New custom 187

[Dman]

Well, I've talked about it long enough, so I thought I would tease everyone with a quick picture of the tank on the floor awaiting a lifting crew.
Thanks Bri-fli for the pic.

The stand is built and the hood is now 45% done. I've found it alot easier to build the hood with the tank on the floor.

Anyway, once it's up and running I'll post a full expose' on the whole process.

Enjoy
Dman
:spin:

[Dman]

Here's an attachment then,

[Sohal Tang]

Hey D....nice tank! If ya need help painting it just let me know!!
hehehe

Tim
:laugh:

[Dman]

Tim I appreciate the offer but no, I think I'll leave the front clean and clear thanks :D
Dman
:spin:

[Sohal Tang]

Oh ya.....How do YOU know its the front!!!!!!
are you surrrrrrrre??? hehehe

Let me guess...thats why the overflow...so you would
know what side to paint right???hehe

:laugh:

[jastonataquapro]

anytime you need a hand bro, just yell down the street.

[Dman]

Thanks Jason!
Looks like this Sunday, I'll keep ya posted.
Dman
:spin:

[Michael_Lambert]

Yea... Looking like we are going for sunday for lunch!! :)

[Dman]

NP, You bring the beer :D
Dman
:spin:

[Michael_Lambert]

I want Beef! :)

[Mckitrick]

A Word of advice:
The first rule of getting your friends to help you move ANYTHING...
Do the move before having the beer.

[Red-Sea]

No way in hell I'm touching that monster before I get sober:D :D :D

[Michael_Lambert]

dany, So you comming sunday?

so whats it at soo far derek, Me , you , jason, dany! :)

[Dman]

Scott might make it up and I can probably talk Bri-Fli into supervising :D
Paul,
No way in H**L am I letting any of those drunk B*****ds touch my new tank hammered :D Especially Red-Sea :P
Thanks guys,
Dman
:spin:

[Dman]

Here's a couple of the stand

[Michael_Lambert]

"Here's a couple of the stand"

I dont know Derek.. time for you to go back to grade school.. I only see one! and a couple means more than one! :)

[Dman]

Well,
Today was gonna be the big move, but then I realized that I don't have anyone's number.
Makes it kinda hard to co-ordinate this kinda thing. And with all the **** I've been going through this last week I never had the time to do much of a follow up.
So if you had offered to help, I appreciate it and if you get to read this before it's too late (like midnight) and are still interested in giving me a hand in thei endeavour call me at 416-463-2038. I'll be here all day
Thanks
Dman
:spin:

[Dman]

Tooloud,
When I used to drive my pickup truck to Kindie Garden the teacher sayd my counting were fine, see?

[Dman]

the hood all framed up

[Dman]

another

[Dman]

all hinged up

[Dman]

Hinged and open

[Andy]

Lookin good Derek. How do you plan on finishing the canopy and what lighting system are you using.

[Dman]

Andy,
Thanks, the stand and the canopy are going to be finished in black leather.
ANd the lighting is going to be a couple of 400W MH's and as many overdirven NO's as I can possibly fut under the hood.
I'm definately taking my time with this tank. I want everything to turn out just right.
Dman
:spin:

[afss]

Just a thought, but you may want to epoxy or protect the inside wood some how. The wood frame we built for above the frag setup has a decent warp to it, and its not enclosed.

Scott

[Michael_Lambert]

Come on.. where are the updates! :) just BLUR OUT my Face you know what im talking about ! :)

[2Oceans]

Your setup looks like it coming along great, what glass thickness did you go with on your tank , hard to tell from the pics but I see this is euro braced.
Looking forward to seeing the progress.
John

[Michael_Lambert]

Jeg,

he went 1/2 inch all the way around with additional eurobracing

[afss]

Come on Dman.. lets see the photo documentation.

[Michael_Lambert]

atleast post the one where i was cut off in the photo! :P

[Dman]

I take a day away and all I hear is tears, you guys are worse than my boss:D
Well,
I'd like to thank Toooloud, pbutkovich, Red-Sea and a couple of non-reefing friends; Steve and Brad for the muscle power on Sunday.
SO as promised

[Dman]

And behind the uglies:

[Dman]

and my secret to getting stuff from the back of the tank:

[pbutkovich]

What a cute picture...of your daughter that is.

