treesprite

Thank you to all who serve and protect.

The only thing I've ever put in the ceiling is some tiny screws for a fake bird that flies around the room for the cats to chase. That application didn't require anything really going in the drywall. For the light fixture, would I just use those spring anchor things that open on the opposite side?

Consider the air in the room the tank is in. There might be things getting the into the water that are harder on sensitive sps corals than other types. Even what comes through the HVAC vents could pollute tank water enough to harm corals.

It's always better to hear someone say they will stick to (whatever easier livestock) for a while rather than see someone post all their stuff for sale.

I can't put holes in the ceiling due to renting. The fixture does have hanging wires on it already.

I need to make some kind of holder for my light fixture. It is a t5 Tek light with 8 bulbs. Any ideas? I am still debating whether to make a hood for the tank, not sure I want to do it.

An apartment I moved out of about 9 years ago, had some damage to the drywall behind the tank, which I attribute to the cheap flat paint used there. Still, I was able to fix it myself well enough that I heard nothing about it after I moved. Salt eats right through 35 layers of cheap flat paint on drywall. Since that apartment, I have always put something behind the tank to protect the wall.

Congratulations! Don't let the tank take too much time from your growing family!

Usually the same for me, but when I drilled holes recently for an external overflow box, the bit kept wandering which led me to use a template when I did the holes in the tank. I was going to help someone else practice drilling, but I didn't because I am inclined to believe the wandering had something to do with the bits themselves. I never experienced bad wandering like that, and I've done a lot of drilling over the years. The bits I used were part of a new but cheap set off off eBay. I wonder if the particle sizes in the diamond coating are different/more or less consistent in size depending on quality of the bit (would inconsistency in particle size cause the bit to move irregularly at times). Something I do when the shape/size of the tank will allow it, is to drill from the inside of the tank. I put a wood board down under the glass, covered by a towel and then paper towels. There are less vibrations, I can drill while sitting on the floor, and any water that escapes the putty dam either stays inside the tank (if a rimmed tank) or gets soaked by the towels. I do have to be careful about drilling into the towels, and so far have never had a problem. The sound of the drilling changes as the cutting gets deeper, so you should really pay attention to the sound.

Use some kind of template when you drill, to help you stay on the correct spot and to prevent the drill bit from wandering off the initial groove. Drilling isn't difficult, but your hand and arm might get tired.

Pics of the panels. Still have to waterproof and paint. I'll paint with same dusky blue color I used on the other stands I have (2 are pre-made ones that needed re-painting, and the third one is something I put together from scraps to have a place for electrical stuff that would also fit my 12g Aquapod on top).

I decided to make removable panels instead of an attached skin. I put frames of 1x2s on the backsides of Wainscot panels to make them fit nicely snug into the stand front and the stand ends, but I forgot to allow for the thickness of paint, so I may find myself having to sand down some edges. After that is done, I'll get some moulding trims. Those things are rediculously expensive, so if anyone has suggestions regarding the mouldings, please share them. The paneling is MDF, so I know I can't miss any spots when doing my waterproofing and painting. I can't do anymore work on the stand until probably Friday, because there is just too much else going on.

This is good stuff to hear, thanks. I'm worried some bunch of people will post that I have to ultra fine sand like I did when I used stain and polyurethane. I was already almost done with the medium grade before posting. The color of the wood is lighter just after medium grade, so it was definitely needed even if just to remove warehouse dirt.

I really hate sanding. My question is, how much do I really need to sand the bare stand if I am: 1. using paint not stain; and 2. covering the stand with stuff that doesn't require sanding?

Nice. I wonder how those would work out on carpet.

I took the thing out on the cement and am now very relieved. I was getting height variations as big as a quarter of an inch depending on where and which way the stand was turned on floor, and wouldn't get the same measurement every time. Out on the cement, the only issue is with one end that is 1/16th of an inch taller than front, back, and other end. A big problem is that I can't work with electric tools out on the patio because of the lady who lives behind me. I will have to mark the floor inside and measure the high end from there, then just sand down 1/16" from whatever that amount is, making sure the stand doesn't move out of the marks.

What I am imagining is something that still has a flat bottom, but has a slight angle that is not as drastic as the slant of a typical "inbox".

As the title says, I'm wondering what people think about the slanting of the front walls of long overflow boxes rather than having the standard perfectly vertical front walls. I'm wondering if it would reduce waterfall effect and if there would be any other benefits depending on the degree of the slant.

I did some calling around. Quotes ranged from $78 to over $100. That is for the main piece, base piece, and a piece for above the OF to keep critters out, 1/4" glass. I'm seriously not going to spend that much money to do a DIY overflow. The last two me I did it, the glass total was only like $40 and that is the place that quoted the lowest. I really like the idea of there being a slight slant to the overflow like the inbox has to it, though the inbox slant is more than I would want. I'd like to see more conversation about slanting of long OF boxes.

I'm not getting a Mandarin until I have a guarantee that it will eat regular fish food. I really want one, but won't take the risk. However, ocellated dragonets, other than not being bright colors, are super cute in pairs and are much easier to get eating regular tank food. I'm going to get a trio of them after I've had the 75 running for a few months.

Glad to hear it.

PetSmart had IO on sale for half price last week when I bought some. Maybe it is still on sale there.

Great advice! I'd like to ask you if that covering you have on the floor a PVC liner. Well, I discovered that the floor I have been working on is flawed, the surface is not flat. It wasn't so much the wood I was using as it has been the not flat floor. I have been doing it in the kitchen because the only space big enough without carpet is the kitchen or on the closed in patio which has a concrete slab. The kitchen floor has linoleum on it. I don't know what kind of flooring is under that (this place is a condo apt on the ground floor). I had finished the stand skeleton, and the height measurements of floor to top not only didn't make sense, but would change depending on which spot the tank was on. The level tool I had , I thought there was something wrong with it, made a plan to get a new one this week, but maybe it is just the inconsistency of the floor, like some spots are as much as a quarter inch different from others. Not like just from one side to the other, but sort of like a shallow lumpiness that is too slight to notice when walking on it. I will take the stand out on the patio cement slab and see what happens with my measurements out there before I do anything else. In the meantime, I have been thinking about the skin. Someone, I can't remember on what message forum site, had built a completely removable shell to just sort of slip on over the skeleton. I'm wondering if I should do that rather than attach things permanently to the skeleton.

Its going a lot better using the wood I discovered I had for my long sides (don't have any other pieces of it). That wood actually looks like it was already sanded. The rest is the stuff I just bought. I have to cut some more little pieces for my frame braces and center braces today before I can proceed any further. I have a little dimensions issue. I have now had 4 different 75g tanks. The old ones were both 48.5", and the stupid tempered new one I got (going to give it to a FW friend) is also 48.5". So here I am constructing the stand for the 75g tank to be 49" long. I just discovered 20 minutes ago that this tank I'm working on is 48.25 long. I'm not sure how I'm going to dress this thing. I think I'm going to haunt Home Depot a bunch of times to try to get some cull wood. I got some nice and free 48x30 pieces of 3/4" plywood a while back, but it is being used to support animal cages a few inches off the floor.

I am terrible at cutting glass. The prices for custom cut glass I'm seeing online are like shockingly 3x what I remember paying the last 2 times did the C2Cs for 75g tanks. I think using the external box will alleviate the waterfall issue to some extent, but if I end up doing the glass, I might tilt it slightly. Would also drill holes so I can put my return plumbing through the OF, otherwise such an OF would block them.