Mike's 300 Double-D

Thank you chefzif! Our Regal has to taste-test all new corals and occasionally nips at our SPS, but thankfully doesn't do any real damage.
 
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/terryl93/6565419495/" title="iriechristmas by terryl93, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7017/6565419495_e6b0260131_b.jpg" width="1024" height="1002" alt="iriechristmas"></a>
 
Thanks for checking out our build, your aquarium is absolutely stunning! I love your rock work, coral and fish selection. Keep up the fantastic work.

Joe & Kelly
 
It's been a little crazy around here with the holidays, but we thought we should take the time to give a small update.

Last week, Terry ordered a P. octotaenia pair that arrived last Thursday. When she opened the package, she found a DOA male and another male that was in bad shape - damaged mouth, completely missing one ventral fin, anal fin torn and early signs of skin parasites. He spent the first 2 days laying in the corner of our QT and we were doubtful he would make it. Thankfully, he is doing better - alert, eating well and swimming. Here's a pic from earlier today:

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/terryl93/6590337951/" title="nt 1906 by terryl93, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7035/6590337951_68325f8743_b.jpg" width="1024" height="680" alt="nt 1906"></a>

We're cautiously optimistic that he will make a full recovery...
 
Beautiful fish! I too, hope it makes a full recovery. To be honest, all your fish and corals are beautiful! I hope to one day have a tank like yours. :)

I have a question for you though, how wide is the trim on your tank? Is the top and bottom the same width?
 
slovan said:
Beautiful fish! I too, hope it makes a full recovery. To be honest, all your fish and corals are beautiful! I hope to one day have a tank like yours. :)

I have a question for you though, how wide is the trim on your tank? Is the top and bottom the same width?
Click to expand...

Thanks slovan! We really appreciate the kind words. As for the trim, the top and bottom are not the same. I don't know that we will be able to give you an accurate measurement for the bottom as it is partially covered by our quartz counter tops. We'll check to see if we documented it somewhere and post it if we can find it.

aquaph8 said:
Glad he's doing better now, goodluck on a full recovery.
Click to expand...

Thank you Brett! Hope all goes well with yours!
 
prop-frags said:
As for the trim, the top and bottom are not the same. I don't know that we will be able to give you an accurate measurement for the bottom as it is partially covered by our quartz counter tops. We'll check to see if we documented it somewhere and post it if we can find it.
Click to expand...

Thanks, Mike! The reason I ask is because I already have the hole in the wall cut out and trimmed. If I know the width of the top and bottom trim, I can determine the height I need to build the stand to. Thanks for any help you can provide! :beer:
 
Just read your entire thread, and my goodness what a roller coaster ride it has been. Your system is amazing and I am glad to see that you stuck with it. Happy New Year and keep up the fantastic work.
 
Mike I am in the process of supporting the joists in my house. I have a few questions for you on your installation of the jack posts.

1st when applying pressure to the 4x4, did u use just the jack post to increase pressure or did u use an actual jack, slightly move the joist up, snug the jack post up, and then release pressure onto the stannd?

2nd reading the actual manufactures web site your post is upside down, as the adjustment nut is supposed to be cast in concrete. However it does say that many contractors don't. It kinda sounds loosened are really ment to be taken out, but I am goin to use them as well.

Thanks for the excellent documentation of your build it us truely inspiring and helpful.

Shane



prop-frags said:
Thanks Tee. I looked it up - looks like Dave was right - only reference we can find is "laminated veneer" like this Microlam or GP lam. There's a lumber yard in Richmond that sells it. We'll take a look for some pricing and suitability.



Thanks Doug. Yes, there is a silver lining here, and we are trying hard to focus on that!



Thanks Chris. The big green slimer is still suffering from STN...Not sure if it is going to make it or not. A few other losses have happened - the new red Setosa perished, along with a couple of the more fragile acros. All in all, we're feeling pretty lucky about the small number of livestock losses.
___________________________

OK, here's an update on the renovations and rebuilding efforts.

The work in the house continues. The sub flooring is drying out. We've got two dehumidifiers in the house with several fans targeting the areas that got the most water. There is also a dehumidifier and several fans underneath the house to pull out all the moisture from under there.

We are going to remodel the laundry room to make room for the display tank electronics. The idea is to move all the electrical outlets, lighting ballasts, timers, Tunze controllers, etc., into the laundry room directly behind the tank, and well out of the way of any potential future splashes, leaks, or spills. More on that later as that work progresses.

The other big project this weekend was doing the structural improvements under the house. We didn't have any real indications that the floor had deflected or contributed to the tank failure, but now we are paranoid and are going to take many more steps to increase safety.

Thanks to Paul for these incredibly informative links (must read for anyone with large tanks in wood frame houses):

Residential Wood Framed Floors and Aquarium Weights

Raising A Slightly Sagging Floor

The location of our tank and stand is optimal for using the existing structure of the house to support the load. The wall that the stand is up against is directly over a main support girder of the house, and the stand is perpendicular to the 2x10 floor joists, crossing at least 6 joists. Nevertheless, some engineering friends have chimed in and recommended that we add some additional structure anyway.

