# If life gives you lemons..



## H3LLRA1Z3R (Nov 9, 2010)

First of all just wanted to say, love the forum, been lurking around since 10' . This place is my go to for all my planted info.

*The backstory..*
Found a guy selling a 400L tank for dirt cheap. Came with a sump, pump a little bit of pipe and a metal framed stand. Photo looked okay/
I knew the tank wasn't going to be amazing ( obviously a reason it was cheap ) so asked the guy what I was in for, he told me I was in for a great deal and the price was a real bargain even offered to drop it off to my house.
Long story short he pulled up with the tank etc on a trailer and helped me unload it. 
All of it looked like it had been in his back yard for a year.
The tank was the last thing we moved into the garage and I noticed it had sand covering the bottom and about an inch of water. He looked like he was trying to cover something up and he told me "there is a crack in the bracing or something I think".
Probably should have dumped it back on his trailer but paid him instead and as he drove away I had that sinking feeling that my wife was going to kill me.

*Time to analyze what I am dealing with *
Only one photo as I wasn't in the mood to take any more.









*Nothing but bad news at this stage.*
- 6mm glass = safety factor of 1.65
- Odd measurements - 1520mm long x 505mm high x 505mm wide.
- Bad bad silicone condition so would have to rebuild 
- Bad bad glass condition would need a LOT of cleaning .
- Bracing is rough and over hangs side of tank.
- Sump looks like it was made by a group of 5 year olds that got into dads silicone and glass. ( not even going there yet ).

Managed to get an end panel of the tank and found the big lemon.
- Crack running the entire length of the glass base that has been patched by what looks like the same 5 year olds that made the sump.









And just to top it off.
- Stand has been cut to allow the sump to sit under the stand.
- The stand is supported around the outside edge only.
- Wood is rotten in places so its no wonder this thing cracked.


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## H3LLRA1Z3R (Nov 9, 2010)

_Firstly although my introduction was brief and doesn't tell the entire story, I do admit some responsibility for the bad deal but I consider that when you ask somebody a straight up question, they give you some sort of straight answer. It was obvious in hiendsight that he knew how shady the tank was. Also obvious now i could have explored the tank more. ( lets put it down to experience or lack of and move on )._

*How to make lemonade*

After a few days thought I decided to break it down and see if there was anything worth saving at all.
Turns out the base had more than one crack that had been patched so the base wasn't going to be much help at all.









Bit of cleaning going on for the front and back panels.









A before and after of one of the top braces.

















By now I have most of the tank apart and cleaned to a level where I can at least make informed decisions.

My first issue was tank safety. I have built enough tanks to know there is no way in hell I am going to put a 400L/100G tank in my lounge with a safety factor of 1.65. So to address that I decided the best course of action was to drop the height down 80cm/31 inch and increase the safety factor to 2.9. Furthermore I will use the strip of glass that was cut from the height to brace the length of the aquarium as well as the middle bracing.

I made a mock up of the tank to see what glass I still needed and see what cuts I needed to make.









With no base I obviously needed one and as I couldn't salvage any bracing from the current brace I would need that too.

I decided to be really stingy and see if I could get any glass at all from the base sheet/rubble. I managed to cut the base up to get all my cross bracing.









Called around all the local glass suppliers as I wanted to get a 10mm/0.39 inch sheet for the base but they wanted to charge me more than I paid for the deal in first place.
Little bit of frustration followed by a lightbulb. I have some wood lying about so will make my own stand with cross bracing to support the thin base. ( not ideal but not end of the world ).

Found a guy locally who makes tanks and got some advice from him.. turns out he gets some cheap glass too 
Slight change of plan..
The front of the tank is going to be the base and the new sheet is going to be the front. The rest of the glass is pretty beat up so makes sense to have the new piece as the front I think.


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## H3LLRA1Z3R (Nov 9, 2010)

*The Lemonade recipe*

Patience basically.

I spent the day cleaning up the glass as best I could. So many stains and scratches as you could imagine.
Put the tank together for a dry fit to make sure I have everything and proceeded to tack it all into place.
_( note: This is the way I prefer to build tanks. I have done both methods but find this way works best for me as I can produce cleaner edges and an even measurement of silicone the entire way around. It just works for me )_









Managed to silicone it all off today and have removed the tape.
Bracing and a good clean to come. Quite happy really as so far it gone form this..








to this..









