$50 craiglist 225 tank/cabinet/canopy DIY refurbish

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CWO4GUNNER

USN/USCG 1974-2004 Weps
My DIY starts with the assessment of the cabinet for wood and supplies I will need. Although the cabinet is dirty and has some confined water damage the cabinet is surprisingly level and without any warping



The only water damage to good wood was in the front right hand corner. This section shown below in red will have to be removed and replaced with new board.


The only other area with damage was the fiber board floor which was non-structural and easy to knock out with a 3 pound hammer. The last few pieces seen below.


Unfortunately the builder instead of form cutting the floor to fit inside the cabinet, they merely sandwiched the entire sheet of flooring between support structure as seen below. This makes for an unstable foundation and must be removed by removing the floor boards then replacing them after cleaning.


As far as the aquarium goes it was time for one last measurement before visiting the glass man for a 1/2 inch piece of tempered glass. Below the length being measured with a measuring tape. Make sure your measuring tape is calibrated by comparing to a steel ruler because the end the has play can become damaged and giver reading that are up to 1/4 inch off.


Next the width. It is important to measure close along the bottom since it is the bottom glass you will be ordering.


Remember when storing an aquarium outside it is a good idea to keep a damp towel inside or container with water so that the humidity can stay inside and keep the seals from drying out. Also the aquarium should be covered to hold some humidity in but also to protect the glass and seals from UV damage.



All for now folks :lipssealedsmilie:


 

Rbishop

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Dec 30, 2005
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Mr. Normal
Should be an interesting build.
 

Arkangel77

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Aug 13, 2006
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I WANA Keep an eye on this one? Are you gona "cap" the bottom glass???
 

CWO4GUNNER

USN/USCG 1974-2004 Weps
I WANA Keep an eye on this one? Are you gona "cap" the bottom glass???
Yes and why the measurement on the outside. A floating bottom exact fit without taking apart the entire aquarium would have been very difficult if not impossible. Just thinking how close I can to ordering an inside bottom glass makes me queezy. :hypnotized:

The other problem I have is with the cabinet. Whoever made this thing for a reef ready tank sure didn't take into consideration how small those 4 doors are. I mean 1/2 the size of a normal door like on my 120 cabinet which allows my FX5 to fit underneath, the doors on this cabinet are tiny and yet was cut on top for plumbing, go figure. Somehow Ill have to figure out a solution (a side door) if I want to stick my FX5 in and out when needed.
 
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inkyjenn

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Jun 15, 2008
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i like that you are posting this. there are a lot of threads like this on mfk, but it seems not so many here. diy is the way to go!
 

SMinNC

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Being the internet and not being able to think of how to word it so I'm not comming across as an a hole.
With all due respect...

That tank has nothing to do with being reef ready. Its just marketing BS to sell something. That I've been rolling my eyes at for yrs. The bad part about it, is they're probably loosing sales to alot of FW people, because of it.

Just for the simple fact that a tank has built in overflows, they call'em reef ready.

What would make more sense. Would be to put some half height over flows in and call it Paladarium Ready.

Anyway. Just sayin'.

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The Doors!

I'm suspecting that the piece of wood between the 2 doors, are not load bearing.
Because they're not their, in the pics with no doors.

How about, attaching that piece of wood to one of the 2 doors on each side. So it opens with the door?
kind of a false wall type of thingy? Whatever the technical term would be for it.
 

Arkangel77

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Aug 13, 2006
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Congrats on the deal and good luck with the diy.

Wish I had more space, there are a lot of similar deals around here.
DUDE I wish I could find a deal here - they got BUTTKISS - Nothing for sale worth while within 2 hrs, constantly!!!!!!!!!!!! It Sucks!:silly:
 
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