[Dman]

love of my life that one
Dman
:spin:

[Sohal Tang]

OK Derek....tell us who those guys are from left to right will ya...
hehehe

Tim

:laugh:

p.s. pretty daughter...she looks very happy and like
she is having a riot...saying...DAD...HURRY....LETS PUT THE WATER IN SO I CAN PUT MY WATER WINGS ON...hehehe

[Michael_Lambert]

From right to left!

Derek, paul, dany,steve, brad, mike

[afss]

are you looking at the same picture i am?

[Michael_Lambert]

LOL,

We need to keep the identities of the super reefers a secret.. :) or we are no longer Secret super hero's!

[afss]

Originally posted by Toooloud
LOL,

We need to keep the identities of the super reefers a secret.. :) or we are no longer Secret super hero's!

You need to take some meds soon;)

[Michael_Lambert]

alright... :)

Left to right!

Derek, brad, steve, mike, paul, dany

[afss]

I knew you could do it:D

[Michael_Lambert]

Originally posted by afss


You need to take some meds soon;)

Thats my problem! :help: I'm on meds, with my feet.. lol, taking Tylenol 3's , Demerol just to be able to walk! ..

[Dman]

I think he's doubled up on the meds, as he got Steve and Brad backwards.
Dman
:spin:

[Michael_Lambert]

LOL, Hey now this is stuff that you should have posted.. to begine with ! :) lol haha! .. as for the meds.. SHHHH! .. dont tell anyone! ..

[Dman]

well, I've got some plumbing done and the hood finished

[Dman]

plumbing under the tank

[pbutkovich]

That leather looks really nice. I was wondering what that would look like on a canopy. You may start a new trend. :rockon:

[Mitchell]

looks good D

[rottn]

Looking really good Derek!

Can't wait to see it "filled up". :D

[Dman]

Most of the plumbing is done. Should be finished today. I have some help coming today and I plan to get the lights all wired up as well. When that happens then the water should go in it next weekend.
Thanks for the comments. the stand is going to be wrapped in leather as well, should look wicked.
Dman
:spin:

[Sohal Tang]

vERY Nice Derek!
Congrats!
Good luck with
balance of set up
TIm
:rockon:

[Mckitrick]

Nifty! It will be interesting to see how the leather holds up with saltwater over time.

Are you putting MH in that hood?

[Dman]

Yes, there are MH's going into the hood, 2x400
Dman
:spin:

[Asmodeus]

Well Dman i hope you going to keep this one longer then Mitch keeps his :roflmao:

Sorry Mitch i had too. Talking to Scott and when he tells me that you are changing tanks again i laugh ,I;m that way too...
Anyway Dman, your daughter is a cutie. the tank looks awesome whens the big day !!!
Maybe you should get scotty to help so he can get his lazy butt of the chair to finish his 300!!!!!!

any way Great job

later

Mike

[Mitchell]

I dont take offence Mike, as a matter of fact, Dman doesnt have the best track record for keeping tanks up either. :P

[Dman]

Mitch has a point, I really am not much better at keeping them around for long.
Dman
:spin:

[Mitchell]

But its fun to wheel and deal and its fun to get a new tank and set it up.

Thank goodness we are not like that with houses !!!

Just putting the water in my 65 tonight.
Scott came over today and we....well ok he plumbed it ;)

Hey I spent the money on the plumbing :mixed:

[Asmodeus]

ya i know what you mean i have to get a 72 gal bow ready when i get home forthe move from the 280 to 72 gal


mike

[Dman]

Here's a couple of pics of the NO flourescent light banks I've fabricated.
4 of these all together for the hood.

[Dman]

first exploded view now together

[Michael_Lambert]

Derek what kind of Encaps are they?

and whats the final lighting idea you are doing?

[Dman]

I scored them out of some really old light fixtures. I'm not even sure they make them anymore.
I am trying to find out though.
Dman
:spin:

[Michael_Lambert]

Back to what kind of lighting are you going to use?

Are you going Halides and overdiven Nos?

