180 O' Fun
- Thread starter Mr T-reefer
- Start date
Mr T-reefer
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Rock is almost cured. I'm hoping to be able to start adding it to the 180 by the end of the week. :dance:
Before I start with the actual content of this post, I just wanted to show you some images that inspired me for my rock designs. I probably should have posted these up a long time ago, but I forgot
. These are only a few of the many images that helped inspire me, but these are the main ones that I got my ideas from:
(images from the internet)
The following is a set of pictures of various algaes in my 80gal. From a combination of being bored one day (or two....or three) and the fact that nothing has been posted here in a while since the rock is taking it's sweet time to cure, I'll throw this up here for some fun/eye candy. Although this thread is about my 180, these algaes will end up being transferred to my 180 whether if I want them to or not, so since these will soon be to inhabit the 180, I believe it is correct to put them here. The last three I couldn't identify (despite a fair amount of research on the interent), so if you know what they are, please let me know in a reply.
Acetabularia peniculus (non-bushy green thing in center)
Bryopsis including plumose sp.
Before I start with the actual content of this post, I just wanted to show you some images that inspired me for my rock designs. I probably should have posted these up a long time ago, but I forgot
. These are only a few of the many images that helped inspire me, but these are the main ones that I got my ideas from:(images from the internet)
The following is a set of pictures of various algaes in my 80gal. From a combination of being bored one day (or two....or three) and the fact that nothing has been posted here in a while since the rock is taking it's sweet time to cure, I'll throw this up here for some fun/eye candy. Although this thread is about my 180, these algaes will end up being transferred to my 180 whether if I want them to or not, so since these will soon be to inhabit the 180, I believe it is correct to put them here. The last three I couldn't identify (despite a fair amount of research on the interent), so if you know what they are, please let me know in a reply.
Acetabularia peniculus (non-bushy green thing in center)
Bryopsis including plumose sp.
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Mr T-reefer
New member
Above continued....
Caulerpa nummularia
Caulerpa serrulata
Caulerpa verticillata
Chaetomorpha
Chaetomorpha aerea
Chondria
Derbesia
Caulerpa nummularia
Caulerpa serrulata
Caulerpa verticillata
Chaetomorpha
Chaetomorpha aerea
Chondria
Derbesia
Mr T-reefer
New member
....
Gracilaria curtissae
One of many Gracilaria curtissae 'saplings'
Halimeda gorauii
Halimeda tuna
Paragoniolithon conicum and an olive coralline algae (olive variety)
Peysonnelia (red mass on left side of rock)
Hydrolithon boergesenii, Paragoniolithon conicum and unknown orange material
Unknown 1 (those two white things are my fingers for size reference, the algae doesn't seem to get any bigger than what you see here)
Unknown 2
Gracilaria curtissae
One of many Gracilaria curtissae 'saplings'
Halimeda gorauii
Halimeda tuna
Paragoniolithon conicum and an olive coralline algae (olive variety)
Peysonnelia (red mass on left side of rock)
Hydrolithon boergesenii, Paragoniolithon conicum and unknown orange material
Unknown 1 (those two white things are my fingers for size reference, the algae doesn't seem to get any bigger than what you see here)
Unknown 2
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Mr T-reefer
New member
The last unknown (#3):
Unknown 3
Unknown 3
Mr T-reefer
New member
Thanks. I have no idea what eats it. Maybe a tang at most since the stuff seems too big and/or thick for others to probably be interested in it (i.e. emerald crab, hermit, etc). A tang is the only one that is probably large enough to handle it...if it even likes it.
Mr T-reefer
New member
Rock is DONE! whoo hoo!
I managed to get a fair amount of stuff done in the past week. Many of the images are "foggy", sorry about this, I just CANNOT seem to get the calcium off on the inside of the tank. I'll put up more images once water is added. Hopefully the pictures then will not have any of the "calcium fog".
Here is an image before I added anything:
If you remember when I created one of the main structures using the agrocrete method, then you may also remember that I had created it so that the structure would be two seperate parts so that they can fit into the tank and then be put side by side to create the one big structure. Well, that sort of worked. One half fit in fine (man it was heavy, especially when leaning over), the other half didn't fit because of the extra amount of agrocrete that I had added at the last minute to use as an attachment point for the arch.
