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04/02/2013, 02:46 PM | #1 |
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1st is the worst, 2nd is the...best? Tim's 75 Gallon Build
Hey all,
I'm finally pulling the trigger and upgrading my current 55 to a new 75 with a 40 breeder sump. The 55 has been up for around a year, but I can't deal with the 12in depth from front to back anymore. I live in a 3rd floor apartment, so according to my wife (and probably one or two structural engineers out there ) I can't go much bigger at the moment. Maybe when we get a house, I can move larger, but until then this is what I've got! A little background: So I'm not too happy with my 55. I made a lot of mistakes with it (who doesn't their first time out of the gate?) so a lot of the design I've poured into this was to specifically correct those mistakes and give me the ability for expansion going forward. Some mistakes I'd like to correct this time around: ---Staying the heck away from check valves. I've been burned once; never again. ---I don't think it's humanly possible to make an overflow louder than my current glass-holes overflow. ---I'm building my own stand to suit my own needs. Last go around, I paid $$$ for a standard stand that I don't really like the look of, and severely limited my sump options. A standard stand for a 55 only allows for 9 1/2 depth front to back on the sump. That landed me with an Aqueon ProFlex 2... Not that happy with it. ---I need a better way to organize the tank electronics. As it stands, I simply started bolting them onto the sides of the stand. It looks ugly, there's a rats nest of wires, and I can't keep looking at Drummereef's pictures without hating my own wire management ---I really do not like my BRS Dual Reactors. They're extremely finicky and hard to balance both the GFO and the Carbon. I need to get individual reactors going and scrap this dual reactor. Credit inspiration: So that brings me to the large pile of threads that I follow on here that have given me pieces of inspiration for some of the things I'm implementing on this build and hopefully in my someday-in-the-future dream build. *Disclaimer* All of these tanks are absolutely drop dead gorgeous. I doubt anyone will see any similarities between my build and theirs, since my imagination is way stronger than my DIY skills, but I'd still like to give a shout out. drummereef's 180g in-wall build *d2mini's new 200g Reeftastic Build* Mike's 300 Double-D And lets not forget BeanAnimal for a wonderful overflow system, UncleOf6 for correcting some of my early plumbing plans, RocketEngineer for a very easy stand design, and all of you for reading this far without giving up since you haven't seen a picture yet in this thread. Anyway, Lets get on with it!
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-Tim They’ve done studies, you know. Sixty percent of the time, it works every time. Current Tank Info: 75 Gal Marineland Tank, 40B AGA Sump: Vertex Omega 150 Skimmer + Vectra Cleaner, 2x Radion XR30W G2, 2x Jebao WP-10, 2x Ecotech Vortech MP10w, Waveline DC-4000 Return Pump, Red Sea Coral Pro Salt |
04/02/2013, 02:55 PM | #2 |
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So I've picked up the tanks today. The very lovely $1 per gallon sale got me my new 40 breeder sump, and a special that a LFS was running got me a marineland 75 for $100. Not too bad at all.
I thought transportation was going to be an issue, since my only car is a Ford Focus. I expected to have to rent a pickup to get the 75 home. Turns out I had an epiphany when I bought the 40 breeder... "Hey, this is 18 inches wide, and it fits fine!" and "Remember when I got the 55 gallon? Thats the same length and height as the 75 and it fit fine!" So in my mind, 2 + 2 = lets fit it in the back seat. When I bought the 75 from the LFS and they carried it outside, I think the owner thought I was playing a joke on him. He was about to head back inside and get a wrench so I could take my door off to fit it in. To his credit though he let me try to fit it. And guess what? It made it Barely. I think if it were 1 inch longer, the door wouldn't have closed and I would have needed a bungee cord or something. So a little help from my brother-in-law (Paid for in beer and a few rounds at mario kart) and we got the tanks up 3 flights of stairs and into the spare bedroom (from here on referred to as the *fish room* since I've commandeered it from my wife ) More updates to come.
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-Tim They’ve done studies, you know. Sixty percent of the time, it works every time. Current Tank Info: 75 Gal Marineland Tank, 40B AGA Sump: Vertex Omega 150 Skimmer + Vectra Cleaner, 2x Radion XR30W G2, 2x Jebao WP-10, 2x Ecotech Vortech MP10w, Waveline DC-4000 Return Pump, Red Sea Coral Pro Salt |
04/02/2013, 05:08 PM | #3 |
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Any pics of 55 gallon setup for reference?