[Dman]

6 X 40W NO florescents = 240W
2 X 400W Metal Halides = 800W
1040 watts total, that should do the trick :D
Dman
:spin:

[Michael_Lambert]

Cool! It should work..

you are not going to overdrive any of them.. lol

the 6 No's.. all actinics? or some 10ks? what?

[Dman]

Probably 4 '03's and two 50/50's
I thought about over dirving them, But I just don't have the dinero for another 4 more ballasts.
Dman
:spin:

[Michael_Lambert]

I know that felling..

im looking to pick up a workhorse 7 and run 3 VHOs for now.. with the 175 watt halide .. untill i get dany to get his butt in gear and buy his new electronic ballast so i can pick up his old ones :)

[Dman]

from the top

[Dman]

Long view

quick disconnects

[Dman]

quick disconnects

[Michael_Lambert]

And where are the halides going?

[Dman]

you'll see :D
Dman
:spin:

[Michael_Lambert]

i have been waiting to see now for MONTHS !

[Dman]

Toooloud
A couple of days over two to be exact :D
The MH's are going parallel to the length of the tank right by the split.
Dman
:spin:

[Michael_Lambert]

Crist in the time you have had this 187... and yet to have done a water test.. lol

I have gone through 3 tanks, my 35G, 150G now to my 100g. lol

[Dman]

3 tanks already, you're worse than Mitchell
Dman
:spin:

[Michael_Lambert]

All Hail my Mentor



Mitchell has been the tank god.. lol Took a year off, but he seems to be back on track now :)

[Red-Sea]

Derek, looking pretty cool, specially the trailer quick disconnects neat idea but hope your using the plastic type not the metal cause you know what will happen within 6 months...

Mike I like your new Avatar and signature, seems like your steering to-wards the modern world after all... :rolleyes:

[Dman]

Dany,
Yup, chrome plated plastic. I wanted to remote the balasts and needed some way to disconnect 6 wires per set or 18 wires in total, not including the MH's. That's being done with a range receptacle mounted under the stand. Pics for that tomorrow.

Dman
:spin:

[Michael_Lambert]

Looking good, Now if we could only get some water into there!

Dany,

Finally realized that the rebellion against technology was a losing battle :)

[Dman]

Metal halide disconnect

[Dman]

left

[Dman]

right

[Dman]

a fillin' we will go

[Dman]

a fillin' we have been

[ajx22]

WOW!!!

Dman has water in his tank!!!

YaHoooo!!

:D

[Michael_Lambert]

Yea its tooo bad that his Eye Sight is not soo good in his old age... :)

His tank is off by 1/2 inch.. So i will be there this weekend helping him relevel it.. :)

[Asmodeus]

may be we should call in SCOTTY the surveyor to take a look . :roflmao: :roflmao: :roflmao: :roflmao: :roflmao:

Wait we better not, I dont think scotty can count past .5 :D :D

Mike

[Mckitrick]

Dman - You only have Styrofoam under that tank and no plywood, right?

What are you guys going to use to shim the tank level?

[Michael_Lambert]

Shim the whole stand :)

[Dman]

Paul,
There's 3/4 inch ply uner the peaboard. As the floor or the stand or perhaps a combination of the two; she's dead to rights front to back.
When I empty the tank on Saturday, I'll slide a piece of 1/2 inch ply under the right leg.
Dman
:spin:

[piscies75]

thanks for all the pictures on set up and candid comments about levelling. Can't to see it all set up. :thanks:

[Dman]

Well, tanks all nice and level now, I'd like to thank Tooloud for all his help.
Dman
:spin:

[Michael_Lambert]

LOL

Damit! .. I was waiting for you yo comeonline!.. and if you check your emails... you will see i sent you my new number to call me! :)

[Dman]

Shim Job

[Dman]

hood is almost done 1

[Dman]

hood is almost done 2

[Dman]

hood is almost done 3

[Dman]

Well, despite the smell, it's done.

[Dman]

from the side

7 pails.
Thanks piscies75 :rockon:
Dman
:spin:

[Mitchell]

Did you use one of those sand art kits to get the nice design in the sand???

