72 Bowfront to 180 Build Thread (1 Viewer)

[New HTXReef]

Well I have been looking for a bigger tank and was going to pull the trigger on a new Planet Aquarium 240 but after the sideways looks from the wife and a slow down in business I decided to go a different route. So I bought the 180 sump and stand from @BigRick (thank you by the way). He and I moved the tank from his garage to mine today. I am planning on refinishing the stand and building a canopy over the next month or so before we move it in the house.

I do have a question for the community. There are some very light superficial scratches on the main glass that I knew about when I bought it. Nothing grabs your fingernail though so I figured it is a good candidate for buffing. And since they are pretty spread out I plan on buffing the whole glass. I have a ton of experience cutting and buffing Car paint and polishing metals to a mirror finish so I am up to the task.

Does anyone recommend a certain group of products and/or give me a materials listof what to buy?

This is not repacking my 72 bow front I’m just going to keep the few corals I have inthere and make it more of a FOWLR. The 180 I am planning on making it a SPS dominant reef tank.

Thank you in advance for any guidance you may provide.

 

[Bigger Rick]

Hey Chris.....

Glad to see you doing a build thread on this!

 

[New HTXReef]

Hey Chris.....

Glad to see you doing a build thread on this!

Thanks again Rick. I still owe you a beer or more. Let me know when you’re ready

 

[Bigger Rick]

Thanks again Rick. I still owe you a beer or more. Let me know when you’re ready

Alright brother, I will be taking you up on that offer.

 

[Bigger Rick]

I have some Cerium Oxide if you want to give that a try.

 

[Cody]

@steveb knows how to buff out scratches. He spent three years making more scratches on his empty tank and then buffing them out.

 

[Cody]

You laugh, Rick, but he pretty much did this. Had no idea what he was doing. The man doesn’t even drink.

 

[Bigger Rick]

The man doesn’t even drink.

Well, there's his 1st problem right there.

 

[Cody]

Well, there's his 1st problem right there.

Bingo.

 

[RR-MAN]

That's a perfect size tank. You never have to upgrade.

-It's almost impossible to get the scratches off glass. I used to have an elos tank and I hired a company to buff the glass. Even the pros could not take the scratch off-and it was a minor scratch.

The man doesn’t even drink.

What?????????????????????????????????????

Well, there's his 1st problem right there.

True

 

[New HTXReef]

Well taking into consideration the responses and looking over some of Steve’s post I think I’m going to leave it alone. I put about 150 gallons in yesterday and couldn’t see many of them and probably could only see a few because I was looking for them.

 

[New HTXReef]

I’m going to start working on the stand this weekend. Going to sand and repaint then add some additional bracing and a dedicated cabinet on the side of the stand to house all of the electrical connections and Apex.

I have ordered a sump baffle kit (for 75 gallon) that is Triton compliant but won’t be running the triton method. I just like the idea of a bigger fuge. Below is the equipment list I’m looking at but would live some input/recommendations from the group:

2X Jebao 12000 return (one spare)
2x Maxspec Gyre 330 or 350
2X 36” T5hybrid light fixtures
4x Hydra 32 HD
Reef Octopus Classic 200 skimmer
I have a BRS dual carbon/gfo reactor
Dual 300w titanium heaters
Apex w/dos, flow measurement, ATO
Kalk reactor?
UV sterilizer?

 

[New HTXReef]

Looking at live rock from Tampa Bay but need to pick your brain @Cody before I order.

 

[steveb]

@steveb knows how to buff out scratches. He spent three years making more scratches on his empty tank and then buffing them out.

and a few careless moments with sand and a mag cleaner and you GUESSED it lol...

 

[steveb]

-It's almost impossible to get the scratches off glass. I used to have an elos tank and I hired a company to buff the glass. Even the pros could not take the scratch off-and it was a minor scratch.

Then they aint pro's lol...

I was able to get most of mine out without issue and a couple were pretty deep. But you are looking at an hour or so per scratch. If they are near the edges it does become a lot more difficult.

Actually did a write up here but seems photobucket is being difficult again...

Scratched Your Glass Tank? GlassRenu Scratch Removal | Do-it-Yourself

Thought I would share this.. I bought a 265 in pristine condition (well had holes drilled in PVC bottom) - but it had NO scratches.. Over the course of time I have somehow managed to put about 8 scratches (mostly in the front panel) :tsk: Yes I am super clumsy apparently... Well not to...

marsh-reef.org

 

[steveb]

@Big Rick are you planning on using the glass-holes.com overflow? If not @Cody should be able to build you an internal weir and bean animal external box using the glass-holes hole pattern.

Cody you like what I did there?

 

[Bigger Rick]

@Big Rick are you planning on using the glass-holes.com overflow? If not @Cody should be able to build you an internal weir and bean animal external box using the glass-holes hole pattern.

Cody you like what I did there?

Well, that tank belongs to Chris (New HTXReef) now. I think he plans on using it as he did not mention switching out the overflow.

 

[New HTXReef]

I am definitely using the overflow that came with the tank. I like the minimal intrusion in the tank.

 

[steveb]

Lol yeah I had a brain toot...

The only reason I asked is I had glass-holes overflow at one point. You may or may not hear air suction noise from the street elbow vents depending on how many gph you are running through them. I ditched mine and built an internal weir that didn’t take up any more room than the glass-holes box and external box was only slightly larger than the street elbows the glass-holes overflow used.

Sorry not trying to derail your thread. Just letting you know there are options.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

 

[New HTXReef]

Lol yeah I had a brain toot...

The only reason I asked is I had glass-holes overflow at one point. You may or may not hear air suction noise from the street elbow vents depending on how many gph you are running through them. I ditched mine and built an internal weir that didn’t take up any more room than the glass-holes box and external box was only slightly larger than the street elbows the glass-holes overflow used.

Sorry not trying to derail your thread. Just letting you know there are options.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

Thank you for your input. Please don’t think you are derailing the thread. I am still very new to saltwater and reefing only having my 72 up and running for a little over 5 months. I definitely welcome all advice and input from those of you who have the experience.

I have been a little concerned about the overflow especially with having been upgraded to 2” drains. Since you identified the make of the OF I have done a little research and there are a ton of posts on R2R about the noise level. It seems that you have to dial in the flow just right as too much or little will cause excessive noise.

I plan on running a larger DC return so I can fine tune flow into a manifold for reactors, return Nozzles and possibly a UV filter.

I am intrigued by your overflow setup. Can you share any pics or drawings?