BobcatReefer

Finally got everything painted/stained/sealed. I'll get the plumbing done tonight, and maybe even get water in to test seals.

The piece I made to go on top of the stand turned out amazing. My uncle was money in the shop helping me build it and spot on w/ his finishing suggestions - prestain, stain (3x), polyurethane(2x), wax(2x). The existing stand I probably should have just gone w/ the white Killz all over. The piece of wood I used to test the stains was Poplar from the top piece, not pine from the stand. Plus, that wood is so dry I think it just drank every bit in. So, much darker than I wanted, and the edges where the white/stain meet aren't as clean as they could be. Meh - that part will rarely be seen, but it annoys my anal/OCD side. Definitely looks much better in the house.

I did leave out the darker crab, he looked like trouble.

Just a simple gravity overflow w/ a couple of snail covers on the sump side.

Well Juiceman, I think you were spot on here. If nothing else, it's much cleaner.

While I'd love to have plumbed overflows, I've never understood the "risk" involved w/ HOB. A siphon that works when the water is flowing doesn't break because the water stops flowing. In 15+ years (including multiple power outages) of running a HOB, the only issue I've ever had was the 14.5 yr old U-tube cracking slightly and letting air into the tube, but it would have taken weeks to let enough air in to actually break anything. My biggest concern w/ them is noise, so the plan is to build Stockman fittings after everything is up and running.

Flipping the plumbing doesn't do anything to lessen the vibration or noise, but it's something I'll look at tonight as I try to figure out a more efficient routing for that line. I want to have a union on there so I can remove the pump for cleaning or repair, and it might be a pita if it's all the way at the back. We'll see if I can come up w/ a decent solution.

I think you should Hard plumb the Return until right before the Pump itself. Rather than how you have it now. Supposed to help with vibration and noise. Also less algae growth since there's less light hitting it.

Not understanding your proposal here. The flexible tubing is what reduces the vibration and noise by keeping the pump from being connected so solidly to the rest of the system. Not worried about algae in the clear tubing, given there's no light source hitting it directly - it's behind a painted wall of the aquarium and there's no ambient sunlight hitting the area. My biggest issue is the lack of space to work with because of the shelf in the stand instead of a floor, which makes the angle more severe. Think adding a 45 on the pipe coming out of the pump will help smooth that out a bit. Doing that tonight, so we'll see.

Also, why didn't you go ahead and drill the tank for overflow since you drilled it for return?

Cost and simplicity are the primary reasons. I already had a HOB, so purchasing one more and plumbing each directly vs 2 drilled overflows plumbed directly, or plumbing a single to two separate tanks below in the space I have to work with, seemed like the way to go.

Wow, have you identified what worms they are?

As far as I know, they're bristleworms. No?

Maybe nasty worms don't dig phosphate? Got ready to do a water change tonight and came upon this creepy scene:

Got at least a dozen 10"+

This one lost about 6" trying to fight extradition and that's at least 10" left over.

I did steal the pump and heater over the last 24 hours to make a new batch of water, so I'm going to try that again in a few days and see if letting the temp drop for a day or so flushes any more out.

My pukani leached a lot of phosphate while it was curing. You might want to test for that and do water changes or even run gfo if you see really high phosphate ...

Don't have a phosphate test kit just yet, but it's next on the list. Planning on 2 water changes over the next 10 days or so, then build the scape and into the tank, sand, water, & monitor until ready for fish. Does it need to be covered? It gets ambient light but very little as i've closed the shades. Run a skimmer? I had mine in there for a while, but it was more to run the skimmer and break it in. Wasn't really pulling much out after a day or so.

Nitrates in the motel tank are around 20-50? (I'm so bad at matching the colors). Need to give it a little love here in the next couple of days.

Got everything dry fit tonight. I screwed up by not writing down a key measurement by about 1/4" and it's pretty much the only thing off about the piece. Have to come up w/ a better answer on the return plumbing, but other than that, ready to break down for paint/stain.

Got 15# of dry Pukani in today. Pretty happy w/ the size and lack of crud.

Put it in w/ the rock that's been going for a couple of weeks. Has a heater and a small pump going. Anything else I should be doing here?

Think I've had the first casualty of the move...6 line wrasse has disappeared.

What is the floor material? Looks way too thin to be wood.

I have painted the floor of the stand with a high gloss oil based paint. I know how much water will be spilled on this floor, so I made sure to put a few coats on and a coat underneath.

Got the new platform/trim built today, at the expense of making the meeting at Ty's. Relatively few hiccups and nothing we couldn't overcome. Pretty pleased w/ the result - turned out exactly as I had it in my head. I'll let it set overnight and start sanding tomorrow, as well as hitting up HD for the stain and polyurethane.

Thanks!

Got the fuge to sump plumbing fitted:

Light unpacked and tested:

White

Blue

Both:

Night:

There will be two of those, and I think I'm going to drill them like the pipe in the fuge. Hopefully that will allow most bubbles to exit near the surface. Thought about running those across into the skimmer section, but it was just too much piping in a confined space. Plus, I don't want to skim up the pods.

Was hoping to drill the plumbing holes today, but no reason to do that when I need to add another layer of wood. Still mocked it all up. Please let me know if you see something that looks wonky!

Definitely digging the purple right now.

It's so weirdly quiet in here right now. My tank is [was] fairly loud, and I always thought of it as my babbling brook.

Fun twist of the day #1: Tank is about 1/2" wider than the stand

Fun twist of the day #2: Stand is definitely warped

Don't think I'm going to worry about the warping - the weight of the tank will take care of that. Need to add a piece of plywood to match the width of the tank though.

Anyone have a nice tablesaw and wants to help me get the exact size right?

Got the refugium bulkheads in and the wall facing the sump painted. Probably overkill, but painted the wall facing the sump black. Can't see it real well, but I scuffed the plexi w/ 220 grit so the "paint" would stick better. Used RustOleum FlexiDip so I could pull it off it it sucked. Should have used a razor to score before removing the tape, but it doesn't tear too bad. Seems like it will hold up.

My guy eats whatever I put in the tank, as well as sifting the sand. As I transition tanks and he goes into clean sand, I plan to overfeed a bit to make sure he's good.

I do love the look of sand, white reflective clean sand. What I don't like is the algae that grows in it.

oh, hai!

That works too!

Wow! That looks awesome. Very...natural isn't the right word, but looks like it fits naturally if that makes sense.

Everybody is in the hotel for the duration. Tank breakdown this weekend when I get back from Houston.