Lightsluvr's 340G Upgrade
- Thread starter Lightsluvr
- Start date
- Status
RobbyVonAwesome
New member
Looking forward to seeing your progress on the tank tour. Keep up the good work, and keep us updated!
Day three of the fish room remodel...
Day three of the fish room remodel...
It's Memorial Day. I dragged out of bed at 5:30 (a.m.) to clean up the job site and prepare for a long day of work. Chris called to let me know he was "in range" and he stopped by the house for a trip to Lowes - let's see...(10) nine foot 2x4's and a selection of 1x4s for furring strips... I picked up some electrical boxes so my electrician could finish the wring he started on Sunday afternoon. (ask me someday how I get an electrician to work for me on Sundays...
)
Here's the room after some cleanup...
That's Chris preparing some temporary supports to hold up the weight bearing wall while the studs are removed and replaced with a 9' beam...
It's weird removing the wall studs... absolutely no movement of the wall...
Here is the new raised ceiling that Chris devised to give much more headroom in the fish room...the better to work on the tank...
Note the wall to Chris' right. All studs are gone and the 2x12 laminated beam is in place. The only thing separating the fish room and living room is 1/2" sheet rock and some plastic drops...
Sheetrocking the ceiling and walls caused a lot of dust- so we sealed the wall to the livingroom with several thicknesses of .7mil plastic drops. It kept the dust to tolerable levels, but did not eliminate it.
The room was almost completely drywalled by 12:30 p.m.
LL
Day three of the fish room remodel...
It's Memorial Day. I dragged out of bed at 5:30 (a.m.) to clean up the job site and prepare for a long day of work. Chris called to let me know he was "in range" and he stopped by the house for a trip to Lowes - let's see...(10) nine foot 2x4's and a selection of 1x4s for furring strips... I picked up some electrical boxes so my electrician could finish the wring he started on Sunday afternoon. (ask me someday how I get an electrician to work for me on Sundays...
)Here's the room after some cleanup...
That's Chris preparing some temporary supports to hold up the weight bearing wall while the studs are removed and replaced with a 9' beam...
It's weird removing the wall studs... absolutely no movement of the wall...
Here is the new raised ceiling that Chris devised to give much more headroom in the fish room...the better to work on the tank...
Note the wall to Chris' right. All studs are gone and the 2x12 laminated beam is in place. The only thing separating the fish room and living room is 1/2" sheet rock and some plastic drops...
Sheetrocking the ceiling and walls caused a lot of dust- so we sealed the wall to the livingroom with several thicknesses of .7mil plastic drops. It kept the dust to tolerable levels, but did not eliminate it.
The room was almost completely drywalled by 12:30 p.m.
LL
Last edited:
Reef Happy
New member
Looking good George. Chris does nice work. He finished off my upstairs room a few years back and did a wonderful job. Next time you drop by I will have to show you the handy work.
Tank moving day- June 20
Tank moving day- June 20
It looks like the remodel will be completed by May 30. Time to paint the room and trim the opening...
Tentative date to move the tank and stand is Saturday, June 20. That should allow sufficient time to obtain arrange for removal of the glass pane that will be removed to allow access for the new system... in addition, the seller has to arrange to remove an even larger glass pane to make room for the tank's removal.
I will be asking for help with the move from members of COMAS, our fantastic local club. Our club even has large suction cups for members' use! How great is that? See http://www.mycomas.com/ .
LL
Tank moving day- June 20
It looks like the remodel will be completed by May 30. Time to paint the room and trim the opening...
Tentative date to move the tank and stand is Saturday, June 20. That should allow sufficient time to obtain arrange for removal of the glass pane that will be removed to allow access for the new system... in addition, the seller has to arrange to remove an even larger glass pane to make room for the tank's removal.
I will be asking for help with the move from members of COMAS, our fantastic local club. Our club even has large suction cups for members' use! How great is that? See http://www.mycomas.com/ .
LL
Last edited:
More "third day" photos...
More "third day" photos...