So I ended up having to cut the whole half piece into half. After going through a diamond tipped circular blade and a 8" cut-off wheel (used to cut metal) I finally got it cut into two pieces:
Right side rock added:
A large crevice ended up being created between the right main structure and the right overflow rock wall, I decided not to plug/cover it up:
Left overflow walls added:
Gap between left rock walls that needs to be fixed. It doesn't look like a cave opening as much as I had hoped it would.
Left main structure and arch added:
Completed left side (smaller rocks added here and there):
A different angle to show behind the left main structure a little more:
Completed right side of tank:
I managed to get a fair amount of stuff done in the past week. Many of the images are "foggy", sorry about this, I just CANNOT seem to get the calcium off on the inside of the tank. I'll put up more images once water is added. Hopefully the pictures then will not have any of the "calcium fog".
Here is an image before I added anything:
If you remember when I created one of the main structures using the agrocrete method, then you may also remember that I had created it so that the structure would be two seperate parts so that they can fit into the tank and then be put side by side to create the one big structure. Well, that sort of worked. One half fit in fine (man it was heavy, especially when leaning over), the other half didn't fit because of the extra amount of agrocrete that I had added at the last minute to use as an attachment point for the arch.
So I ended up having to cut the whole half piece into half. After going through a diamond tipped circular blade and a 8" cut-off wheel (used to cut metal) I finally got it cut into two pieces:
Right side rock added:
A large crevice ended up being created between the right main structure and the right overflow rock wall, I decided not to plug/cover it up:
Left overflow walls added:
Gap between left rock walls that needs to be fixed. It doesn't look like a cave opening as much as I had hoped it would.
Left main structure and arch added:
Completed left side (smaller rocks added here and there):
A different angle to show behind the left main structure a little more:
Completed right side of tank:
Mr T-reefer
New member
*Continued from above*
Below the arch:
The right main structure ended up being bulkier than anticipated, and so caused some issues. One problem was that it had to be moved closer to the front of the tank than I wanted (some large scratching did occur during this process of which I mostly took care of today :mad2
. The other problem was that I couldn't get it as flush with the right overflow rock wall as I had wanted.
So rather than the right main structure taking up about 1/3 of the tank, it is taking up about half. Not pleased, but its too late and too much work to do anything about it now. So because it had to be closer to the center, the whole rock setup in the tank (minus rock walls) had to be shifted over to the left causing there to be less space between the left main structure and the left wall of the tank. Luckily I started with the right side first and worked my way towards the left.
Because the right main structure is a lot closer to the front than I wanted, there was no room to put my column in front of it. So if you look at the picture above labled "below the arch" you can see that I put the column up against the back wall. It still looks like a column, but it's not up front in plain sight.
I also added most of my remaining rock to my refugiums. Some rock will act like apartments for the amphipods/copepods along with the benificial worms, and other rock will stop or reduce splashing and holes being dug into the sand from the water current. This can occur from tank to tank flow and from the water falling down from the algae scrubber.
Left refugium
Center refugium
Right refugium
The large raised granite piece in the center refugium is to see if the idea of a large flat surface with laminar flow will create a large colony of feather dusters or not. I read it somewhere, maybe it was here on Reef Central. This is experimental. If it doesn't work, I'll take it out.
Overall everything turned out the way I wanted it, except for the large agrocrete structure. I wish it was a little smaller in length and width. Man, nobody ever tells you how much work this is, adding rock to a big tank is harder than it looks even though I was able to get on my hands and knees inside my tank to work on it :hmm3:. Definitely get help if you can.
I have a few other pictures to show you, but their not on my camera. I'll show them to you some time later. In the mean time I plan to continue working on any scratches on the inside of the tank and checking the status of everything (plumbing, rock setup etc) before I add the water.
Below the arch:
The right main structure ended up being bulkier than anticipated, and so caused some issues. One problem was that it had to be moved closer to the front of the tank than I wanted (some large scratching did occur during this process of which I mostly took care of today :mad2
. The other problem was that I couldn't get it as flush with the right overflow rock wall as I had wanted. So rather than the right main structure taking up about 1/3 of the tank, it is taking up about half. Not pleased, but its too late and too much work to do anything about it now. So because it had to be closer to the center, the whole rock setup in the tank (minus rock walls) had to be shifted over to the left causing there to be less space between the left main structure and the left wall of the tank. Luckily I started with the right side first and worked my way towards the left.