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04/03/2013, 07:37 AM | #4 |
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Well I suppose I can drop in a few The tank isn't looking its best at the moment - I'm waiting on some new ATI bulbs to be delivered, the current ones are the same stock AquaticLife bulbs that came with the fixture a year ago. I've had a very annoying cyano outbreak + a few tufts of GHA + some green film algae creeping around.
The tank started a 3 day lights out period today, so most of the corals are closed up. Aside from the freebie browned out Acropora Tenuis all livestock is looking very healthy. I hope to get the algae under control when I make the switch to the 75. Anyway, on to some pics: Pair of Ocelarris - 1st fish into the tank: McCosker's Wrasse + Acan: Green Mandarin (since left quarantine and now very happy in the main tank): Torch Coral: RBTA: Browned out Acropora Tenuis (Any tips for getting color back, let me know - it was given to me like this): State of the art *ahem* wire organization + BRS Dual Reactor: Aqueon ProFlex Model 2 Sump: *** The pistol shrimp and watchman goby are already asleep, so I can't grab any pictures of them right now. Also couldn't get a good shot of the ricordea florida, blue sympodium, or duncan coral. I'll try to get those up for references sake soon. I've got my work cut out for me with the new build, but I'm looking forward to it I'll post some pics of some of my sketchup designs when I have a minute.
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-Tim They’ve done studies, you know. Sixty percent of the time, it works every time. Current Tank Info: 75 Gal Marineland Tank, 40B AGA Sump: Vertex Omega 150 Skimmer + Vectra Cleaner, 2x Radion XR30W G2, 2x Jebao WP-10, 2x Ecotech Vortech MP10w, Waveline DC-4000 Return Pump, Red Sea Coral Pro Salt |
04/04/2013, 06:32 AM | #5 |
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UPDATE:
So here are some shots of the sketchup drawings that I'm finalizing. As I said, this will be a 75 gallon display + 40 Breeder sump: The stand will be constructed according to RocketEngineer's template, and all structural support comes from the 2x4 Stand. The 2 cross braces on the bottom that are off-center match up with the footprint of the sump: I plan on laying down 1/2 in Plywood for a sump base, as well as creating this "cabinet" on the right side: The face and sides of the stand will be created using a series of frame and panel construction using 1x4s, 1x2s, and 1/4in ply. I found a decent price on some cherry hardwood at a lumber yard near me, so this face frames will be entirely cherry: To access the cabinet that I constructed earlier, I decided to make the entire right side removable. When attached to the stand, it will be held in place by embedded magnets - strong enough to keep it where it is, but able to give when I need to remove it and access the cabinet. At least thats the theory anyway. I'm undecided if I want to use this for my 2 part dosers, or if I'd like to use it to house electronics. I'm leaning towards electronics: I also decided that since I was making the right side removable, I might as well construct the left side identically. I may at some point need side access to the sump and I'd rather build for it now and not need it, than need it and not have built for it: Finally, the doors in the front will swing wide to allow easy access to all areas of the sump. The center brace/door divider is not structural (nothing on the hardwood skin is) so, you guessed it, will be removable using the same magnet technique as the sides. This way, if I need to remove and replace the sump some day in the future, I don't need to drain the tank, slide the stand away from the wall, and take it out the back:
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-Tim They’ve done studies, you know. Sixty percent of the time, it works every time. Current Tank Info: 75 Gal Marineland Tank, 40B AGA Sump: Vertex Omega 150 Skimmer + Vectra Cleaner, 2x Radion XR30W G2, 2x Jebao WP-10, 2x Ecotech Vortech MP10w, Waveline DC-4000 Return Pump, Red Sea Coral Pro Salt |
04/04/2013, 07:09 AM | #6 |
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Now for a bit of detail on the plumbing:
As you can see, I'm going with a full coast 2 coast overflow with a beananimal style overflow. The overflow is matched exactly against his original plans, so we have 1-in bulkheads, 1-1/2in pipe. Looking from the front, the left is the full siphon with a cepex ball valve for tuning, the middle is the open standpipe, and the right is the emergency: All 3 drop into the sump through 2 45 elbows. I think I'm planning to add a union to each of the other 2 pipes for ease and simplicity. Haven't decided on that yet. I haven't drawn in the return yet, but it will be 1-1/4in pipe tee-d off to feed the fuge and then return to the display tank over the top. I'm avoiding loc-line like the plague this go-around. The Sump The sump will have a center return, and it will house my