[onebadbug]

Okay so now that I've changed my mind 12 times sinces getting blindsided by getting into this again here we go.......

This is what it iwillbe when it's it's finished...

Finally got the time to whack up the sheet this morning, hyst before doing the real jobs...If ya wanna see then click da link!

Whacking up the 60" x 130" stock sheet.
(as my help whines about wiping in WoW in the background)

[onebadbug]

When you dont want to use a full sheet to make the smaller pieces this is how to make thin cuts less than 2" across any dimension of 3/8" or 1/2" heavy glass.

practice , practice, practice!

[Ninong]

Wow! Those are very informative videos. Thanks for posting that.

What thickness of glass is that? It looks like 12mm to me but I read in your other thread that you planned on using 3/8"??? I'm not in the glass business like you are but I would certainly be scared to death of using anything less than 12mm (1/2") for a tank of this size, especially if the glass is not tempered. I know that the Aussies use thinner glass and then have it tempered but over here we have a tendency to go for higher safety factors when building aquariums.

Regarding your comments on the light transmission qualities of the ultra-clear low-iron glass products, such as PPG's Starphire, SGG's Diamant and Pilkington's Optiwhite, you are probably aware that it's not just the difference in the overall percentage of light transmitted that makes ultra-clear glass superior for aquariums. If you look at the transmission spectra for Starphire compared to standard soda-lime glass, you will see that regular glass impairs the transmission of some colors more than others compared to ultra-clear low-iron glass. That's why some animals appear different when looking through regular glass compared to ultra-clear glass or acrylic. This is especially true for Tridacna clams.

The difference will not be as noticeable with thinner glass as it is with thicker glass but it is certainly obvious when comparing glass tanks of 12mm thickness and even more obvious when comparing tanks of 19mm thickness. I had a Starphire tank and really would never even consider regular glass. I might consider other brands of ultra-clear glass besides Starphire but I don't think I would ever want a regular glass tank.

Several years ago we had a thread on this board that included photos the hobbyist took of his old regular glass tank sitting next to his new empty Starphire glass tank. Unfortunately those photos were lost during a software upgrade about five years back. Anyway, the guy took photos of his old tank before moving any of the corals, etc., to the new Starphire tank and then he took new photos a few weeks later of the same corals, etc., in the new Starphire tank. The differences in the colors was obvious. His new tank was a 167-gal tank made with 12mm Starphire.

I don't know if it's just hype or not but before I ordered my Starphire glass tank, I emailed PPG and asked them if there was any difference in the surface hardness of Starphire glass compared to their regular glass and they told me that there was no difference. Specifically, I asked them if there was any reason to believe that Starphire would be more susceptible to scratching than regular glass and they said that there would be no difference. I don't know if that's true or not but that's what they told me. My experience with my 120-gal 12mm Starphire glass tank was that it did not scratch. I frequently used razor blades on it to remove coralline algae and never once did I put even the slightest scratch.

Anyway, good luck with your tank and please post some more videos as you progress.

Thanks!

[Ninong]

Check out this table of performance values on PPG's website and notice the differences between 1/2" (12mm) Starphire glass compared to 1/2" regular clear glass.

1/2" Starphire = 91% visible transmission
1/2" reg clear = 85% visible transmission

1/2" Starphire = 80% UV transmission
1/2" reg clear = 53% UV transmission

1/2" Starphire = 86% total solar energy transmission
1/2" reg clear = 64% total solar energy transmission

That's not the table I was looking for but it gives you an idea of where I'm going with this. Notice that the difference in visible transmission is only 6 points (91% vs. 85%) but the difference in UV transmission is a whopping 27 points (80% vs. 53%). There is a similar, but not quite as large, difference in transmission of violet and blue, which is why Tridacna clams look much, much better when viewed through Starphire glass.

Conventional clear glass distorts the transmission of certain colors so that they are rendered differently than their true appearance. The thicker the conventional glass, the more obvious this becomes. If you were to place a sheet of Starphire glass over one half of a color photograph and a piece of regular soda-lime glass of the same thickness over the other half, the difference would be clearly visible.

Somewhere online there is a chart giving transmission by wavelength for Starphire compared to regular glass but it looks like it's not on the PPG website. I have pulled that chart in the past but I'm not sure if I stored it anywhere or not.

[onebadbug]

I'm using both 10 & 13mm (U.S. made 1/2")
the bottom and short ends are 1/2"
The front long sides are 3/8" & the stiffeners that run down each long edge at the top. I have no worries what-so-ever
They will also incorporate the sump heads..
you'll see when I get that far...
if it were over 30" in height then yes I would then be using 1/2" on all sides....

yes I am full aware of the beef on the clarity battle... Let's leave it off the build and not pit it as point VS point ...

