Jump to content
SaltCritters.com

da1001's dead tank update


da1001

Recommended Posts

So.....sup? B)

 

7/11/15 FTS:

DSC_0005_1.jpg

Setup:

I wanted to start my own build/tank thread after being on here for over 7 years lurking in the background, viewing all your tanks, living vicariously through you...work-related moves have kept me out of the hobby this entire time but now that things have settled down its time to dip my own toes into the fishy waters of reef-keeping. Enough about my woes, now onto some pics and a short story!!

Over the years I have been waiting for a nice AIO tank that was small enough and affordable enough that I could purchase it and move with it as needed. Nothing has ever really fit the bill until a few months ago when I stumbled back onto the forums after a couple months hiatus, half-drunk and checking in to see what had changed. During that time a new tank had come out called the Innovative Marine Nuvo Fusion 10. Oh, she was beautiful and finally fit the bill, affordable, small, made of starfire glass, great construction, everything I needed! I knew tax season was coming up, which would afford me the luxury of purchasing all the necessary equipment to go with this tank, since I was starting from scratch after only having run freshwater planted tanks for years on end. I began getting on 2x a day, researching my little heart out and bugging the hell out of everyone else who also had one of these tanks. (mad love for my IM10 brothers)

I decided I was not going to skimp on parts. I was going to build my own stand for this bad boy though, if only to invest some sweat equity into the project so I would enjoy it even more as it all came together. And now pics!!

I visited my LFS and they said a guy had won one in a drawing and they would be willing to sell it to me for internet price, and with tax that would be about what shipping would cost me so I went ahead and got the tank that day after looking it over really well. Here is my cat, Hammie (henceforth known as demon cat), looking it over.

IMG_20141206_165043.jpg

So, I had my tank, but nothing else. :( But voila!! My buddy here on NR.com pointed me towards a deal on a used Kessil 150 on the classifieds forum and then I went and picked up one of the In-Tank media baskets the same day so everything below arrived a few days later. B)

IMG_20141211_175323.jpg

Boy were we on a roll now! But wait, the stand!! I had to go figure out how much wood I would need, not an easy task for a mechanically challenged individual such as myself but my father looked over my schematics and pronounced them sound, so the next two weeks were spent building the stand. And here is the almost-finished product.

IMG_20141220_192835.jpg

I used pine for everything with some weird hardwood top, but I was talked into staining and sealing it as well, which is smart now that I think about it. I'm a sucker for natural wood, it was unusual for me to stain it, but stain we did and it looks better than I thought. I took a pic of it (finally with a better camera) with everything on it and ready to go. (the legs are to keep demon-cat from knocking it over, it is deeper than it is wide so that was a major concern for me being in an apartment on the second floor)

IMG_20141220_202321.jpg



Current Price List:
* $109.75 Tank: Innovative Marine Nuvo Fusion 10
* $48.84 InTank Media Basket
* $165.00 Light: Kessil 150 Ocean Blue off NR forums
* $36.20 Custom DIY Stand
* $7.52 ATO Jug
* $66.98 Miscellaneous parts and equipment
* $35.11 Hydor 50w Heater
* $27.43 Reef Crystals 50gal salt mix
* $31.82 Caribsea Arag-Alive 20 lb bag/Fiji Pink
* $33.18 Test Kit: pH/Ammonia/Nitrate
* $71.33 10 lbs Bulk Reef Dry Live Rock & BRS Refractometer
* $40.65 cheap heater, bucket, algae scraper, air pump for skimmer
* $31.00 Sicce Micraplus Pump (158 gph)
* $16.45 Digital Thermometer
* $114.82 Tunze 3152
* $84.51 Pico Skim 2.0

* 298.01 Additional items post-startup

* $54.88 Misc. Corals

Total so far: $1,306.29






Link to comment
  • Replies 402
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Welcome to the club! Excellent choice in tank. Following and good luck with everything!

Thanks en28so!! B)

 

Looks good so far. Cant wait to see it scaped.

 

Thanks you Slow, for the well-wishes. B) It's been a long time coming, I am looking forward to the fun this side of the hobby is going to give me after the enjoyment I got out of planted freshwater tanks. I can't say the scape will be super good, I am horrible at 'scaping but please let me know if it sucks and I can change it. (used to have a JBJ 3g SW tank that was ugly as sin and lasted all of a week before a power outage in the middle of winter but I tried :lol: )

Link to comment

Figured I would add a few more goodies for your viewing pleasure.

