World's slowest custom 85g system. ...and there was coral. (p.18)

[Rollermonkey]

All rocks are in the glass box.

 

I got all of the rock upstairs and into the tank, and got it positioned and locked in almost exactly the same as when it was down at my desk where I was working on it the past several days. I've got four more places that I want to epoxy together to make sure nothing can get knocked off the top. I have four more tubes of epoxy on hand right now, but that will probably be just enough to finish the rocks. After that, I'll be ready to attach the barnacle clusters, and I think that I'll be able to do that with a single tube of epoxy, since they are so light.

 

Anyways, one of the principle ideas for what I wanted to accomplish with the scape was open swimming lanes from right to left, a clear line of sight through the tank into the family room below, and to use as much rock as possible without it looking like a big rockpile.

 

I think I got the sightline part accomplished pretty well:

 

 

 

An overall shot from the kitchen:

 

 

 

From the family room:

 

 

 

From the right side:

 

 

 

And the left (this side will be closest to a wall):

 

 

 

And a couple close-ups:

 

A cave I made on the right side of the tank (It's actually over 5 inches deep and 2 or three inches in diameter all the way back.):

 

 

 

The only real arch I was able to make from the pieces I got:

 

 

 

And showing some of the openings through the main structure:

 

 

 

So, I still need to add sand, obviously. I haven't decided the specifics of what brands and flavors I'll use, but I'm going to keep it at 2 inches deep or just below.

 

I'd had some other stuff in the post when I originally typed it up, but it got lost / crashed the board when I hit submit. Maybe I'll remember later.

[FlowerMama]

Looking good!

[Rollermonkey]

Did you look before I finished editing?

 

Looking good!

[FlowerMama]

Did you look before I finished editing?

no, just did. lots of nice crevices for like a rockflower or anemone to back into.

[Rollermonkey]

Yeah, I'm pretty happy with it. I would have liked to have been able to put more texture in the epoxy, but that's just me being nit-picky.

[RollaJase]

Scape looks great, lots of surface area for corals .

[Rollermonkey]

I did my best to try and put the flat side of a rock on top and level when possible.

 

I think I've reached a decision on sand...

 

40 lbs of RPS Pure White (dry)

10 lbs of CaribSea live Fiji Pink

10 lbs of CaribSea live Special Grade

 

The Fiji pink is a finer grain than the special grade, and the RPS is the same as the Fiji pink.

I used those two mixed about 50/50 in my cube with decent results. This time, I'm going to rinse the dry sand and place it as an even layer, then put the Fiji on one side and the special on the other. (If it mixes a little in the middle, so be it.) This gives the critters the opportunity to settle whichever side they prefer.

[Rollermonkey]

Got the RPS Pure White, and that store actually had the 10 pound bag of Fiji Pink, too. I tried two other stores for the special grade, but neither had it. I've got two more stores to check, but it looks like I'll probably have to pay the shipping surcharge on that one.

 

Baby steps...

 

In other news, my car needs $2300 in repairs. I drive like a normal person, yet still have had to replace my rotors every 20K miles.

[Eclipse]

Loving the scape.

[Rollermonkey]

My lights got to the local UPS hub about an hour too late for me to get them today. I wish I could go pick them up, but I'm sure they won't let me.

 

Nope. It sat there since 7:00am, and will sit there until tomorrow at 6:00am when the truck goes out.

[FlowerMama]

Darn it.

[Rollermonkey]

 

40 lbs of RPS Pure White (dry)

10 lbs of CaribSea live Fiji Pink

10 lbs of CaribSea live Special Grade

 

After picking up my car which got new rotors and pads for the front brakes, plus the airbags serviced and is only 1/2 of the work it needs, but I can't afford more right now, I swung by another LFS and they ordered the 10lb bag of live "Special Grade" for me. Should be at the store next Wednesday.

/runonsentence

 

After the car repairs, no way I can swing the reactors this month, I'll be lucky if I can even get what I need to mount the lights.

 

New schedule:

 

Dec 1:

Back brakes (car)

Reactors

 

Jan 1:

Control arm bushings (car)

second MP10

salt

 

Get tank wet mid-January

 

Maybe I can get something for xmas, too

[csund]

After picking up my car which got new rotors and pads for the front brakes, plus the airbags serviced and is only 1/2 of the work it needs, but I can't afford more right now, I swung by another LFS and they ordered the 10lb bag of live "Special Grade" for me. Should be at the store next Wednesday.