[Dman]

7 pails.
Thanks piscies75 :rockon:
Dman
:spin:

[Red-Sea]

Hey Dman, looks like your off to a good start in couple of days the water should be clear & your good to go, only I didn't have the patient to wait and aquascaped while it was cloudy.
Can't wait to see it fully running it's gonna be cool, oh almost forgot the first fish is on me just bring over your rod and you can take home a cool looking 3 years old blue devil DAMSEL, the only trick is you have to catch him and it's all your free of charge..lol :roflmao: :roflmao: :roflmao: :laugh: :laugh:

[piscies75]

you are D'Man!. isn't it exciting when you finally add the water?
all the best. Seasons greetings to all

[Dman]

Red sea, if it hadn't been for the fact that a Fiji Blue Devil Damsel necessitated my very first tank teardown, I would take you up on the offer. With friends like you, who needs enemies? :D
Piscies75, getting water in there is pretty exciting, 'cept I was up till 3:30 doing so.
It was a pile of water that had to be moved around.

On another note. I had started out with about 50 gallons of fresh water that I dumped the sand into. Then mixed it like crazy. When I had finished I went out for the day. Twelve ours later (after the Buds had kicked the Rangers collective behinds again) I did a quick test on the water parameters before draining the 50 gallons of wash water out.
All parameters came back fine??????
0 Ammonia
0 Nitrate
0 Nitrite
I thought that was particularly weird.

Right now there is about a dozen pieces of live rock from my established system, two pieces of base rock and then I added 2 gallons from the following systems to help the colonization along
2 gallons from the Brood stock system
2 gallons from the Fish holding system
2 gallons from my coral holding system
2 gallons from my live rock holding system
I'll report back tomorrow on what happening as I still have yet to make up another 54 gallons to completely fill the tank then more water to get the system running.
I also need to remove the fish holding system off line as when I had my 200 going they were all plumbed together. And as I have no idea what this system is going to go through the next 6 to 8 weeks I can’t run the risk of jeopardizing the fish I have left.

[Dman]

Someone was asking me aobut the sump setup.
So here goes:
this picture is the inital "crash" sump where the water from the 187 upstairs, the 75 (now off line) and the ETSS 750 Gemini are located. It's a 50 gallon rubbermaid container with a pile of live rock and coral rubble in the bottom.
A quick run down on what you see there plumbing-wise
At the back is the 3 inch CPVC drain pipe for the 187 in the dining room, it's behind the skimmer coming down from the ceiling.
In front of the skimmer is a 1 inch CPVC pressure feed pipe that is temporarily running the skimmer (the clear hose running into the rubbermaid container)
Above that is the shutoff for the feed to the 187.
Below that is a T that feeds the two 30's and the 75 that comprise the fish holding system.
The bulkhead and 2 inch ABS drain into a settling tank.
Barely visible is a grey 1 3/4 inch PVC drain for the 75

[Dman]

Next up is the fish holding system.
When I tore down my 200, I needed somewhere to house my babies. At the back are two 30 gallon tanks One tank has a rather large Hippo tang and cleaner shrimp the other 30 has a medium yellow tang. The 75 was partitioned in two and housed a pair of breeding gold striped maroons and a mated pair of black saddlebacks. Both pairs died during the power black out and another unfortunate turn of events, but that's a story for another time.
Between the 75 and the two 30's is my homemade DIY calcium reactor.

[Dman]

Settling tank
40 gallon tall rubbermaid container that the two 30's and the crash tank drain into.

[Dman]

Dosing tank.
15 gallon rubbermaid container between the settling tank and the 1/2HP Iwaki that drives most of the system.

[Dman]

looking UP the system

[Mckitrick]

Hey! There's lighting down there now! Nice!! :)

[Michael_Lambert]

LOL..

No matter how much lighting there is.. Still not enough to the low roof and pipes.. lol

[Dman]

One pair of NO cool white flourescents just to see it lit up.
More lights coming real soon.
More live rock coming as well.
Just about ready to start the real flow.
Dman
:spin:

[Mckitrick]

Why is there grey sand in there?

[Michael_Lambert]

LOL ..