So off to Lowe's and grab the materials - we're going to add a new 4x6 support beam, held up with two 36" screw jacks and concrete pilings. We will also add 2x8 pine blocks in-between the joists to minimize torsional buckling of the joists. Some steel anchor straps and some misc anodized lag screws round out the order:

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/terryl93/5047812413/" title="crawlspace 01 by terryl93, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4147/5047812413_cedb3e350a.jpg" width="500" height="332" alt="crawlspace 01" /></a>

OK, carry all this heavy crap under the house (GRUNT) - that's more than a workout! The first thing to do is locate precisely where the stand and tank are going to sit over the floor joists. Measure it up, and mark it. The important thing for our application is to add additional support (beam) under the joists that are carrying the load of the tank and stand. We'll come out about 3 feet from the wall where that big girder is, and put our new beam there. Once we've marked where the beam will go, we fashioned some steel anchor straps and hang the beam up there in place:

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/terryl93/5048433598/" title="crawlspace 02 by terryl93, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4146/5048433598_1b2db9ca24.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="crawlspace 02" /></a>

Next, we do a little test placement of the concrete pilings and screwjacks to find out where our holes for the pilings will be. Then we dig the holes (with a thimble, since we can't use a shovel under there):

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/terryl93/5047812911/" title="crawlspace 03 by terryl93, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4088/5047812911_7de3360438.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="crawlspace 03" /></a>

Place the concrete pilings and make sure they are level.

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/terryl93/5048434320/" title="crawlspace 05 by terryl93, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4124/5048434320_5c742a0635.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="crawlspace 05" /></a>

Next, we can put the screw jacks on the concrete pilings and line them up. It is absolutely critical that the jacks are plumb!!

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/terryl93/5048434806/" title="crawlspace 07 by terryl93, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4124/5048434806_44e0a4a094.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="crawlspace 07" /></a>

Now that the jacks are level and plumb, we can take loose our temporary anchor straps, and lift the beam up into position:

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/terryl93/5047813125/" title="crawlspace 06 by terryl93, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4107/5047813125_943810fe81.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="crawlspace 06" /></a>

Now that some force has been applied to the jacks, we let that sit a while and go back to ensure everything is still level and plumb. Once we're happy with that, we fill the holes in around the pilings and compact the soil down nice and tight:

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/terryl93/5047813481/" title="crawlspace 08 by terryl93, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4083/5047813481_878e19b4aa.jpg" width="500" height="336" alt="crawlspace 08" /></a>

This is starting to look like we're getting close to being done! Next up is to use the lag screws and fasten the jack plates to the beam:

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/terryl93/5047813983/" title="crawlspace 09 by terryl93, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4089/5047813983_7997f50bf6.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="crawlspace 09" /></a>

And here's a shot showing the beam elevated into position on both screw jacks:

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/terryl93/5047814363/" title="crawlspace 10 by terryl93, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4129/5047814363_6ed06de92d.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="crawlspace 10" /></a>

The final step was to install the 2x8 blocks between some of the joists. This helps with spreading load between the joints, and also reduces their ability to twist:
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/terryl93/5047814627/" title="crawlspace 11 by terryl93, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4144/5047814627_840844b0ab.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="crawlspace 11" /></a>

And there we have another gazillion pounds of load-bearing capacity or "safety factor" as the engineers like to say!!
Click to expand...
 
Happy New Year, everyone - we hope that 2012 is a better year than last!

Thanks for all the well-wishes. We are sad to report that the 8-line flasher didn't make it. He died in the QT a couple of days back. As best we can tell, it must have been internal parasites (perhaps flukes?). Terry tried her absolute best to treat the fish and nurse it through, but it had shipped in such a weakened state, it was a really rough go.

Shane, thank you for your comments. It is interesting that you found those instructions for the jackposts. In all the pictures and install instructions we read, we didn't come across that about putting "the large diameter tube and plate over beam". Honestly, we went off of plans from an engineer, so we're confident that either orientation will be just fine. When we tightened up the jacks, we simply gave them both a couple of turns, then removed the temporary straps, then tightened the jacks snug, and lastly used galvanized hurricane ties. Over the course of a few weeks, we checked the jacks, and tightened them up a tiny bit.
 
Since we haven't posted any pics in a while, we thought we'd share a few of our trio of female Eightline Flashers (P. octotaenia):

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/terryl93/6766730485/" title="nt 1990 by terryl93, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7023/6766730485_ec1a6a1ec7_b.jpg" width="1024" height="680" alt="nt 1990"></a>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/terryl93/6766729081/" title="nt 1989 by terryl93, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7150/6766729081_e3d1f0233b_b.jpg" width="1024" height="680" alt="nt 1989"></a>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/terryl93/6766727679/" title="nt 1988 by terryl93, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7025/6766727679_30370007f7_b.jpg" width="1024" height="680" alt="nt 1988"></a>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/terryl93/6766724273/" title="nt 1986 by terryl93, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7019/6766724273_dcb45e5f7f_b.jpg" width="1024" height="751" alt="nt 1986"></a>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/terryl93/6766722451/" title="nt 1984 by terryl93, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7169/6766722451_ae832a1200_b.jpg" width="1024" height="680" alt="nt 1984"></a>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/terryl93/6766720951/" title="nt 1983 by terryl93, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7003/6766720951_ec8f40a11d_b.jpg" width="1024" height="680" alt="nt 1983"></a>
 
prop-frags said:
Thanks Kenny! We got them from LA DD and couldn't be more pleased with them. We'll be adding an XL male soon too.
Click to expand...

Love the new additions - any worries with introducing the male later? I have been ogling some of the wrasses on their site but was worried about not being able to get the male and females at the same time.
 
I talked w/Brad S. before releasing the females as I had the same worries. He thought it would be much less stressful for all, to go ahead and release them and add the male later. We should be ok even if the larger female starts to transition as the tank is large and there are a lot of hiding spots. Our two Jordani males have gotten along fine and so did the 2 Lineatus wrasses.
 
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