It's just a fish tank... And of which I'll throw water, sand and a few nifty critters in...

It's not a freakin radio wave spectral-analyzer input display on the hubble space telescope....

and now... edging the glass...
wow, getting more than I thought I would today....
Wow I might even get to mock it up later tonight!!

Zanetti FP6 Flat Polisher running 1/2" glass

and if ya really want to know what it's like to run the big ones...
>> CLIZNICKITY <<


PS: no bald jokes...

[onebadbug]

So here's how far we gots in one day...

And yes the mock up in big form....


So what for tommorrow? Well I have to pay bills after the truck comes in sooo...

Will probably have only a little bit to start on the stand... But the rest of my week is slow... so if lucky I'll have it mocked on the stand by fiday or saturday...
Stay Tuned!

[onebadbug]

Okay seeing as I'll be out of the shop most of the day...
Not quite sure if I an going to do the sumps from inside or hangover yet.. all I know is I hate looking at those unsightly corner or island boxes that waste space inside.
...Any thoughts?

As well as some insight of what I am thinking of doing for filtering...
...Any suggestions?

[Ninong]

Originally Posted by onebadbug

As well as some insight of what I am thinking of doing for filtering...
...Any suggestions?

You might want to browse the Lifereef website for ideas. Jeff has been building sumps for more than 20 years and he has some interesting ideas. You can check out photos of some of his larger custom jobs.

I'm not an advocate for any of the trickle-filter designs but I do like his "floating refugium" design that places the refugium 1.5" off the sump bottom so that water flows underneath the refugium with its own flow rate. He then uses a dedicated submersible pump to supply water through a spraybar to the refugium compartment. He calls that design "LifeReefugium II."

All of his work is done in acrylic but the same concepts can be realized in a glass sump with some modifications. For example, I have seen one guy whose sump employs a similar isolated refugium but instead of it being a "floating refugium" above the floor of the sump, the refugium compartment occupies the front three-fourths of that space and the rear portion is where the main sump water flows past. The idea in both designs is to isolate the refugium so that it can have a lower rate of flow. That way it would be possible to have say a 2,000 gph flow rate through the sump with only a 500 gph flow rate through the refugium compartment.

P.S. -- I don't see a need for more than one skimmer in a tank the size of the one you are constructing. You should definitely consider including a calcium reactor in your design.

[onebadbug]

Still scractching my head on it true purpose witin the system... pros and cons etc...
so far all I see is the name but not advatages when pitted to wet dry or?? ... or what it actually accomplishes...

I think the last newest that had just come out before I got rather rudely removed from being an enthusiast was the invention of the kalkwasser... and was about to buy just before the storm...

going to have lots of time tomorrow to work on the stand... YAY!!!!


(Below has nothing to do with the build but thought I would ask...)
the other things I am trying to decipher today....
Did any of you guys come and deliver this 280g broken piece of junk at my shop today while I was out?? .. note on my desk says...

"Jeff Tarranch found us on a forum and dropped it off to see if we can reapir it return to call for possibility of repair & quote" ...called but no answer...

and then... as I just got back into the shop like ...20 mins ago. another guy calls syas he found me on here and asks if I can come look at a 900 gallon!
GEESH!!!

Wonder I should make a tuorial of..
HOW TO REMOVE AND REPLACE A GLASS PANEL? Y/N?

[Ninong]

Originally Posted by onebadbug

(Below has nothing to do with the build but thought I would ask...)
the other things I am trying to decipher today....
Did any of you guys come and deliver this 280g broken piece of junk at my shop today while I was out?? .. note on my desk says...

"Jeff Tarranch found us on a forum and dropped it off to see if we can reapir it return to call for possibility of repair & quote" ...called but no answer...

and then... as I just got back into the shop like ...20 mins ago. another guy calls syas he found me on here and asks if I can come look at a 900 gallon!
GEESH!!!

Wonder I should make a tuorial of..
HOW TO REMOVE AND REPLACE A GLASS PANEL? Y/N?

I don't recognize the name Jeff Tarranch but he is obviously someone in the Chicagoland area who read this thread. Everything we post is available via Google search within a couple hours after it's posted, so it's possible he's not even a member of this board.

According to the decal on that tank (which I magnified), it was manufactured by Concept Aquarium Systems, Inc. of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. According to their website, all of their tanks have a 3-year warranty. It appears that this tank was probably dropped, either in transit or after it was received by the owner. I expect that Jeff will probably be calling you soon to ask if you are interested in fixing his tank.

