melev

I would ask one of the larger concrete companies in town (Not Home Depot) and they should be able to help you with both.

Good to hear Marc, I think everyone is glad that you understand their concerns. I think we can all say that we don't want to see a failure like the last one in the next 20 years unless they have some fast dry super strength glass-o-bond or something that can literally fuse glass together at the seams guaranteed for 50 years, LOL.

As for the pipe that you cant wrap and the joints on the rest where you could. . . You may want to just get a good old bucket of tar so isolate from the concrete to prevent a chemical reaction. For bonding the concrete the main thing is making sure it is clean and rebar is in place, you may also want to slightly dampen the old concrete before putting new down so the old does not rapidly absorb the moisture from the new stuff. If you want to take an extra step you can epoxy the rebar into the holes in the old concrete as well.

As for the french drain you may get the stuff from home depot and cut the bottom at an angle so that you can use it over the entire length where you want it. Then on the area where it is cut epoxy it in place so that when concrete is poured it will not pull it up just make sure your cut is pretty accurate to where you want it. The main thing that you will be needing is the sides and top as the floor that is already in place should be good enough to channel the water where it belongs but you could use a sealer inside before using it to make sure that the bottom is watertight.

The pipes in the picture are not fully covered yet because I didnt want to damage the covering till he was completely done and ready to pour. He wont have any issues with piping leaks everything was done right and up to code as I have my master plumbers lic along with many others.

As for the slab he drilled several holes for lateral support and will be droping and placing several more criss cross for support he wont be having any issue with concert cumbling as most of the tank wieght is supported by the orignal slab plus the new slab will have enough support.

Here's the next chapter: http://www.reefaddicts.com/entry.php...ete-at-last%29

Why not insert some steel rods in the old slap and then poor the new cement (they did use some epoxy or material to make the rods stick in a concrete wall they worked on in my appartment) this way the rods will link the new and old cement.
If you can still go a bit higher with the base It would be great to add some liquid Epoxy ( we use that under very haeavy equipment we install in hospitals) this ensures the weight is spread evenly over a large area and it levels better than cement as it's more liquid. in the case of an aquarium I see the added advantage of epoxy not absorbing spilled saltwater which over the years can affect cement and the metalic supports in it. All you'll have to do is build a wooded frame to contain the epoxy, Poor the epoxy and following day take out the wood frame and Voila.

maroun.c
click on the link above you. "heres the next chapter"

Marc, have you done a water change on your living room tank system. (i dont know the technical name for it)
and have you used the new sybon salt? or are you sticking with the usual salt that you have been using to prevent any change or stress? just curious..

I've done three water changes in October, and two of them were with the Sybon salt. No issues at all.

cool. first reactions i guess are good. everything mixing well, and parameters are within check?
(im guessing you will do a review on the new salt later, so if you want to hold off or keep your first reactions quiet till further testing is done, then that is very understandable.)

I posted my initial conclusions in one of my blogs last month, but the full review will come later when I mix up a massive amount for the new tank.