Because the right main structure is a lot closer to the front than I wanted, there was no room to put my column in front of it. So if you look at the picture above labled "below the arch" you can see that I put the column up against the back wall. It still looks like a column, but it's not up front in plain sight.
I also added most of my remaining rock to my refugiums. Some rock will act like apartments for the amphipods/copepods along with the benificial worms, and other rock will stop or reduce splashing and holes being dug into the sand from the water current. This can occur from tank to tank flow and from the water falling down from the algae scrubber.
Left refugium
Center refugium
Right refugium
The large raised granite piece in the center refugium is to see if the idea of a large flat surface with laminar flow will create a large colony of feather dusters or not. I read it somewhere, maybe it was here on Reef Central. This is experimental. If it doesn't work, I'll take it out.
Overall everything turned out the way I wanted it, except for the large agrocrete structure. I wish it was a little smaller in length and width. Man, nobody ever tells you how much work this is, adding rock to a big tank is harder than it looks even though I was able to get on my hands and knees inside my tank to work on it :hmm3:. Definitely get help if you can.
I have a few other pictures to show you, but their not on my camera. I'll show them to you some time later. In the mean time I plan to continue working on any scratches on the inside of the tank and checking the status of everything (plumbing, rock setup etc) before I add the water.
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mikeanddanielle
In Memoriam
We used the aragacrete in our tank and people like the look of it beeter then our other rock. Took just s few months to be Caroline covered
Mr T-reefer
New member
Yeah, mine isn't very white because I used a lot of cement in the mix. I was more concerned with strength than looks. Hopefully it won't take TOO long for enough coralline growth to cover them.
Mr T-reefer
New member
Little update today. First I put a heater, water and a bag of salt in the refugiums to get them going, and then worked on the main tank by adding water the next day. I managed to get my tank full of water and running from the main tank to the refugiums and back on the 15th.....but then I saw a small leak. I figured okay, lets get this fixed and back up and running. But when that problem was fixed I found another problem and another and another.
So I've spent the last two days fixing problems; from noonish to 2am one day and 11am to 1am the next (food and bathroom breaks of course). This figure just doesn't do my exhaustion justice :hmm3: :hmm3:. I haven't been this exhausted in a LONG time, to the point to where I was about to literally collapse (but not Hospital type of collapse). I had no choice though because when my class starts this Monday I wouldn't have time to work on the tank very much, so despite my body protesting with pain turning into numbness and blisters forming on my hands, I kept at it.
BUT, it's all done. The water is running, still no leaks so far and I added the rest of the salt earlier today. Here are a few images since my last post. I don't have any pictures of the list of problems I ran into though, too busy trying to fix them rather than photographing them. Some images here are the ones that I said I would post later on (pre-water ones).
Me adding the first set of rocks:
Right main structure up against rock walls in the back (inside of structure):
Cave making containers in place:
Water being added:
Calcium deposit clearing away with water addition:
So I've spent the last two days fixing problems; from noonish to 2am one day and 11am to 1am the next (food and bathroom breaks of course). This figure just doesn't do my exhaustion justice :hmm3: :hmm3:. I haven't been this exhausted in a LONG time, to the point to where I was about to literally collapse (but not Hospital type of collapse). I had no choice though because when my class starts this Monday I wouldn't have time to work on the tank very much, so despite my body protesting with pain turning into numbness and blisters forming on my hands, I kept at it.
BUT, it's all done. The water is running, still no leaks so far and I added the rest of the salt earlier today. Here are a few images since my last post. I don't have any pictures of the list of problems I ran into though, too busy trying to fix them rather than photographing them. Some images here are the ones that I said I would post later on (pre-water ones).
Me adding the first set of rocks:
Right main structure up against rock walls in the back (inside of structure):
Cave making containers in place:
Water being added:
Calcium deposit clearing away with water addition:
Mr T-reefer
New member
*Continued from above*
Here is where I ran out of water. I had been making RO/DI water before hand, but I only managed to make around 100 gallons by this time, so I just added it to free up the containers that I was using to hold the water. Since the water level was high enough I went ahead and added the two powerheads I had planned on adding along with a heater to start warming up the water.
