G&D's Foray Into a 90G Tank (Take One)

[gridley]

After three weeks of battling leaks and my lack of plumbing ability, the tank finally holds water! I had to call in the professional (my brother-in-law plumber instructor) and we are ready to proceed to the next step.

Nemo has finally gotten wet!


We began to plan the aquascaping today and hopefully will get the dry rock into the tank tomorrow. This shows our first thoughts on how we might do the aquascaping. We have about 70 lbs of dry rock and will add some live rock to that.


We discovered a bit of a problem while we were testing for leaks. The silicone job on the overflow was terrible. Part of it looked terrible and the other side acted more like a sieve than a seal. So while we were trying to get the plumbing solved we cut out the overflow, cleaned everything and today I put it back in place. For some reason there had been slits cut in the overflow along one side from top to bottom. The previous owner sealed it, but it looked ugly - here is the before and after. It is now resealed and a bit nicer.





If all goes well we will have the dry rock into the tank by tomorrow and then start adding water!

[fishytime]

Good to hear George.... Bet ya can't wait to get her alive

[gridley]

Yes Doug - we are really looking foward to getting this up and going. Will do a bit mor etoday but it is looking like yard work might be the first priority.

[gridley]

Well, not all has gone well - we are still a few days from adding water. I did a test of the overflow to ensure that there were no leaks and discovered a leak on one side - so, a bit more silicone tonight and hopefully that will fix the problem. I will do a leak test tomorrow evening and then let the silicone cure a few days before adding water.

[subman]

If its a small leak George the salt creep will plug it in no time. If it's over the sump let it go.

[gridley]

Thanks Jason - yes it is a very small leak - only a drop or two after a few minutes. The way I tested this was to close the gate valve, fill the overflow with water and watch for leaks into the tank. My concern was to ensure that in the case of a power outage, that no water leaks from the tank into the overflow and then down into the sump causing a flood. I have already done another round of silicine in the affected area - if for some reason this is still leaking, you think it will be fine?

[FishyFishy!]

The overflow looks a lot better! Nice silicone job.

Where did you get the white gate valve? Not that I have looked for one lately...But I like the white ones better than the grey ones.

[gridley]

Originally Posted by FishyFishy!

The overflow looks a lot better! Nice silicone job.

Where did you get the white gate valve? Not that I have looked for one lately...But I like the white ones better than the grey ones.

Thanks for the compliment regarding the silicone job on the overflow. The white gate valve came from Concept Aquatics.

[HaZRaTTy]

Originally Posted by gridley

Thanks for the compliment regarding the silicone job on the overflow. The white gate valve came from Concept Aquatics.

Good build thread so far, Welcome to the DARK.. errr Salt Side of the Hobby!!!

Can't wait for the wallet to empty and Coral/Fish start to populate the tank.


Reading your last post on the leak, I couldn't help but picture the infomerical "Mighty Putty" when he pushes it onto that leaky PVC pipe. Haha I guess you could give it a try. Never tried or looked at the stuff myself.

[Jason McK]

Great build. Love the electronic cabinet