 

Here is how the tank currently looks :P all the extra bits just tossed in haphazardly

DSCI0005.jpg

 

And my water reservoir for my future ATO unit B)

DSCI0006.jpg

 

Thank god the pics look better, I dug out my old little half dead 5mp point and shoot digital camera I've had for about 10 years since my cell phone pics were coming out so horrible and grainy. Heck, I thought it was so bad that it was broken, but not compared to my cell phone :wub:

Link to comment

I think you're supposed to take the sand and the salt out of the bag before putting it in the tank. :D

 

Some of the old p&s cameras take really really good pics. Mr Microscope uses one and you'd think it was an SLR. I use a DSLR and my pics suck, which just proves it's the person behind the camera that makes the pic. :)

 

Looking forward to seeing your progress!

Link to comment

I think you're supposed to take the sand and the salt out of the bag before putting it in the tank. :D

 

Some of the old p&s cameras take really really good pics. Mr Microscope uses one and you'd think it was an SLR. I use a DSLR and my pics suck, which just proves it's the person behind the camera that makes the pic. :)

 

Looking forward to seeing your progress!

Thanks mark!! I lol'd about the sand, I didnt even realize how it might look to people seeing it in such an uncouth manner, unbecoming how sand should look with water on it and fish swimming around above it. I better be careful I don't have any future weirdness in my pics, haha.

 

I hope I can live up to everyone's expectations on this thing, I am not very artistic so when I see some of the tanks on the forums here I shake my head in wonder knowing I could never do the same. Maybe I could hire an "artistic tank decorator" or something? I will be more than happy to get advice on my rockscape as soon as they get here from BRS and before I reef-putty them together. B)

 

I hope to upgrade the camera soon just because I need something better for all-around daily pics. The phone is ok for random shots around town of stuff I am never going to blow up to larger size and the point and shoot is nice as long as I don't use the zoom which I am beginning to believe might be broken. It looks focused but when I view the picture later it is totally unfocused. *shrugs* Don't know enough about cameras to diagnose it, easier just to yank out the SD card and upgrade. :D

Link to comment

Welp, rocks are on the way! Tracking number wont update on UPS website yet though. -.- On another note, got my taxes done tonight. Getting a good haul and that will be going towards a nice camera and macro lens in a few weeks along with a few more fish tank parts to really bling this sucker out. B)

Link to comment

Dang, I missed the start of your thread - I was hoping to post the first reply! Oh well, it's looking great and your posts are very entertaining ☺

Link to comment

UPS tracker says: "Delivery will be rescheduled" What the hell does that mean? Shows it leaving Minnesota, then nothing for 2 days, then being rescheduled?!?! :furious: *bleep bleepity bleep bleep bleep*

Link to comment

God I hope not although I hear there is snow midway along the route....maybe that's it? Hell, as long as it gets here by Saturday so I can start it, that would be fine with me.

Link to comment

This might help you: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_Nikon_DSLR_cameras

 

It's a tough choice. Definitely the D7000 over the D5100. The D3200 might have a small edge over the D5100 since it has a newer processor and more megapixels. On the other hand, the D7000 is the oldest of the three. If it was me, I'd probably get the D7000, assuming they all cost about the same.

 

But it all depends on what's most important to you. I recommend reading the detailed reviews on each camera on dpreview.com

Link to comment

Believe me, I have read them over and over again and I still cant decide. I was leaning towards the 7000 as well if only I can find a deal on it. Sometimes I can, sometimes I cant it depends on the day really.

Link to comment

That's a great point. You haven't made the investment in lenses yet, so you've still got the flexibility to go either way. There was a good Nikon vs. Canon (non-religious) article that I came across recently: http://www.digitalcameraworld.com/2014/06/24/canon-vs-nikon-the-dslr-comparison-youve-been-waiting-for/

 

It really comes down to which features and capabilities are most important to you. The good news is you almost can't get a bad camera.

Link to comment

Ill check that out teeny and mark, thanks :)

 

By the way....ITS HERE!!!!!! Got my rock/refractometer tonight, the snow up north didn't mess my order up after all. B)

 

Im going to test some 'scapes in a few minutes and take pics and upload them asap, idk if it will be tonight or not though, this is my busy night haha.

Link to comment

Well, heres a shaky pic (doing pushups, arms are tired) It came with 2 huge pieces and one small piece. I tried stacking them in different ways but this one seemed to work the best. Thoughts?

 

DSCI0005_1.jpg

Link to comment

That looks pretty nice! If you want more options, you can always use a hammer and a cold chisel or old screwdriver and break one of the big ones up. Just put it on something hard like a concrete floor or sidewalk and bang away.

Link to comment

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

  • Recommended Discussions


×
×
  • Create New...