 

[deaclauderdale]

new pane picked up

tools of the trade:bluenod:

oops I was moving to fast

finally finished...yes

Ok Sas what do I use to clean of the silicone residue? Should I wipe down the edges with rubbing alcohol or something to that effect.

 

[sasquatch]

I use silicon be gone, its a thick paste and takes most of it off pretty good with a scotch brite pad, does speed up the process just smashing it out lol, good move!

 

[deaclauderdale]

Lol....not intentional, where can i get silicone be gone?

I use silicon be gone, its a thick paste and takes most of it off pretty good with a scotch brite pad, does speed up the process just smashing it out lol, good move!

 

[sasquatch]

hardware stores? HD its usually right where the silicon and caulk is kept