Memorial Day was a long one at lightsluvr's fish room upgrade~
It was a 12 hour day for me, and a 9 hour day for Chris the contractor... here a few more photos:
view of a construction site... (or a redneck's back yard)
Chris let me actually measure some boards...but "Step away from the power tools" was the understood order...
After all wall studs were removed, it was time to install the furring strips, replace the R-19 insulation and sheetrock the ceiling and walls:
Sheetrock and the new raised ceiling:
The (2) 100CFM 1.0 Sone ventilation fans located above the tank position:
This photo shows the outline where the concrete pad for the tank stand will be located:
After studying the combined weight of tank and stand (nearly two tons), Chris recommended removal the existing concrete, excavate for corner piers and pour a new pad. I concurred, so out came the concrete saw and 8 pound sledge hammer...
After Chris wokred on the floor for almost an hour, this is the end result:
Plan: after work today May 25, I will remove the larger concrete rubble form the excavation. I will begin digging for piers at the corner and center of the new pad. The front of the stand will extend into living room. by approximately 6", resting on the main slab and footings. The tank will be viewable through the sides from the living room.
Well, back to work!
LL
More "third day" photos...
Memorial Day was a long one at lightsluvr's fish room upgrade~
It was a 12 hour day for me, and a 9 hour day for Chris the contractor... here a few more photos:
view of a construction site... (or a redneck's back yard)
Chris let me actually measure some boards...but "Step away from the power tools" was the understood order...
After all wall studs were removed, it was time to install the furring strips, replace the R-19 insulation and sheetrock the ceiling and walls:
Sheetrock and the new raised ceiling:
The (2) 100CFM 1.0 Sone ventilation fans located above the tank position:
This photo shows the outline where the concrete pad for the tank stand will be located:
After studying the combined weight of tank and stand (nearly two tons), Chris recommended removal the existing concrete, excavate for corner piers and pour a new pad. I concurred, so out came the concrete saw and 8 pound sledge hammer...
After Chris wokred on the floor for almost an hour, this is the end result:
Plan: after work today May 25, I will remove the larger concrete rubble form the excavation. I will begin digging for piers at the corner and center of the new pad. The front of the stand will extend into living room. by approximately 6", resting on the main slab and footings. The tank will be viewable through the sides from the living room.
Well, back to work!
LL
Last edited:
edandsandy
Active member
WOW! you are really working FAST!
stunreefer
Reef Hugger
Congrats on the new AGE, and this is an awesome build! :thumbsup:
When hunting for my AGE I also noted a couple other companies that were right there with price... they were not the most expensive for my tank either!
When hunting for my AGE I also noted a couple other companies that were right there with price... they were not the most expensive for my tank either!
Gotta work fast!
Gotta work fast!
I have to...time is fleeting!
LL
Gotta work fast!
I have to...time is fleeting!
LL
We have a door!
We have a door!
Chris came over for a few hours last night, and coompleted the sheetrocking and installed the permanent door to the fish room! I installed my first door knob. I have skills I didn't even realize...
I will do more cleaning up today and then take a break for 24 hours. Chris will be back on Friday evening to apply the first coat of tape and mud to the drywall.
We will probably go ahead and remove the drywall to the living room so the entire opening can be taped and mudded. (Is that a word?)
The cats have been extremely curious about what is going on, on the other side of that wall...
Saturday morning is concrete pour time... my job, should I choose to accept it, will likely be to keep the cats off wet concrete! Another coat of finish mud will be applied on the drywall as well.
Saturday afternoon is reserved for texturing the drywall, which should just about wrap up Chris' portion of the project...
More pictures later...
LL
We have a door!
Chris came over for a few hours last night, and coompleted the sheetrocking and installed the permanent door to the fish room! I installed my first door knob. I have skills I didn't even realize...
I will do more cleaning up today and then take a break for 24 hours. Chris will be back on Friday evening to apply the first coat of tape and mud to the drywall.
We will probably go ahead and remove the drywall to the living room so the entire opening can be taped and mudded. (Is that a word?)
The cats have been extremely curious about what is going on, on the other side of that wall...
