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lastlight
Premium Member
So before I built the stand (I'm getting really good at these) I had to frame my fishroom and behind the tank because it'd be really hard later. This was tough because I have to shuffle couches and stuff around to build walls in this tiny basement. I also had to demo and dispose of the silly half-wall the previous owners had made. If you look at the photo below you can see there is a floating wall. No idea why but it had to come down.
Before:
After:
I still need to clad the sides with some plywood for lateral stability. Will likely use some scraps I have and not sheet the entire area as I don't think it's needed. The wall behind the tank needs some more love but I ran out of 2x4s.
Before:
After:
I still need to clad the sides with some plywood for lateral stability. Will likely use some scraps I have and not sheet the entire area as I don't think it's needed. The wall behind the tank needs some more love but I ran out of 2x4s.
lastlight
Premium Member
Well here's a fun update! Builder came by tonight and I had a front row seat (and lifted some glass to boot). My future fish house has walls! Top and bottom bracing to be completed soon.
My cat is so ****ed that she can't hop up on the stand anymore. I wish I had video of her attempt to do so haha.
View from my desk:
And standing back a bit:
My cat is so ****ed that she can't hop up on the stand anymore. I wish I had video of her attempt to do so haha.
View from my desk:
And standing back a bit:
lastlight
Premium Member
Well picked up my future sump today.
72L x 24W x 18H 1/2" glass. Pretty heavy.
I was moving it with the help of my kind neighbor and fell on a big patch of ice as I was backing up. I made the decision to save the tank and you can puzzle out the rest of what happened. Took the tank edge into my thighs and then the one corner ended up on my one hand as I had decided the corner was not going to get chipped having just saved the edge lol. Hand and tank slid along the asphalt until my friend steadied his end. I'm limping but I have a sump.
The wide center brace was added by the owner but overkill in my mind. I'm removing it and placing it into the tank on end to create a 50g compartment to pull water changes from.
72L x 24W x 18H 1/2" glass. Pretty heavy.
I was moving it with the help of my kind neighbor and fell on a big patch of ice as I was backing up. I made the decision to save the tank and you can puzzle out the rest of what happened. Took the tank edge into my thighs and then the one corner ended up on my one hand as I had decided the corner was not going to get chipped having just saved the edge lol. Hand and tank slid along the asphalt until my friend steadied his end. I'm limping but I have a sump.
The wide center brace was added by the owner but overkill in my mind. I'm removing it and placing it into the tank on end to create a 50g compartment to pull water changes from.
lastlight
Premium Member
My hand and legs have been healing well from the sump ordeal and I have been tinkering with the build a little on weekends.
First I laid 3 coats of Kilz on some plywood and then siliconed them to my stand. The stand needs to keep the moisture in the fishroom.
Then I framed around the stand and popped insulation in there. The stand also needs to keep the noise and cool air in the fishroom.
Framed the canopy which surrounds the tank but does not touch nor rest on it. You can see the 2x4 rail mounts across the floor joists for the plywood to connect to. I had to clear all the water pipes that pass through my condo unit into the adjacent units.
Here's two shots after the 1/2" plywood went up.
Walking in the doorway to the fishroom you can see where the laundry tub will be installed. Future frag tank is sitting on it for now.
Here's the sump that nearly killed me. I smartly maneuvered this thing onto its stand alone thinking to myself 'you're an idiot brett'. I redid all the inner silicone and removed the center brace and mounted it on-end to create my 40g water change area. I could not dry-fit the brace back into this tank after I took it out so obviously the previous owner braced the tank while full! This meant the baffle had to be installed at a slight angle but it is rock solid with tons of contact as that brace was 5/8". The tank itself is all 1/2" and won't be even close to full hence the choice to remove the brace. My frag tank will be shelf-mounted above the water change compartment.
Going further in you can see my rear access corridor. It's about 18" wide and I'll make a moveable platform that I can move around to step up on for mounting corals etc.
Here's two shots showing the skin after a few rounds of wood-filler. The first pic sorta shows the plywood ceiling I installed. You can't see in these pics but I have applied silicone between all the plywood and canopy 2x4s. The plywood seams will also be 'coned and then it will all be sealed with Kilz. Sealed room! I may even run some silicone in the 1/2" gap between the canopy and the tank itself to further seal the area and prevent water that splashes on the bracing from running down the glass.
First I laid 3 coats of Kilz on some plywood and then siliconed them to my stand. The stand needs to keep the moisture in the fishroom.
Then I framed around the stand and popped insulation in there. The stand also needs to keep the noise and cool air in the fishroom.
