jinx Posted January 6, 2014 Share Posted January 6, 2014 Hello, I'm a very old member of this site and I'm glad to be back from the dead! I'm no stranger to saltwater... in fact, I've had many setups in the past (some nano's and some fairly large). Long story short, I kinda fell out of the scene after all of my tanks died from the stresses induced during 2004 Hurricane Frances, Jeanne, and then Wilma right after in 2005.. These were all direct hits on my area btw. They did ok during the almost back to back Frances and Jeanne, but, Wilma sealed the fate of them. We didn't have power in my area for almost 2 months after Wilma... I lost a ton of time and money after these events and my heart was seriously broken especially when my happily mated pair of Maroon Clowns and their babies died. I honestly didn't think I would return to the scene... but, alas, here I am again!! I'm in the process of gathering everything for my build, so, it'll be awhile before I actually get it going.This space is reserved for my upcoming custom 75 reef/refugium setup.. Link to comment
jinx Posted January 6, 2014 Author Share Posted January 6, 2014 Picked up a brand new standard black 75 gal yesterday for $130.. Couldn't pass it up I'll be drilling the back of it so I can utilize the overflow box that I also picked up for it. Think I'll be doing quad T5HO's and some leds this time around. Also came upon a super crazy cheap deal, I scored 30k lbs of dry calcium carbonate rock for $150 from a guy who was stock piling it on his property, but, me and the wife have to move it all... Some of it is really really niiiice. I'll have a large selection in which to build my tank from. Not sure what I'll do with the rest of it besides using it for landscaping. Some of the rocks are 1k + lb monsters. Still need to build a cabinet and canopy for it and pick up a tank to convert to the sump/refugium.. Link to comment
jinx Posted January 7, 2014 Author Share Posted January 7, 2014 Picked up 90% of the wood I need and also a good portion of the plumbing. Still need to get a tank to convert to the sump/ref, a skimmer, and a decent R/O setup due to the fact that we are on a well. The main house filter just isn't enough, nor would I even dare drink it in the first place.. More to come, pics later. Link to comment
jinx Posted January 8, 2014 Author Share Posted January 8, 2014 The virgin 75 gallon. Fabricating the stand in our 1300 sq ft guest house. I will be converting it in to a full time workshop soon. Link to comment
Mojado Posted January 8, 2014 Share Posted January 8, 2014 You going to have supports for the load other than the shear force capability of the screws? Link to comment
jinx Posted January 8, 2014 Author Share Posted January 8, 2014 Indeed. Just unsure where I'll be adding more just yet... I still need to be able to squeeze a 25/30 gallon tank in there after it's all skinned and closed up. I'll probably leave the rear mostly open.Didn't get much further today. Some progress is better then none at all Link to comment
jinx Posted January 9, 2014 Author Share Posted January 9, 2014 More work done.. More to go. Almost ready to start skinning it. Link to comment
matt144007 Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 Good luck with the build. Post some pics of that rock when you grab it Link to comment
tigrtraps Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 More work done.. More to go. Almost ready to start skinning it. Yay fresh tank builds! Where will the tank end up at? Main floor of the house? Will it stay in the workshop/guest house? Link to comment
jinx Posted January 10, 2014 Author Share Posted January 10, 2014 I'm super excited to get back into the swing of things! Sadly, I do not have any of my old equipment to get me going as fast as I'd like. It'll end up in our bedroom in the main house once I've finished remodeling that room. I'm by no means a professional carpenter, nor do I have the means to get it perfectly flat.. so I will need to address the imperfections of the top surface of the cabinet with some sort of padding. Thinking about using a 1/4" foam rubber fatigue pad that I have no use for at the time. Link to comment
jinx Posted January 10, 2014 Author Share Posted January 10, 2014 Good luck with the build. Post some pics of that rock when you grab it Here yah go! Not even close to a 1/4 of the rock that I picked up... They need pressure cleaned to expose their true look as they a pretty packed with sand and such. Still have tons to go get. Link to comment
matt144007 Posted January 10, 2014 Share Posted January 10, 2014 Lol,looks like you'll have plenty to choose from!!' Link to comment
CrazyEyes Posted January 10, 2014 Share Posted January 10, 2014 Good god that's a $hit load of rock man. Link to comment
jinx Posted January 11, 2014 Author Share Posted January 11, 2014 Here's a close up of some of the features that a good portion of the rocks share. This was exposed with only a garden hose, not a pressure washer. Link to comment
jinx Posted January 11, 2014 Author Share Posted January 11, 2014 Getting ready to start skinning the stand Everything is just resting in place to make sure it's all lining up. Gotta drill everything for dowels before gluing and naling it together. Link to comment
CrazyEyes Posted January 11, 2014 Share Posted January 11, 2014 That is exactly how I skinned my 75g stand. Looking good btw. Link to comment
jinx Posted January 11, 2014 Author Share Posted January 11, 2014 Thanks! This is about where I made it last night. Bottom section/mid section is doweled and glued. Top section is ready to be drilled for the dowels but I needed the glue to set first.. so I'll probably get that all done later today. Link to comment
CrazyEyes Posted January 11, 2014 Share Posted January 11, 2014 I used liquid nails, then just counter sunk the holes, then filled with elmers wood putty. I like the idea of using dowels too. Link to comment
jinx Posted January 12, 2014 Author Share Posted January 12, 2014 Skin is nearly ready to be attached to the frame. Link to comment
urbaneks Posted January 12, 2014 Share Posted January 12, 2014 Never mind my question on the photo you attached to the home page. I see you are going to attached the skin. I would consider keeping it so you can move the skin out of the way when you want to do sump maintenance. You will appreciate having all of that extra room to work. I wish I could easily get to the sides of my sump. Link to comment
jinx Posted January 12, 2014 Author Share Posted January 12, 2014 The thought did cross my mind, though I'd be worried about permanent warpage from all the humidity the sump will be causing. Without it being fixed to the frame, it's going to warp over time, no matter what you do to try and prevent it. I left the sides open and will be putting doors there as well. That should give me plenty of room for better access to the sump. Link to comment
jinx Posted January 12, 2014 Author Share Posted January 12, 2014 Dunno why I was thinking a 30 gallon would fit in the sump area. Ended up grabbing a 20L for it. Plenty of room for it, just a real bitch to squeeze in there. Link to comment
jinx Posted January 14, 2014 Author Share Posted January 14, 2014 This is where I'm at right now. Building the canopy before sanding the entire thing and patching it up smooth. Still have to add trim and such after that. Link to comment
markalot Posted January 15, 2014 Share Posted January 15, 2014 Your overflow is wearing overalls. . Looks really good, hopefully this won't attract more landfalling canes! Link to comment
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