Since the lights I'm going to use for this tank are still providing light for my fish and corals in my 80 gallon, I put in a white LED strip for the time being to light the tank up some (asthetics). I like the look of it right now and would maybe add one actinic bulb to give the tank that low lit, deep water look like I wanted, but this lighting will not suffice for my soft corals to thrive, especially my pom pom Xenia. So I'll have to add the T-5 fixtures if I want to be able to keep my corals alive.
This one I took today with the tank full and fully running. It is being lit by the white LED strip and the maintainance light:
I may make a short video of everything below tank with my camera, nothing fancy, but only if anyone is interested....or if I'm really bored one day
Here is where I ran out of water. I had been making RO/DI water before hand, but I only managed to make around 100 gallons by this time, so I just added it to free up the containers that I was using to hold the water. Since the water level was high enough I went ahead and added the two powerheads I had planned on adding along with a heater to start warming up the water.
Since the lights I'm going to use for this tank are still providing light for my fish and corals in my 80 gallon, I put in a white LED strip for the time being to light the tank up some (asthetics). I like the look of it right now and would maybe add one actinic bulb to give the tank that low lit, deep water look like I wanted, but this lighting will not suffice for my soft corals to thrive, especially my pom pom Xenia. So I'll have to add the T-5 fixtures if I want to be able to keep my corals alive.
This one I took today with the tank full and fully running. It is being lit by the white LED strip and the maintainance light:
I may make a short video of everything below tank with my camera, nothing fancy, but only if anyone is interested....or if I'm really bored one day
Mr T-reefer
New member
Several weeks ago when I added the water and finally had all the problems resolved, I plugged in the heaters, powerheads and skimmer. But the skimmer wouldn't turn on even though it had worked just fine when I turned it off several months ago. I cleaned it when I first took it offline, but that didn't seem to matter. So, when I took it apart last week, the magnet on the impeller had burst and there was rust everywhere.
I figured I could get a new impeller, but what bothered me what that there wasn't even any rattling noise when it was put together and plugged in. So after weighing my options, I decided to build one; buying one for what I need with room for expansion would be too expensive (plus I've been really wanting to make one since last Fall.) The other reason I built one rather than replacing the impeller (and maybe the pump as well) was because even if the skimmer worked, it would be too small for 210 gallons of water.
I have had the hexagonal acrylic tank that you will see for over a decade. It originally had tinker toy like things in it and even though I stopped playing with the toys long ago, I kept the container in case it came in handy one day. I used it to house a praying mantis for a while, but have been using it as a fish stuff container ever since. So that's where I got the acrylic container that is coming up.
To keep costs low, I basically took the sketch I posted on the thread: "Let's see those DIY skimmers" and simplified it. Instead of doing multiple venturi pumps with a beckett integration on the chamber, I made it so that the chamer is extended higher than the acrylic container and just bought one large venturi pump (approx. 1000GPH). But I am still setting up so that if necessary, I can still upgrade it with more venturi pumps and/or a beckett system.
At first I wanted to use some clear pipe or create a box out of acrylic sheets for the upper chamber, but decided to use a toilet paper holder instead (it was slightly shorter than I wanted, but it was better than a risky acrlic box). I had pretty much everything on the skimmer done, but then my dad didn't like the idea of using aquarium sealant to attach the upper and lower chambers together (I didn't really like it either, but couldn't really think of anything that wasn't too much work or expensive).
Here is where I got to using the toilet paper holder method.
