This hobby always an adventure

[57vert]

So this weekend I bought 1 90 gal. tank and stand. Went Sat. and picked it up. The tear down and transport was easier than I thought. I was worried about transporting the live rock and sand because it was so cold. There was a brittle star stuck in a little hole in one of the live rocks and he even made it, even though it got VERY cold. The tank is drilled on the bottem and was worried about what to do with the bulkheads sticking out the bottom. Luckily my friend was smarter than me, and we just kept it on the dolly and laid it flat on the bed of the truck. Was worried about the weight and taking it down half a flight of stairs, and then back down half a flight of stairs to my office. Ya, I'll be able to play at work. So everything is going great. I'm telling my wife I should be home by 4 PM.

I reassemble everything, get the sand, live rock, and start filling with water. I get it 75% filled and figure this is a good time to make all sure all the fitings and hoses are tight and not leaking. Get under the tank and the blankety-blank bulhead fitting is leaking!!! So I try and tighten it up a bit, no good, still leaking. So I end up having to empty ALL the water to remove the bulkhead fitting. Now this was a huge undertaking. The previous owner had messed up the threads and it was a ROYAL pain getting the nut off Here I am contorted to get up under the tank. The only wrench I had big enough to fit the nut was a 5lb. pipe wrench. My shoulders are still aching! So it took me and HOUR just to get the nut off. Turns out the gasket for the bulhead was put on the nut side, not on the inside tank side.
Also, there was a fitting glued onto the bulkhead that the nut wouldn't clear, so to fix it PROPERLY ( I didn't want to just silcone the thing because I know that would just mean more problems down the road), I had to cut the bulkhead off. Now, where at 5PM on a Sat. does one find a 1.75" bulkhead fitting. Luckily, a bud of mine just Happened to have one kicking around. . So he came over with the bulhead, some misc. fittings and a six of Sam Adams. Finally, 10:30 PM, water back in, no leaks!

Why can't anything ever go smothly? What an adventure. And what a pain in the buttocks.

But now my wife has here seahorse tank.

[reefman13]

Well, they almost always have happy endings

[craiglanda]

Sounds like a grang ol' time! I must agree nothing can ever go smoothly! So i guess that didnt take you very long to upgrade. So in a month should we expect a new thread about a 180gal? LOL

[seacraze]

Great story, the challenge is what makes us appreciate the final product that much more!

I am glad to hear she has her tank! You know your in trouble now ... Us women like to shop and you thought the men were bad! By the way what animals were in it before that will determine how much cycling your going to need to prepare for the horses.

What animals were in it before?

[argi]

Originally posted by 57vert
So everything is going great. I'm telling my wife I should be home by 4 PM.

My wife now knows to add at least 2-4 hours to the time I tell her I will be home. Normally if I tell her something to do with the tank will take 4 hours, she doubles the time I tell her.

[fitch4]

I'm glad that isn't just my wife that does that. Thanks Keith.

[chirocato]

Charlie, just wait buddy. This is just the beginning for you.

fitch, my wife does it too.

[bangaii man]

I'm glad to hear that my projects aren't the only ones that go way over schedule. What's that saying, a friend with a bulkhead and 6-pack is a friend in deed.

[eaglesrx]

Hey, at least you got some beer in the end!!

My wife's the same way. haha.

[57vert]

Originally posted by seacraze
Great story, the challenge is what makes us appreciate the final product that much more!

I am glad to hear she has her tank! You know your in trouble now ... Us women like to shop and you thought the men were bad! By the way what animals were in it before that will determine how much cycling your going to need to prepare for the horses.

What animals were in it before?

There was only one fish left, a PJ cardinal, and a couple brittle stars. There were some mushroom corals and other, I believe, LPS corals.

I think it's got problem anenomes. They are small, bright green center, red tentacles. Anyone know what they are? How do I get rid of them. I'm sure for seahorses they wont be good.

The tank had been set up about 7 years, and the live rock looked great, if slightly overgrown with algae.

But that was about it.

[craiglanda]

Aiptasia or majano's... You can get rid of them with peppermint shrimp or injecting them with Kalkwasser or i heard of some people injecting with boiling water.

[57vert]

Originally posted by craiglanda
Sounds like a grang ol' time! I must agree nothing can ever go smoothly! So i guess that didnt take you very long to upgrade. So in a month should we expect a new thread about a 180gal? LOL

Well, wasn't really looking for a 90 gal., but it came up at a good price. So, that's what I got. But my wife wanted 2 or 3 pair of seahorses, so did need to be somewhat sizeable.

Ummm, no upgrades in the near future. Think I'll sit pat for awhile.

Although I was thinking.........

[57vert]

Originally posted by craiglanda
Aiptasia or majano's... You can get rid of them with peppermint shrimp or injecting them with Kalkwasser or i heard of some people injecting with boiling water.

searched pics of majono's and that's what they are. I've got some Joe's Juice and will give them a nice death cocktail.

[Emg2]

Glad it went well for you, even with the slight problems. Makes me glad I passed it by...........my husband would NOT have been pleased to have to help me fix that bulkhead.........he wasn't thrilled about it to begin with.........

He tolerates my interest...to a degree, as long as it doesn't involve him in any way.......