After getting the pics, I responded that I was interested and wanted to come look at/buy the tank the following day. Seller messaged me back that it had been sold. So I bit the bullet and went to my LFS to buy one new...
I decided to make an aquarium stand based on these plans. I got the frame of the stand built and we went to the LFS to purchase a new 75 gallon.
Store policy here is such that if you do not buy a stand with the aquarium, then there is no warranty on the tank. You sign a waiver right there. This does not appear to be unheard of, and it does make sense...I could see a lot of DIY stands leading to fractured tanks due to uneven support. Fine. So we signed the waiver.
The tank didn't fit perfectly in the back of our vehicle (Jeep Grand Cherokee) so I had to finagle it in there, and one corner of it was resting on the wheel well. But it was less than 2-miles to home, what could go wrong? (Can you see where this is going?
)We got home and unloaded the tank...and the plastic frame on one of the bottom corners had cracked. Big chunk cracked right off. So guess what I get to do next Sunday? I get to replace the bottom frame on a brand-new tank. LFS ordered us a new frame ($25), to be delivered on Thursday. Of course, I'm out of town Thurs-Sat so I'll have to wait til Sunday to perform the operation.
There's some silver lining to all of this though.
1. I spent yesterday finishing the tank cabinet. I used solid cherry boards in 1 x 4 and 1 x 3 to do the sides and front. I got to use my planer, jointer, router, tablesaw, and miter-saw which is always fun. Everything is ready to be stained and polyurethaned. I won't have to finish the stand with the tank already on it--which would have been a royal PITA.
2. When I was at the LFS, I noticed that he had set up some plant-only tanks and used Seachem Flourite. They don't carry it yet. (LFS under new ownership, this guy is really trying to cater to enthusiasts, but they are still renovating/restocking). He is ordering a big load of it, bulk, and is going to sell it to us for 40%-off suggested retail price. So now i won't have to transfer substrate from the 55g when I set up the 75g and I get to switch from sand to a fired-clay substrate relatively cheaply.