skimmer, 3 reactors, heater, and a refugium. The operating level of the sump will be approx 9.5 inches in the sump chamber + refugium, and approx 9 inches in the return chamber. Dimensions: Section Length Depth Height Gallons Refugium 10.44 17.50 9.50 7.51 Return 10.00 17.50 9.00 6.82 Overflow 12.00 17.50 9.50 8.64 This will give me about 18.75 gallons of room left to handle overflow from the display when the return line is off. What this means for the display is that i can drain down about 5.25 inches before the sump has an issue. Thats an inch below my overflow box. My return plumbing will be well above that line. Reactors: I plan on using Avast Marine MR-5 Reactors. I currently have a BRS dual reactor for GFO and Carbon and hate how difficult it is to work with and fine tune. So 2 MR-5s for GFO and Carbon, and a third for biopellets. I want to try solid carbon dosing - I've seen good results from Vodka dosing when I kept up with it, but I was never that good at keeping up with it Refugium: The primary purpose of the fuge is to provide a breeding ground for copepods. I currently have a mandarin in my 55 that I support with stand alone cultures of Tisbe (2 cultures) and Tigriopus (2 cultures). Its going well, every few days I take some pods from the cultures and add them to the tank well after lights out and leave the pumps off for a half an hour. With the new setup, I can add pods directly to the fuge to reproduce there. Other equipment: I'm not too happy with my current skimmer, a Reef Octopus NWB 110. I want something that is easier to maintain, smoother performance, and quieter. I'm leaning towards the vertex omega 150, but not 100% sold on it. So for now, I'll still use my octo, but I planned the sump to accommodate a roughly 12x12 skimmer footprint - enough for the omega and many others in its class. I'll let you know when I decide. Return pump. Right now I have a Danner Mag 7 and it is the loudest, hottest little pump I've ever encountered. I'll use it in the new build for now, but it will quickly be switched out for an RLSS Waveline DC-6000 when released - I think late May? Have to check. I'll let you know.
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-Tim They’ve done studies, you know. Sixty percent of the time, it works every time. Current Tank Info: 75 Gal Marineland Tank, 40B AGA Sump: Vertex Omega 150 Skimmer + Vectra Cleaner, 2x Radion XR30W G2, 2x Jebao WP-10, 2x Ecotech Vortech MP10w, Waveline DC-4000 Return Pump, Red Sea Coral Pro Salt |
04/04/2013, 07:41 AM | #7 |
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Wow, you really have this planned out well. Good luck with the build!
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04/04/2013, 08:15 AM | #8 |
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Looks good so far. I am only a few steps ahead of you in my build. Keep the pictures coming!!
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04/04/2013, 08:46 AM | #9 | ||
I Dated a Robot
Join Date: Jul 2012
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Quote:
Quote:
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-Tim They’ve done studies, you know. Sixty percent of the time, it works every time. Current Tank Info: 75 Gal Marineland Tank, 40B AGA Sump: Vertex Omega 150 Skimmer + Vectra Cleaner, 2x Radion XR30W G2, 2x Jebao WP-10, 2x Ecotech Vortech MP10w, Waveline DC-4000 Return Pump, Red Sea Coral Pro Salt |
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04/04/2013, 04:25 PM | #10 |
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Some goodies arrived today
My BRS order arrived. The new ATI Bulbs went right in and replaced the old Aquatic Life bulbs. I love the new look, a little more on the cooler side than before, but the colors really pop! The Cepex Ball valves (1-1/2 in and 1 in) are very high quality. At first the 1-1/2 in was impossible to turn at all, then after a quick peek at the documentation that came with it, I realized you can adjust it. I tuned it down a bit and now it flows smooth, but still with ample pressure on the ball valve. I grabbed a replacement filter kit while I was there since I was getting free shipping anyway. I haven't seen TDS creep above 0.00 at all, but my DI resin is completely brown now. What do you think, time to change the DI Resin & Filters (not RO Membranes) or wait until TDS appears? The glass shop called, my baffles and overflow glass are ready to pickup. I'll grab them tomorrow.
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-Tim They’ve done studies, you know. Sixty percent of the time, it works every time. Current Tank Info: 75 Gal Marineland Tank, 40B AGA Sump: Vertex Omega 150 Skimmer + Vectra Cleaner, 2x Radion XR30W G2, 2x Jebao WP-10, 2x Ecotech Vortech MP10w, Waveline DC-4000 Return Pump, Red Sea Coral Pro Salt |
04/04/2013, 06:57 PM | #11 |
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This is exactly how i'm planning on building my 75g. You're ahead of me in the build process but i;ll be following this to get ideas.
