Here I go.. Twin 180's!!

[Tigger240]

Well first off progress may be slow.. and my current system isnt much to show off, but anyway ill try to post lots of pics, thats mostly what i look at anyway...:rollface:.

Secondly I scored a awesome deal on a basicly brand new tank from pmike25 on the and now i have twins! He wanted me to post, so here I go. Im planning on doing a similar stand to his, and having two seperate stands that are just slid side by side. That way they can be seperated but im not solid on this as im doing a diy fiberglass sump, and planning on 8'. I guess i have a while to figure that out. The other option is make the stand continuous to a length of around 13'. Inputs welcome.

Work keeps me busy and stressed out, so all progress is mostly weekends, and even then sometimes i dont touch my tanks. The "new" tank will be the reef, because its in better condition, and i like the blue too, and the "old" tank will be a shark/agressive tank. Ive got 2 bamboos one is 16" and the other is right around 7.5" and lots of tangs. I might get more vlamingiis and if they bother eachother i will seperate them in the two tanks. Those that will flame about sharks, they will be in a custom huge setup within the year, and the biggest one wount grow much past 18" by then. I dont advocate the purchase of them unless you will provide them with an area of 10'x4' area within the first few years of owning them. They get big and need room.

Goals: to increase the curb appeal of the stands, canopys, stream line the setups, and water changes, have good flow, and maybe have some sps. Give a dedicated tank to my sharks is also important. More rock is a priority #1. Also major major goal is to build a single dart skimmer thats close to bill wanns design. Working out materials on that, all DIY, and will post all information. Ive held off due to no room to cycle the rock and my sharks wouldnt appericate it. Also better lighting is on the list, we will see how far the budget can get streched. Looking to do a similar rockscape as fudge in the large reef forums... pics for today stand will be completed this weekend. Moving the tanks on to the stand will probably happen in a week or two or three... dont mind the 2x6, its was leftover from my stand for my prop tanks.. lol:

See that orange engine hoist??? I used that to move my 180 with all the sand (about 350 pounds) and about 8 in of water and all my livestock in it. Long story for another time... the two tanks will go on the same wall the setup 180 is at. Furniture dollies make life Eassssy! hint hint mike! lol sorry i didnt bring them.

 

[Tigger240]

heres a few pics of my favorite fish and a darn camera hog at that.. hes got a funny as hell personality too! This will probably turn more into a blog of sorts, but anyway, im going to purchase wood for the stand today, and hopefully get some water storage containers too!

 

[Tigger240]

This is what the stand looks like with the light on, and as far as the different colored stains, well, this stand was a long project that got put off alot, and went through a move no less. We wanted a red, (read I wanted a specific color) and the canopy was completed first. So.. knowing nothing about staining or stain in general, we purchase a color that looked good. Well Its brown, i dunno how the hell they can call that red, so when the stand was completed I picked up another color and it turned out great. I need to work on my staining skillz however.. but not bad for 1st attempt. Its smooth as glass, 3 coats of poly and man its smoooth. I used to paint / prep cars for a while and man can I sand some smmooothness. I would like to try spraying the stain on my next stand but it just sounds like a mess waiting to happen. we shall see...

Well as you can see its not too much to look at, and after seeing a few awesome ideas here on rc that i could never come up with on my own (you see ive mastered mimicry hehe) I am actually excited to build new ones that will be something alot more elegent to look at. The tank isnt actually centered on the stand either, i thought after i moved in and finished setting up shop i was going to push the tank against the wall, and i was going to center up then, but it doesnt much matter now.

You can also see the maxi jet mods that lays unplugged in the last two pictures. Maxi jets put electric into the water column, and its really bad for sharks and rays alike. It also causes Hlle in fish too, and ive been shocked bad by breaking the water surface with my hand and one plugged in. All my units were bought new, and running less than 6 months. So in the first pic or two, you can see the Tunze that im now running - thanks again to pmike25. So cl or tunze, but its the only way to go imho.

 

[Tigger240]

This is a slightly bad example of the wood that i would like to use for skinning the stand, they sell it at lowes in sections, and its like multi-board wood. My g/f dad had cabinetry made out of this and it looks spectacular! im very excited about using it, and below is a poor example of what it kinda looks like as far as the multi boards, it make a nice stain too because lots of grains going everywhere, for those that have seen mikes, its going to go where he used the wood paneling.

 

[Tigger240]

well here we go - just got back from tampa - and scored these 60 gallon drums! whoo - one was cracked on the bottom, so ive only got 3 left, but oh well.

Peppers anyone??

The big ring is the outer ring that goes around the plate type thing, and the plate has a screw off opening - all water tight. the plate piece comes off allowing atleast 10" opening to the drum.

and this is the bit i used to put a 2.5" hole in my sump. it doesnt say its for glass, but its a ceramic bit and i said what the hell, it should work. worked great - just dont rush it. also would recommend removing sump before drilling it. i like this bit alot its got a centering shaft so no skipping off and scratching the glass like normal glass drill bits - assuming that your not using a drill press - like me!

 

[Tigger240]

this thread has been moved to here

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=965254