Weetie's Zen Learning Experiment, Random Stuff

[StinkyBunny]

On 7/14/2017 at 6:19 PM, seabass said:

That's so cool.  I've seen tons of cerith eggs, but never any babies.

It takes FOR FRICKIN EVER for those little buggers to grow to a size you can see. I moved a bunch out of M's 60 because Stripey was smashing them on the rocks to get at the escargot goodness inside, lol

 

Congrats on the stomatellas weety, they are algae eating machines. If the abalones keep growing out like they are, I'll have some for sale by fall. They've spawned in 3 of our tanks now.

[TinyOcean]

I love my Stomatella! The second I put them in all my diatoms were gone in like a day and I've never had to scrape algae of my glass. Plus they are super cute and will even hand feed if you get them sitting on an out crop.

[Weetabix7]

Gonna start siliconing new tank now, I'm messy at this and quite nervous so .

[fishfreak0114]

 Exciting!

[Weetabix7]

28 minutes ago, fishfreak0114 said:

 Exciting!

 

It's done!!

I used painters tape and just made myself do it before I could think about it too much. 

This means I can get it wet pretty much as soon as the silicone cures. 

[StinkyBunny]

Let it set up for 48 hours. Once it has skinned, 24 hours, put it outside in a shed or carport/garage to force the cure. Just an FYI for those that live in dryer climates, silicone needs humidity to cure. As humid as it is right now it'll cure within 48 hours. Now we want pics!!

[JBM]

Grats on ze bebies.

[Weetabix7]

1 hour ago, StinkyBunny said:

Let it set up for 48 hours. Once it has skinned, 24 hours, put it outside in a shed or carport/garage to force the cure. Just an FYI for those that live in dryer climates, silicone needs humidity to cure. As humid as it is right now it'll cure within 48 hours. Now we want pics!!

 

Well I definitely have the humidity, but I live in a large apartment complex, so setting it outside would leave it at the mercy of too many people I don't know. 

Soooo.... it's gonna have to cure inside. 

Also, and I blame advertising for this, but I left the painters tape on til the silicone started to skin, so pulling it off without messing up the silicone will be more challenging now. 

In the ads they always pull it off after the paint is dry, I had no idea it would be the opposite for silicone!!!

Ah well, guess I can just chalk it up to one more experiment, lol. 

[seabass]

The same is basically true for paint too.

[Weetabix7]

6 minutes ago, seabass said:

The same is basically true for paint too.

 

[Weetabix7]

Not a sexy pic, but you get the general idea.

 

P1060986 by Lisa Langston-Smith, on Flickr

[fishfreak0114]

Very nice!  I'm so stoked to watch experiment play out. 

[seabass]

Weetie, you did a great job!  Looks awesome.

 

Brings back memories of building my sump:

On 1/28/2015 at 0:43 PM, seabass said:

Installing the sump baffle.

 

I had to sand down the corners to account for the silicone bead on the bottom pane.

 

Some tape to make lining up the baffle, and cleanup easier.

 

Done.

I had grand plans of pulling off the tape and having perfect seams.  Well... it wasn't quite that easy; but it did come out pretty good.

[StinkyBunny]

That's a pretty damn cool set up Weety. I put a divider in a 20 long for someone about a year ago.

[Weetabix7]

11 hours ago, seabass said:

Weetie, you did a great job!  Looks awesome.

 

Brings back memories of building my sump:

I had grand plans of pulling off the tape and having perfect seams.  Well... it wasn't quite that easy; but it did come out pretty good.

 

Thx, but can you tell me the safest way to pull the tape without messing up the silicone job?

What did you end up doing?

Thx for sharing your job, it does look good. 

I want this one to look decent cause it's a Display, not a Sump, y'know?

11 hours ago, StinkyBunny said:

That's a pretty damn cool set up Weety. I put a divider in a 20 long for someone about a year ago.

 

Hey, thanks!!

You got any advice on the question above?

[seabass]

My results have pretty good, but it always seems to be a messy endeavor that involves lots of paper towels.

 

When doing baffles, I find that securing the baffle can be the hardest part.  Placing it in and cleaning up the joints is almost impossible free hand (which is how I have tended to do it).  However, instead, I suggest you set the tank on end, and find or build a couple of boxes which will set the baffle at the right spot (if you use just one box, you won't be able to remove it, due to the tank rim).  With the baffle unsecured, you can apply the tape to help clean it up (one long piece is easier to remove than multiple small pieces).  Then remove the baffle and tape it up.

