This is crazy. I bought the 2 tanks (75gal & 240gal) & equipment from a person who had let his tanks go and finally is getting out of the hobby. I set up the 75 gallon tank. Moved 2 fish from a 240 into it, and sold the couple others to an LFS. I cleaned/scrubbed the massive hair algae growth off of the live rock and started it cooking in the garage. I Built a new wooden stand out of 2x4s for the 240 with plans to face it in Cherry cabinet after setting it in place. Great plan, or so I thought.
Friday I arrive with 6 people to pick up the 240 gal tank. It was set down into a steel stand for 10 years, with 10 years of accumulated rust. They are stuck together.:freak: We could not separate them and could not fit it in the van. Monday I returned with the crew and a trailer and brought it home.:lol:
problems:
1) 240 still stuck sitting down into a rusted steel stand. (surprise):angry:
2) I need to remove the ratty 10 yr old internal silicone and re-silicone the fillets in the joints. (planned)
3) The top glass cross-braces are gone. I need to buy new glass and install. (Planned)
4) Must re-plumb the drains since all plumbing had been glued together including the bulkheads.
So.... I had bid on a Reeflo barracuda for the tank on ebay. Monday night I am swearing at the steel stand and see that I won the pump. I looked and saw that the person with the Barracuda also listed an acrylic 360gal tank and sump and all the plumbing that had attached the barracuda to it. I bought it all. (and yes, my wife approved)
So my new tank will be a 360 8'L x 24"W x 36"h. What should I do with the darn 240? (8'L x 24"W x 24"h) As I see it here are my choices:
1) Try to sell it as is rusted to a stand and needing repair. Probably hold it for 3-4 months and lose $100 or break even.
2) Fix it up then try to sell it, probably sell more quickly, get a little more than my fix up cost out of it, lose $200
3) Fix it up. Tear apart the 2x4 stand. Redesign the stand so the 360 goes on top and use the 240 as a huge sump underneath. Probably lose $150 in destroyed lumber and increase the amount of money tied up in my system.
4) Fix it up. Tear apart the 2x4 stand. Redesign the stand so the 360 goes on top and the 240goes underneath as a 2nd "Double Decker" Display tank. Each display would get it's own 55 gal sump. Probably lose $150 initially. The cost to stock these 2 huge display tanks would mean years before they could be properly populated.
5) Take a hammer to the 240, let the trash hauler deal with it and move forward with the 360.
I really could use some opinions. I am normally a very decisive person, but that 240 really has me PO'ed and I seem to change my leaning every hour. After I pick up the 360 this weekend, I will start a build thread & include some pics of the tanks. (the 75 gal set-up will remain no matter the fate of the 240)
Thanks
Dave
Friday I arrive with 6 people to pick up the 240 gal tank. It was set down into a steel stand for 10 years, with 10 years of accumulated rust. They are stuck together.:freak: We could not separate them and could not fit it in the van. Monday I returned with the crew and a trailer and brought it home.:lol:
problems:
1) 240 still stuck sitting down into a rusted steel stand. (surprise):angry:
2) I need to remove the ratty 10 yr old internal silicone and re-silicone the fillets in the joints. (planned)
3) The top glass cross-braces are gone. I need to buy new glass and install. (Planned)
4) Must re-plumb the drains since all plumbing had been glued together including the bulkheads.
So.... I had bid on a Reeflo barracuda for the tank on ebay. Monday night I am swearing at the steel stand and see that I won the pump. I looked and saw that the person with the Barracuda also listed an acrylic 360gal tank and sump and all the plumbing that had attached the barracuda to it. I bought it all. (and yes, my wife approved)
So my new tank will be a 360 8'L x 24"W x 36"h. What should I do with the darn 240? (8'L x 24"W x 24"h) As I see it here are my choices:
1) Try to sell it as is rusted to a stand and needing repair. Probably hold it for 3-4 months and lose $100 or break even.
2) Fix it up then try to sell it, probably sell more quickly, get a little more than my fix up cost out of it, lose $200
3) Fix it up. Tear apart the 2x4 stand. Redesign the stand so the 360 goes on top and use the 240 as a huge sump underneath. Probably lose $150 in destroyed lumber and increase the amount of money tied up in my system.
4) Fix it up. Tear apart the 2x4 stand. Redesign the stand so the 360 goes on top and the 240goes underneath as a 2nd "Double Decker" Display tank. Each display would get it's own 55 gal sump. Probably lose $150 initially. The cost to stock these 2 huge display tanks would mean years before they could be properly populated.
5) Take a hammer to the 240, let the trash hauler deal with it and move forward with the 360.
I really could use some opinions. I am normally a very decisive person, but that 240 really has me PO'ed and I seem to change my leaning every hour. After I pick up the 360 this weekend, I will start a build thread & include some pics of the tanks. (the 75 gal set-up will remain no matter the fate of the 240)
Thanks
Dave