Framed the canopy which surrounds the tank but does not touch nor rest on it. You can see the 2x4 rail mounts across the floor joists for the plywood to connect to. I had to clear all the water pipes that pass through my condo unit into the adjacent units.
Here's two shots after the 1/2" plywood went up.
Walking in the doorway to the fishroom you can see where the laundry tub will be installed. Future frag tank is sitting on it for now.
Here's the sump that nearly killed me. I smartly maneuvered this thing onto its stand alone thinking to myself 'you're an idiot brett'. I redid all the inner silicone and removed the center brace and mounted it on-end to create my 40g water change area. I could not dry-fit the brace back into this tank after I took it out so obviously the previous owner braced the tank while full! This meant the baffle had to be installed at a slight angle but it is rock solid with tons of contact as that brace was 5/8". The tank itself is all 1/2" and won't be even close to full hence the choice to remove the brace. My frag tank will be shelf-mounted above the water change compartment.
Going further in you can see my rear access corridor. It's about 18" wide and I'll make a moveable platform that I can move around to step up on for mounting corals etc.
Here's two shots showing the skin after a few rounds of wood-filler. The first pic sorta shows the plywood ceiling I installed. You can't see in these pics but I have applied silicone between all the plywood and canopy 2x4s. The plywood seams will also be 'coned and then it will all be sealed with Kilz. Sealed room! I may even run some silicone in the 1/2" gap between the canopy and the tank itself to further seal the area and prevent water that splashes on the bracing from running down the glass.
lastlight
Premium Member
Been slowly making some progress down in the basement. Both side are now drywalled and the fish-side is currently being mudded. Fishroom itself is now ready for paint which I hope to do this weekend...
I have been shifting my doser around to be able to drywall the stairs and mud as best I can. The chiller is still running in the other room of the basement and I will of course have some patching to do after I take the 97g down for good.
The couch is going to go where my office previously was. Putting a tv on the wall where my buckets are.
I really miss the 45g I had for topoff. That stand had to come down so I could drywall in there. Nothing like filling this 5g bucket every other day :twised: The jackpost will be removed once my current tank is taken down.
Laundry tub has water to it but the drain is not yet connected. Since no drain existed anywhere near this room the drain (which is not visible here) goes all the way around 2 walls on the other side of the basement where it ties into the drain system behind the washing machine.
The 55 gallon drum is for mixing water changes. To the right of the drum (under the stairs and behind the drywall) are 2 more drums stacked. One will be for topoff and the other (elevated) will be a reservoir plumbed into the mix drum on the fishroom side.
The fresh-air vent can be seen as well. It's nice knowing when the neighbors are bbqing or smoking pot even when I'm doing tank maintenance down here lol.
I have been shifting my doser around to be able to drywall the stairs and mud as best I can. The chiller is still running in the other room of the basement and I will of course have some patching to do after I take the 97g down for good.
The couch is going to go where my office previously was. Putting a tv on the wall where my buckets are.
I really miss the 45g I had for topoff. That stand had to come down so I could drywall in there. Nothing like filling this 5g bucket every other day :twised: The jackpost will be removed once my current tank is taken down.
Laundry tub has water to it but the drain is not yet connected. Since no drain existed anywhere near this room the drain (which is not visible here) goes all the way around 2 walls on the other side of the basement where it ties into the drain system behind the washing machine.
The 55 gallon drum is for mixing water changes. To the right of the drum (under the stairs and behind the drywall) are 2 more drums stacked. One will be for topoff and the other (elevated) will be a reservoir plumbed into the mix drum on the fishroom side.
The fresh-air vent can be seen as well. It's nice knowing when the neighbors are bbqing or smoking pot even when I'm doing tank maintenance down here lol.
lastlight
Premium Member
Fishroom got it's first coat tonight! I also now have some cool-looking white highlights in my hair that for now seem sorta permanent lol.
First a peek at my rad new mixing station for the current tank. Wife can't wait to see this gone lemme tell ya.
This stuff is the bomb.
You can see where I applied silicone to all the cracks and knotholes in the plywood ceiling. Those are all the spots the paint doesn't really want to stick to.
To paint my water-change nook I removed the blue drum and tossed it temporarily on the laundry tub. Sorta forgot the tap works now and it started working all right! Too bad the drain is not connected. You can sorta tell the floor is wet. Officially my first mini flood!
Outside lookin' in...
First a peek at my rad new mixing station for the current tank. Wife can't wait to see this gone lemme tell ya.
This stuff is the bomb.
