Reid's 120g Oceanic Tech Build
- Thread starter reidcrandall
- Start date
reidcrandall
New member
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13668568#post13668568 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by crvz
Always exciting to get into a new home, I'm sure you're pumped! And I'm all kinds of jealous that you have a basement, that alone makes me want to relocate.
Not sure that I have the best way to attach it, but what I was concerned about was gluing or screwing the oak facing directly onto the pine stand, as it may move at different rates throughout the year and changing humidity ranges. What we finally decided to do was float the oak.
We built the oak in 3 panels, one front and two sides. Here they are after staining.
We made a couple insets in the pine stand and cut corresponding slots in the oak facing. The oak then sits on these insets to keep them in the correct vertical position.
Then, when we screwed the facing onto the pine, we drilled the holes in the pine a good bit larger than the diameter of the screws. This way, the screws could slide left or right, up or down, as the wood expanded. They were drilled tight into the oak, but the slop in the pine made sure there was enough room to move if necessary, hopefully eliminating the risk of splitting the wood due to expansion.
Not sure if that's clear enough of an explanation, but hopefully it will give you a few ideas. Mine has been attached this way for about 20 months with great success.
We are definately pumped. The basement was a must with this house. We don't have any kids yet, but we wanted to get into something bigger than our first house before we started. I have heard nightmare stories about trying to build a house and then move when you have young kids.
I am thinking that we may try something like your setup for the face, but with the sides and back, I want to have them screwed directly to the pine for added stability. I may be overly paranoid about it, but I'd rather overdo it now than have a disaster later.
Hopefully we won't see too much change in the interior humidity. We got a humidifier to help take care of the hardwood floors on the main floor. Hopefully that will help keep things throughout the house pretty stable.
reidcrandall
New member
Thanks! I don't really know anyone here locally that is into this stuff. I know that there are a lot of people out there. Maybe I'm just not social enough... haha.
reidcrandall
New member
More of the House
More of the House
First floor framing:
Second floor framing:
More of the House
First floor framing:
Second floor framing:
reidcrandall
New member
The House... Again
The House... Again
The Fireplace... or where it will be:
Living Room:
Siding:
The House... Again
The Fireplace... or where it will be:
Living Room:
Siding:
reidcrandall
New member
QT Tank
QT Tank
I am thinking about setting up my 29g tank as a QT tank after everything is moved over. Does anyone know of any good articles on setting up a QT tank?
QT Tank
I am thinking about setting up my 29g tank as a QT tank after everything is moved over. Does anyone know of any good articles on setting up a QT tank?
reidcrandall
New member
House... The residence, Not the doctor.
The outside with the paint and driveway:
My wife and I were out there tonight and they're installing tile and cabinets!
The outside with the paint and driveway:
My wife and I were out there tonight and they're installing tile and cabinets!
reidcrandall
New member
We love it. Some people cautioned us against it, but we decided to be bold.
On another front, my dad is out of the hospital as of last night. Hopefully we will get back to the grindstone on the stand this weekend!
On another front, my dad is out of the hospital as of last night. Hopefully we will get back to the grindstone on the stand this weekend!
reidcrandall
New member
Alright... I am having some second thoughts about my 250w halide ballasts. I am thinking about shifting to a 400w coralvue to run the reeflux 12k bulbs. Any opinions. I first decided to go with the 250s to save on power costs, but now I'm starting to think that there wouldn't be that much of a difference, and the 400w would penetrate much deeper into the water.
I need some opinions!
I need some opinions!
mark728
Premium Member
Hi i have the same tank 120 `tech and its 95% sps i have the coralvue dimmable 400w ballest running reeflux 10k in a lumen bright reflector and 2 250w hqi ballest running 20k radiums on the sides and i am going to add some vho uri actinics this week but the 400w in the center is a little higher up and i get a nice spread and the radiums blend in very nice love the color get the 400w for the center .and i have a mag 18 running my returns and i had to slow my returns down i have valves on mydrains so you should be fine with you mags just put valves on the returns and the drains to the sump you will be fine just play with the valves i have my tank dialed in i cant even hear it ,and i also have a octo extreme 250 p/skimmer i love mine .
reidcrandall
New member
How far back do you have the Mag 18 throttled? I guess the real question is about how much do you have running through your sump to minimze the noise in your estemation?
