Glb's 40g upgrade!

[glb]

All the best with the tank drilling! I was too much of a chicken and had a friend whose drilled several tanks drill mine. It doesn't appear to be too difficult. Jus prepping everything perfectly is key.

Just thought I'd pass along another idea that was shared with me. For the bottom of the stand, in going to use those rubberized jigsaw tiles (the kind they use on play room and gym floors). They will help dampen a lot of the vibration. The other advantage is that if you do have some water spill inside it's easy to clean around the sump. But what goes under the sump is practically impossible to wipe without taking the sump out. These tiles slowly push water out from under them. The only downside is that they only seem to be available in black or grey. I too am going with all white interior so this light not work well with the color scheme. I still think I'm going to use it.

I thought about caulking around the bottom of the sump to keep water out. Foams definitely an option. But if it got wet, would it stay wet longer and eventually damage the wood? On brs tv I saw them use a thin piece of neoprene under the stand. I wonder if that would keep things dry?

 

[BlueDevil]

I thought about caulking around the bottom of the sump to keep water out. Foams definitely an option. But if it got wet, would it stay wet longer and eventually damage the wood? On brs tv I saw them use a thin piece of neoprene under the stand. I wonder if that would keep things dry?

The foam is really not foam. It's rubber and id say pretty darn close to the neoprene material. It won't absorb any water.

There's a downside to caulking around the sump. If you ever have to take your sump out for whatever reason it's going to be a chore to scrap off all that caulking. I personally wouldn't do it. Your paint along with a mat under it should be plenty protection from accidental water drips.

That's another reason why I went with flex seal on the bottom. It added an additional watertight layer.

 

[glb]

The foam is really not foam. It's rubber and id say pretty darn close to the neoprene material. It won't absorb any water.

There's a downside to caulking around the sump. If you ever have to take your sump out for whatever reason it's going to be a chore to scrap off all that caulking. I personally wouldn't do it. Your paint along with a mat under it should be plenty protection from accidental water drips.

That's another reason why I went with flex seal on the bottom. It added an additional watertight layer.

So the foam layer is on the entire bottom of the stand or just under the sump?

 

[BlueDevil]

So the foam layer is on the entire bottom of the stand or just under the sump?

My buddy has it on the entire bottom of the stand. You get it in pieces 1'x1' so you can configure it however you'd like. Just under the sump would allow you to keep a majority of the white bottom color scheme going.

By the way are you planning on painting the sump? I have seen pictures of three walls (except the front facing wall) painted black and it looks sweet!! Think I'm going to do it as well.

 

[glb]

I did it! I drilled the tank!

 

[kschweer]

Awesome!!!

 

[glb]

And the overflow/return kit is installed.

 

[glb]

My buddy has it on the entire bottom of the stand. You get it in pieces 1'x1' so you can configure it however you'd like. Just under the sump would allow you to keep a majority of the white bottom color scheme going.

By the way are you planning on painting the sump? I have seen pictures of three walls (except the front facing wall) painted black and it looks sweet!! Think I'm going to do it as well.

I'm going to paint it white on 3 sides. I thought about painting the back the same blue I'm painting the PVC, which is a lighter blue, but I think all white would be cool.

 

[glb]

Painting the sump....

It's drying now. I'm going to flip it over and take off the paint shortly. So far so good!

 

[glb]

All done!

 

[BlueDevil]

Looking real good!!

 

[glb]

Looking real good!!

Thanks! I painted myself too.

 

[glb]

I'm off to Reef-a-Palooza in Orlando tomorrow to see all the cool new stuff.

 

[BlueDevil]

Thanks! I painted myself too.

Nice!! I just painted the back of my new DT. Hope to have pics soon.

Enjoy reefpalooza!! Man I would love to go to one of those!

 

[glb]

Nice!! I just painted the back of my new DT. Hope to have pics soon.

Enjoy reefpalooza!! Man I would love to go to one of those!

It's my first one. The whole family is going up and they'll be at the pool while I check everything out. I can't wait!

 

[BlueDevil]

It's my first one. The whole family is going up and they'll be at the pool while I check everything out. I can't wait!

I expect a full report upon your return [emoji4]

 

[glb]

Starting to come together:

The wires are still a mess but I'll fix that after the sump baffles are in place. The sump is painted white on 3 sides with a blue trim. I'm not loving the black cords against the white background. I might use some extra pvc to hide them coming out of the sump. And thanks to Rev and Mrs. Rev for the awesome towel. It was so great to finally meet you both!

 

[glb]

There's going to be an acrylic wall between the sump and the cords to protect them from the water. I'll show pics when it's done!

 

[BlueDevil]

It's coming along really nice!! Very clean looking. Great job!

 

[glb]

Today I made a splash guard for the power strip. I took a piece of acrylic, painted the back of it white and attached it to the inside of the stand with industrial strength low "pile" velcro. Here are the pics:

You can see the acrylic on the right, next to the ato reservoir. Here's a better pic:

I nailed the velcro down with carpenter nails so it doesnt peel off the wood:

Here's another angle:

And here's what's behind it:

I'm very happy with how it turned out!