BlindSwordsman's 3 Tank System (1 Viewer)

[BlindSwordsman]

.. And this morning, I suddenly wanted to have some branchy rock aquascape structure for the little tank, so I thought and asked the folks on here for a good place to buy some branchy rock. Then, I decided to go cheap and thought: 'Why spend money on that? I can do it myself!' And I glued the crappy pieces I had together into this .

 

[SuperJay]

Looks great! What did you use for glue? I think if I tried this it would fall apart

 

[spsick]

Looks awesome!!

 

[BlindSwordsman]

Thanks!

Looks great! What did you use for glue? I think if I tried this it would fall apart

I used the super glue gel that I usually buy from Dollar Tree. I did drill some holes on some of them and used zip ties to tie some of them together though. And once the glue is set, to make it more secure or to make me feel more secure, I'll apply some epoxy at some joints as well . I've done this before and it worked fine.

.. I got the shipment for the stuff I ordered from BRS today. I bought (3) 1" gaskets and I think they sent me the 2" ones??? These are obviously too big. I already emailed BRS the photo.



And I somehow feel like the 1" strainer might be too small for the overflow . They look small. But I know for my 90 gallon tank, I bought it predrilled and it has 1" overflow diameter as well ... So, maybe it's okay???!!? These are smaller tanks, so ... I hope I don't drill these tanks then find out the flow is too restricted .

 

[BlindSwordsman]

Maybe these pictures will explain it better. I took them while working on it. Basically, it's some zip ties, some propping up along the way, a lot of super gel, and voila! .. I will epoxy some of the joints later tomorrow as well.









And I imagine some white sand at the base, some corals, and maybe a copperband butterfly swimming around. I think it won't look too bad!

 

[BlindSwordsman]

I ordered some 1" strainers but I don' think they will work too well for me. The opening is 1" but it has the 'strainer' so that will restrict the flow a bit. And the inner diameter of the tube/elbow ends up to be only 3/4" in actuality, not really 1". I'm buying different bulkheads instead. I'm still waiting for everything to arrive to make sure I get the right stuff before doing anything. In the meantime, could @miltonkl or anybody educate me on what kind of paint that you use to paint the back of the tank? And how you do so usually? Any special techniques that you apply at all?? Thanks.

 

[miltonkl]

Rustoleum black enamel. I used a 4 inch roller and put on a light coat and let it dry a bit to basically act as a primer and the. Put on 2 more coats until I couldn’t see a flashlight shining through from the back. Flipped the tank on its face to paint to avoid runs. Tape the edges so it doesn’t get on the side. Get a fine napped roller meant for smooth surfaces. I got this red expensive one but it left lots of little hairs in the paint. I can see it on the back but from from inside the tank so I guess it doesn’t matter.

If it were warmer out, I would have spray painted it instead.

 

[BlindSwordsman]

View attachment 65770

Rustoleum black enamel. I used a 4 inch roller and put on a light coat and let it dry a bit to basically act as a primer and the. Put on 2 more coats until I couldn’t see a flashlight shining through from the back. Flipped the tank on its face to paint to avoid runs. Tape the edges so it doesn’t get on the side. Get a fine napped roller meant for smooth surfaces. I got this red expensive one but it left lots of little hairs in the paint. I can see it on the back but from from inside the tank so I guess it doesn’t matter.

If it were warmer out, I would have spray painted it instead.

Thanks. I think I have this stuff. I used it to paint my bird houses and the vents on the roof. I don't think the spraying kind will be as adhesive as this kind though. The spraying kind might flake off easier? So! You use this oil based paint to paint the back of the wall. ... I traced back the previous conversation and @Mathew0 recommended the 'waterproof rubberized paint from Flex Seal' and because that's good for wood, I think. I'm wondering if that could work as well or if either one is better? One is 'rubberized', one is 'oil based' ... Both work, I guess??

 

[Pyro]

Thanks. I think I have this stuff. I used it to paint my bird houses and the vents on the roof. I don't think the spraying kind will be as adhesive as this kind though. The spraying kind might flake off easier? So! You use this oil based paint to paint the back of the wall. ... I traced back the previous conversation and @Mathew0 recommended the 'waterproof rubberized paint from Flex Seal' and because that's good for wood, I think. I'm wondering if that could work as well or if either one is better? One is 'rubberized', one is 'oil based' ... Both work, I guess??

Another option I have used that worked well is pick up and use some really dark automotive window tint on the back panel. removable, faster and way less messy/smelly in the process.

 

[MistakesWereMade]

I ordered some 1" strainers but I don' think they will work too well for me. The opening is 1" but it has the 'strainer' so that will restrict the flow a bit.

I have a 1" drain on my 200. I am sure that will be plenty fine for you, even if you install the strainer. Are you planning on using some kind of value (1/4 turn or gate) to control the water flow? That obviously reduces the size so you will never truly get full flow unless the valve is all the way open. What size bulkhead(s) are you installing for your return and are you doing 1 or 2 returns?

 

[Mathew0]

Rubberized paint is very expensive, and I wouldn't bother with it for the back wall. I just used standard, cheap latex paint for the 220.
For the 125 I used spray paint, but it wasn't a very nice experience. You get a faster dry time, but even outside the fumes got me super high and I felt ill after. Also, the slightest breeze will blow the paint around as you spray. You'll probably end up with bits of grit after it dries, too. That seems to be a common element for everything I've spray painted.

