Storing empty tank

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

/Martin

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

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

"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.

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

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

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

thanks'

al

"Alan Silver"
wrote in
message ...
In article gers.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

"Alan Silver"
wrote
in message ...
In article gers.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