NeenahFoxxe

Alright so I bought a used 265 gal tank... there are days that I wonder what the heck was I thinking? as if my life wasn't complicated enough. I'm a mom, wife, home owner, and operations manger to a multi-million dollar company, lets throw in a very complicated hobby. So let me show you guys the tank. [IMG][/IMG][IMG]
so as you can see its already drilled... but that's a pretty big hole.... when I first noticed this I was turned off and almost did not buy the tank. A buddy of mine (another reef junkie) convinced me to buy the tank because its definitely a show tank - absolutely no scratches and hey I can build my own overflows right? (not really but I'd figure that out later). Lets get back to these pre-drilled holes. I call the guy who sold me the tank and ask about the bulkheads - Get this... he never had any - OK?! ( In my head WTF?? so how the hell am I supposed to plumb this thing? ) He says to me I had 4" acrylic pipe going thru these holes with silicone sealing it... No overflows just a 4" clear acrylic pipe... He then says I'm pretty sure you can order a 3" bulkhead... it will fit the hole. I call my LFS and ask about these 3" bulk heads and of course, no one has any. (Again what the heck was I thinking when I bought this tank, LOL) One LFS did suggest a pool store or pond store. Online I found "The water garden". They sell pond supplies and have great prices. When the bulkheads finally arrive -guess what - THEY DON'T FIT! - At this point I'm pretty pissed. The hole needs to be shaved down about 1/4" - 1/4" on 1/2" glass is not an easy task. The local glass vendor would not do the job in fear the glass would crack. Lucky for me I love a challenge and I'm not one to give up. I did some research and found a diamond coated sanding drum and got to work. [IMG][/IMG][IMG][/IMG][IMG][/IMG]

The tank will be set up on that back wall - The 120gal will need to be moved prior to setting up the new one. The back wall will be painted a different color and I have yet to decide what color I want. I think maybe a blue? who knows...
[IMG][/IMG]

Been sanding the glass for days... Almost there...
[IMG][/IMG]

YESSSSS!!!!!!!! (music for rocky plays.. in my head LOL) One down... One to go...
[IMG][/IMG]

SUCCESS!!!!!!!!!

Ok more pics.. this was happening while I was sanding...[IMG][/IMG]

metal stand getting prettied up...
[IMG][/IMG]
The guy who built my stand suggested I put some insulation to keep it cool and to reduce the noise... He tells me he did this for someone else and they were very happy with the end result... I still have my doubts but I'll give it a shot. I can always remove the insulation later.
[IMG][/IMG]

I decided to have it painted an expresso color. Time to build the overflows... THANK YOU MELEV for the 1/2" glass idea. I contacted Melev for acrylic overflows but he suggested 1/4" acrylic might not be strong enough. So the plan is to place the acrylic over the glass. I still have not been able to order the acrylic overflows but hope to do so in the next few weeks... I need to figure how to sneak more money out of our bank account... My husband is ready to have a coronary with my expensive hobby...

[IMG][/IMG]

Here is my pump... I was so excited when it arrived... felt like I waited for weeks.... LOL [IMG][/IMG]

My sump is and 110 gal tank I'm getting the glass for partitions this Saturday and will hopefully have the time to work on it when the baby naps. I got my 1" SCWD from marine depot today.. So that's pretty much where I'm at right now... there is still lots and lots to be done... Any feed back or suggestions is appreciated. Thanks for reading