You can see where I applied silicone to all the cracks and knotholes in the plywood ceiling. Those are all the spots the paint doesn't really want to stick to.
To paint my water-change nook I removed the blue drum and tossed it temporarily on the laundry tub. Sorta forgot the tap works now and it started working all right! Too bad the drain is not connected. You can sorta tell the floor is wet. Officially my first mini flood!
Outside lookin' in...
lastlight
Premium Member
Thanks to my friend Brad for suggesting this 100% epoxy floor coating. It's called Enviropoxy and I have done the first coat. I'll be doing a second coat so all the higher spots in my floor become smooth as well. Hard as a rock and not slippery when wet either. Love this stuff but the prep-work for the floor was brutal.
The stand is done except for the doors now. After this was all skinned I decided I wanted the thing to appear to be multiple pieces of wood with gaps for a modern look. I got the look with a utility knife and the edge of my level! The scribing process was pretty painstaking but I'm really happy with the end result. I have to go back and carefully touch up the paint in a few grooves still...
My helper playing in the 'secret tunnel'...
Not a very flattering shot as the harsh lights down here right now show a few seams. You can just make out something in the groove for the left vertical line. On this panel as luck would have it I hit ALL FOUR screws that were used to mount the panel originally. I didn't want to try and move them and screw things up but nobody but me will notice I think.
The stand is done except for the doors now. After this was all skinned I decided I wanted the thing to appear to be multiple pieces of wood with gaps for a modern look. I got the look with a utility knife and the edge of my level! The scribing process was pretty painstaking but I'm really happy with the end result. I have to go back and carefully touch up the paint in a few grooves still...
My helper playing in the 'secret tunnel'...
Not a very flattering shot as the harsh lights down here right now show a few seams. You can just make out something in the groove for the left vertical line. On this panel as luck would have it I hit ALL FOUR screws that were used to mount the panel originally. I didn't want to try and move them and screw things up but nobody but me will notice I think.
lastlight
Premium Member
Thought I'd update with the reno progress I've made. I now have things to a point where I'm ready to put water in the tank. When my skimmer arrives things are going to start getting serious!
Dricore going in. Really tough managing reno materials with so little space down here!
Running water at last...
Paint and vinyl click flooring:
Bought a shop-vac specifically for cleaning my tank and sump out. Next step is a washdown of both. Not looking forward to that let me tell ya. The yellow extension cord is actually what's running my tank upstairs. I was shocked to discover how much crap was on the same circuit so I thought I'd use one of the tank-room's dedicated ones.
Dricore going in. Really tough managing reno materials with so little space down here!
Running water at last...
Paint and vinyl click flooring:
Bought a shop-vac specifically for cleaning my tank and sump out. Next step is a washdown of both. Not looking forward to that let me tell ya. The yellow extension cord is actually what's running my tank upstairs. I was shocked to discover how much crap was on the same circuit so I thought I'd use one of the tank-room's dedicated ones.
lastlight
Premium Member
Picked up a few buckets of live rock tonight. Time to let it percolate. This was a great chance to leak test half my sump I guess... until this morning I hadn't done so lol. I'm hoping the other side performs as well!
I've decided to compromise and do some dead rock as well since I landed a large quantity of live rock which should help settle the dead stuff.
I've decided to compromise and do some dead rock as well since I landed a large quantity of live rock which should help settle the dead stuff.
lastlight
Premium Member
First a shot of the canopy with the new doors on. These were painful to do since I had to scribe the profile of my hinges into both the canopy and the doors to achieve a flush-mount door and avoid seeing a hinge on the face of my doors. I then used wood-filler over the door side of the hinges and painted them up. My drop ceiling will cover the upper part of the hinges.
Had to mount 2x4s to the door panels to straighten them out. The added weight causes the doors to hang slightly ajar which will actually be nice so they don't magnet shut until I want them to.
Here are the push/release magnets that will allow the doors to shut flush:
I measured the door cuts carefully to maintain the scribe-spacing. I will be installing an inner trim to the canopy frame behind the doors to block light from escaping.
My blue mixing drum is currently upstairs next to my fridge to hold all my ro/di water for the current tank. The room on the opposite side of my basement is so full of junk I can't even walk more than 2 feet into it. I can access the two other stacked water drums on the other side of my laundry tub from that room and plumbing all that into the fish room has to wait until I clean and reno that side.
My dry goods shelf and the dosing shelf. My profilux doser will sit on top. Space is tight in the room and I need some flat working space near my sink so I'll be installing a sheet of plywood that can flip up when not in use soon.
