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#76
01/02/2007, 02:36 PM
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I refrain from using the word "hobby". You don't refer to your dog or cat as a "hobby." |
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#77
01/02/2007, 02:47 PM
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I am doing the photo documentation now. The tank has been running saltwater since X-mas. I want to write the entire build up in Word and copy and paste it as posts so that all the good info will be blocks so that readers will have less to stuff to weed through. One interesting aspect of this build up is that 90% of the equipment was bought used or as ReefCentral transactions. It's kind of a high end recylce project.
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I refrain from using the word "hobby". You don't refer to your dog or cat as a "hobby." |
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#78
01/02/2007, 03:29 PM
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Just a few growing pains in my transition from bachelor to family man. Or perhaps "a few speed bumps in the road" would be more appropriate Regardless, I still have a week of vacation left and as soon as I return to work I'll post some updated pics. Nothing earth shattering, but I do have the Eheim's installed as well as some more plumbing done so at least I have something to show for my time spent sitting on my butt. Brett |
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#79
01/02/2007, 08:26 PM
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Dude, be honest now, are you some sort of god?
Great work!
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- Ali |
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#80
01/02/2007, 08:56 PM
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#81
01/05/2007, 11:42 PM
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Brett, sorry to here about the delays, but remember........... it's only a fish tank!
If I have learned anything from your attention to detail is, take your time and do it right the first time, or don't do it at all. Happy New Year and take care!
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Save the Reef........................... Save the world. -Ken MASLAC member |
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#82
01/06/2007, 01:55 AM
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Sometimes the lemons have to ripen for a while to get better lemonade...
We can wait, enjoy your ride. Oh, and good call on not buying halides with the wedding money  "Oh honey we can just serve Top Ramen instead of caviar."Have fun Brett. My wedding was SO much fun and it went by in a blink.
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"Not cheap, but silent and absofrickenlutely no bubbles" "Be sure and wear a speedo lest tangs nest in your britches" |
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#83
01/07/2007, 04:46 PM
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I really appreciate everyone's positive thoughts.
I know it will all come together in time. And at some point, who knows, maybe some new, can't live without it, piece of equipment will come out and make me totally glad I waited. The real bummer is the colllateral damage and the toll it's taking on my better half. She keeps apologizing for the delays as though it's her fault. She's taken to the hobby like a duck to water and seeing her take blame for something beyond her control hits me like a knife thru the heart. Brett
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She ain't broke, but can we fix her more better? |
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#84
01/07/2007, 04:52 PM
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#85
01/08/2007, 12:45 PM
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When I got my 100 gallon a year ago I couldnt wait to set it up. To my suprise my wife suggested we go SPS. Not knowing how much work I needed to do she excitedly pushed for it. So instead of having my tank running in 1 month.....a year later my water is finally in the tank! I wanted to stick my finger through my eye and swirl my brain to take away the stress and pain it had caused me. But in the end it was totally worth it!!!! Just try to relax........
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I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work. - Thomas Alva Edison |
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#86
04/12/2007, 02:24 AM
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Wow! I can’t believe it’s been over half a year since I last had something worthy of an update!
I certainly didn’t expect to be AWOL from this thread for as long as I have, so my apologies up front to everyone for their patience and understanding. It’s no secret that I’m way farther behind than I would like, a good six months to be honest, and it’s not looking to improve anytime soon. At least not until end of summer when the wedding and honeymoon will be behind me and my negative clash flow takes a turn for the better. First off, the top is finally on the stand. 3/4” MDF that will be painted and sealed before the tank arrives. As you might remember, I kicked around several ideas that ran the gambit from a solid slab of granite on the upper end, to ceramic tile on the lower end.  Granite turned out to be way too cost prohibitive for my liking, especially when you consider 90% of it was going to be hidden by the tank. And I definitely wasn’t sold on the idea of tile giving me a look I’d be happy with several years from now. Even more so if we decded to go crazy with color or picked some off the wall decorating style for the rest of the room later on down the road. So, it’s a good thing I waited because we finally agreed on a theme for the living room. Which means I can now ditch trying to come up with some generic trim, and cut straight to what I know is going to be for sure. And the best part is, it’s all my fiancee's idea. A true match made in heaven if I do say so myself. If for no other reason than she was literally reading my mind at the time she came up with it. One of those.... “hey honey, what do you think about doing the living room and dining room in an Irish pub theme? And of course, biting my lip I replied “really? You think you’d like something like that?” Which was followed by a good ten minutes of her telling me all the cool ideas she had for the design. Like where we could put the bar (oh god bless her) and the types of signs and.... Bottom line, I just kept nodding and agreeing enthusiastically with whatever she tossed out there. All the while the reality of the situation was that I only heard about half of what she was saying. I was way too preoccupied mentally envisioning my own future nirvana to pick up on all of the finer details.  So a little green paint here, a little creative decorating there... and a bit of imgination you can finally see something starting to come together. In the grand scheme of things we will be adding a couple hundred square feet of used brick vaneer to the walls about three and a half feet up from the floor. So only the upper two-thirds of the walls will remain green. I then plan to carry the brickwork over onto the facade for the tank stand. Hopefully that should tie the tank stand and the wall together nicely. The last of my plan is to add oak cabinet doors to the brick covered stand for some contrast. Well, that and removing the remainder of the carpet to install laminate flooring, and some specialty lighting, and of course the bar... can’t forget the bar, and....