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125g: 40g long sump w/ fuge, asm-g3 skimmer, hydor koralai powerheads, magdrive pumps 90g: Currently in the building process (will be replacing the 29g) 29g: fw community/lightly planted Current Tank Info: 29 gal fw and 125 gal salt |
04/05/2013, 06:13 AM | #12 | |
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Quote:
-Tim
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-Tim They’ve done studies, you know. Sixty percent of the time, it works every time. Current Tank Info: 75 Gal Marineland Tank, 40B AGA Sump: Vertex Omega 150 Skimmer + Vectra Cleaner, 2x Radion XR30W G2, 2x Jebao WP-10, 2x Ecotech Vortech MP10w, Waveline DC-4000 Return Pump, Red Sea Coral Pro Salt |
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04/05/2013, 08:49 AM | #13 |
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I wished I planned my second tank as thoroughly as yours! Out of curiosity, what advantages does a tank -wide bean animal overflow have over one like a glass-holes overflow with much smaller footprint? Customizability?
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04/05/2013, 09:04 AM | #14 | |
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Quote:
Noise aside, the real advantage happens from the size of the weir (The weir is the lip of the overflow box). I'm no expert, but as i understand it, dissolved organic compounds (the gunk your skimmer pulls out) attaches to the air water interface (the surface of the water - or in a skimmers case, the surface of the air bubbles produced. Thats how/why a skimmer works). With the Calflo overflow (I think it was Anthony Calflo that actually came up with/popularized the coast to coast overflow. BeanAnimal's design was for the pipes and failsafe nature of the 3 standpipe system), you're actually skimming the entire surface of the water. The longer the weir is (the lip of the overflow), the more surface you skim. Oh, and back to the noise for a minute. Those baffle teeth create a lot of the noise. The water flowing smoothly and quietly over the weir is, well quieter. That being said, I obviously haven't built and implemented the c2c overflow yet, so my statements are simply collected from reading here and whatever understanding i could gather. HTH -Tim
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-Tim They’ve done studies, you know. Sixty percent of the time, it works every time. Current Tank Info: 75 Gal Marineland Tank, 40B AGA Sump: Vertex Omega 150 Skimmer + Vectra Cleaner, 2x Radion XR30W G2, 2x Jebao WP-10, 2x Ecotech Vortech MP10w, Waveline DC-4000 Return Pump, Red Sea Coral Pro Salt |
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04/05/2013, 09:09 AM | #15 |
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Never considered the organics aspect. Thanks for the explanation
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04/06/2013, 05:03 PM | #16 |
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Update:
So the glass, more plumbing, and some RTV 103 black silicone arrived yesterday. The wife was off shopping with her sister, so a perfect time to install the sump baffles into the 40 breeder today and stink up the house with acetic acid mmmm.... vinegar So I setup on my workbench (read: our dining room table... another good reason the wife is gone): I taped off where the baffles would go to hopefully create clean lines. Turns out I forgot to tape off the baffles themselves and didn't realize it until I'd already begun. Oh well. Oh, and the bubble trap? Turns out its a PITA to get the silicone to the bottom of the seams, and even more of a PITA to smooth out the seal. So between getting the silicone down there, smoothing it out, and pulling up the painters tape, I made a mess of it. The baffles are all structurally sound, and its a sump after all, so out of sight, out of mind, but still. I'm kinda ****ed at how it turned out. Once it dries, I'll take a razor to the spots that got on the baffles themselves and hopefully clean it up. Oh well. Maybe I'll devise a better plan for getting the silicone down there for my next go around. In the meantime now that the plumbing is here, I'm ready to take final meausrements for drilling the tank tomorrow. Updates to come on that -Tim
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-Tim They’ve done studies, you know. Sixty percent of the time, it works every time. Current Tank Info: 75 Gal Marineland Tank, 40B AGA Sump: Vertex Omega 150 Skimmer + Vectra Cleaner, 2x Radion XR30W G2, 2x Jebao WP-10, 2x Ecotech Vortech MP10w, Waveline DC-4000 Return Pump, Red Sea Coral Pro Salt |
04/09/2013, 06:45 AM | #17 |
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UPDATE:
So I was able to drill the tank this weekend and get the overflow installed. Wow, I know the glass on my new 75 is thicker than my 55 was, but it took 40 MINUTES per hole!. Kind of crazy. Either way, the holes came out great - slight chipout on the inside, but its to be expected (at least with my glass drilling expertise it is). I cut down a spare 2x4 and made a basic stand to hold the overflow level and in place while I worked. I spent literally a few hours taping off the tank - I still don't like the job I did on the sump, so this was a good chance to make sure I did the display right. All in all, I'm very happy with how it turned out. The silicone went down in clean lines and I was sure to be quick about pulling up the tape before it set. I have some smudges to razor off on the glass, but the cleanup work will be minimal. I'll let that sit for a few days and probably leak test the display and sump this weekend. We'll see how it goes. -Tim
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-Tim They’ve done studies, you know. Sixty percent of the time, it works every time. Current Tank Info: 75 Gal Marineland Tank, 40B AGA Sump: Vertex Omega 150 Skimmer + Vectra Cleaner, 2x Radion XR30W G2, 2x Jebao WP-10, 2x Ecotech Vortech MP10w, Waveline DC-4000 Return Pump, Red Sea Coral Pro Salt |
04/09/2013, 02:22 PM | #18 |
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Looks like your on the right path.
