Re: Storing empty tank

[Martin Sorensen[2840]]

We kept a 325l (75 gallon?) in a basement for 3 or 4 years, no problem.

/Martin

[gorgonzola2924]

On Wed, 27 Aug 2003 10:22:49 -0400, "al" >
wrote:

>Hi folks,
>
>I have three tanks - which I enjoy grealty. but I am getting really busy at
>work etc and the the cleaning and water changes on the three are getting to
>be a time problem. I am thinking of retiring my 33g and keeping my 75g and
>10 g( for fry) going. ( I also have an isolation tank going but I am not
>counting that.
>
>The question - How can I store the tank safely - I Hear that if not done
>right the silicone seal will dry and crack and therefore I may run the risk
>of a leak when I re-fill etc.

The silicone should last just fine. I've stored tanks for years
without problems.
John


>
>I don't want to sell the tank at this stage because it is fairly new and has
>a good filter.
>
>Thanks
>
>Al
>
>

[Bob K.]

>The question - How can I store the tank safely - I Hear that if not done
>right the silicone seal will dry and crack and therefore I may run the risk
>of a leak when I re-fill etc.
>

You're hearing an old story from when tanks use to be built
with metal frames and tar to hold the glass in. Those did
dry out (they'd dry out even with water, but detritus would
plug small leaks). Left dry for a few years almost guarenteed
a leaker.

Today's silicone doesn't dry out, in or out of water.
Go ahead and store it.

Bob

[sleddog]

"al" > wrote in
:

> The question - How can I store the tank safely - I Hear that if not
> done right the silicone seal will dry and crack and therefore I may
> run the risk of a leak when I re-fill etc.
>

I had 2 empty glass tanks outside in the texas heat for 2 years and now
back in use with not a drop having squeezed out of either.

[Alan Silver]

In article >, al
> writes
>and the the cleaning and water changes on the three are getting to be a
>time problem.

Don't know if it is interest to you, but I recently installed a bit of
plumbing into my tanks that allows me to do water changes very fast,
sitting on the floor in front of the tank without even opening the lid.
This made a huge difference to my tank. Instead of big water changes
every 2-3 weeks, with wet carpets and hard work, I now do twice-weekly
10% water changes with no effort and in a lot less time.

It might be worth reconsidering getting rid of a tank if the main
problem is the time spent on maintenance. The whole installation only
took a couple of hours and cost around 25 UKP (about $40 I think). You
don't need much DIY knowledge for it either. If you want more info, post
back and I'll describe it in more details.

HTH

--
Alan Silver

[al]

Please let me know how you did it

Thanks

Al

"Alan Silver"
> wrote in
message ...
> In article >, al
> > writes
> >and the the cleaning and water changes on the three are getting to be a
> >time problem.
>
> Don't know if it is interest to you, but I recently installed a bit of
> plumbing into my tanks that allows me to do water changes very fast,
> sitting on the floor in front of the tank without even opening the lid.
> This made a huge difference to my tank. Instead of big water changes
> every 2-3 weeks, with wet carpets and hard work, I now do twice-weekly
> 10% water changes with no effort and in a lot less time.
>
> It might be worth reconsidering getting rid of a tank if the main
> problem is the time spent on maintenance. The whole installation only
> took a couple of hours and cost around 25 UKP (about $40 I think). You
> don't need much DIY knowledge for it either. If you want more info, post
> back and I'll describe it in more details.
>
> HTH
>
> --
> Alan Silver
>

[al]

Thanks a great explannation - I might just get this doen form my 75 g tank.

thanks'