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She ain't broke, but can we fix her more better? Last edited by Putawaywet; 04/12/2007 at 02:56 AM. |
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#87
04/12/2007, 02:25 AM
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And of course the plumbing is finally stubbed in and waiting for the tank to arrive.
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She ain't broke, but can we fix her more better? Last edited by Putawaywet; 04/12/2007 at 02:31 AM. |
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#88
04/12/2007, 02:33 AM
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And my rockwork is just about finshed. I made a few changes, adding a bit more here and there and just generally tweaking it until it looked right. I may still play around with it a bit more, but overall, I think it’s about as good as it’s going to get. The part I especially like is that the bulk of the underside is totally hollow, allowing for plenty of water flow through the rock. I even managed to orient the tunnels so they all run the same direction down the centerline.
 
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She ain't broke, but can we fix her more better? |
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#89
04/12/2007, 02:37 AM
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Eheims are in place and waiting for the final hook up. I’m still working out trying to connect them to a single feed coming out of the sump, but I’m sure I’ll be able to hash something together over the next few months.
 These are the branch lines running to fuge and whatever else I might find a need for.  The upper line feeds the fuge, while the lower one passes through the next wall to accomodate things like reactors and such. Whatever my future needs might be I’ll already have a feed line in place. 
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She ain't broke, but can we fix her more better? |
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#90
04/12/2007, 02:52 AM
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And lastly, you can probaly guess what these are for.
 I figure by purchasing chemicals in bulk I can employ Randy's 2-part formula and controlled dosing to meet the needs of whatever I might choose to keep in the immediate future. And if not, then I can always shell out later on for some fancy reactor setup. Other than that, SoCal tells me the tank will be ready in a couple more weeks so I should have lots of delivery and installation pics to post by the end of the month. Cheers ...Brett
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She ain't broke, but can we fix her more better? |
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#91
04/12/2007, 07:11 AM
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G'day Putawaywet,
Wow mate what a great thread so far. I just finished reading it and im bloody glad I did. I love the threads with the attention to detail that you have put. Your great ideas with your aquascaping on your stand was a great way to imagine how its going to look. Im going to follow this, cant wait to see what's next. |
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#92
04/12/2007, 08:47 AM
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Everything looks really nice. Great to see you posting to the thread again.
The plumbing and rock work both look really good. The pub theme is great and I like it a lot. Keep you chin up. |
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#93
04/12/2007, 12:04 PM
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Love your installs Brett!
Love those clic hangers too. You do know that as soon as the whole "pub" is complete, your wife will then have new ideas for the room. Nature of the beast  Good thing bricks are "permanent".Have fun, and thanks for sharing! Chris
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"Not cheap, but silent and absofrickenlutely no bubbles" "Be sure and wear a speedo lest tangs nest in your britches" |
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#94
04/12/2007, 02:51 PM
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Many thanks everyone. It's definitely going slow but at least it's going.
Chris, luckily, we have other rooms that are calling. If I'm lucky I might get a good 10, perhaps 15 years of enjoyment out of my.... errr... I mean her pub Even better, she wanted to do the kids bath in one of those kiddie, ocean cartoon themes. But a whole year has already passed, and at the rate we're going the last of the kids will be in H.S. by the time we get to re-doing it. Which is fine by me. Nothing algainst cartoons in general, but I'm not a Little Mermaid or Finding Nemo kind of guy if you know what I mean. Brett
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She ain't broke, but can we fix her more better? Last edited by Putawaywet; 04/12/2007 at 03:11 PM. |
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#95
04/12/2007, 03:04 PM
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 Nice to see your moving things along again Brett.