In the past I had two of your same issues, wiring and the noise from the glass-holes overflow. I ordered the the cover kit and the enkamat and its dead silent now, maybe something to consider. For the wiring I installed a partition on the right side of the stand and have a removable outside panel very similar to what you are showing. It turned out great with the limited space under my 57g.
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04/09/2013, 02:37 PM | #19 | |
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Quote:
As for the glass-holes overflow, I tried both. The enkemat would get clogged with bits of uneaten food and didn't do much in the way of sound. Also I like the failsafe of the 3 standpipes (at least in theory - for me anyway), so I feel its a good direction to head in for this build. Now I'm just roaming around RC reading way too many threads on various paints and primers to use inside of the stand. My head is starting to hurt :/
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-Tim They’ve done studies, you know. Sixty percent of the time, it works every time. Current Tank Info: 75 Gal Marineland Tank, 40B AGA Sump: Vertex Omega 150 Skimmer + Vectra Cleaner, 2x Radion XR30W G2, 2x Jebao WP-10, 2x Ecotech Vortech MP10w, Waveline DC-4000 Return Pump, Red Sea Coral Pro Salt |
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04/12/2013, 12:07 PM | #20 |
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Update:
So we've got some slow progress right now - waiting on a few more things to deliver and for some time to free up! When you're wife is working on a masters thesis, so are you... Anyway, I haven't decided what I'm going to do with the back of the tank. I know I want it black, but not sure how. Last time around I used Krylon Fusion to paint it black. This time around I got it in my head that using 5% tint (the extremely dark limo tint) from advance auto parts would be a good idea. Long story short, I'll be keeping my day job and not applying for work at a car detailing place anytime soon. It came out very bad. I couldn't get rid of a few bubbles, there are lines from where it crinkled, etc. I pulled it off and cleaned the glass before it set. I think this weekend I'll say to hell with it, pull it out back and spray paint the darn thing For any who are interested, here's what the time frame is looking like at the moment (I told you it was a bit slow going at the moment): 4/13/13 (This weekend): Going to spray paint the back of the tank black. 4/20/13 (Next weekend): Going to construct the 2x4 frame of the stand along with the plywood interior. Seal and paint it. 4/27/13: Out of town for the weekend 5/4/13: Construct the cherry skin, stain & seal it. 5/6/13 - 5/10/13: Move the stand back home (constructing elsewhere) and do the plumbing Hopefully sometime in there Jeremy at PA will have the tropic eden reef flakes in stock for me to order and the tank will be ready for water I'm really itching to get water in this tank and get it up and running, but looking at this time frame above is a bit depressing I want it done now! lol Oh well, all things in good time. -Tim
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-Tim They’ve done studies, you know. Sixty percent of the time, it works every time. Current Tank Info: 75 Gal Marineland Tank, 40B AGA Sump: Vertex Omega 150 Skimmer + Vectra Cleaner, 2x Radion XR30W G2, 2x Jebao WP-10, 2x Ecotech Vortech MP10w, Waveline DC-4000 Return Pump, Red Sea Coral Pro Salt |
04/14/2013, 09:47 AM | #21 |
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UPDATE:
So apparently none of the Home Depots around me sell Krylon Fusion anymore? I could have sworn I picked it up there last time. Oh well, I ended up picking up 2 cans at Walmart. Here's a pro tip for anyone who's going to do this: Don't spray this stuff inside. Just. Don't. I laid down a few large tarps covering the entire room I was working in (rainy and cold outside). Turns out that the black dust (reminds me of toner from a laser printer) has a mind of its own and laid down a fine dusting not just in the room I was in, but also in the hallway. In the living room (down the hallway and around a corner). In the bedroom (around 2 corners!). I spent more time on my hands and knees wiping this stuff up with a damp paper towel than time spent taping off the tank, painting 3 coats, and wrapping up the tarps when done. All in all, it came out pretty well: Looks like I didn't tape the bottom plastic frame off well enough, some paint dripped between the frame and the back panel of glass: No matter, that'll be covered by the sand bed anyway. Out of sight out of mind. Oh and because I don't feel like lifting and carrying around a 150+ lb tank, I picked up this furniture dolly from Home Depot. Works great and allows me to move the tank around when I need to I should start construction on the stand next weekend.