/runonsentence

 

After the car repairs, no way I can swing the reactors this month, I'll be lucky if I can even get what I need to mount the lights.

 

New schedule:

 

Dec 1:

Back brakes (car)

Reactors

 

Jan 1:

Control arm bushings (car)

second MP10

salt

 

Get tank wet mid-January

 

Maybe I can get something for xmas, too

 

Are you sure your rear brakes need to be serviced? Typically front brakes bear the most wear and tear. I only say that because most shops would try to sell you something you may not need.

[Rollermonkey]

I have Brembo calipers, front and rear and melt through rotors about every 20k miles like clockwork which seems to be pretty typical amongst owners of my year, make and model.

 

The car is ten years old and has 60k miles. This is my third brake service.

[Rollermonkey]

Ooh! Look what the Reef Fairy (disguised as a UPS delivery guy) brought me today!

 

 

And let me just say, he's got a really nice wrasse...

 

$50 under MAP, each, unadvertised and including shipping.

[FlowerMama]

Your comment about his wrasse is scaring me. Glad you got your lights.

[Rollermonkey]

Nicewrasse.com is a vendor of marine fish...

[FlowerMama]

Nicewrasse.com is a vendor of marine fish...

 

Is he the one that has a shirt "Your wrasse is MINE!"?

[Rollermonkey]

I dunno. He was a sponsor on here for a bit. Can't beat the deal on the lights, though.

[Rollermonkey]

Went to Lowe's today to try and get the parts I need to build the structure that I will use for hanging the Kessils:

 

24" scrap of 2x6: $0.50

(I actually needed 10 inches, but this gives me enough if I mess up the cuts.)

3 - 1"x9" metal straps: $0.88x3 = $2.64

bag of #8 x 1-1/2" wood screws: $1.18

4'x7/8" poplar dowel: $3.78

 

$8.10 plus tax.

 

...and here I went to the ATM and took out $40.

 

(Of course if I want to stain it, I'll have to pay some more, but still. Not bad.)

[Rollermonkey]

OK, wow. That was easier to put together than I thought it would be.

 

I originally had a crazy idea to build what would essentially be a swingset over the top of my tank that I could fold down when I had to open the maintenance lid. While planning that out, I realized that at 12" above the water, my little swingset would be extremely short.

 

I then calculated the height above water required to illuminate the corners of the tank, and then 1sttimereefer helped me with how far above the light the hanging points were, and I realized there was an easier way.

 

My second design for a non-folding swingset provides enough height for the lights to illuminate the whole tank, yet are short enough that they won't hit the wall when the maintenance lid is up. This is also a far less complicated arrangement, and thus cheaper to build.

 

I found the same tiny black zipties that come with an MP10 to keep the lights in place and the wires neat, and when I start wiring everything up, I'll add those.

 

Aside from that, all I have left to do is screw the legs into the lid, and it's done, but I'm so pleased, I wanted to share a picture now.

 

 

 

 

(Most of this will be hidden by a 3" trim ring on top of my hood.)

[FlowerMama]

The hardest thing w/ this light for me is I try to take a pic w/ different light levels but white balance would continually need to be altered each time in the camera. I'll probably only take pics at certain times then, I finally got decent pics w/ my Evolve 8 now I'm either too blue or too lavender w/ this 34.

[Rollermonkey]

The ship that supposedly is bringing my skimmer from China arrived in LA on November 6th. Then the shipment gets trucked to Indiana, and then finally UPS ground to me in WA.

 

I ordered my reactors from the same LFS that made my tank, stand and sump, with the owner/fabricator, on the same day I ordered my skimmer (October 5th) On November 2nd, he'd basically completely forgotten what I needed and claimed that he was waiting for acrylic tubes that were "on the way".

 

What do you think will happen first?

Skimmer arrive about the 16th

OR

LFS call/e-maili me to say that the reactors are ready

 

I'm glad I'm not holding my breath for either, that's for sure.

[FlowerMama]

I'm looking forward to seeing the lights up. For me the left dial is brightness, the right is the range of color from white to blue. I didn't know if it was the same on the 360.

[Rollermonkey]

With the power cord to the rear, the left knob is "spectral tuning" and the right knob is "intensity". So, exactly backwards unless you have the cord in the front?