wayneb

I'm up to meeting you at RCA or swinging by your home tomorrow, name a time, name a place. Should be able to get away for a couple of hours, if I promise to take the wife out to lunch or dinner.

wayne

PS will pick up my Spectrum fish food too.

FINE! I'll start the thread...

I'll make it official - I'm in.

wayneb

After some excellent feedback from Mitch, if someone wants to start a BRS group buy - I'm in for about $150 or so (after the 14th).

wayneb

(just realized today is the 15th-)

Wife and I will be there.

wayneb

PS, thank your wife for us.

Anyone familiar with their RO units?

wayneb

pm sent.

wayneb

I will be bring a white elephant gift. For of you who have never participated in a white elephant exchange this is the time to get rid of "that" gift you received from your aunt in Toledo who still thinks you are in the 5th grade. Please limit you gifts to a max of 20 bucks.

Again if you do not wish to participate that is ok.

Dave-

Mama - But at least he would have given you something "reef related".

wayneb

pm not received.

wayneb

pm sent.

wayneb

Don't wait for JBJ to contact you. When I bought my 29g diocube it had a bad pump. Took about 4 weeks and almost daily phone calls

and emails before they agreed to send a replacement. However when they agreed it did come in fast and postage free. Question: did you

fill out and send in the RMA form they have online?

wayne

pm sent

wayneb

From experience working as an electronic tech - use a multimeter to check the fuse or replace the fuse first before doing anything else. (use the exact same type - do not go to a higher amperage). A blown fuse isn't always obvious to the naked eye. Checking the outlet with another piece of equipment should be next. Check your connection from the HQ1 cable to the ballast cable, although unlikely there could be corrosion or some type of crud on the plug or connector.

wayneb

Try GARF.ORG site - They have a pictorial on Agrocrete making plus other DIYs. First site I found when I got interested in Reef Aquariums.

wayneb

My wife and I plan to attend.

wayneb

Continuing comments to building on the cheap. Part 2

12/9/9

The overall dimensions of the ex-spare bedroom, ex-train room, and hopefully soon to be fish room is: 11’ x 9’ - which I guess is standard. However I need to move a desk and chair into it, our computer, TV, and a daybed or futon. What is planned is the stand/countertop area (which is on hold due in thanks to Labradorduck's comments) is to be placed into the outside wall corner in L shape, the desk between doorway and closet with computer, printer, and monitor on shelves above the desk. The bed against wall between door and window, opposite outer wall.

The room still has residue from the tear out of my train layout and needs to patched and repainted. Also still up is some of the shelf tracks I used to hang the florescent 48" shop lights from to light up the lower layout tier. The upper tier lights are still in place behind the masonite fascia. Another Question: What would be a good color to paint the wall as a background for viewing the aquariums?

Area for desk and computer. This is now on-going with Time Warner coming in to add a new Modem drop.

Next question: As I need to tear up and trash the carpet - should I spring for a new cheap (indoor/outdoor) one or go with tile? Or do both and just tile the area around the aquariums and use rubber matting in front to prevent slipping.

Have just about decided to have the bed fold up against the wall, to free up space. Have to check my woodworking books and magazines (and surf the web) to see what designs are available and hardware needed.

Have been given thought to the lighting requirements. And going with the theme of this blog "cheap", am thinking of recycling a few of the 12"x24x3" florescent u-tube fixtures salvaged from a telephone office tearout. Need to read up more on lighting though I'm thinking of staying away from halites due to the heat generated. Crazy as it sounds - will probably post something in ARC requesting used/unusable, burnt out lamps of various types (T-5, T-8, etc) of less then 24" so as to do retrofit/mockup of one of the units. I am thinking that I should be able to get more then enough wattage needed for the tanks. By remoting the ballasts, adding whisper fans, any heat issue should be minimal. Have to talk to Shane some more though and again I welcome any feedback.

Will stop here for now as my brain has fallen and can’t get up!

Put me down for 1 - Eagle Eye Zoos

1 - Hawaiian Tropic Zoos

wayneb

These are WYSIWYG items. Site shows $34.99 apiece.

Thanks,

wayneb

First comment didn't seem to take, so here it is again:

a 55 Gallon aquarium not including its own weight is 440 lbs (55*8lbs/gallon saltwater), add in 50lbs of live rock, 40 lbs of live sand. It needs an extremely sturdy stand to sit atop. Kitchen cabinets are usually pressboard and ill suited to carrying the weight of a full tank. Just my two cents.