 

[BlindSwordsman]

Another option I have used that worked well is pick up and use some really dark automotive window tint on the back panel. removable, faster and way less messy/smelly in the process.

I actually haven't ever painted my tank wall before. I just use those background thing/sheets that they sell at the stores. But this time, I'm drilling the backs of the tanks so there are things protruding out on the back. So, I'm thinking about painting the back sides of the tanks instead of cutting/trimming things around those .

I have a 1" drain on my 200. I am sure that will be plenty fine for you, even if you install the strainer. Are you planning on using some kind of value (1/4 turn or gate) to control the water flow? That obviously reduces the size so you will never truly get full flow unless the valve is all the way open. What size bulkhead(s) are you installing for your return and are you doing 1 or 2 returns?

I'm not sure your 1" drain is the slip/slip that connects directly to the PVC pipe, or slip/thread that connects to an schedule 80 elbow with a spigot. The ones I bought and I'm thinking about not are ones that connect to the schedule 80 elbow with the spigot. Even the elbow is for 1" connection, the spigot actually only has 3/4" inner diameter that goes to the sump. I feel that's kind of small. If it's a PVC pipe, and not the spigot, the inner diameter of the pipe is still 1". That's somewhat better I think. But even with 1" diameter, which I'm actually using for some of my stuff now, if the pump is too strong, and if there's a bit of clogging up at the drain, it still can flood my house. So, I'm thinking the 3/4" pipe is even worse. And I actually never installed any valve for the return . I just adjust the pumps usually.

I bought the 1/2" bulkheads for the return and I'm going to use only 1 per tank. I usually don't rely on that for the flow. ... Talking about which, now that you've mentioned it, I think I need to spend more money and buy more wavemakers!

 

[Specsgirl]

.. And this morning, I suddenly wanted to have some branchy rock aquascape structure for the little tank, so I thought and asked the folks on here for a good place to buy some branchy rock. Then, I decided to go cheap and thought: 'Why spend money on that? I can do it myself!' And I glued the crappy pieces I had together into this .

View attachment 65749

Looks great!

 

[BlindSwordsman]

Looks great!

Thanks! I'm kind of picky but I actually like how it looks, so that is good . And I also like the fact that I didn't have to spend money on it. It fits my usual style of 'maximum results with minimum efforts', so, yes, I'm happy with it .

 

[postie1686]

ive had good luck using cans of spray in bed liner for the back of the tank.

 

[BlindSwordsman]

No big progress here. I spent sometime on the weekend, driving around, spending more money, buying a bunch of stuff for the setup. I couldn't find all of the diamond drill bits at the stores so I went online and ordered them online instead. I should receive them by the end of this week. I'm taking next week off for 'Lunar New Year' so I'll be home setting this up. If things go well, I'll get it done and have the water running by next week. For the last couple of days, I kept on buying more stuff, e.g. wavemakers, pumps, ... So, my expense has suddenly skyrocketed at the end of the year just because of this . While waiting to get all of the stuff arrive in the mail to get this done, I'll finish other miscellaneous things like doing some in wall wiring for the TV and the floating TV shelf (which should arrive today).

I emailed BRS about the wrong items that they sent me a few days ago and I still haven't heard back from them yet. I should have bought those items elsewhere (which are cheaper). BRS also takes 10% restocking fee if I return something. I was thinking about keeping whatever from them that I actually don't need, but since I haven't heard back from them about the wrong items, it kind of irks me and I'm considering returning whatever I don't need back to them just for the heck of it .

I still need to buy a few more things like the panels for the stands. There were too many bulky things on the cart this weekend so I'll come back to the store later and spend more time looking at those. And instead of black paint, I bought the royal blue paint to paint the back the wall. I know people usually use black, but my background is usually blue so I decided to buy the royal blue paint and paint the back walls with it. I can't think of a reason why this could be bad??

And I might have to look again for the right silicone. I stayed away from stuff that says '7 (or 10) or lifetime mold free guaranteed'. I got the cheap stuff that doesn't say that, but the small print on the back of the tube still says 'cured caulk is resistant to stain causing mold and mildew growth' ... And I'm hoping that it does not really mean they have mold resistant stuff in it .

 

[BlindSwordsman]

I'm just sitting around, listening to 'Beautiful Life' with nothing much to do . Well, there are things I can do but not feeling like doing them at the moment. There's plenty of time . I'm still waiting for the floating TV wall shelf to arrive so I can install it . .. Other things on the side, I got the good idea from other people's threads earlier and I ordered some cable raceway from Amazon for cord management on the back of the tanks. I got them screwed in in few seconds, and continued on with the next song .. 'Lemon Tree'. .. Whoohoo! How exciting is this?!!!

 

[BlindSwordsman]

OK, I just got an email back from BRS support. They told me from the photo that I sent them (above), that those gaskets did look like 1" gaskets, with 1.65" holes, which were what they were supposed to be. I'm wondering if I'm just being stupid and don't understand this? Where is the 1" part of these that would make these 1" gaskets?? This does not make sense to me. Well, whatever! I probably just return them back to BRS, 1" gaskets or not .

 

[MistakesWereMade]

Which did you order, the ABS bulkhead gasket or the schedule 80 bulkhead? They sell both and are different sizes. You would be looking at 'C' in the following diagram.

Schedule 80

ABS

 

[Mathew0]

The gasket is going to be bigger than 1".
1" is the inside diameter of the PVC. The outside is clearly going to be larger than that. and the hole you drill will be larger as well. How does the gasket look when you slip onto a piece of 1" PVC.