Lots to do still but looking positive.

Need to decide on the overflow box. Never worked with sumps before but keen to get some acrylic as the overflow as the glass is messy and clunky I think. Any suggestions with acrylic or other?


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## Michael (Jul 20, 2010)

You Kiwis are a plucky lot! This may qualify as the most complex tank rebuild ever posted on APC.

Good luck!


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## Adrenaline_junkie_ff (Feb 1, 2016)

Looking great!


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## H3LLRA1Z3R (Nov 9, 2010)

Michael said:


> You Kiwis are a plucky lot! This may qualify as the most complex tank rebuild ever posted on APC.
> 
> Good luck!


Thanks man. Just want to put water in it now but there is the sump and stand to build yet. Not to mention lights and everything else. May end up in the bin yet but I will show photos if it does.

Thanks Junkie


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## PhilipS (Jan 14, 2014)

We are all watching and hoping for your success.


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## H3LLRA1Z3R (Nov 9, 2010)

Thanks for the kind words.

Small update for today, mostly going to be pictures from here on out I think.

Euro Bracing and end bracing is in place, quite happy with the silicone edges. Managed to get silicone everywhere else though.









Needs a good clean up so will do that first before I fit the central bracing.









One thing always remains the same with these projects and that's me tripping over the mess.
Tried to clean up and put all the waste glass in a bucket but tripped over the bucket and scratched up my leg, nothing to bad though but I did yell at the bucket.









Not much to do after the bracing is on, Need to sort that over flow though and then on to the stand.


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## snowball2020 (May 26, 2004)

I wonder how much was the tank to start with to endure this much work
props to you sir!


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## H3LLRA1Z3R (Nov 9, 2010)

snowball2020 said:


> I wonder how much was the tank to start with to endure this much work
> props to you sir!


The only way I can come out on top or even financially, is if the labour is considered free out of passion. 

The tank was $200 NZD for ( 400L/100g tank, 150L/40Lg Sump and the metal stand, pumps etc.
Here for a non commercial tank you are looking at roughly $1 per liter or $4 per gallon.

A local tank maker told me he could make me a brand new 400L tank for around $480 which is painful to hear. So it means that's around my budget for all this as anything over that I start floating to the 'should have brought a brand new one' conclusion. That doesn't include the sump, pipes and pump though. 
Metal stand is going on the bin. Considering that will cost me to dump I see that as a loss.

So far I have only spent the money for the silicone as the glass panel was paid for by a tank I previously made and sold where I got the glass free.

I realize I am speaking in general financial terms but I think I am fearful to put actual numbers on it.

Working out the tank stand now which I have decided is going to be made from an old bed base that was probably going to the dump also.


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## Diana K (Dec 20, 2007)

I think the experience is very good, and your tank is turning out really great. So, while it may not pencil out financially, it may still be worth it. 
When it is done you can show it off and tell your friends you literally built it all.


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## Aquaticz (May 22, 2009)

A lot to be said for doing it your way. How did you clean up that glass?


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## H3LLRA1Z3R (Nov 9, 2010)

I think you are right Diana. It's a good experience and its fun to get away from the computer.



Aquaticz said:


> . How did you clean up that glass?


Elbow grease mate.  mineral turpentine and a razor blade. They don't stay sharp enough for very long, so I went through nearly 20 in the cleaning stage.
Silicone is easier than people think to get off glass in my opinion. Once I cut away the bulk of it I spray the rest with mineral turpentine and let sit for a minute. It reacts with the silicone and then you just scrape away with a sharp razor blade.

Decided on a plan for the stand.
I wanted to copy the ADA style stands originally but felt that was a bit too cheap if I came all this way and tried to copy something very expensive with very cheap materials. So I settled on my design.

This has the doors and most surfaces removed so I can see the measurements.









And this pile of junk is going to be what I make it from.








It's an old bed base that is broken in a a few places. It will be more than I need so might have to make something else from the excess.

A bit gutted today though as I cut up some of the bed base and the head and foot of the bed as seen in the pic is very soft wood. I'm committed now though.


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## Michael (Jul 20, 2010)

You are an alchemist, turning junk into gold.

Another tip on removing silicone is to spray it with WD40, then go after it with a razor blade. WD40 has enough solvent (like your turpentine) to soften the silicone and make it clumpy, then the oil helps the razor blade to cut through it.


