My plan of a 125 gallon build

[SimonSKL]

Rocks in the tank!:celeb3: I just finished placing the rocks in the tank this afternoon and started to fill the tank with freshly made saltwater.

Two massive Pukani rocks are placed on the right side of tank. These rocks are awesome with all kinds of features and they are very light. The two rocks at the bottom weigh only 25 lbs.

The left side are mostly Fiji rocks and they stack very easily.

FTS

The main construction of the canopy is finally done and fits perfectly over the rim of the tank.

With the canopy off my workbench, now I have room and can start on the doors which is the fun part of the project.:beer:

To be continued...

 

[Trademark]

Do you have intentions on staining your wood project or just varnish?

 

[cioutlaw]

How much do you know about these Eshine lights? I looked em up and they say they use Cree LEDs, Are you sure they are really Cree LEDs? I think Cree is an American company and I find it hard to believe any Chinese company would ship Cree LEDs to China. China knocks off quality American products and have no problem putting the American companies logo on the junk they build. Normally you get what you pay for.

I buy very expensive equipment at work and have salesmen try to sell be much cheaper Chinese made similar equipment for a lot less. They try to make it look like an American product but it is nothing but garbage. If the Eshine is any different it would be a first I have seen.

You have done a really nice job on your set up and have not skimped on any other equipment, why go cheap on the lights? Hate to see some Chinese junk destroy your reef tank or burn down your house.

Edit: Cree has branched out to Hong Kong 6 years ago, still would be weary of a Chinese made light on my reef tank.

 

[SimonSKL]

How much do you know about these Eshine lights? I looked em up and they say they use Cree LEDs, Are you sure they are really Cree LEDs? I think Cree is an American company and I find it hard to believe any Chinese company would ship Cree LEDs to China. China knocks off quality American products and have no problem putting the American companies logo on the junk they build. Normally you get what you pay for.

I buy very expensive equipment at work and have salesmen try to sell be much cheaper Chinese made similar equipment for a lot less. They try to make it look like an American product but it is nothing but garbage. If the Eshine is any different it would be a first I have seen.

You have done a really nice job on your set up and have not skimped on any other equipment, why go cheap on the lights? Hate to see some Chinese junk destroy your reef tank or burn down your house.

Edit: Cree has branched out to Hong Kong 6 years ago, still would be weary of a Chinese made light on my reef tank.

I am one of the early adopters in using Maxspect LEDs, a Chinese made product, when they first came out more than two years ago. I never have any problem with the light since day one. My corals are responding and growing well under the light. Look at Maxspect Mazarra today which is comparing to some of the best American made LED brands. Chinese made products have come a long way in terms of quality and safety. People said the same thing about Japanese products in the 80's but today very few question about their quality.

All of iPhones and iPads are made or assembled in China using locally made and/or imported parts. I don't find it unusual to see a Chinese company imported CREE leds and assembled in their light fixtures.

While I trust that I will get CREE Leds but I will definitely make sure I am indeed getting CREE when I get the light.

 

[SimonSKL]

Do you have intentions on staining your wood project or just varnish?

I will be painted the inside of the canopy white using waterproofing paint same one I used on the stand.

For outside, I will use a waterbased stain with a spray gun and then several coats of clear Minwax Polycrylic for protection.

After I am done with the doors, then I will start the staining/painting. Every part of the skin is removable so I can take them down and spray stain them in the garage.

 

[SimonSKL]

Do you have intentions on staining your wood project or just varnish?

I will be painting the inside of the canopy white using waterproofing paint same one I used on the stand.

For outside, I will use a waterbased stain with a spray gun and then several coats of clear Minwax Polycrylic for protection.

After I am done with the doors, then I will start the staining/painting. Every part of the skin and canopy is removable so I can take them down and spray stain them in the garage.

 

[SimonSKL]

Not much going on as far as update. The tank is still going thru cycles. There was 0.25ppm ammonia and 0ppm nitrite last night when I tested the water. The protein skimmer was going crazy for two days and I probably replaced 25 gallon of the foamy water.

Water this morning was crystal clear and the protein skimmer is producing some yellowish skimmate finally!:bounce2: Everything is looking good so far.

Still working on the doors. There are 8 of them! My router was smoking from all those cuttings.:uzi: This is one of the canopy doors being glued up.

 

[Trademark]

Gotta love those Bessey Clamps. After I started my filling my tank I pee'ed in it to start my cycle.

 

[SimonSKL]

Gotta love those Bessey Clamps. After I started my filling my tank I pee'ed in it to start my cycle.

LOL! I used RODI water in making the saltwater and you want me to pee into it! Talking about contamination:fun5: I might as well use water from the toilet:rollface:

 

[SimonSKL]

The doors are done!

Canopy doors are inset

Side panel at each end covering the corner-flo

FTS

All panels and canopy will be detached for sanding and then staining. Stain will be a water-based stain in natural cherry color. I will be using a HVLP sprayer to apply the stain.

Trademark, instead of peeing in the tank I decided to drop a raw shrimp to kick start the cycle. Ammonia still measured 0.25ppm and 0ppm for nitrite tonight

 

[RichieT]

I think you need to change the name of the thread to "My Execution of a 125G build". Looks pretty sharp so far. That cherry stain is going to look nice

 

[SimonSKL]

Thanks Richie!

Where do you all buy your clean up crew from besides Drs Foster and Smith?

 

[RichieT]

I just bought a package from reefs2go . Everything arrived alive, maybe not happy, but things look good in the tank so far. Been about 2 weeks now. I got a variety of snails, hermit crabs and a few emerald crabs.

 

[Trademark]

Hey Simon I really need to replenish my clean up crew, maybe we can do an order together and might get a better deal.

 

[panaboy95]

this is looking great. you have got some skills when it comes to cabinetry.

 

[RichieT]

Hey guys. If you end up ordering something let me know

 

[SimonSKL]

Count me in for the group buy of cuc.

 

[SimonSKL]

Nathan, thanks for the compliment. This is one of those rare occasions that I got to use a lot of my woodworking tools in the garage.

 

[SimonSKL]

I did some sanding of the doors today and they are ready to be stained.

This is the first time I use this brand of waterbased stain. I normally use General Finish which I have to order online. Varathane is available from Menards but doesn't come in the color that I want but because it is waterbased I can add color dye to achieve the color the I want. The color that came out of the can is shown in the sample on the left and the color that I want is somewhere between the two samples on right.

Here is my redneck spray booth set up in the garage. A box fan with two furnace filters will capture any over-spray. This set up is working very well for me and I have done a lot of staining and painting this way.

Another door panel ready to be stained.

After two coats of stain

The skin panels are all detached from the stand and I will sand and stain them tomorrow.

 

[Trademark]

Simon I use Varathane when I refinish hardwood floors for customers and I love it. I get mine from LOWES. I prefer the water base over the oil base because of the house emptying smell. I will call Jeremy tomorrow over at Premium Aquatics and see what he can do with a group buy.