Mike's 300 Double-D

Just keeps getting better and better. :D

How true....How true!!!

Thanks guys!


Happy Tuesday everyone!

As an update, we thought we'd share these pics:
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/terryl93/6873813998/" title="nt 2257 by terryl93, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7085/6873813998_e381945e69_b.jpg" width="1024" height="680" alt="nt 2257"></a>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/terryl93/7019916447/" title="nt 2256 by terryl93, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7137/7019916447_ac8288c55d_b.jpg" width="1024" height="680" alt="nt 2256"></a>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/terryl93/6873812320/" title="nt 2254 by terryl93, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7063/6873812320_cd7820d643_b.jpg" width="1024" height="680" alt="nt 2254"></a>

:D
 
Last edited:
Cut kid you have there

crvz Thanks for the link, Chris. I ordered the gate valves (and a few other goodies) from them C
mermaid2.jpg


mermaid4.jpg


Thanks for all the help and support so far guys!!
 
Awesome pix as usual, M&T! :thumbsup:

looking really nice well done!!

Wow, I know who to go to if I have picture taking questions!

Thank you Kenny, Kinlayan and Tim!

Cut kid you have there

Thanks David, she's definitely a keeper! :D


Happy Friday Everyone!

Terry's earlei birthday present arrived this morning so we thought we'd share some pics...

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/terryl93/6905549548/" title="nt 2294 by terryl93, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5344/6905549548_02d462c858_c.jpg" width="800" height="584" alt="nt 2294"></a>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/terryl93/7051640963/" title="nt 2295 by terryl93, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7057/7051640963_d0ee5c2d70_c.jpg" width="800" height="531" alt="nt 2295"></a>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/terryl93/6905551054/" title="nt 2296 by terryl93, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7057/6905551054_245392dc62_c.jpg" width="800" height="531" alt="nt 2296"></a>

And a couple of pics of our new boy - C. earlei:
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/terryl93/7051641949/" title="nt 2297 by terryl93, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7048/7051641949_6352dd224b_c.jpg" width="800" height="613" alt="nt 2297"></a>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/terryl93/7051642195/" title="nt 2299 by terryl93, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7085/7051642195_d1e50fe8b6_c.jpg" width="800" height="509" alt="nt 2299"></a>

The quality of the pics is terrible, but we didn't want to stress him out. We'll take some more after he has had time to adjust to the new QT environment.

-M&T
 
Congrats M&T. He's a beauty!

Beautiful fish!

Thank you Kenny and Kris!


He's amazing Terry, you got the best present ever. What day is your birthday?

Thank you so much Brett! My birthday is not until May 11th, but I just couldn't wait that long, LOL.

Here are a couple of pics I snapped earlier today:

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/terryl93/7059046171/" title="nt 2301 by terryl93, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5327/7059046171_f60175d1b4_b.jpg" width="1024" height="704" alt="nt 2301"></a>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/terryl93/7059046229/" title="nt 2300 by terryl93, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7217/7059046229_79cf2e73cc_b.jpg" width="1024" height="714" alt="nt 2300"></a>

-Terry
 
Mike & Terry,
All I can say is WOW! You've managed to put together and incredible system and the troubles you've gone through to do so just makes it even more impressive. Having gone through a few problems myself, I can understand what it takes to move on and try again. Having gone from a 250g to nearly out of the hobby and now back to a 225g, I finally feel I'm getting back to where I want things to be :D
The fish list is quite impressive, especially being the wrasse lover that I am. Congrats on the ealei...Beautiful fish.
 
I went through this build thread over the last couple days and am amazed at what you've gone through. How frustrating to go from an awesome setup to destroyed and back.

I just bought a used (2 years old) 300 DD tank and factory stand. I'm so glad I read this and will take some extra precautions now. I can't believe the factory stand has no bracing/support in the middle area. I am looking into having a stand built from a professional and having a solid base on the bottom.

I guess I'm a little paranoid after reading this.....I don't have the resources or help to rebound like you have after a catastrophe. I guess I'll cross my fingers and hope for the best and do all I can to make sure this aquarium is right from the start.

