JayPagi Posted January 12, 2016 Share Posted January 12, 2016 Great build so far Bubba, love the DIY work! Quote Link to comment
Bubba30 Posted January 12, 2016 Author Share Posted January 12, 2016 Great build so far Bubba, love the DIY work! Thanks; it has been painfully slow but I am getting there finally. Stay tuned for more. 1 Quote Link to comment
JayPagi Posted January 12, 2016 Share Posted January 12, 2016 Thanks; it has been painfully slow but I am getting there finally. Stay tuned for more. Slow's okay when it's getting done right. Quote Link to comment
PieMan2k Posted January 12, 2016 Share Posted January 12, 2016 Haha I thought your inspiration for the wiring was your octopus painting wish my wiring was that neat. 1 Quote Link to comment
Bubba30 Posted January 12, 2016 Author Share Posted January 12, 2016 Haha I thought your inspiration for the wiring was your octopus painting wish my wiring was that neat. Lol if it turns out that way I will just go with it. I NEED to get this thing cycling. I've been window shopping corals and it is driving me crazy. 1 Quote Link to comment
PieMan2k Posted January 12, 2016 Share Posted January 12, 2016 Same thing. I have only bought one piece of coral and it's in my dad's tank till I get mine cycled. But I can't buy anything else because I'm afraid he will kill it. Dosing 20ml of calcium, alk, and mag each in the same day. I'm honestly supposed nothing died. Quote Link to comment
ml86743 Posted January 12, 2016 Share Posted January 12, 2016 That's some serious DIY and everything is looking wonderful. Cant wait till you begin to stock! 1 Quote Link to comment
Bubba30 Posted January 16, 2016 Author Share Posted January 16, 2016 Started building the upper cabinet above the sump. False wall down. Want to have all the drivers, displays, controllers mounted on the back wall neatly. I am going to install a couple moveable shelves on the right side to hold all my test kits, refractometer, food, whatever. It is 28" wide 22" high 12" deep. Hinged up for access. Radion glowing via ReefLink. Got the wood to build the sump "stand". It will be wet sooner than later. Quote Link to comment
Bubba30 Posted January 21, 2016 Author Share Posted January 21, 2016 Starting to look like something. I have PVC beadboard for below the cabinet down behind the sump. A lot of finish work left but good to see the bones. I should have a lot of time this weekend with the snow coming our way. 1 Quote Link to comment
Christopher Marks Posted January 22, 2016 Share Posted January 22, 2016 This is such an epic build! All these custom details are incredible, really impressive work! Does your line of work involve carpentry/fabrication or is this just your other hobby? You have incredible patience 1 Quote Link to comment
Bubba30 Posted January 23, 2016 Author Share Posted January 23, 2016 This is such an epic build! All these custom details are incredible, really impressive work! Does your line of work involve carpentry/fabrication or is this just your other hobby? You have incredible patience Thanks, Chris. I only do it as a hobby; corporate management pays the bills. I've tuned my skills through home improvement projects and carpentry runs in the family. My grandfather built everything from my childhood house to bird houses. My uncle does high end custom cabinetry. Building a tank and designing/planning all the aspects just clicks with me. It's almost as relaxing as staring at some LPS eating or hermit crabs wrestling for a shell. I'm excited to call it "done" so the real fun can begin! Quote Link to comment
Bubba30 Posted January 26, 2016 Author Share Posted January 26, 2016 Sump looks tiny in there! I'd think about upgrading one day but I can fit more than enough into this. Maybe add a dedicated fuge tank one day. Time to mud/tape the walls and paint. I ordered plumbing bits from flexablepvc.com. I want to get it plumbed in and cycling while I figure out all the intricate stuff... mostly programming the auto water change, wiring the relays, plumbing the RODI, all that. The ATO will have a DPDT relay wired to a high/low float that will maintain the water level in there. The bucket holds 8 gallons and I'd like to have at least 4 gallons at all times. A lot of time consuming stuff. Quote Link to comment
JayPagi Posted January 26, 2016 Share Posted January 26, 2016 Drywall... eww. My least favourite of household repairs. Can't stand sanding drywall for some reason. I can't wait to see this all cleaned up and running. 1 Quote Link to comment
Bubba30 Posted January 26, 2016 Author Share Posted January 26, 2016 Drywall sucks. I did board and batten floor to ceiling in the display tank room in order to avoid the headache. There aren't a ton of seams to tape which is nice. 1 Quote Link to comment
Bubba30 Posted February 4, 2016 Author Share Posted February 4, 2016 Plumbing is here. Should have it cycling this weekend. Look how nice furniture grade PVC looks; glossy white no markings... didn't know about it before. I got some krylon fusion to spray the clamps and my gate valve handle so it all matches the Vectra fittings and Aquamaxx skimmer. 1 Quote Link to comment
JayPagi Posted February 4, 2016 Share Posted February 4, 2016 Neither did I, looks great. Can't wait to see it running, you must be dying to get some life in there. 1 Quote Link to comment
knd107 Posted February 4, 2016 Share Posted February 4, 2016 Nice Build. Looks like the tank is sitting on a different stand now. Just temp? 1 Quote Link to comment
Bubba30 Posted February 6, 2016 Author Share Posted February 6, 2016 This is the stand it will be staying on; it is 3/4" 16ga steel square tube welded with 3/4" solid walnut top. The stand is also tied into the studs of the wall behind with 2 6" structural screws. Getting mixed feedback on the stand but I'm willing to bet 20 gallons of salt water on my brand new walnut floors on it. Quote Link to comment
JR! Posted February 6, 2016 Share Posted February 6, 2016 it will hold just fine 1 Quote Link to comment
JayPagi Posted February 6, 2016 Share Posted February 6, 2016 The stand looks very beefy, great job looks so clean. It's a whole 1.5" of thickness on the top, I doubt it will flex. Looks like enough cross supports too. 1 Quote Link to comment
Bubba30 Posted February 25, 2016 Author Share Posted February 25, 2016 I am up for a promotion at work and I have been swamped. I've got a little vacation from work here over the next 4 days. Looking to get her plumbed in and cycling. 2 Quote Link to comment
Bubba30 Posted February 28, 2016 Author Share Posted February 28, 2016 Getting the finished holes lined up to the tank was challenging. Looks like I will have it plumbed in today; I just have it mocked up with crappy PVC. Working with the flexable PVC to get some bends into it... the bends were tighter than I anticipated. I'm contemplating just hard plumbing the overflow and using flex for the return. Quote Link to comment
Bubba30 Posted February 28, 2016 Author Share Posted February 28, 2016 Thanks for looking. Time to paint then I will fill 'er up. No sense in rushing at this point. Quote Link to comment
Bubba30 Posted March 14, 2016 Author Share Posted March 14, 2016 Great news on the personal front; got the big promotion I was up for. Bad news on the tank front; free time is hard to come by. I got the room taped and mudded; just a couple more skim coats over the next few nights and it will be ready to prime. I need this tank to unwind in front of more than ever. Stay tuned. Quote Link to comment
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