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## Aquaticz (May 22, 2009)

Looking good.
I should have been clearer. How did you remove the scratches from the glass?
great thinking about the bed to stand idea


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## H3LLRA1Z3R (Nov 9, 2010)

Thanks Michael. Never thought of WD40 but can see that being easier on the blades.



Aquaticz said:


> I should have been clearer. How did you remove the scratches from the glass?


Oh, Sorry man. I would love to give you soem answer like the key to it was apple juice or something but the truth is I didn't remove them at all.  
The piece that I showed as a before and after was mostly calcium build up and dry algae. It looked newish because of the camera angle.


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## H3LLRA1Z3R (Nov 9, 2010)

Well its been a long weekend. Should have invested in a safety mask as I have been breathing dust all day. Makes a nice change from the turpentine I guess.

Skeleton is together. Wood was soft in places and my cutting isn't really commercial grade.
looks a bit rough but managed to bash something together.








And amazingly it's pretty close to level.









Managed to get some MDF board ( not sure this was the best move but ) had to get it cut at the shop which meant generic cuts rather than accurate and trying to get it all to fit from one sheet using on the fly maths which isn't my strongest subject. Managed to get it all home and gut it all to size though.
Was short the height of the back but have a bit left over to fix that up. Decided that this is a good thing ( trying to stay positive ) as I have had a MDF stand before and it just soaked up any moisture on the ground from water changes and spills. This way any water damage will be to the small strip at the back. ( in theory ).
Couldn't resist fitting the tank and making sure it all fits. A small sigh of relief as it fell into place.









Spend all day today trying to fit the doors. My measurements wouldn't quite line up but turns out one of the cuts from he shop was slightly off square which was noticeable over the 1.5 meters.
Managed to get them in place though, got the tops almost perfectly straight only to have them not close correctly. I had to counter sink the hinge into the door itself and when I put the doors back on they were off again at the top.
Have to take them off once more to cut and line up the bottoms so will try to leave the top alignment until very last.









Primed the edges quickly so I can fill / water proof them tomorrow and got magnetic door latches to help them close. May not get door knobs or handles at all as I like the clean look but will see how I go.









They say keeping a clean workspace means keeping a clean mind so I tried to keep my desk as clean as possible.


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## Aquaticz (May 22, 2009)

very nice- project is really coming along


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## Diana K (Dec 20, 2007)

Many years ago I got a little sign
"A creative mess is better than a tidy idleness"
I added to it... 
"So create... or clean"

You are busy being creative- no time to clean.


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## H3LLRA1Z3R (Nov 9, 2010)

Small update.

Managed to get a few coats of paint on it. Edges and trim all nice in the undercoat but I had the stand on some wood so i could access it better for painting.
Once I took it off the wood and the final coats were done the doors don't line up across the top.
You can see in the first image the center and right door line up top and bottom then the last image the right door is out of whack. Frustrating  but should be able to fix it.

other than that quite happy. Has about 100L in it now 1/3 full to test the aquarium seals. Then it's time to get stuck into the sump.

2nd coat of undercoat which was tinted.









Final coat with tank on it.









Might have to invest in door handles yet not sure.


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## Michael (Jul 20, 2010)

Better and better!


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## Aquaticz (May 22, 2009)

Hey I just realized you are from NZ. Are you allowed to have anything that is non native?


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## H3LLRA1Z3R (Nov 9, 2010)

Thanks Michael, too kind.

Yeah from NZ mate. We are allowed non native both flora and fauna.
Our plant selection isn't great. No blyxa japonica, Hygro pinnatifida, Bucephalandra or Hemianthus callitrichoides for example so can be frustrating. 
Fauna are good though lots to choose from even though expensive. Can be hard to get the dwarf cichlids.

Think you may need a permit for some native species but not 100%.

Decided to fix this door. Were a few options open to me to fix it but I chose the trusty builders bog.
Came up okay actually. More importantly, it's level with the other door.









Decided I would have to get pull knobs for the doors as there isn't enough leverage on the door with the magnetic stops. No where had the type that I wanted which is basically just a 90 degree bend in a piece of metal that fastens to the top or side of the door and sits flush with the edge. So ended up trying these little knobs. They look a little silly really but should be okay once painted black.


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