Anyway, congrats on your new tank and thank you very much for posting all this valuable information!
 
Mike & Terry,
All I can say is WOW! You've managed to put together and incredible system and the troubles you've gone through to do so just makes it even more impressive. Having gone through a few problems myself, I can understand what it takes to move on and try again. Having gone from a 250g to nearly out of the hobby and now back to a 225g, I finally feel I'm getting back to where I want things to be :D
The fish list is quite impressive, especially being the wrasse lover that I am. Congrats on the ealei...Beautiful fish.

Thanks, Jeremy. Your new build is looking good! I really like your resourcefulness and can-do attitude. The peninsula build is something I think most every big tank reefer would like to do at some point. They are just spectacular. We appreciate your comments here and will be keeping an eye on your new "rapid build" :D

I went through this build thread over the last couple days and am amazed at what you've gone through. How frustrating to go from an awesome setup to destroyed and back.

I just bought a used (2 years old) 300 DD tank and factory stand. I'm so glad I read this and will take some extra precautions now. I can't believe the factory stand has no bracing/support in the middle area. I am looking into having a stand built from a professional and having a solid base on the bottom.

I guess I'm a little paranoid after reading this.....I don't have the resources or help to rebound like you have after a catastrophe. I guess I'll cross my fingers and hope for the best and do all I can to make sure this aquarium is right from the start.

Anyway, congrats on your new tank and thank you very much for posting all this valuable information!

Good to know you've picked up some pointers or useful info from the thread. We were fortunate that our insurance covered the cost of the floors, etc. and that our LFS replaced the failed tank.We learned many things from our problems, and hopefully by posting the story, others can become "appropriately paranoid" and avoid some trouble. Your new tank looks good - we know how excited you are! A 6x3 tank is an awesome project - we'll be following along and just let us know if we can help. Where in Ohio are you? We have good friends in Mentor...

Awesome pix !!!

Egis, coming from you, who takes stunning pictures yourself, this is a wonderful compliment! Thank you!! :)

Are the Acans still doing well under the clown's protective eye?

Jonathan, the acans are back in the prop tank. The "guard clowns" experiment was a partial success. While they did a great job at keeping the angel and file fish away, their non-stop sand sweeping was irritating. So we're back to the drawing board. Any suggestions ?
 
OK, a little bit of an update...

We've been waiting for the right time to remove the canopy and do some maintenance on it. The paint we chose looks fantastic on the outside of the stand and canopy, but the parts on the inside of the canopy that were exposed to the salt water and frequent rubbing by daily chores were not holding up well at all. We purchased some water-based two-part epoxy paint that we had color-matched to the display tank stand and canopy:



We used this stuff on our sump stand last year and it is fantastic. If you follow the directions carefully, and apply it generously, it creates a rock-hard finish. The chore really comes in removing the light rack, taking the canopy down, sanding it, painting it, well, you get the idea. And since the epoxy needs time to harden, we needed to time all this right when the weather outdoors was going to cooperate! Last weekend the weather forecast looked favorable, and I was able to find someone to help me lift the canopy off and put it on sawhorses outside:

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/terryl93/7099133783/" title="nt 2309 by terryl93, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7114/7099133783_61486f4774_b.jpg" width="1024" height="680" alt="nt 2309"></a>

We sanded down the interior surfaces of the canopy - well, all the lower section anyway that sits directly on the top of the tank, and applied 2-3 coats of the epoxy paint, and let that dry nice and hard. That took approximately seven hours from start to finish. Then it was heave-ho back inside and put everything back together. We applied a very light dab of silicone gel onto the top frame of the tank to allow the canopy to slide a little easier and prevent the epoxy from "grabbing"...the canopy is heavy - I estimate probably around 150 lbs.

-M
 
Canopy looks great! I stand by anything Benjamin Moore. Best brand paint hands down, my whole house is covered in it. :D What color is that btw?
 
Back
Top