fjr_wertheimber

I love this thread... Really one of the most fun build threads I've ever come across.

Oh, and on a (semi-) side note, if you're ever looking for a good primer when painting a room, Kilz is it. We used Kilz2 in the fish room, but then figured we'd just use the Valspar primer for our daughter's room, since we're not worried about any moisture in there. Bad idea. Coverage with the Valspar (which is actually a very highly-rated primer) is about 1/2 that of the Kilz. From now on, whether the room will see moisture or not, we're going to use Kilz for our priming needs.

Just opened up the vinyl plank flooring we special ordered from Lowe's and it's PERFECT. Looks great in the room, we can't wait to get the carpet up and put the "wood" down!

Yeah, I'd love to swing by sometime and check it out if you don't mind. I spent time with 8th MP Brigade out of Korea, the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), was TAD with 4th ID, 3rd ID, WYNG, NYNG, 172nd SBCT, 3rd ACR (got my spurs from them), MNF-I, MNC-I, then off to 89th MP BDE, then to III Corps (WORST unit in the Army, IMHO), USF-I, and now Fort Living Room.

Or, to put it in the langue of your original question: <<Je pense que vous avez besoin d'un débordement externe.>>

If you're doing a custom order, have you considered doing an external overflow so you're not taking up more of the minimal real estate than necessary?

How long have you had yours, Jason? Any issues?

Okay, so one change to the overall design and specification of the tank... I've decided to go with the Reef Angel controller. Why, you ask? Well, let's see: DIY LED control... check. Vortech ES control... check (well, on the way). Dosing pump controls (and dosing pumps)... check. Open source for tinkering and really cool $#!*... check. Oh, AND it's cheaper than 99% of the other controllers out there? Yup, count me in!

ROFLMAO!!

Do you have a chiller on it? How are you keeping the temps down?

Off topic, but am I the only person that sees the topic of this thread and thinks, "Fat man in a little coat"? LOL

After getting a bunch of quotes from various electricians I finally went with Jeff Gray from Grayzer Electric LLC. Jeff and his apprentice just left here, and I've got to say I'm absolutely THRILLED with the quality of their work, their awesome price, and the speed with which it was all done. In less than an hour they had run the conduit outside, run the new circuits through the ceiling, into the wall, and installed the boxes and faceplates (I'm WAY oversimplifying all they had to do in order to get the circuits run). So, I now have all the electrical I should need for the tank (three dedicated 20amp circuits), woohoo! One step closer! (Oh, and thanks Hydro for suggesting Putnam, I called him to get a quote from him, and will definitely keep him in mind if Jeff is ever too busy or unable to do a job for me.)

OMG Wendy and I went in there a few weeks ago, and I can safely say I'll NEVER go there again. Rank, nasty, dirty, smelly, overpriced, rude employees, gross-looking tanks, sickly looking livestock, etc. It literally reeked of cat urine to the point that I had to immediately go home and wash my clothes to get the smell out. Just plain nasty. And this, you've got to realize, is coming from someone who spent months living on an Iraqi base sharing portajohns in the desert heat with dirty, nasty, Iraqi soldiers, so trust me when I say that I know nasty when I smell it...

Dude, that would be pretty epic... Only second behind the bubble activated Spongebob Squarepants...

Does the price include the return pump and skimmer?

Dude, this is epic! Definitely storing that PDF in my "stuff to build for my tank" file... After, well, the tank itself, that is...

Thanks, Gig'em.

That's awesome, congrats on the beautiful jawfish! I have to ask, though, is Guybrush's last name Threepwood, by chance??

Hope everyone is enjoying the planning as much as I am... Now to get back to the building! Speaking of which, the room is almost done, we're doing our paint touchups tomorrow, getting some drapes for the room, the electrician is coming on Wednesday, and the custom floor should be in sometime in the next couple of weeks! Woohoo!

A few folks have asked why I'm using so many LEDs, rather than pivoting a fixture of having it move via a stepping motor. Actually, the original plan was to either pivot the fixture, or move it using a stepping motor or hydraulic actuator throughout the day, but the issues I found in those plans was a) access to the tank without having to basically disassemble that whole assembly b) angles available without a HUGE canopy c) one more level of mechanical complication (I hate having to rely on motors unless absolutely necessary. I'm definitely a solid-state kinda guy.) and d) I like the flexibility of that many LED circuits, i.e.- if it's 2pm and the lights are on the "west" side of the tank and I choose to have a "lightning storm", I can dim the "west" side and have the lightning flashes come from either the "east", "west", or a combination of the both. And yes, trust me, the color balance will change throughout the day, with more of that afternoon "golden light" that photographers love so much showing up in the early morning and late afternoon.

Hey man, I can give you a hand on Sunday. I'd offer help on Saturday, but I'm going to be in San Antonio.

Thanks, cMidd. I certainly hope so! LOL Really, the realization of the whole dream of the mega-über-tank is thanks to Wendy. She's the accountant in the family (literally, she used to do legal accounting) and she gave me the go-ahead (and $) to make it all happen. Most women barely tolerate their guy's fish tank; mine finances it! LOL Yup, you can all start hating me now...

Good idea, great execution! You'll have to let us know how this works out in the long run. I just hope some wrasse doesn't try to bury himself in the sand...

Oh, and unlike mcallahan, Wendy and I happen to LIKE the scallop shell on the back wall...

Hey, thanks again for having Wendy and I over the other day. She LOVED your tank, but (as I feared) has now started in with, "Why doesn't OUR backyard look like that???" LOL

Thanks, Woods! pbnj, wait'll you see the wiring diagram I'm working on... YIKES... LOL

For those of you asking what I mean by curving the LEDs, here's what I'm referring to. The LEDs will be mounted on strips (as denoted by the spreadsheet diagram above) that are on a curve over the tank, so that all the LEDs are equidistant from the center of the tank. This way, as the LEDs following their ramp up/ramp down schedule, the light will appear to come from a light source (i.e.- the sun) passing overhead throughout the course of the day, rather than from a fixed position. Or, at least that's the plan. LOL