Also, how do you like the coralvue dimmable ballast? Do you feel that you get enough benefit out of it over a regular ballast to justify the extra cash?
reidcrandall
New member
Thanks! Glad to have you onboard!
I see in your signature that you're working on a 150 project. How far along are you?
reidcrandall
New member
Progress!
Progress!
Unfortunately, there hasn't been a whole lot of progress for the past few weeks. My dad had to be in the hospital for a little over a week, but we sprung him out (yes, it was like prison for him) and we're kicking it back into gear. Here's some of the progress that we made today...
We have the birch ply skinned on the sides and back. We're using 1 x material for the face. Unfortunatly, we were'nt able to use crvz's suggestion to float the ply. We had this portion done before the suggestion was made (just took me til now to get the pics up with everything going on. We might make a go at that method on the face, however.
From the front:
From the back:
We've gotten the face glued together. We used a biscuit joiner to get it all put together. We have also used the biscuit joiner for the front and back of the canopy. We drilled holes in the back for the Icecap fans to use to circulate air. We tried to use the hole saw using the drill press, but didn't get very far. We had to attach it to a hand drill so that we could work it a little bit more. The drill press couldn't get enough traction, it seemed.
Face of the base:
Back of the Canopy:
We also got the top of the base cut, with the hole for the plumbing to go through. No pics yet, but I'll have them soon. I'm working on priming it and the inside of the plywood sides of the canopy tonight!
Unfinished base:
3 weeks and counting until the house is done!
Progress!
Unfortunately, there hasn't been a whole lot of progress for the past few weeks. My dad had to be in the hospital for a little over a week, but we sprung him out (yes, it was like prison for him) and we're kicking it back into gear. Here's some of the progress that we made today...
We have the birch ply skinned on the sides and back. We're using 1 x material for the face. Unfortunatly, we were'nt able to use crvz's suggestion to float the ply. We had this portion done before the suggestion was made (just took me til now to get the pics up with everything going on. We might make a go at that method on the face, however.
From the front:
From the back:
We've gotten the face glued together. We used a biscuit joiner to get it all put together. We have also used the biscuit joiner for the front and back of the canopy. We drilled holes in the back for the Icecap fans to use to circulate air. We tried to use the hole saw using the drill press, but didn't get very far. We had to attach it to a hand drill so that we could work it a little bit more. The drill press couldn't get enough traction, it seemed.
Face of the base:
Back of the Canopy:
We also got the top of the base cut, with the hole for the plumbing to go through. No pics yet, but I'll have them soon. I'm working on priming it and the inside of the plywood sides of the canopy tonight!
Unfinished base:
3 weeks and counting until the house is done!
reidcrandall
New member
Well, I think winter has arrived here in Indianapolis. It's too cold to stain or paint in the garage. Thus, my dad and I had to move everything that we are working on to the heated bay of the garage, and move his prized 1969 Firebird convertable to the cold section. I thank him for making the sacrifice, I know it isn't easy to put his baby n the cold. He restored is all himself several years ago. My wife and I used it as the getaway car at our wedding and that's the only time I've ever driven it.
Firebird:
Feel the roar:
The new workspace:
Much better...
Can you find the car in this picture?
Under the mountainof stuff is my dad's Alpha Romeo that he had when he was in college. He has been gettin parts for it for at least 10 years. Hopefully we will restore it someday, but those parts are EXPENSIVE. You think we have an expensive hobby? Not like this...
Firebird:
Feel the roar:
The new workspace:
Much better...
Can you find the car in this picture?
Under the mountainof stuff is my dad's Alpha Romeo that he had when he was in college. He has been gettin parts for it for at least 10 years. Hopefully we will restore it someday, but those parts are EXPENSIVE. You think we have an expensive hobby? Not like this...
reidcrandall
New member
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13757327#post13757327 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by crvz
Indeed, part of the rationale I've used on the wife for the tank is, "well, I would like to get an older car to restore," and suddenly the costs of the tank are rather reasonable.Looks good so far!
That's a good plan... maybe I need to start using that one as well. But I don't think my wide would buy it. She pretty much lets me do what I need to do at this point anyway. She is great... I'd better not rock the boat.
Thanks for the support. This is a pretty big project, and it always helps to hear that you're headed in the right direction!