 

Remember that you don't want the tape to make the seam, it's only there to help cleanup.  So you want some space between the baffle and the tape (if you are using a tool, use this to determine how far away the tape should be).  In theory, you shouldn't even need tape.

 

or

 

Now you can apply a thin layer of silicone around the three edges of the baffle.  Don't worry if some of it will smear off onto the tape, and any that gets on the glass can be removed with a razor blade.  Now you can apply a bead around the edges, and smooth it out.  They sell tools which will help you get a uniform seam, but you can also use a finger if you prefer (again, as I'm sure you are aware, it can be a little messy).

 

While the silicone hasn't set up yet, remove the tape.  The silicone should be super thin on the tape line, so the tape should come up without making a mess.

 

After the silicone has setup on this side (probably overnight), you can remove the boxes and turn the tank over.  If you need to cleanup this side, do so before continuing.  Now you can tape can seal this side.  Apply and cleanup just like before.

 

I'm no pro.  But I hope you can pickup something from this that might help you.  Remember, this is just a baffle, it doesn't even have to be leak proof.

 

[Weetabix7]

10 minutes ago, seabass said:

My results have pretty good, but it always seems to be a messy endeavor that involves lots of paper towels.

 

When doing baffles, I find that securing the baffle can be the hardest part.  Placing it in and cleaning up the joints is almost impossible free hand (which is how I have tended to do it).  However, instead, I suggest you set the tank on end, and find or build a couple of boxes which will set the baffle at the right spot (if you use just one box, you won't be able to remove it, due to the tank rim).  With the baffle unsecured, you can apply the tape to help clean it up (one long piece is easier to remove than multiple small pieces).  Then remove the baffle and tape it up.

 

Remember that you don't want the tape to make the seam, it's only there to help cleanup.  So you want some space between the baffle and the tape (if you are using a tool, use this to determine how far away the tape should be).  In theory, you shouldn't even need tape.

 

 

Now you can apply a thin layer of silicone around the three edges of the baffle.  Don't worry if some of it will smear off onto the tape, and any that gets on the glass can be removed with a razor blade.  Now you can apply a bead around the edges, and smooth it out.  They sell tools which will help you get a uniform seam, but you can also use a finger if you prefer (again, as I'm sure you are aware, it can be a little messy).

 

While the silicone hasn't set up yet, remove the tape.  The silicone should be super thin on the tape line, so the tape should come up without making a mess.

 

After the silicone has setup on this side (probably overnight), you can remove the boxes and turn the tank over.  If you need to cleanup this side, do so before continuing.  Now you can tape can seal this side.  Apply and cleanup just like before.

 

I'm no pro.  But I hope you can pickup something from this that might help you.  Remember, this is just a baffle, it doesn't even have to be leak proof.

 

 

Thx for all of the above, I'm sure it will be super helpful in future endeavors and for others reading as well. 

However, the silicone began to set before I removed the tape, so now I need a way to remove the tape without removing the silicone. 

You have ideas for that?

[seabass]

You'll need to cut along the tape line with a razor blade.  Then you should be able to remove it.

[Weetabix7]

4 minutes ago, seabass said:

You'll need to cut along the tape line with a razor blade.  Then you should be able to remove it.

 

That's what I was thinking of doing. Thanks!!

[seabass]

Worst case scenario is that you cut away all of the silicone (at right angles to the baffle, leaving just the silicone between the edge of the baffle and the tank walls).  Then you can seal the seams (on each side) like I described earlier.

[StinkyBunny]

I was gonna say what seabass said, cut with a razor.

[Weetabix7]

3 minutes ago, StinkyBunny said:

I was gonna say what seabass said, cut with a razor.

 

You think it would be ok to do that 24 hrs after applying the silicone?

Not sure how long I should wait. 

 

The acrylic wall is actually a pretty snug fit, I had to sand it down to get it to fit in there. 

[StinkyBunny]

I think you're fine now. Just be careful with it. Poke the silicone, if it's firm you should be OK, if not, wait till tomorrow.

[Weetabix7]

40B gets wet today, may post messy, disorganized pic of it livestock in the new home later tonight on this thread.

I do have a tank thread for it, but I'd prefer to make a more tidied up new tank post on that, so the "behind the scenes" stuff will on here. 

[markalot]

3 pages to catch up and very few pics so yes please, post pics.