210L Craiglist tank & DIY stand test!
- Thread starter CWO4GUNNER
- Start date
Great job on the diy though
Sorry about your cat. We have three and kept them as indoor cats. We were living in Maine at the time and fishers/wolves/coyotes/eagles were the main reason for making them that way. Being tracked by a coyote is daunting--I was stalked by a coyote (way out in the middle of nowhereland) while riding my bike in Idaho and it was a motavator to stay on the bike! I can say it was a good thing that you were carrying a .22 when you were tagged by a bunch of them! Coyotes definately seem to be getting more used to us humans and are loosing fear of us as we push farther into their territories.
You always seem to get those fantastic deals on the tanks!! Love your rebuilding threads!!!
You always seem to get those fantastic deals on the tanks!! Love your rebuilding threads!!!
Thanks guys for the kind words about Hershey, a guest only had to spend a a couple hours at my home to give complements on how extraordinary he was. He like to jump im a strangers lap and then role on his back and go completely limp for a petting, no matter how you held him he never resisted or scratched. He really loved people and liked dogs. But it makes sense that he was taken as he is with my wife in heaven now being adored as Hershey was her cat.
I forgot to comment that I placed my stand on a scale before placing the tank on it and it weighed in at 78 pounds. I dont think that is too bad and with all the overlapping studs and know that if I had used standard 2X4's instead of 1.5"X2.5"s the weight would have been substantially heavier.
The tank is now drained and Im cleaning it by removing stains, paint and calcium deposits using Heavy Duty Polishing compound and vinegar. The only difference this time is instead of using a hand puffing pad which takes hours, Im using my $24 Robi electric palm polisher and what a difference in results and speed. Only problem is now I can see all the scratched clearly LOL.
Next comes the inside seal removal and reseal which I will post under a new thread later.
I forgot to comment that I placed my stand on a scale before placing the tank on it and it weighed in at 78 pounds. I dont think that is too bad and with all the overlapping studs and know that if I had used standard 2X4's instead of 1.5"X2.5"s the weight would have been substantially heavier.
The tank is now drained and Im cleaning it by removing stains, paint and calcium deposits using Heavy Duty Polishing compound and vinegar. The only difference this time is instead of using a hand puffing pad which takes hours, Im using my $24 Robi electric palm polisher and what a difference in results and speed. Only problem is now I can see all the scratched clearly LOL.
Next comes the inside seal removal and reseal which I will post under a new thread later.
Yes, except for the top which is 3/4 inch Birch furniture grade hardwood. Also once I'm finished resealing the tank I will slide the empty tank over onto my two adjustable metal horses and then role the stand outside for stain & polyurethane. At that time prior to finishing I will also attach 3-1/4 X 3/4" pine board around 3 sides with a 4th side with removable screws to allow sliding the tank in. The reason I am doing 4 sided trim instead of the standard 3 sided trim is becasue this tank will used as a room separator visible and accessible from both front & back. Only one end will face the wall and that is where all my hose runs must be. My DIY 20 Gal sump is going to help hide a few things like the heater, UV sterilizer, and wood air stone. I may have to build a canopy with side soffits to hide tube runs inside if it looks too ugly.
The gentlemen I bought it from removed it thinking it was required for a reseal but lost the piece he broke off. He also removed 6 inches of inside seal I forgot about before my fill test so it looks like the seal between the panels is still very good. The Gentleman I bought it from paid $200 but never got off the garage floor in 6 months and his wife wanted it out. I spend an hour with him the first visit and explained how to fix it and offered to help him reseal the tank and build a stand. But that it was not the time for me to buy it anyway and all I could afford was about $120. A week later to my complete surprise he called me back and accepted $120.
Oh I plan to paint the existing trim flat black and replace the missing trim with a custom cut to fit piece of PVC angle iron. I have a few sections of PVC angle iron left over from my last 244 project.
It took me only about 35 minutes to cut all the inside panel seals. The key is the long razor and sharp wood chisel combination. First you take the long razor blade and slightly bend it so that it runs as close to the vertical or butted panel as possible and make long run cuts. Then you retrace with the chisel along the ajoining panel and the entire seal peels up like tape. No scraping no jabbing and fewer tiny bits of silicone.
After that you clean the residue using a 3M 1" X 2" inch 600 grit sponge sanding block. Not only gets the glass squeaky clean but slightly etched for the glass for great silicone adhesion. You wont see the etching since it is so fine and below the decorative trim line anyway.
After that you clean the residue using a 3M 1" X 2" inch 600 grit sponge sanding block. Not only gets the glass squeaky clean but slightly etched for the glass for great silicone adhesion. You wont see the etching since it is so fine and below the decorative trim line anyway.
210 DIY STAND PREP FOR STAIN AND POLY COATS
Having finished the 210 tank cleaning, inside reseal, and trim repairs. The details of which are almost identical to my 244 tank posted project, I decided to spare you a repeat of those procedures. So I slid the tank over to my adjustable steel horses in order to finish building the stand and prepare for staining.
The last portion of the stand build is the perimeter board trim which gives a furniture quality look to the stand and also hides the bottom tank trim. like the rest of the stand I wanted to spend the least amount of money on trim board and after searching Lowes pile of blemished 10'X5"X1" boards I managed to find 2 good boards with little damage and only small defects for $4.75 each. Two 10 foot boards were large enough to trim the top of the entire 18 foot stand perimeter.
Below a photo of the stand with trim boards brad-nailed and glued in place, all except for one side which is held in only with screws so that it can be removed and replaced when needed for sliding aquariums on and off the stand without trim board interference. I'm trying to hurry and get the stand finished with oil based stained and polyurethane finished so that the tank does not have to sit on two metal horses too long suspended by only two points. You'll notice that the horse do not support the tank on the ends which would seem logical but rather by even distribution of weight so that the overhang past the horses can counterbalance any gravity stress in the middle like a suspension bridge. As long as I don't have it like this for more then 2 weeks it will be fine much more then that and the seals will start to fatigue.
Having finished the 210 tank cleaning, inside reseal, and trim repairs. The details of which are almost identical to my 244 tank posted project, I decided to spare you a repeat of those procedures. So I slid the tank over to my adjustable steel horses in order to finish building the stand and prepare for staining.
The last portion of the stand build is the perimeter board trim which gives a furniture quality look to the stand and also hides the bottom tank trim. like the rest of the stand I wanted to spend the least amount of money on trim board and after searching Lowes pile of blemished 10'X5"X1" boards I managed to find 2 good boards with little damage and only small defects for $4.75 each. Two 10 foot boards were large enough to trim the top of the entire 18 foot stand perimeter.
Below a photo of the stand with trim boards brad-nailed and glued in place, all except for one side which is held in only with screws so that it can be removed and replaced when needed for sliding aquariums on and off the stand without trim board interference. I'm trying to hurry and get the stand finished with oil based stained and polyurethane finished so that the tank does not have to sit on two metal horses too long suspended by only two points. You'll notice that the horse do not support the tank on the ends which would seem logical but rather by even distribution of weight so that the overhang past the horses can counterbalance any gravity stress in the middle like a suspension bridge. As long as I don't have it like this for more then 2 weeks it will be fine much more then that and the seals will start to fatigue.