Bulkheads to be used (1-1.5", 3-3/4"):
Upper chamber:
Collection cup made from 1.5" pipe and a peanut butter jar (before jar was glued and sealed to the pipe):
Upper chamber with collection cup:
Water input to the skimmer comes through the lid of the collection cup (this image is without the vinyl tubing):
Bulkheads added to the lower chamber. The lower two are for the venturi pump and the upper one is for the drain:
This is the original pump placement that I wanted. But with a larger pump, I couldn't figure out a way to keep it up without putting too much stress on the bulkhead. I could have used straps (metal or plastic), but there isn't a gurantee that they wouldn't slip from the constant vibration from the pump. I could have made a miniture table for the pump to rest on, but the pump isn't smooth on the side that it would rest on and even then, the table would have to be perfect otherwise it won't work properly:
So I decided to let the pump rest on the ground. Here I'm checking the pump fit and placement to make sure I did everything right:
Both chambers without any piping added (I took this before I added the bulkheads, but wanted to show this one last.):
I figured I could get a new impeller, but what bothered me what that there wasn't even any rattling noise when it was put together and plugged in. So after weighing my options, I decided to build one; buying one for what I need with room for expansion would be too expensive (plus I've been really wanting to make one since last Fall
.) The other reason I built one rather than replacing the impeller (and maybe the pump as well) was because even if the skimmer worked, it would be too small for 210 gallons of water.I have had the hexagonal acrylic tank that you will see for over a decade. It originally had tinker toy like things in it and even though I stopped playing with the toys long ago, I kept the container in case it came in handy one day. I used it to house a praying mantis for a while, but have been using it as a fish stuff container ever since. So that's where I got the acrylic container that is coming up.
To keep costs low, I basically took the sketch I posted on the thread: "Let's see those DIY skimmers" and simplified it. Instead of doing multiple venturi pumps with a beckett integration on the chamber, I made it so that the chamer is extended higher than the acrylic container and just bought one large venturi pump (approx. 1000GPH). But I am still setting up so that if necessary, I can still upgrade it with more venturi pumps and/or a beckett system.
At first I wanted to use some clear pipe or create a box out of acrylic sheets for the upper chamber, but decided to use a toilet paper holder instead (it was slightly shorter than I wanted, but it was better than a risky acrlic box). I had pretty much everything on the skimmer done, but then my dad didn't like the idea of using aquarium sealant to attach the upper and lower chambers together (I didn't really like it either, but couldn't really think of anything that wasn't too much work or expensive).
Here is where I got to using the toilet paper holder method.
Bulkheads to be used (1-1.5", 3-3/4"):
Upper chamber:
Collection cup made from 1.5" pipe and a peanut butter jar (before jar was glued and sealed to the pipe):
Upper chamber with collection cup:
Water input to the skimmer comes through the lid of the collection cup (this image is without the vinyl tubing):
Bulkheads added to the lower chamber. The lower two are for the venturi pump and the upper one is for the drain:
This is the original pump placement that I wanted. But with a larger pump, I couldn't figure out a way to keep it up without putting too much stress on the bulkhead. I could have used straps (metal or plastic), but there isn't a gurantee that they wouldn't slip from the constant vibration from the pump. I could have made a miniture table for the pump to rest on, but the pump isn't smooth on the side that it would rest on and even then, the table would have to be perfect otherwise it won't work properly:
So I decided to let the pump rest on the ground. Here I'm checking the pump fit and placement to make sure I did everything right:
Both chambers without any piping added (I took this before I added the bulkheads, but wanted to show this one last.):
Mr T-reefer
New member
*Continued from above*
As I said ealier, my dad (as well as I) were not comfortable with attaching the toilet paper holder to the acrylic container with just some aquarium sealant. So, after an hour at Home Depot and $114 later, we got everything that would be necessary. Here are the main parts 2" and 4" sewage fittings. I didn't include the 3/4" fittings I used for the drain pipe of the skimmer or the actual 2" and 4" pipe since they were something like 10' long. From here on, the upper chamber changes from the toilet paper holder to the 4" pipe:
Here is the lower chamber completed with the bubble plate (green drain) installed. I had to cut the drain in half and then reattach it with zip-ties for it to fit through the hole in the acrylic container:
Top view inside lower chamber:
Lower section of lower chamber:
Under bubble plate:
Lower to upper chamber connectors. As you can see here, I went from a 2" bulkhead that would connect to the lower chamber up to a 4" pipe:
Entire upper chamber:
Water input going through the collection cup (collection cup pulled off of 1.5" pipe to show vinyl tubing):
Collection cup with water input piping (collection cup put back onto 1.5" pipe):
Water drain pipe (back to refugium):
As I said ealier, my dad (as well as I) were not comfortable with attaching the toilet paper holder to the acrylic container with just some aquarium sealant. So, after an hour at Home Depot and $114 later, we got everything that would be necessary. Here are the main parts 2" and 4" sewage fittings. I didn't include the 3/4" fittings I used for the drain pipe of the skimmer or the actual 2" and 4" pipe since they were something like 10' long. From here on, the upper chamber changes from the toilet paper holder to the 4" pipe:
Here is the lower chamber completed with the bubble plate (green drain) installed. I had to cut the drain in half and then reattach it with zip-ties for it to fit through the hole in the acrylic container:
Top view inside lower chamber:
Lower section of lower chamber:
Under bubble plate:
Lower to upper chamber connectors. As you can see here, I went from a 2" bulkhead that would connect to the lower chamber up to a 4" pipe:
Entire upper chamber:
Water input going through the collection cup (collection cup pulled off of 1.5" pipe to show vinyl tubing):
Collection cup with water input piping (collection cup put back onto 1.5" pipe):
Water drain pipe (back to refugium):
Mr T-reefer
New member
*Continued from above*
Looking up into the upper chamber (you can see the vinyl tubing come down some in this picture):
Inside upper chamber looking down:
Hole cut with a hole cutter for the 2" bulkhead. NOTE: when using one of these, tighten very well. One of my blade holders shot out even though I had it tightened down pretty well:
Connectors attached to acrylic plate ready to be placed onto the lower chamber. The hole was a little too big for the bulkhead, so I cut an acrylic sheet then drilled a hole in it to the right diameter. This acrylic plate will be glued to the top of the lower chamber:
Lower to upper chamber connections with acrylic plate in place:
Completed skimmer minus the collection cup (the sealant was still drying so I left it out of the picture):
The different adhesives used:
Right now I'm dealing with a few leaks that have come up here and there, but it should be done and ready to go soon. I'll put up more pictures of the completed skimmer once I know that any and all problems are resolved. I have to get it done, my lionfish are waiting to be picked up. :celeb1:
Looking up into the upper chamber (you can see the vinyl tubing come down some in this picture):
Inside upper chamber looking down:
Hole cut with a hole cutter for the 2" bulkhead. NOTE: when using one of these, tighten very well. One of my blade holders shot out even though I had it tightened down pretty well:
Connectors attached to acrylic plate ready to be placed onto the lower chamber. The hole was a little too big for the bulkhead, so I cut an acrylic sheet then drilled a hole in it to the right diameter. This acrylic plate will be glued to the top of the lower chamber:
Lower to upper chamber connections with acrylic plate in place:
Completed skimmer minus the collection cup (the sealant was still drying so I left it out of the picture):
The different adhesives used:
Right now I'm dealing with a few leaks that have come up here and there, but it should be done and ready to go soon. I'll put up more pictures of the completed skimmer once I know that any and all problems are resolved. I have to get it done, my lionfish are waiting to be picked up. :celeb1:
Mr T-reefer
New member
One minor thing I forgot to add above. The water comes in from the top of the upper chamber and drains out from the bottom of the lower chamber. The water has to travel most of the height of the skimmer to exit out. As this happens, the water fights the bubbles to get down and the bubbles fight the water to get up; about 41" the water and bubbles must compete against each other.
Mr T-reefer
New member
Here are the pictures of the completed unit. I'm still trying to deal with a minor leak between the pump and the bulkhead that it is attached to, but otherwise this is the completed form.
Full view of completed skimmer:
Top section of completed skimmer:
Top view of completed skimmer:
Skimmer venturi pump setup:
The following images are of an air circulation system I've begun to install on the tank (it gets hot in the room). It's nothing special, currently there is one 120V fan where the refugiums are at. I plan to add one more down there along with one in the hood. The air from the fans is then blown through the duct that you will see straight out the window.
Refugium air duct:
The only part of air duct that is visible:
Air duct exhaust. It's up against the screen so that it can't be blocked by the blinds or the curtains:
Full view of completed skimmer:
Top section of completed skimmer:
Top view of completed skimmer:
Skimmer venturi pump setup:
The following images are of an air circulation system I've begun to install on the tank (it gets hot in the room). It's nothing special, currently there is one 120V fan where the refugiums are at. I plan to add one more down there along with one in the hood. The air from the fans is then blown through the duct that you will see straight out the window.
Refugium air duct:
The only part of air duct that is visible:
Air duct exhaust. It's up against the screen so that it can't be blocked by the blinds or the curtains:
flameangel9
OnyxInc.
I see Bob's been at your place.:bum:
