Soo... what did you do today?

[MrMikeB]

What was a simple trip to the Bay to help Paul get a replacement tank for his SPS system that is leaking... quickly turned into the insanity below. These systems (that we are freakin sitting in) are my main coral research tanks. There are 4 of them there. The builder made special arrangements for me to pick them up while we were along the coast.

I had to move my cars outta the garage to hold these systems in while the research center is being retrofitted to handle thousands of gallons of water. I promise a full write up sometime in the future, but I thought I share a little in this nonsense.

Thanks Nick and Brandon for the help unloading.... you guys are great and I owe ya one. Paul, well... I swear, can we just have ONE damn peaceful trip somewhere. Either we are getting speeding tickets up in Humboldt for racing the "Watch your speed" signs while towing a trailer at 3AM heading to a reefers house, or the car is getting stolen in SoCal with 400 snails in the trunk, or -insert ANY trip we have taken here-.

The 4 geeks - Moi, Nick, Brandon, Paul (L to R) - We are talking about filling it with jello before they go into production . That U-haul in the back is a 27' and was filled with reef paraphernalia!

Yeah, they are that big (10'x5'x1')

Oh... and there is also video - but it needs heavy editing to keep it PG-13

 

[eagleONE]

holy cow! Nice Mike!

Looks tough to reach for stuff in the middle.


I wish we had holding tanks like that at our school...

 

[pbetito]

Remind me to slap you for posting that first Pic when I see you..other than that I would like to say it was fun.... but well you were there...

What a day though..I'M BEAT!!!!

 

[MrMikeB]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11352346#post11352346 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by eagleONE
holy cow! Nice Mike!

Looks tough to reach for stuff in the middle.


I wish we had holding tanks like that at our school...

The designs for the stand and tanks were all custom planned and provided to the builder, however the height was originally to be 30 inches, but was 36" when it was completed. With the added height, I am able to place some really nice sized 200 gallon bins under the stands now, so all is well that ends well.

Total there will be 200 sq ft of grow out space in these systems.

 

[bored4long]

damn, what kind of lighting will you be using, Mike?

 

[kevin95695]

Yeah no kidding.

When your SMUD bill spikes, watch the surveillance dudes start parking on your street.

You guys are truly hardcore.

 

[mpoletti]

Looks like a fun day to me

 

[pbetito]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11353392#post11353392 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Marko9
Looks like a fun day to me

Glad to hear that Mark... The next time we need to move those bad boys into a 26 foot truck and drive them at 45 MPH from San Jose I will be sure to include you in the fun

Why do reefers have such a sick sense of what is pleasurable?

 

[MrMikeB]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11352774#post11352774 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by bored4long
damn, what kind of lighting will you be using, Mike?

Currently I am planning on running 400w MH with Lumenarc reflectors on a light rail system. That will be 4 lights per system, moving up and down the length of the long side to give a more dispersed lighting pattern. The bottom of the tanks will have a reflective material to help ensure the harder to light places are reached.

The other option I am toying with is the same concept, but the lights rotate like a ceiling fan (2 sets of 2 - think 2 light 'fans' side by side). More to follow when the lighting design is finalized...

 

[tfp]

LOL - monster garage in full effect! mike, if you are planning on using a reflective material for the tank bottom, plan on a lot of routine scraping . coralline will quickly cover the bottom if given the chance.

 

[mpoletti]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11353677#post11353677 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by pbetito
Glad to hear that Mark... The next time we need to move those bad boys into a 26 foot truck and drive them at 45 MPH from San Jose I will be sure to include you in the fun

Why do reefers have such a sick sense of what is pleasurable?

I am a little dissapointed you never knew how big of a geek I truly am.

"Honey, Paul is going to come over so we can play reef and star wars legos "

 

[MrMikeB]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11354259#post11354259 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by tfp
LOL - monster garage in full effect! mike, if you are planning on using a reflective material for the tank bottom, plan on a lot of routine scraping . coralline will quickly cover the bottom if given the chance.

I have been thinking the same thing. I am looking for ways to maximize the efficiency of the light, and with the flow planned - do not think a think layer of sand will work too well. Damn coralline!

 

[Brian Prestwood]

Nice tanks Mike.

 

[MandM]

Nice. So where is this research center?

 

[funman1]

It's hidden in a secret location just outside Nevada, hoh wait wrong place..
It's hidden in a place, on a street, in a city, in a county, in a state, in a country..

I'm only allowed to divulge the City (Orangevale), County(Sacramento), State (CA), and Country (USA)



That's some sweet tanks there Mike!!

 

[MrMikeB]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11359544#post11359544 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by funman1
It's hidden in a secret location just outside Nevada, hoh wait wrong place..
It's hidden in a place, on a street, in a city, in a county, in a state, in a country..

I'm only allowed to divulge the City (Orangevale), County(Sacramento), State (CA), and Country (USA)

Ha! "I can neither confirm or deny these allegations for fear of further incriminating myself"

CalCRC (the entity that putting this all together) is leasing private property located in Fair Oaks, CA that is not open for public access (well save for the occasional 20 cent tour that I may be coerced into later).

 

[mike1962]

Mike, just googled CalCRC, very interesting, seriously!

I don't know what kind of budget you have, but given the incredible amount of energy that it will take to run the research center I'm wondering if installing Photovoltaics would be feasible. Efficiency is up and prices are falling on photovoltaics and they might pay for themselves rather quickly...just a thought.

 

[MrMikeB]

Mike,

Thanks for idea - really cool stuff! Unfortunately most...ok ok, all the funding is currently being provided by me (I still am in denial sometimes), so my budget is rather limited. I do hope that once the initial capital costs are taken care of and I am able to actually start work, I can use the momentum to secure grant monies to help ease the pain. I did not build that into the business plan, but it sure would help.

 

[kevin95695]

So is CalCRC a 501(c)3? Say, if someone needed to make a tax deductible donation by year end?

 

[MrMikeB]

I am still going at it with the IRS. We are very close to official 501(c)3 status as a public benefit non-profit entity. Whats hanging them up is the corporation has not identified a sufficient board to ensure integrity of the decisions being made. Once that is done, all other reqs have been met and it will be a matter of time.

With current progress, I am hoping by year end - but I am not for certain.