Thanks, that is the kind of feedback I needed. Back to the drawing board. Thinking of now using the cabinents as storage-and fitting them between the

2x6 framework. Putting 3/4" plywood on top of the 2x6s and the laminate countertops on top of that. Mainly to get a waterproof working area. Then cutting out the foam insulation to fit the tank bottom plus 1" all sides and rest the tank on that. Looks as if it will put the tank at eye level when sitting

down. Also giving second thoughts to tile as it would be slippery when wet.

again thanks,

wayneb

Fighting the same problem with some frags that I recently put into my tank. I was trying to find

the right location for them so just set them in the live rock. Found I was fighting a losing battle

with the janitor crews, so super glued them to a 3 sq grid of egg crate and weighted the egg crate

with rubble to hold in place. Seems to work, although I finally had to super glue my green star

polyp directly to the live rock. Snails are still finding loose edges to work on.

wayneb

Put me down for 1 - Eagle Eye Zoos

1 - Hawaiian Tropic Zoos

wayneb

I would be interested in two or three frags if you can hold them till Thursday.

As I'm just starting to add coral to my tank - not particuliar at this time to

any one type. thanks,

wayneb

This blog was set-up for various reasons.

Probably first and foremost I have to admit I am 'puter ill-literate (not a misspelling but a way of life) and this is one way to gain knowledge and experience in the 'high tech world we now live in.

Next reason is I feel that this is one way to gather and record my thoughts, ideas, etc., no mater how silly I think they are or dumb they sound to me. That I choose to post them is probably my first silly idea. However the one thing I value most, outside of family, is knowledge. And I don't mean book learning per se, but that gained from practice and repetition, and feedback from others more wiser in the subjects. The comments received can be read, saved, and reread again and again until it sinks in. As I get older the one problem I have in receiving face-to-face advice is that my photocopy mind soon runs out of ink and becomes blurry in a short time.

The third and final reason is that although I have experience with freshwater aquariums, etc and koi and lily ponds, I realize that saltwater reefs are a whole new ballgame. With the freshwater aquarium and ponds it was easy to set up and expand with minimum cost, equipment, and foreplanning. I found real quick that it is not so with saltwater set-ups. So as I subtitled this blog "building on the cheap", I will value any ideas and comments received to my ideas that I 'blog' on setting up my aquarium room. Being semi-retired and inflicted with many hobbies and interest, my CoH is limited (cash on hand) so will rely on recycling what I have, buying used, building my own, etc.. However to do so I need the viewer/reader to tell me "sounds okay, might work, worked for me, that is dumb, I tried it and it didn't fly, don't do it because ...".

I hope to get serious with setting-up an aquarium room starting in the new year as this month we have a new kitchen coming in. But one must prepare first. So my first question concerns: Can I recycle my old kitchen base units and along with cheapo laminate countertops from one of the local DIY places - as aquarium stands? Anyone know what the weight is of a properly filled 55g long retangular tank with water, live rock, sand and rubble? And what is the load weight of the cabinents/countertop combo. It would be hell to find out that the load wt. vs aquarium wt. is a few pounds less.

it was good chatting with you. you gave me some good ideas. i like what you're doing and will keep track of your progress.

As a beginner, I am looking for a good, complete reference source concerning Corals.

Would like recomendations and a source for obtaining it in Austin. I already ordered

the two Pocket Expert guides to "Marine Invertebrates" and "Reef Aquarium Fishes"

from Amazon. I did note that Vivid Aquariums has the book "Aquarium Corals" by

Eric Borneman. But want to make sure there isn't a better or easier to read one

in Austin. Anyway open for suggestions. Thanks

Wayneb

As for as hanging the lights - a trick I used for my ex-train room (and planning to use for my now fish room)

was to use the cheap shelf track and brackets. I beleive you can get brackets up to 20", though I used 12"

brackets and sandwich them with 1x3 boards to extend the hanging shop lights 24 to 30" from the wall.

Plus the boards provided a way to add a facia board to hide the lights from sight and help reflect the light

downwards. Also has the added advantage of putting shelving boards on top of them to hold books, fish food, etc.

wayneb

I would like the purple monti.

Let me know where and when.

Is Paypal okay?

wayneb