Paul thats what will happen when you leave your sand out in the back yard.. LOL how many years Derek.. lol I think several months :)

[Dman]

Paul,
The black\grey sand is not sand but aerobic bacteria from the bottom of each pail. 7 pails, 7 levels of black\grey.
so far 0 ammonia and very little nitrates, only the nitrates that I put in myself from other systems that I have hanging around the house.
Dman
:spin:

[Dman]

well last night I put most of the rock in, this constitutes about 65-70 percent of the live and base rock that I have.
I still have rock with corals attached.

[Dman]

Aquascping:
Round 1

[Mckitrick]

You're going to want to put them rocks deep into that sand if you're going to get anything that's going to do any degree of digging! :)

What are you going to use to stick the rocks together? Epoxy?

[Dman]

Paul,
NO DIGGING
no sand sifters, no clowns, no gobies. The closest thing to a digger will be a ople of britle stars and a couple of Florida Fighting Conch's.
As for the rock work, this is day two of the Official Mitchell Aquascaping Method. What you see there will probably bear little or no resembalance to the final product. :D
This time around I have a couple of pieces of awesome Tonga shelf that are pretty big. So sticking them together shouldnt be a problem, as in, I use a three point stacking method that's pretty stable.
Dman
:spin:

[Mckitrick]

What is the Official Mitchel Aquscaping Method?

[Mitchell]

Official Mitchell Aquascaping Method

As found in Websters



Set up rocks until desired likeing. Repeat one week later when new idea hits you. Purchase more rock and spend entire day RE-doing the rock arrangement.

Repeat above steps over and over again until the tank gets sold in 6 to 8 months.

:moonya:

[ajx22]

Originally posted by Mitchell
Official Mitchell Aquascaping Method

As found in Websters



Set up rocks until desired likeing. Repeat one week later when new idea hits you. Purchase more rock and spend entire day RE-doing the rock arrangement.

Repeat above steps over and over again until the tank gets sold in 6 to 8 months.

:moonya:

ROTFLMAO....

[Dman]

well.
So far, so good

[Andy]

Looking good Dman. What other fish are you putting in there.

[kentracey]

Originally posted by Mitchell
Official Mitchell Aquascaping Method

As found in Websters



Set up rocks until desired likeing. Repeat one week later when new idea hits you. Purchase more rock and spend entire day RE-doing the rock arrangement.

Repeat above steps over and over again until the tank gets sold in 6 to 8 months.

:moonya: :roflmao: ;) You crack me up Mitchell. That is a credo we can ALL live by. :rockon:

:cheers: By the way Dman that is a great looking tank. I can't wait to see it in six months!!!

[Michael_Lambert]

Yea baby!.. Finally :)

[Dman]

Thanks guys.
Upgrading the lighting to full reef will have to wait until I have a job.
So for now, it's gonna stay a softie tank.
Dman
:spin:

[afss]

looking good man
congrats

[Sohal Tang]

Damn, excellent job....
verrrry nice indeed.
Congratulations definitely!
Happy New Year.

Tim
:)

[Dman]

this should be the last of the pics and posts for this thread as the tank is now 95% finished :victory:
Dman
:spin:

[Dman]

so far I love them

[Dman]

I love them part two.
These are for Asmodeous.

[lost1]

Hello Dman, thanks for the pictures, it really helps me while I prepare to set up my new tank, one idea to throw at you is in the use of tractor trailer connectors for the quick disconnect. They are weather rated to withsand the elements, have 8 connections and may be a better heavy duty substitute, just a thought

[Dman]

um, ff22,
Have a look at the first SCWD pic. The Chromis are in there. Have been for about two weeks.
lost1,
More importantly are they rated to handle the voltage and the load? Whether they are weather proof or not is less of a factor indoors.
Dman
:spin:

[lost1]

the connectors for tractor trailers are alot more capable of high current than regular trailer hitch if that is the question, trailer wires at the connectors regularly use 12 guage wire x 8 and are ment for high amp loads, easy to pick up at any tractor supply store should you find you need something a little heavy duty, with the added bonus of having a more weatherproof casing

[Asmodeus]

hey there Dman .any word on the skimmer yet .just checking

thanks buddy :golf:

later Mike

[Dman]

Thanks Will,
I'm thinking about perhaps another half dozen in there.
Dman
:spin: