Coral Tank from Canada (1350gal Display Tank)
- Thread starter nineball
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chingchai
Premium Member
nineball
New member
Peter,
Without going into the actual dollar amounts involved, how has this build tracked against your expected budget? I promise not to tell your wife.
Chingchai is correct. My budget at the outset was as follows......
Take your worst nightmare. Double it and you will be half way there, plus one more thing.....always one more thing.
Truth is, that this formula was accurate until I decided to take a step back and try and incorporate much of the advice I was getting here. This re-engineering was an unplanned additional cost overrun but it is directly proportionate to the level of inexperience on my part. Having said that I am considerably more comfortable with the current architecture than I would have been with the old one had I not made any changes.
Peter
Rizup
New member
The best part about this is that most people wait until after things are up and running and then decide to make a bunch of changes.
There will always be things you wish you had done differently, but with the way you have opened up the floor for input from everyone on the whole build process, and more importantly taken that advice, I have a feeling you will be much better positioned for success and you will be much happier overall once the tank is stocked. It's much easier, and cheaper for that matter, to make the changes up front rather than when the tank is running and stocked. Can't wait to see updated pics of everything - especially the aquascaping :beer:stone.david
New member
its such a shame that im not going to be able to see this tank done before i die.... i am only 24 but it seems to be taking a while :lolspin:
Hal
New member
I love it! Even with redesigns that must reduce the chances of being overbudget.
I recently submitted a budget to my wife for an upgrade to a 260g tank. As an experienced hobbyist and former engineer I was pretty confident that I had considered the gamut of possibilities. . . you know the rest. :worried:
aclos3
New member
On cost
On cost
Let's not start hounding him for costs of this project. It is easy enough to look up retail prices for the equipment that is being purchased and then you factor in his home remodeling and ongoing labor costs for the aquarium staff and you'll come to some kind of figure. Quadruple this mental estimate to accommodate for incidentals and items that you missed during your own tally and you're probably "half way there."
While cost is always considered, by my observation it is not the primary or even secondary concern here. Documenting the process, taking input on the fly to ensure perfection, and community involvement seem to be much more important right now.
Peter, you seem fairly pleased with the levels of community involvement and documentation of the process, but how is the "input on the fly" affecting the mood? Has it been frustrating to take several steps back on the fish room and plumbing? Have you had days where you can't even look at the project? Afterall, the good as well as the bad are all part of the journey and maybe even deserve to be documented as well.
Thanks again for sharing.
-Andrew
On cost
Let's not start hounding him for costs of this project. It is easy enough to look up retail prices for the equipment that is being purchased and then you factor in his home remodeling and ongoing labor costs for the aquarium staff and you'll come to some kind of figure. Quadruple this mental estimate to accommodate for incidentals and items that you missed during your own tally and you're probably "half way there."
While cost is always considered, by my observation it is not the primary or even secondary concern here. Documenting the process, taking input on the fly to ensure perfection, and community involvement seem to be much more important right now.
Peter, you seem fairly pleased with the levels of community involvement and documentation of the process, but how is the "input on the fly" affecting the mood? Has it been frustrating to take several steps back on the fish room and plumbing? Have you had days where you can't even look at the project? Afterall, the good as well as the bad are all part of the journey and maybe even deserve to be documented as well.
Thanks again for sharing.
-Andrew
Hal
New member
Agree. . . mostly. You'll notice I prefaced my question on budget by specifically asking that dollar amounts not be discussed. While it can be "sexier" to discuss a $5K skimmer versus a $500 skimmer, that's not my point. Rather, I was looking for an indication as to whether costs were running as anticipated, or if like most of us, perhaps a "few" unexpected costs sprang up. I believe the cliche is that misery loves company. It's just nice to know that we all share some common obstacles in our respective drives to obtain the "perfect" aquarium.
Id say at this time in the build if Nineball added everything up total even he may have a heart attack lol. Read the entire thread and the knowledge gained here is PRICELESS. Now I just need to get off my buttocks and get started designing my house so I can then set up my tank. It wont be nowhere as extravagant as Team 9balls.....but it will be 99% DIY even some of the house build.
My wife and I have came to the agreement I get my Music room for guitars and In-wall she gets to design the rest of the house.
My wife and I have came to the agreement I get my Music room for guitars and In-wall she gets to design the rest of the house.
nineball
New member
The best part about this is that most people wait until after things are up and running and then decide to make a bunch of changes.
Thanks Rizup. I have learned from this thread in fact, that getting the basics right is paramount before getting wet. You are also right about the costs.....getting it right is always more cost effective in the long run. There will be a photo update for sure with a detailed expose on the live rock and aquascape. Hang in there.
Peter
Jimbo7
New member
Even though there have been 2,000 posts identical to this one, ive gotta say, ive spent the better part of the last 3 days at work reading through this entire thread. Well, just the big and important posts.. Truly an inspiring build, someone else said it best "I hope one day to start my build thread with a picture of a crane."
Extremely excited to see the 'scape, I love the idea of the different grand masters. Some quick questions..
I know you are taking this phase by phase and not thinking too far ahead but, where are you going to be purchasing coral from? Do you think you will start with smaller colonies and let them grow or buy larger pieces to begin with?
Also, I think the rest of the Peter army will agree, once this thing is up and running, you should install some webcams with a live feed to a website so we can all sit and watch your magnificent tank.
If you are still charging a frag for admission, count me in!
Best of luck, ill be following intently!
Brian
Extremely excited to see the 'scape, I love the idea of the different grand masters. Some quick questions..
I know you are taking this phase by phase and not thinking too far ahead but, where are you going to be purchasing coral from? Do you think you will start with smaller colonies and let them grow or buy larger pieces to begin with?
Also, I think the rest of the Peter army will agree, once this thing is up and running, you should install some webcams with a live feed to a website so we can all sit and watch your magnificent tank.
If you are still charging a frag for admission, count me in
!Best of luck, ill be following intently!
Brian
nineball
New member
If you think this build is taking a long time stone.david then you should be here where I am. This thing is taking forever!!!
Peter
dave.m
Active member
I think the discussion on costs is missing some reality. It's a guy thing, I think. We are impressed by big numbers, especially by big numbers we can't really imagine. How much is 1350 gallons really? Who the heck knows?
Same with costs. It's much easier to say Peter's tank cost him $50K or whatever because we can't really imagine $50K. We can then sit around and say things like, "Gosh, $50K! Wow!" and stuff like that the way guys do.
It's nice that we can all be impressed by the same things. It fills the time in a companionable sort of way.
Dave.M
Same with costs. It's much easier to say Peter's tank cost him $50K or whatever because we can't really imagine $50K. We can then sit around and say things like, "Gosh, $50K! Wow!" and stuff like that the way guys do.
It's nice that we can all be impressed by the same things. It fills the time in a companionable sort of way.
Dave.M
aclos3
New member
Oh, I didn't mean to sound as if I were accusing you of hounding him for the costs! I was just trying discourage the discussion from going down that road.
Of course, the initial plan didn't call for enlarging the fish room or re-plumbing, practically from scratch. Many of us would consider those as over-budget items. I bet Peter considers them all part of the process though since he's gone into this project with a willingness to change aspects of the build in a drastic manner if necessary.
nineball
New member
Ok, let's examine the facts here. Since you are only 24 life should already be a nightmare for you so using the algorithm for budgeting it would be double your nightmare which would be 48 and since you would only be half way there that would be ninety six years plus 1 year or ninety seven years before the tank will be done. Since you are already 24 years old then I have 73 years to complete the build. Assuming you continue to live in New Zealand and the benefits of medical science grow at the same rate as they have been in southern California then you will likely live until 105 years of age without any heroic measures required to get you there. I think I can say with confidence now that i will have sand in the tank before you die so don't give up hope!!!
Peter
nineball
New member
Andrew, I really made the decision to stop, look back and re-engineer the basic architecture with little if any real regret. I was prepared at the outset for a steep learning curve and the consequences of taking on a project of this size without the previous experience to offset the risks. My mood has been positive throughout and I probably have a greater sense of optimism about this project than at any time since the beginning. The reason is two fold really. I believe that I am on a better path to success now and that, as Martha would say "is a good thing"! The second reason is directly tied to the fact that there are a number of you folks who have hung in through this long process and continue to be there when I need the advice and help. How much better could that be. I'll take that kind of support any day of the week and absolutely feel privileged for it. So if you can bear it..........so can I. Mr. Wilson would chime in with his acknowledgment I know but he can't because he is currently building a replica of the space shuttle under our tank. Yes I know, I am taking pictures.....:bum:
Peter
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