Well, I'm going to try to keep a journal on my new tank setup as I get it ready, and take pics as it progesses. 

Picked up a tank today, was told it was a 250, but turned out to be a 140.  Still large enough for my needs, so I got it anyway (the future home of my monsters-to-be, and some freshwater stingrays).  The previous owner used it for a reef tank first, then a growout tank for saltwater rays and sharks. 

Hex shaped, 44" from panel to panel, and 19" tall.  The stand offered with it looked like it was put together by a drunkard blind man, and didn't look sturdy enough to hold the tank with water, so I left that.  The top that was offered was a 6' diameter, 1/2" glass table top that weighed around 200lbs so that was also left.  I'll make my own stand and lids.  It has a plastic strip siliconed to the bottom for a divider to be put in.  Removing that will be the first thing to do, so if anyone has any tips for removing silicone from glass, let me know please. 

This is going to be fun thread to follow! Looking forward to the progress!

great looking tank

I look forward to seeing the updates as this project progresses. What kind of substrate will you be using?  Can you leave the silicone or will it cause problesms in the tank?

I don't think the silicone is going to hurt anything but I want to remove the plastic divider strip. 

I'll either go barebottom, and paint the bottom black, or use black sand.

haxjester said :

I don't think the silicone is going to hurt anything but I want to remove the plastic divider strip. 

I'll either go barebottom, and paint the bottom black, or use black sand.

Hey Dave there's another Barebottom guy for you!

That's a really interesting tank size you have there.

Good luck with it. Can't wait to see what and how it turns out!

Ok, so removing the plastic divider strip was a breeze.  I just used pliers to rip it off, and then used a razor blade to remove the leftover silicone.  I would really like to go bare bottom with this and just paint the bottom black.  I've read several different articles about this on the net, and it seems the best way is to just tape off all nonpainting areas, and put many light coats on until no light can get through. 

The only thing I'm worried about is the inside of the bottom.  After cleaning the tank today, I noticed that the bottom has a lot of small ,typical use for an older aquarium, wear and tear scratches from rocks and substrate. When I paint the outside of the bottom black will the scratches stand out because of  the paint, or will the paint help to mask/hide the scratches?

haxjester said :

The stand offered didn't look sturdy enough to hold the tank with water, so I left that. 

It wasnt Scott was it.       Sorry Scott, I just couldnt resist. 

RJS8540 said :

haxjester said :

The stand offered didn't look sturdy enough to hold the tank with water, so I left that. 

It wasnt Scott was it.       Sorry Scott, I just couldnt resist. 

lol..  My stand is still holding strong.  I've been thinking about going into the stand making buisness and giving you a run for your money RJ!