TGunn's 90g Reef

[tygunn]

Here is where I'm thinking the 90g aquarium will be set up:

There is lots of space between the window and the kitchen counters. This spot will ensure we can enjoy the tank while eating and preparing supper, something we've always enjoyed with the 34g tank.

This is also the same outside wall where my RO/DI system is now living. I am considering putting the sump in an equipment shed outside at the side of the house. Gotta figure that out still.

The 90g will have to wait a little bit as we want to get the house painted. What looked like pristine walls in the open house turned out to need a good coat of paint.

 

[Kensington Reefer]

will the tank be flat against the wall or peninsula style?

 

[tygunn]

will the tank be flat against the wall or peninsula style?

It will be flat against the wall. The 90 I've got has an overflow in the center-rear so it wouldn't work in any other configuration really.

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[tankguy]

I like the idea of having the ro unit outside. I wouldn't have thought about doing that

 

[tygunn]

I like the idea of having the ro unit outside. I wouldn't have thought about doing that

So far the only downside is the water in the pressure tank gets warmer when its hot outside. However otherwise works great.

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[tygunn]

I haven't been on in a little while, but I'm still around. Life has a way of sometimes bogging things down at times. Getting a house has definitely used up a huge amount of my time lately. The past couple months have been crazy too as my daughter was diagnosed with scoliosis and goes for surgery next week to correct the underlying cause.

So, needless to say the tank has been a bit on the back burner. I'm hoping life calms down enough for me to get more involved in things in a month or so.

I have, however recently tried to make some progress on the 90g tank. I've built a dolly at the same height as the stand so I can slide the tank off onto that. This will let me move the tank into the house and also free up the stand.

My plan is to use an epoxy paint to coat the inside of the stand, and a few costs of satin spar urethane to protect and freshen up the exterior.



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[roostertech]

Best wishes for your daughter. That is some major compound stress.

 

[tygunn]

Minor updates.

I upgraded my RO/DI system to a dual membrane water-saver and replaced all the filters:

So, I'm ready for when I get the 90g up and running!

I also finished building the dolly for the 90g tank. Worked perfectly. I was able to easily slide the 90g tank off the stand and on to the dolly.

This frees up the stand for the 90g tank so I can do some refinishing work. I'll be making a trip to Tap Plastics on the weekend to get some epoxy paint so I can begin that work.

 

[MolaMola]

I love epoxy. One of these days I'm going to look into upgrading my RO to save water. A water waster at the moment.

 

[tygunn]

I love epoxy. One of these days I'm going to look into upgrading my RO to save water. A water waster at the moment.

I was looking where the tank sits on the stand and there is definitely a big lip where water/salt drips end up sitting. I think the epoxy should protect that well. PLUS there's enough of a lip under the stand where the sump will go that if its waterproofed it can act as a "leak catcher" from the sump.

I also have a RO booster pump. I really needed that at my appt because we had extremely low pressure. That seems to help with the rejection rate as well.

 

[tygunn]

Ugh epoxy is not fun to work with. The inside of the stand is quite a mess at the moment. I tried brushing it but that is apparently not the way to go. It also started hardening way too fast on me. I'll have to sand down the nasty drips I've got once it's set and try again tomorrow.

 

[tygunn]

Ugh epoxy is not fun to work with. The inside of the stand is quite a mess at the moment. I tried brushing it but that is apparently not the way to go. It also started hardening way too fast on me. I'll have to sand down the nasty drips I've got once it's set and try again tomorrow.

Well it definitely cured overnight. But rereading the package I think I see the problem. The guy at Tap plastics said I would have about 30 min working time. The package says 15 min and to pour it immediately after mixing (yay for reading).

I'll have to use smaller amounts and pour/squeegee it onto a single surface at a time. I also should have gotten a slower hardener.

 

[MolaMola]

15 min seems long. It gets really thick and sticky before that. Duh, of course you know, sorry. on a horizontal surface pouring is good, then I use a chip brush (rough up the bristles to make loose ones fall out first) to draw it out and get it even or to cover vertical surfaces. The brushstrokes fill right in. Using small batches works great for me, too, with slow-med hardener. The fast one melts cups and sometimes smokes. My problem is resisting the urge to touch-up once it's curing. I sanded and epoxied aprons and legs of 50-year-old lab tables with epoxy (then got moved to new building!). Can you say graffiti-proof? I did not do a great job on the inside of current aquarium stand and dust was spewing, but it is hidden by equipment and that thing holds water perfectly. We have also applied gallons of epoxy on and in our sailboat and once in Napa boon flies flew onto the epoxy before it cured so we left them there between coats. They looked like insects in amber - so cool. Yes, I love epoxy.
Your tank is coming along! That dolly will help you out and I like the space-saving of outside RO. I cannot see where the wastewater goes.??