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Save the Reef........................... Save the world. -Ken MASLAC member |
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#96
04/12/2007, 03:05 PM
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WOW. everything looks very clean and well organized... and the tank hasnt even arrived yet! an inspiration for my future tank.
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125g stony reef. 2x250w halide, 1x 400w halide 2x 160w vho's 100g sump, asm-G4x, penductors 29g softie reef 1/2g hermits, snails, shrooms and polyps |
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#97
08/05/2007, 02:18 AM
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Any updates?
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#98
10/09/2007, 03:29 PM
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I guess it would be safe to say that I have been absent long enough now for those still paying some resemblance of attention to have begun entertaining, at least briefly, the idea that I have sold off all my worldly belongings, crossed state lines (forsaking this cursed hobby) and entered into a federally funded program that allows a fresh start for those who, by the nature of their business dealings, spend a good portion of their lives looking over their shoulder.
But as much as all outward appearances may lead one to think that to be true, I am here to assure everyone that I am not only very much alive, (no doubt much to the dismay of my wife's ex-husband) but that in spite of the noises my knees make when getting up off the floor, I am still of reasonably sound mind and body. And if that is not enough to solidify my sincerity, then let me just add that in spite of my wife's continued protests, my dirty laundry is still being tossed upon the very same piece of real estate that it was at the time of my last update. So that my friends, should be proof positive that it will be incredibly more difficult to be rid of me than some of you may have assumed. But now that the wedding and honeymoon are behind us I would like to add, (as if I haven't babbled on long enough already), that I would be amiss if I didn't offer up at least a little bit of a confession. The fact that a bit of the fine print on that marriage contract somehow managed to escape my scrutiny. And as such, I have been left truly underestimating the time required to execute my duties as a newly appointed husband and father. You see.... and those of you family types will know where I am coming from here.... it is no longer ALL ABOUT ME! Which was not only a concept that worked well for yours truly in his younger years, but was also a concept that I thought I would continue to carry with me well into retirement. Well, not any more. No sir-ee indeed! It is all about someone else now. Like kid's birthday parties, and back to school nights, and award banquets, and the ever-popular arguments on the phone with ex-husbands that employ the logic of a pile of rocks. Oh wait, that sounded just a little too jaded. Let me try that again. ...fights on the phone with certifiably paranoid ex-husbands who decide to marry their first cousin and start a new family two states away leaving three kids behind to wonder why their dad bailed on them. There, that sounds much better. Then again, I might just be splitting hairs on that one. Ok, ok, now endeth the lame excuses and soap box diatribe. I hear your cries to bring no the pictures. I will now bow to the wishes of the jpeg whores and shut my trap. We're walking now, this way people, please try and stay up with the group! Brett
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She ain't broke, but can we fix her more better? |
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#99
10/09/2007, 03:33 PM
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 SoCal Creations finishing up the tank at their shop  The big day last April. Geez, was it really that long ago?  I asked if I could snap a pic of Steve and Randy but they move so quickly they didn’t stay in one spot long enough to get a good shot  The tank in place atop the stand. Note to self: while 4 guys seemed like plenty of muscle, only one could fit thru the front door at a time. That meant there was only one guy on the end going thru and trying to hold on to a tank with rounded corners was quite tricky. I can’t thank Randy and Steve enough for keeping their cool when we got stuck half way in the door.
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She ain't broke, but can we fix her more better? Last edited by Putawaywet; 10/09/2007 at 03:51 PM. |
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#100
10/09/2007, 03:37 PM
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 The external horizontal overflow  One of the things I requested was some kind of removable grating for my overflows. This way I could swap them in and out when they needed cleaning without having to do it from inside the the tank. SoCal came up with a track inside the overflow that held the removable grating. They also rounded and polished the mouth of the overflow for a nice finishing treatment.  And here are some extra grates they made up for me. They also varied the depth of the cut on the grating to allow me to raise or lower the water level if I wanted.  One of the other things that I have grown tired of over the years is all that water that tends to run off your hands and tools as you are working inside the tank. Try as I might, it never fails to run down the side of the tank. To combat this I requested that SoCal add a 1/4” trim overlay atop the tank which should give me a lip to contain all those drips and spills. It also added just a hint of a finishing touch to an otherwise naked top.  And here is the trim on the finished tank  SoCal also added a nice recessed lid for the overflow that fits flush with the trim atop the tank
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She ain't broke, but can we fix her more better? Last edited by Putawaywet; 10/09/2007 at 03:54 PM. |
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