al

"Alan Silver"
> wrote in
message ...
> In article ers.com>,
> The Madd Hatter > writes
> >I'd like to know!!! Currently my whole Sunday gets shot right after
> >church, doing WC after WC!
>
> OK, basically you need to have a source of water to the tank. I have a
> cellar under the room where the tank lives, so I just added a spur from
> the main water pipe and brought it up under the tank (into the cupboard
> under the tank). This part was done with the aid of a neighbour and took
> about 90 mins. The plumbing is very very easy. If you have any doubts
> about this bit, just ask someone who has done DIY. It was my first time
> dealing with water pipes, but I was amazed how simple it was. The
> hardest part was drilling a hole through the cupboard bottom and through
> the floorboards (borrowed a BIG drill bit for that).
>
> If you don't have underfloor access to the tank, you can still do it,
> you just have to hide the pipe in a corner along the skirting board or
> something.
>
> Once you have the pipe coming in near the tank, add a garden tap on the
> end of it. I have this inside the cupboard to keep it out of sight and
> away from small fingers.
>
> Now comes the clever bit (not my idea !!). You need a pipe going from
> the cupboard into the tank. I used one of those U-shaped plastic
> (non-flexible) ones that you use for external filters with some standard
> aquatic pipe on the back end. It hangs over the tank and comes down a
> reasonable way inside. The other end comes in through the back of the
> cupboard.
>
> Then you use two on/off valves (available from your LFS) and a
> T-junction (ditto) together with some standard pipe (either the aquatic
> stuff from the LFS or plain old hose pipe) and arrange it like this :-
>
> ______
> | |
> | | | |
> | | | |
> | | |
> | A | |
> |______| |
> --------- | -----------
> |
> | Inside the cupboard
> |
> X
> |
> |---- C (garden tap fits on here)
> |
> X
> |
> |
> B (leads off to waste outlet)
>
> Where A is the tank, B goes to a waste (mine goes through the bottom of
> the cupboard, through the floorboards, into the cellar and out of an
> air-grate into the garden) and C is where it fits onto the tap. The two
> Xs are the valves.
>
> (This diagram will only work in a fixed-width font, so if it looks a
> mess, copy and paste it into Notepad.)
>
> The way it works is that you can open the lower valve and turn on the
> tap. This allows water to flow out of the waste, removing the water that
> has sat in the copper pipes (and so become contaminated). Let that run
> for a minute or so, then turn off the tap. Now open the upper valve. The
> natural syphon action (as all pipes are full of water) will start
> emptying water out of your tank and down the waste route.
>
> When you have removed as much water as you require, close the lower
> valve and turn on the tap. Water will now flow into the tank filling it
> back up. Once it is full, turn off the tap and close the valve.
>
> Simple eh ? As you can see, the whole thing can be done sitting on the
> floor in front of the cupboard. The time required depends on how long
> the emptying and refilling takes. After a few goes, you get a rough idea
> and can go and do something else whilst this is happening. It's actually
> even easier than I described. I even let my 8-year old son do it (with
> supervision).
>
> It is a good idea to do frequent small water changes with this method as
> this reduces the temperature change that you would get doing big changes
> with using cold water straight from the mains. I have rarely noticed any
> significant change in the overall temperature of the tank, and the fish
> often enjoy swimming in the area near the inlet. I think they like the
> cold water !! My inlet comes in next to the heater which helps keep
> temperature fluctuations down.
>
> Remember to add water conditioner. You can dilute this and add it
> straight to the tank without any problems.
>
> I hope this is clear enough. I don't have any pictures of it and it's a
> bit hard to explain. Believe me, it really was easy to do and has made a
> world of difference to my fish. I now do regular water changes which is
> much better for them.
>
> If it's not clear, feel free to post back.
>
> --
> Alan Silver
>

[NetMax]

"Alan Silver"
> wrote
in message ...
> In article ers.com>,
> The Madd Hatter > writes
> >I'd like to know!!! Currently my whole Sunday gets shot right after
> >church, doing WC after WC!
<snip>>
> Then you use two on/off valves (available from your LFS) and a
> T-junction (ditto) together with some standard pipe (either the aquatic
> stuff from the LFS or plain old hose pipe) and arrange it like this :-
>
> ______
> | |
> | | | |
> | | | |
> | | |
> | A | |
> |______| |
> --------- | -----------
> |
> | Inside the cupboard
> |
> X
> |
> |---- C (garden tap fits on here)
> |
> X
> |
> |
> B (leads off to waste outlet)
>
<snip>

I like it!! I couldn't bring a pipe up to my last tank, so at B, I
connect a garden hose, and C goes to my canister input (A is my canister
siphon). To W/C, I turn off the canister power and open B (and close
another valve just above C). This backwashed my canister filter, by
forcing water into the spray bar and out the input. To refill, I just
pressurize the garden hose (and I open the valve above C to reduce the
pressure on the canister).

If I could run a pipe up, I'd do it like Alan showed, maybe incorporating
the backwash function to the canister again.

NetMax

>
> --
> Alan Silver
>