looks cool. is the stand fully coated or just primed?

looking great guys

It was fully coated when it was fabricated, it looks like it got knocked around a little before it was brought to the jobsite. I may have to repaint it with something. I have seen some people brushing on that automotive truck liner.

Durabak is a good one but the fumes will send you into orbit. Bilge paint is good too but also very smelly.

[IMG]http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s232/bacarlile/pic3.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s232/bacarlile/pic4.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s232/bacarlile/pic5.jpg[/IMG]

Just got home from the Dr's office and finished the closed loop, installed the sump and Dart, and installed the mako ro/di. The ro unit is running right into the tank, so it should be full in a few days-ish.

The hayward bulkheads have such a squishy oring, how tight are most people tightening these?

It looks like you don't have the space for it, but it would be best to fill in those voids under the sump and use the rigid pink foam to evenly support it and avoid any pressure points.

I love the clean plumbing you've done so far.

Good advise marc, but your right, space is limited and we can't afford the extra half inch. My manly biceps can barely fit between the stand and sump as it is. I guess john's girly man arms will have to service this fuge.

Pssssshhhtt if your arms barely fit I doubt I can get even a manly hand in that thing haha.

....

.......

Mike can service the fuge, BURN

[QUOTE][i]<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9170186#post9170186 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by longhornreefer [/i]
[B]Good advise marc, but your right, space is limited and we can't afford the extra half inch. My manly biceps can barely fit between the stand and sump as it is. I guess john's girly man arms will have to service this fuge. [/B][/QUOTE]
:lol:

Nice job Brian plumbing is really clean!

Plumbing job is real clean but I still don't understand why you decided on the wood base rather than foam board. Is it that you didn't feel that the foam would be sturdy enough? I am not trying to second guess the install, but rather curious as to the reasoning behind doing it this way. :)

I can just hear the little kiddies now ...

"Mommy , Mommy, Mommy I want to go see Dr. Dude's fish tank! ... NOW :mad2: !!!! "

:lol:

1) The floor was not only unlevel, but the concrete was wavy, so bad that when I put the foam down, the sump wobbled back and forth while hitting the floor bolts.

2) The bolts that the stand contractor used stuck up 1 1/4" I asked if i could cut them down for better clearance, and they wouldn't let me until they hand the building over to the doctors next week.

So rather than using 3 half inch pieces of foam i decided on the wood stand.

I figured there was a good reason. Interesting that the stand is bolted down in the first place. Seems uneccessary. Lot of debate in earthquake areas about that.

Every installation has its quirks!! :D

Its Nice to see another of Tom's tanks.

I have 600g of his and he was extremely helpful when i was designing the layout of mine.

I also had floor issues, about 3/4 rise right in the middle of my stand. Its a pain to deal with, but has to be done right.

Its looking good, please keep the pictures flowing.

Paul.

Paul.

Thanks for the compliments, Tom was great to work with. Where in Oklahoma are you? I've got two sooner parents, a grandmother in Norman, and another set of grandparents in Bartlesville (outside of Tulsa). I'm sort of the black (more like burnt orange) sheep in my family.

John

Tom Hudson rocks, we are lucky to have found him. We had planned on ordering the tank from Aquarium obsessed but we wanted to wait and see how the first tank we ordered turned out. From A.O. we were quoted $1800 for a 6'x2'x30" freshwater tank with 4 holes in the bottom with an 8 week delivery. We paid a deposit 9/12/06 and didn't get the tank til 1/9/07. They charged my credit card $2100 plus a $300 currency exchange fee that was never discussed (probably my fault for not asking). And shipping was $600, (not AO's fault, just alot of $$)
Not to mention empty promises of progess pictures to settle our client, or call backs.

Sorry, i was starting to rant. The point of this post is to highly recommend Acrylic & Glass Exhibits (A.G.E.)

Today's progress

[IMG]http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s232/bacarlile/pic6.jpg[/IMG]

nice pipe work! Will you be able to comfortably get on a stool and reach over to the overflow comb area, or will that be done from the display side?

jnarowe, i think there will be good accesability from the end. The pipes only stick out about 2" past the overflow. I can reach the overflow grate while standing on the ground.

wow, sweet tank. can't wait to see it filled.

cool. looks like they stick out more in the photo, but believe me, I spend a lot of time on a step stool!

Once the tank is up, i plan to build a "step bench" that is 4' to 6' feet long, 30" tall with some kind of non skid surface like grip tape. We help our friend GmFett work on his 600g reef (8'x4'x30+) alot and it is such a pain to place a frag then get down from a step stool and move over a foot, etc. With this bench, one could walk up and down the 8ft length to clean the tank. I guess it would be like a catwalk, or mini-scaffolding.

comming along greatly...

At this pace, and with the office's expected opening day of 2/12, this is going to challenge Melev's 14 day tank setup. When making plans with the builders, I expected that Brian and John would have had access to the office and tank room for several weeks by now. The goal was to open the office with a lightly stocked but healthy reef tank. Unfortunately the builders have been a bit behind, and the guys haven't truly had workable access until yesterday. I'm extremely impressed with their forethought and flexibility, having completed as much of the work as possible at their shop so that items can be installed in turn. Great job, guys, I'm jealous that I have to work and I'm missing out on so much of the fun.

Brian, I have a collapseable aluminum step that is 4' long. It is used by tape and float guys. I use it for doing the roof of SUVs and trucks. Next time I am there remind me and I will show it to you.