My 150g build thread

[Thinslis]

Thanks for the heads up, my budget is shot right now. Between the 70lbs of rock I have to pay for and the sand, plus paint for the stand. I'm not going to be buying any more equipment for a little bit. Thanks also for the plumbing advice. I plan to put ball valves on each of the lines on both sides of the wall just in case =)

 

[Thinslis]

Well.... I had really hoped to have the stand sanded and finished up and ready for paint by this weekend.... However.... one of our plants in Jersey decided to have a server failure... So I've spent the better part of the past three days sitting at a tiny table next to a Xerox copier with a serious buzzing issue! They could have told me their was a perfectly good network cable and conferance phone in the conferance room AROUND THE CORNER!.... I'm not bitter or anything..... With any luck I'll get to work on the stand this weekend.

 

[Thinslis]

Tonight I got the tank off the stand and took a palm sander to the stand in my driveway. I think the stand is out of level left to right by a quarter of an inch. Tomorrow I will sand down the doors and the one edge that is out of level. No sense posting picks since it doesn't really look any different =)

Sunday I hope to run the new electrical in the attic to the sump room and near the tank. Would it make sense to run the wire into the stand and install outlets inside the stand? Or just put the outlets on the wall behind the stand?

 

[axia55]

Looking great so far! Hope the live rock works out well for you.

 

[Thinslis]

Thank you Axia for the live rock =) It is going to look great in the tank =)

Today it started raining as soon as I got home from picking up the new live rock... so I worked on the electrical. Got everything ran and preped to be droped in the wall and plugged into the breaker box.

Sorry I was exausted and couldn't keep the camera all that still. It was really hot up there!

Then when I finished with the electrical and took a shower, the weather broke and I was able to work on the stand. All sanded up and got the quarter round on. Also got the stand level left to right, front to back will need shimed just a sliver I think.

Not sure when I'll be able to find someone to patch in that breaker =( Don't really want to pay all that much to get it done seeing as I've done all the rest of the work....

On the stand I think I'm going to buy new doors. The old ones are not sanding very well. I think it will be easier to start from scratch. Maybe a local cabinet place will have some scratch and dent specials =)

And I've decided to just straight paint the stand black, nothing special just black (will help hide all my amature mishaps) =)

Thats all for today, hope you are enjoying.

 

[oldreefer76]

I hope the extra Romex is there for a purpose.....like being pulled into the junction box? Also Let me know when you need it tied into the breaker box

 

[Thinslis]

Sorry Oldreefer76, I forgot to post this pic.

There should be plenty to get it over to where te breaker goes on the top far side. Also I verified the breaker sticker vers breaker box to make sure it was in fact the correct breaker.

Its ready any time you are =)

 

[oldreefer76]

Can you get a pic of the breaker box straight on? so that I can see what is going on in there, your current shot looks like it is in a closet and it has wire splices in it

 

[Thinslis]

You are correct, it is in the closet.

 

[Thinslis]

Ok, now I'm trying my hand at painting. Here is the stand with the first coat.

 

[t11t5]

That looks alot better than I thought it would being black. Great job.... I like the flat black look. It also reduces finger prints.

 

[Thinslis]

Thank you, I put the second coat on last night. It looks pretty much the same so I didn't take any new pics. My neighbor came over last night and looked at it (he's a painter) and he gave it the thumbs up.

So my plan tonight is to bring the stand in the house, mark on the walls where I want the new electrical boxes and where the holes need to be for the plumbing. Then take the stand back outside, put the tank on it and begin a final leak test and plumbing mock up. =)

 

[Thinslis]

Ok other then a little touch up spot on the front of one of the doors I'm calling the stand finished. It is by no means perfect or impressive, but I think it looks better then the old stand. IMO...

The top trim will eventually someday be covered by a hood but for now I wanted it to match everything else.

 

[stuccodude]

did you use a brush or sprayer on the stand, looks nice, i shot mine black it was white and i sanded it but it nicks real easy

 

[Thinslis]

I brushed with a 3in brush, 2 coats on everything and I used just about every bit of 1 quart of paint. There is enough to touch up spots like the spot on the door but that is about it.

 

[t11t5]

You must see something not in the pics. It looks good. I like the flat black. Makes it look modern.

 

[Thinslis]

Thankyou T11, Yes I do see the flaws but it did cost less then a new factory stand. I think I have $60 in materials and about a day worth of time into that stand.

I just applied a second coat to the top frame and the side and back glass.

I have a friend that is going to come over on Wed evening and get the electric recepticals in the walls, and OldReefer is going to come fix up my breaker box maybe next weekend? =)

Next set of pics should be the tank in the house! =) and then I get to start playing with the plumbing! =)

 

[Thinslis]

Here is my new light, well used light.

I think the reflector is shot and will need replaced, same with the bulbs.

Started curing the rock today as well. Filtering some more water now to fill the second bin.

 

[t11t5]

Go to auto zone and get a can of Mothers metal polish. Its like $5. Its in a red plastic container with all the cleaning supplies. That will polish the refector right up. I used it on my chrome motorcycle frame. Works wonders.

 

[Thinslis]

Anyone who owns a bike and doesn't have mothers should be shot =). I'll give that a try =)