Plumbing is nearly done. I need to grab some 3/4" pipe to install the 3 gate valves that will run my media reactors. There's also a line that feeds into where the rock is (my reservoir I'll empty for water changes) and a valved line off the drain that will feed my skimmer. You'll notice metal gear clamps on the rubber sleeve I used to mount to the silly adapter that come with all the laguna pumps. These won't be submerged as the water on that side of my sump will be quite shallow. If anyone knows where I can get plastic clamps though please let me know!
Looking down the back corridor again:
Very simple returns! I have some sch 80 elbows to add on but I have no idea where my water level will be so those will go on once the tank is filled. They'll probably not be glued so I can aim or modify them if needed down the road.
Had to mount 2x4s to the door panels to straighten them out. The added weight causes the doors to hang slightly ajar which will actually be nice so they don't magnet shut until I want them to.
Here are the push/release magnets that will allow the doors to shut flush:
I measured the door cuts carefully to maintain the scribe-spacing. I will be installing an inner trim to the canopy frame behind the doors to block light from escaping.
My blue mixing drum is currently upstairs next to my fridge to hold all my ro/di water for the current tank. The room on the opposite side of my basement is so full of junk I can't even walk more than 2 feet into it. I can access the two other stacked water drums on the other side of my laundry tub from that room and plumbing all that into the fish room has to wait until I clean and reno that side.
My dry goods shelf and the dosing shelf. My profilux doser will sit on top. Space is tight in the room and I need some flat working space near my sink so I'll be installing a sheet of plywood that can flip up when not in use soon.
Plumbing is nearly done. I need to grab some 3/4" pipe to install the 3 gate valves that will run my media reactors. There's also a line that feeds into where the rock is (my reservoir I'll empty for water changes) and a valved line off the drain that will feed my skimmer. You'll notice metal gear clamps on the rubber sleeve I used to mount to the silly adapter that come with all the laguna pumps. These won't be submerged as the water on that side of my sump will be quite shallow. If anyone knows where I can get plastic clamps though please let me know!
Looking down the back corridor again:
Very simple returns! I have some sch 80 elbows to add on but I have no idea where my water level will be so those will go on once the tank is filled. They'll probably not be glued so I can aim or modify them if needed down the road.
lastlight
Premium Member
Got my dj strips installed last night. Will toss the one from my current tank in there as well if needed. My rule of thumb is 'if you can do it with a 2x4... DO IT' LOL.
And the tank is about half full! The tank is currently surrounded by all the junk from the other side of the basement as I tape and mud over there.
And the tank is about half full! The tank is currently surrounded by all the junk from the other side of the basement as I tape and mud over there.
lastlight
Premium Member
After sitting in the tank on a salt bucket and freezing my @$$ off the scape is done! Sand and a test frag as well (had PE almost right away so that's a good sign).
Only have a 2 year old+ phoenix over the tank for kicks till the rest of my gear arrives. Made taking shots tough so I had to turn on the fugly florescents. Room's still FULL of junk too so picture-taking room's at a premium :twised:
Only have a 2 year old+ phoenix over the tank for kicks till the rest of my gear arrives. Made taking shots tough so I had to turn on the fugly florescents. Room's still FULL of junk too so picture-taking room's at a premium :twised:
lastlight
Premium Member
Here's an iphone video with almost all the livestock transferred. I say almost because I spent some crazy hours detailing every rock to leave my old tank and picked off valonia, screwered the crap outta aiptasia and snapped, chopped and scraped the sps I didn't want in the new tank (mostly m. confusa and a small army of green digi). There is currently not a single bit of valonia in here I'm enjoying how that looks for at least a day I hope lol.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7sjpgNtVEc
I tried out youtube's stabilization filter but it's made things even more choppy and spastic sorry about that!
If you watch the whole thing you'll see I've abandoned drawer slides from the 97g finally in favour of a pvc light rack. It allows me to slide each light individually front-to-back and side-to-side. Lovin' it!
Still to do:
- cleanup wiring
- install dusk/dawn t5s, auto top off, doser, and new gfo/carbon reactors
- sort out access and use of the 3 water barrels
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7sjpgNtVEc
I tried out youtube's stabilization filter but it's made things even more choppy and spastic sorry about that!
If you watch the whole thing you'll see I've abandoned drawer slides from the 97g finally in favour of a pvc light rack. It allows me to slide each light individually front-to-back and side-to-side. Lovin' it!
Still to do:
- cleanup wiring
- install dusk/dawn t5s, auto top off, doser, and new gfo/carbon reactors
- sort out access and use of the 3 water barrels