 

[tygunn]

15 min seems long. It gets really thick and sticky before that. Duh, of course you know, sorry. on a horizontal surface pouring is good, then I use a chip brush (rough up the bristles to make loose ones fall out first) to draw it out and get it even or to cover vertical surfaces. The brushstrokes fill right in. Using small batches works great for me, too, with slow-med hardener. The fast one melts cups and sometimes smokes. My problem is resisting the urge to touch-up once it's curing. I sanded and epoxied aprons and legs of 50-year-old lab tables with epoxy (then got moved to new building!). Can you say graffiti-proof? I did not do a great job on the inside of current aquarium stand and dust was spewing, but it is hidden by equipment and that thing holds water perfectly. We have also applied gallons of epoxy on and in our sailboat and once in Napa boon flies flew onto the epoxy before it cured so we left them there between coats. They looked like insects in amber - so cool. Yes, I love epoxy.
Your tank is coming along! That dolly will help you out and I like the space-saving of outside RO. I cannot see where the wastewater goes.??

For subsequent coats I've just poured it around the surface and used an old credit card to smooth it out. That worked MUCH better than leaving it in the container where it started to REALLY harden fast. Now that I'm getting the hang of it, the results are getting better. I really should have skipped the white dye I added to tint the epoxy. It REALLY makes it evident where I've messed up. I think if it was all clear it would look better. Oh well, the inside of the stand looks like a bunch of melted marshmallows ran all other place. But it is definitely going to be nice and waterproof. So I'm fine with that.

I'm assuming this stuff will hold up MUCH better than paint has in the past. I remember in my old house I painted the walls in my fish room with high gloss latex paint to protect them. Years of salt spray still ate right through it and wrecked the drywall.

I have just enough leftover that I will put a coating on the bottom of the stand too (without tint). I figure that should make the bottom of the stand slippery enough that I can slide the stand and tank around on the berber carpet for perfect positioning.

The wastewater for my RO/DI system currently dumps into the garden to water the citrus trees. I was tempted to set up something more complicated to capture the water and pump it around the yard, but in the end I don't really generate a ridiculous amount of waste water from day to day consumption. When I'm making up new saltwater its easy enough to put the waste line into a new spot in the garden so that the water goes to good use.

 

[Coral reefer]

I love epoxy. One of these days I'm going to look into upgrading my RO to save water. A water waster at the moment.

It's easy and pretty cheap, and really the right thing to do. I can install it for you in 15 min and help you order the parts of you want.

 

[tygunn]

Agreed it's super easy. I got the add on from bulk reef supply. Waste line from the first membrane goes to input of second membrane and then you combine the outputs of the two membranes.

 

[Coral reefer]

Agreed it's super easy. I got the add on from bulk reef supply. Waste line from the first membrane goes to input of second membrane and then you combine the outputs of the two membranes.

I actually don't combine my outputs, I added a second di canister to allow for more contact time and less often changing it out.

 

[tygunn]

I actually don't combine my outputs, I added a second di canister to allow for more contact time and less often changing it out.

That's a good idea.

I use my RO system to fill a pressure tank and for drinking as well so that wouldn't work as well for me.

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[tygunn]

A bit of progress; I got the stand epoxied on the inside, and 3 good coats of spar urethane on the exterior to tidy things up.

The tank kinda looks small with 14 ft ceilings:

I also picked up a sump for the tank yesterday and ordered some BRS ReefSaver rock and new bulkheads for the tank. I originally wanted to build the sump, but in the end I want to get the tank running sometime this decade, so the in the interest of time I just bought one.

FIRST, a warning; my epoxy job inside the stand is terrible. The bottom worked out fine since I did it last. The sides I was still getting the hang of things and the epoxy set up in the container a bit while I was painting it on. So it kinda got a "melted marshmallow" look. I regret tinting the epoxy. Had I left it clear you'd never know how terrible and uneven of a job I did.

I also epoxied the underside of the stand (and didn't tint it). That pretty much made the entire stand into a giant furniture glide that let me easily re-position the tank and stand once I got it all into the house.

I need to figure out a top off reservoir that'll fit under the stand. I'm thinking I might try the ATO reservoir as an acrylic project since its much simpler than a full sump. If I build a 5" side container that matches the front profile of the sump I can fit ~7 gallons of ATO under the stand, which should be enough. For now I'll just use a container external to the tank.

 

[Flagg37]

Just call your epoxy job an artistic faux finish.