Saturday morning is concrete pour time... my job, should I choose to accept it, will likely be to keep the cats off wet concrete! Another coat of finish mud will be applied on the drywall as well.
Saturday afternoon is reserved for texturing the drywall, which should just about wrap up Chris' portion of the project...
More pictures later...
LL
Thanks!
Thanks!
We appreciate everyone who stops by and leaves a note!
Today was a rest day - tomorrow I'm back to cleaning up the jobsite. Friday is drywall finish day, and hopefully we'll have pictures of that "big hole" this time Friday night...
LL
Thanks!
We appreciate everyone who stops by and leaves a note!
Today was a rest day - tomorrow I'm back to cleaning up the jobsite. Friday is drywall finish day, and hopefully we'll have pictures of that "big hole" this time Friday night...
LL
Dual sump system
Dual sump system
I had some idle time yesterday to doodle a diagram of a dual sump system that I hope to execute. I would love some feedback.
Here is the first diagram: (apologies to anyone with drawing or CAD skills)
'Ignore the tanks on the far left. That's the beginning of an RO/DI, Saltwater Mixing and water change system I am brainstorming...
I have four exterior overflows on the tank.
I plan to feed the Reeflo Orca 250 skimmer with overflow#1.
Overflows #2 & #3 would feed a 100G Rubbermaid stock tank filled 2/3 with live rock (SUMP #1).
Overflow #4 would flow into the 95G acrylic sump pictured earlier in the thread (SUMP #2). The center chamber of SUMP#2 would contain a DSB topped with generous amounts of floating Chaeto.
SUMP #1 would gravity feed to the RETURN chamber of the 95G sump. The outflow from the Orca 250 would feed into the center chamber of SUMP#2. The Barracuda Gold return pump will draw from the return chamber of SUMP#2.
This diagram points out the major components described above. Pink arrow points to the 100G stock tank. Green Arrow points to the 95G Acrylic tank, and yellow arrow points to the Orca 250 skimmer.
Here is a photo of the type of gravity feed I would use from Sump#1 to Sump#2:
Four inch x 15 inch filter socks will be utilized on all outflow feed tubing to minimize microbubbles.
Any suggestions? Warnings? Ideas?
Thanks for your comments and thoughts...
LL
Dual sump system
I had some idle time yesterday to doodle a diagram of a dual sump system that I hope to execute. I would love some feedback.
Here is the first diagram: (apologies to anyone with drawing or CAD skills)
'Ignore the tanks on the far left. That's the beginning of an RO/DI, Saltwater Mixing and water change system I am brainstorming...
I have four exterior overflows on the tank.
I plan to feed the Reeflo Orca 250 skimmer with overflow#1.
Overflows #2 & #3 would feed a 100G Rubbermaid stock tank filled 2/3 with live rock (SUMP #1).
Overflow #4 would flow into the 95G acrylic sump pictured earlier in the thread (SUMP #2). The center chamber of SUMP#2 would contain a DSB topped with generous amounts of floating Chaeto.
SUMP #1 would gravity feed to the RETURN chamber of the 95G sump. The outflow from the Orca 250 would feed into the center chamber of SUMP#2. The Barracuda Gold return pump will draw from the return chamber of SUMP#2.
This diagram points out the major components described above. Pink arrow points to the 100G stock tank. Green Arrow points to the 95G Acrylic tank, and yellow arrow points to the Orca 250 skimmer.
Here is a photo of the type of gravity feed I would use from Sump#1 to Sump#2:
Four inch x 15 inch filter socks will be utilized on all outflow feed tubing to minimize microbubbles.
Any suggestions? Warnings? Ideas?
Thanks for your comments and thoughts...
LL
The mystery tanks...
The mystery tanks...
Some folks asked questions about the water change system that I want to add to my system. Here is a photo from edandsandy's build thread. I am trying to develop something along these lines:
LL
The mystery tanks...
Some folks asked questions about the water change system that I want to add to my system. Here is a photo from edandsandy's build thread. I am trying to develop something along these lines:
LL
My art work? or the water tank configuration?
LL
- Status
Similar threads