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-Tim They’ve done studies, you know. Sixty percent of the time, it works every time. Current Tank Info: 75 Gal Marineland Tank, 40B AGA Sump: Vertex Omega 150 Skimmer + Vectra Cleaner, 2x Radion XR30W G2, 2x Jebao WP-10, 2x Ecotech Vortech MP10w, Waveline DC-4000 Return Pump, Red Sea Coral Pro Salt |
04/22/2013, 08:22 AM | #22 |
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UPDATE:
So it really seems like slow and steady is going to win this race I was able to get some work done this weekend and got the stand frame cut and built: I still need to build the cabinet into the side, caulk the seams, paint the stand, and then work on skinning it. The craptastic weather that chicago got this week didn't help either. It was cold with a lot of standing water everywhere, so the humidity was too high to paint. Hopefully I can get it painted this weekend. In other news, I picked up a lovely ultra blue squamosa this weekend. Its about 2 1/2 inches long. This guy really is stunning: Still waiting to get my hands on some tropic eden reef flakes and a wavelike DC6000 pump. The tank won't see water until I at least get the flakes. I can plumb in my current mag 7 until i get the DC6000, but I'd really like to have it from the get go.
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-Tim They’ve done studies, you know. Sixty percent of the time, it works every time. Current Tank Info: 75 Gal Marineland Tank, 40B AGA Sump: Vertex Omega 150 Skimmer + Vectra Cleaner, 2x Radion XR30W G2, 2x Jebao WP-10, 2x Ecotech Vortech MP10w, Waveline DC-4000 Return Pump, Red Sea Coral Pro Salt |
04/22/2013, 02:53 PM | #23 |
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Nice, keep plugging away
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04/22/2013, 04:06 PM | #24 |
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Nice job so far.
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76 Oceanic Half Circle/ReefAngel/Ecotech/Eheim 1260/ReefBreeders Photon 32/Reef Octopus 110 Current Tank Info: 76 gal half circle EcoTech |
04/29/2013, 06:44 AM | #25 |
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UPDATE:
So a bit more progress this weekend. I picked up some paintable silicone (GE XST Clear Silicone) to seal the seams of the stand. Worked like a charm. I was also able to pick up the pocket hole plugs to seal up the screw holes. The screws themselves are corrosion resistant, but Those claims don't really ever stand up to saltwater well, so the plugs came in handy. I dabbed a bit of glue on them and placed them in each screw hole: Then I sanded down the excess that stuck out. After that, it was on to painting. I didn't need the interior to stand up to floating around in the ocean for months, so I felt that a 2 part epoxy was overkill. I settled on a Zinsser primer and a decent exterior enamel paint from Benjamin Moore. 2 coats of primer, 2 coats of paint and I'm pretty happy with it: I didn't take the time to sand the excess silicone around the seams or slight imperfections in the wood - I just didn't have the patience for it. And after all, this is only the interior of the stand, right? Thats about where I left it this weekend. Next weekend will see work on the cherry hardwood skin and we should have the stand complete In other news, my sunburst RBTA split this past week: It crawled under the rock after remaining on top for about 4 months. I was a bit worried, but when I saw it sticking out of the left and right sides of the rock, I was relieved. Now the left one moved out to the back of the rockwork. The right one is still under the rock, only partially extending out here and there. I'll leave him alone for the time being and keep an eye on him. Oh, and my Occ clowns finally noticed the RBTA!!!! The female dove in to the left RBTA last night and made herself at home
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-Tim They’ve done studies, you know. Sixty percent of the time, it works every time. Current Tank Info: 75 Gal Marineland Tank, 40B AGA Sump: Vertex Omega 150 Skimmer + Vectra Cleaner, 2x Radion XR30W G2, 2x Jebao WP-10, 2x Ecotech Vortech MP10w, Waveline DC-4000 Return Pump, Red Sea Coral Pro Salt |
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