[onebadbug]

Talked to him today and heres what he did....
He ordered it and it was delivered via a liftgate and he put it in the garage for storage while he built the stand... Built the stand and then he made mistake 1... uncrated it and then took a dolly trying to move it
...BY HIMSELF!

What was he thinking! ...it over 600lbs's!
not to mention from the weakest end, at the top!

and actually if concept tank is making a living on their standards I should be a freakin millionaire! It's ugly! no nice tooling on the joints, unpolished edges, sealant just smattered with a bock and left un cleaned...TACKY! for $3,500.00??
Sad & butt ugly....

[scubadude]

Originally Posted by onebadbug

Wonder I should make a tuorial of..
HOW TO REMOVE AND REPLACE A GLASS PANEL? Y/N?

By all means....please do Lets put it in the DIY forum too

[Ninong]

Originally Posted by onebadbug

Talked to him today and heres what he did....
He ordered it and it was delivered via a liftgate and he put it in the garage for storage while he built the stand... Built the stand and then he made mistake 1... uncrated it and then took a dolly trying to move it
...BY HIMSELF!

What was he thinking! ...it over 600lbs's!
not to mention from the weakest end, at the top!

That's exactly what I figured had happened. The owner broke the tank after accepting delivery.

and actually if concept tank is making a living on their standards I should be a freakin millionaire! It's ugly! no nice tooling on the joints, unpolished edges, sealant just smattered with a bock and left un cleaned...TACKY! for $3,500.00??
Sad & butt ugly....

I don't know anything about that company, in fact, I'd never even heard of them before. It's hard to see the details of the workmanship from the photo but it appears that the tank is constructed of 12mm Starphire glass, except that the front euro-brace appears to be regular soda-lime glass. I'm not sure about the two euro-braces at either end of the tank. From the photo, it appears that they might be Starphire but the front long euro-brace is definitely not Starphire.

Whatever, $3,500.00 seems VERY expensive to me for a tank of that size even if it is Starphire, which I always thought was more expensive than regular glass? Unless it's 19mm Starphire??? It looks like it's just 12mm Starphire, 72"x30"x30". Is that right?

[onebadbug]

$3,500.00 shipped so I only assume that it was that minus what he was quoted below for freight, $2,700.00. The only SF on it is the face.

According to him he was quoted $800.00, PER TRIP! ...prepaid + repair to send it back to Canada. YIKES Eh!

I quoted $225 for the repair and $150 delivered and set on his stand w/4men.

[onebadbug]

and so here is what the stand is shaping up to be.. almost halfway done with the inard parts not the finished parts... that will be down the line...

[onebadbug]

Well... had enough time run up get the materials for the stand inards.. about an hour... and then took about another hour to build the inner structure for the stand is COMPLETED! ...one day : )

All I need to do in the morning is drill for the threaded rods in the morning and VOILA! ...I should be able to build the tank right on the stand sometime next week...

Me Happy

dumb battery went dead on the camera so I'll take a pic in the morning...

[SouthBayPhoto]

Cool to hear! Sounds like it's comin' along nicely!

[onebadbug]

So here's what the structure of the tank looks like on its side... just came off the clamps from gluing it overnignt.

From here I need to put all the threaded rods thru the corners and center and add a few fill pieces to round out the box and add the plywood to the top and 2 diagonal stiffners at the rear end (don't think it need them but you won't see them when it;s done anyway so just thought I would ad them making it all that more infalible.

The last tank I had I did it this exact same way with exception yo it was done in all dimensional rough cut cedar.. was quite expensive! .. So this time around I'm more kind of keeping in mind that none of it is going to really be seen sooo I used just standar 2X4's from menard the cost for all the wood, rods, nuts, washers, a 3/8" spade bit w/1-24" extension and a bottle of good glue came to a grand total of $110.00.

Not to shabby considering that it will now take the load of just about anything you can think of.... Should be able to a pic of the completed unit by the end of the day

[onebadbug]

And POOF!

One brick shlt house....

all thats left to do is on monday to go and grab 1 sheet of 3/4" plywood to split and then sheath the top & the back to keep it absolutley squared for the rest of it's life...
...and just cut a few fillers for the corners and middle so when I go to put the finish pieces up and hide this structure I have nice sold materials to attatch them all to...

Pretty simple and not to shabby eh?

[onebadbug]

Okay this is what I think I am going to do on the filter/refugium setup that will be housed below the tank... Trying to use from what I have on the scrap piles as opposed to whacking up sheets.
Too big?
Too Short?
Completely wrong?

Let me know what you think, thanls, Gene...