zoo tank updates

sounds like a good idea with the saw horses. we should be able to get what me need done on sat but it is good that if we need you could leave them for the next time.
 
New stratyegy: rather than mess with a core borer, we may try to remove one or at most two bricks to run the plumbing lines.

I finally received final word from Euro Reef regarding the RS 250 skimmer. They are sending a skimmer for one half of retail which costs us $289 including everything (tax, shipping etc.). Its not quite what I had hoped or was originally promised but given that this is an incredible skimmer that retails for almost $600 this is still a very gracious offer. These company is much smaller than Ice Cap and so their ability to help is much leaner. So I am still very appreciative of their help.
 
Accounting Update: Thus far we have spent $1547. This includes the follwing:
180 gallon tank and stand $400
100 lbs of live rock $100
DIY rock materials - $30
Rubbermaid 110 G Poly tub $73
Ice Cap Vortech pump $265
Bulkhead fittings $41
float valves $45
5 stage ro/di unit $199
Euroreef protein skimmer $289
IO salt - 15 gallons $105

We can spend a max of $2500 - 3000 so we are doing OK but we still need some stuff: PVC plumbing (zoo will p/u), return pump, heaters, chemical media, scrapers, hydrometer/refractometer, level controller, aqua lifter pumps, slip seal gaskets, peduncters, test kits, and of course livestock (cleaning crew and fish). We can provide the corals. Som its going to be close. The zoo may need to increase the budget to allow for the seahorse tank.
 
jerry i am unclear as to what you mean by a level controller?? and what are the aqua lifter pumps for??? i get my elos test kit today and test it against some things and if theya re good i will call and ask them to donate some test kits or give a percentage off.
 
Some bad nbews. Due to the storm damage, the zoo was unable to get to the floor but gave us permission to tear it out. What additional tools might we need for that. Pry bars etc. With the right tools I don't imagine it should take long (hopefully).
 
I'm sure we can take care of it. I have some pry bars and hammers I can bring. A saws-all or some other similar saw may come in handy, but we'll manage.
 
Hey guys... Sorry I had to leave so quickly, I had somethings that needed my attention... Plus I wasn't really doing much of anything anyways.

If you guys didn't already get the plumbing stuff, I may have a way that we can get the stuff at a better cost. Let me know if you want me to find out about that. If I could get a copy of the needed supply list from whoever has it (Nate I assume?), I can see what I can do.
 
Thanks Jeremeiah but Nate and Vince picked up all the plumbing supplies today as well as the tub.

So the floor, ceiling and walls are out leaving only the outside framing. Huge thanks to Paul, Dave, and Adam for doing the heavy work today. Thursday night at 6PM we'll meet and move the tank into position, and maybe reframe the wall around it, build a new floor and start some plumbing.

Paul has the lighting and will start putting the t-5's together. I'm trying to get a pump donated so we can really get set for adding water. If need be I'll just buy one.
 
Hey guys, great work today. I found out I'll be leaving thursday night for the weekend so I won't be available. I'm willing to help out any other night though if things change..
Do you think we need to paint/seal the inside of the wall, at least the area that will be above the tank? It's bare wood. We could just use exterior white paint.
 
Bummer Adam. I think painting would be a good idea. Perhaps the zoo should do that but then that may not happen in time. Would it need to primed as well. i suppose we could splash up a quick coat. Anybody have a paint sprayer and some extra exterior latex. If not we could by some cheap paint. A gallon or two should cut it.
 
Maybe someone has some paint in their cellar, it shouldn't take much. We dont have to prime.. either case we will need two coats and can just slap it on. We should probably wait until we get the openings cut and framed, so we can do it all then.

Other things while I'm thinking of them:

We can also paint the ends of the tank black, or just use black background.

They can probably use that romex we left hanging from the old light to install 2-2outlet cgfi's on the ceiling there. maybe for the ballasts? They can also make use of the wiring for the existing lights/timer.

Also, does anyone have an angle grinder we may need to grind away the rock floor a little if shims arent enough. By the way, did we get any shims? I think I have half a pack.

Will the seahorse tank we are planning on fit? Remember, we could potentially extend that end wall out if we really have to. It may be nice to have room to work around it.

How do these new Vortec pumps get mounted?

We cut out part of the drain, and i figured we could just put a 90 and an upright on it to use as a drain for water changes and RO waste. I think we should also put a sheet of plywood on that wall to mount the faucet/RO unit and drain to, otherwise it's a pain to do it on brick. I have the necessary equipment/hardware to mount the board to the brick.

If anyone wants to go in another night this week, I could do that and the copper soldering necessary.

Adam
 
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