Commissioning An Old Fish Tank!

[goldfinger]

Here is my 300 litre tank and I need some advice on trims for the tank, mine have come off but wanted to know where is the best place to get the trim from in the UK?
Finished cleaning but wanted to run a few rinses when its mounted on the solid work top! Need still to check for leaks.
Plus I have unsealed sandwiched glass which has mold and can't get to it, any neat tricks or is it just remove the glass and reseal from a pro?
I had calcium marks and scrapped it off with stanley blade but still some left I'm hoping when water softerns it up it will clean up better.
 

 

[goldfinger]

I've just realised I have a 10mm over hang on the cabinet at the front, do you think it will be okay?

 

[TallTree01]

It should be fine. the overhang.

 

[goldfinger]

Thanks Tall Tree!
Hopefully the wood and subtrate will be all in the back weighted down.
Getting a neighbour today to move it with me the thing is too hevey for the misses!

 

[TallTree01]

Yeah. Decided to try to get this thread going. I'll watch this for further updates.
I'll bet it would be pretty heavy. I could only just lift my tank by myself. Mine was 105 liters and was acrylic lol.

 

[goldfinger]

LOL I'm not as young as I think I'am!
I starting to like it without the teak trim (bottom) get to see more of the tank TBF. 
I've been thinking the best route for filter pipes and electrical sockets?
I can drill down and feed them intoi the bottom cabinet or could have the external filter ponked on the right, but not sure about Eheim and gravity being an issue due to the height I know they like over meter drop away from the tank? Another issue this tank was custom and the inlet pipe fits only on the right side corner not left airlines can go down the left but not much after that!
I want floating shelves and plan on sticking LEDS into the wood for lighting.
Appreciate the thread Bumper!
 
Neighbour just came around its in place!
 

 

[fluttermoth]

I wouldn't fill a tank with an overhang like that; it'll almost certainly crack
 
You'll need to get another piece of wood/thick ply/whatever to go underneath.

 

[goldfinger]

LOL flutter I told the wife to fill her up and just got back read your post and all seems okay its holding no leaks or cracks the glass is 10mm thick and custom. My father had this before me and he said its would be fine its only 1cm sticking over the wood.
Plus underneath the wood top is solid oak boards to handle the weight.

 

[DrRob]

I'm with flutter on the concern on the overhand. The front pane of a tank is a separate piece that tends to be weight bearing. It probably won't move, but if it does it'll go bang. I'd probably go for the pragmatic approach of a board cut to size to just level that one little section, will probably be barely noticeable if it matches the footprint of the tank.
 
As for limescale, white vinegar is an option that doesn't make too much of a mess of a tank or stop you from using it in the near future.
 
Trim I get from either furniture making/woodwork places or occasionally from kitchen worktop supply places (they come in all the colours of the kitchen melamine worktops, in about 1 inch thicknesses and are self adhesive.
 
Filter wise, I've stood eheim classics next to tanks before and they were perfectly happy. More difficult to prime, but worked well once they got going.

 

[goldfinger]

I'm looking at a new worktop seen one on Ebay for peanuts only problem I have to cut it to size, but I can buy two smaller pieces and join them as noone is going to see the join TBF.
I've done over 1200 litres in rinsing (slowly) the tank and its fine the over hang is more like 2cm, but pushed the worktop forward and tank back a bit so still is about 1cm overhang.
Good to know the gravity issues isn't a problem for the 2217. 
I used brown vinegar it didnt seem to work too well maybe white is stronger.
I found the strip that goes at the front and not sure what sealant to glue it on the glass? I usually use CT1 and as its outside of the tank which I don't think it matters if its toxic?
Missing the corner edging that holds the trim in place so I should be able to find a glazer to supply a small corner strip.
I have a light not sure where to mount that as its just a tube with rubber ends.
I also found a UV steralizer, but wont need that for goldfish!
Three heater bars some broken some okay. 
8kg of salt
Some coral sand 10kg bag
Only thing I looking at is a protein skimmer!

 

[goldfinger]

I appreciated the coments about the glass dropping striaght downward if the seals had gone and TBF the more I thought about 300 litres hitting the floor made me worried indeedie!
Just got some worktop stuff is not cheap these days but worth the effort! Cut to the exact dimensions and I sealed the cut edges with silicone to stop moisture getting into the chip board.  
The redundant drain pipe was cut off so I could have a clean worktop, instead of trying to cut around the stupid pipe. Eventually the whole pipe is going to be taken out.
But there is still a 60mm hole available to be drilled for pipes (left side) and electrical cables to flow down the sides if need be so the whole tank will look clean and tidy?
 

 

 

[goldfinger]

Marine or Coldwater?

 

 

[Wills]

PHEW!!! So so so glad you fixed the work top on this it would 100% have cracked at some point - probably at night while you were on holiday or some other vastly inconvenient time to have 300 liters splashing all over your floor lol!!
 
All I would say is - what is the bubble wrap for? I would get a sheet of 15-20mm polystyrene under the tank - not seen anyone use bubble wrap before and it worries me that it would not be a good long term solution as surely eventually all the bubbles would just pop and leave you with a sheet of plastic?
 
Wills

 

[goldfinger]

This bubble wrap is industrial stuff its hard like cardboard I can't even pop the stuff like the other bubble stuff you get for packing?
I will change it eventually but I've started cycling the tank because my smaller goldfish is stressing out the older one I'm going to sperate them at somepoint till the older GF gets better with time out.

 

[dgwebster]

possibly the best solution I have ever seen for under a tank: camping matt, bought from Poundland of all places. Suitable for smaller tanks, wouldnt trust it under 300 litres though.