Jnaylor Posted October 1, 2013 Share Posted October 1, 2013 Hello ARC community! Long time listener, first time caller I have been waiting for my turn to start a Reef tank for many years, but with my wife wanting to move every year, I decided it was best to wait to we got a house and settled down! Now with a house and a baby on the way, I decided we will be here a while So, I started off byscourng the forums for several months waiting for $$ and a good deal on a tank and finally about 2 months ago I bought a 90g tank and stand! So far I have aquired: 20g Sump Reef Octopus 200 2 Apollo Reef Led SolarBlast Live Sand Live Rock Plumbing for return/overflow DIY CANOPY! (that was fun) Maxi Jet Pro Powerhead x2 Photos to follow! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jnaylor Posted October 1, 2013 Author Share Posted October 1, 2013 Tank before sanding - - flat black oil base - - - - Helmsman waterproof polyeurethene finish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted October 1, 2013 Share Posted October 1, 2013 Nice looking tank. Congrats on the baby and house too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ckyuv Posted October 1, 2013 Share Posted October 1, 2013 Great job cleaning up the stand it looks nice! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jnaylor Posted October 3, 2013 Author Share Posted October 3, 2013 Thanks guys! Im so excited to get going, SALT JUST SHIPPED!!! So hopefully I'll have the tank up and running in another week or so depending on when the salt gets here. Here are someshots of the tank with the new paint job Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jnaylor Posted October 3, 2013 Author Share Posted October 3, 2013 Here is the tank with stand in the house! Also some pics of equipment so far... My Apollo Reef LEDs Cant wait to see them over the tank! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jnaylor Posted October 3, 2013 Author Share Posted October 3, 2013 And then I got some live rock from ct67stang! A bit of Fiji LR, and some texas rock for base till I can afford to get more LR. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted October 3, 2013 Share Posted October 3, 2013 Nice cleanup job. The tank looks sharp! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jnaylor Posted October 3, 2013 Author Share Posted October 3, 2013 Next up on my list was to make a new canopy for the tank!!!! This part was really fun for me. I have made quite a few things through the years but always worked on them with my dad. I have really fond memories of projects with my dad and he taught me quite a bit. This time around, I wanted to see what I could do by myself, and just asked if I could borrow his tools. He lent me his air compressor and nail gun His circular saw Table saw Some clamps, right angles, etc. I hit up home depot a half dozen times and voila! Canopy almost complete! I plan on the doing the poly-eurethene coat this weekend while RO goes into the tank Im really happy with the canopy thus far, now I just have to put my idea for my lights into reality which is proving to be quite dificult.. Ill explain next and maybe some of you have some ideas that could help!!! So I picked up a couple of 8 foot long pieces for the frame and a 4'x8' ply with birch vinear. Cut the frame pieces and nail gunned the top and bottom of the frame. And I live by my dad's motto "Measure twice, cut once." Then I measured twice how much space I would need for my lights and moving room etc, and cut out the frame pieces to create the height. pffft.. pfffft. pffft. (nail gun) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jnaylor Posted October 3, 2013 Author Share Posted October 3, 2013 This process took quite a while (about two weeks on and off) due to the other projects going on around the house Crib. Baby gate (for dogs) Nursery stuff, baby showers etc lol! So here was the next step in the canopy build. Got the frame made, now for some nice looking birch to create the "skin" I cannot tell you how many times I measured this process... Very dificult to have everything line up, especially doing it alone. Used to 2 sets of hands holding things and measuring with another set of eyes. The most fun I had was getting the door on the front with the hinges to open and shut and be as tight a fit as possible. A few painstaking hours later and it fits beautifully!!! I guess I should say it fits "like a glove!" (Said like Jim Carey) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jnaylor Posted October 3, 2013 Author Share Posted October 3, 2013 Nice cleanup job. The tank looks sharp! THANKS TY! BTW Im Johns good friend, he said you were a great RE Agent 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
victoly Posted October 3, 2013 Share Posted October 3, 2013 Good friends with John? I could tell there was something a bit off about you.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Planeden Posted October 3, 2013 Share Posted October 3, 2013 well, it's looking great so far John's friend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jnaylor Posted October 3, 2013 Author Share Posted October 3, 2013 Good friends with John? I could tell there was something a bit off about you.... well, it's looking great so far John's friend. HAHA! John and I went to high school together, we were band nerds, played Trombone. My name is Jordan, hello all. John and I planned on coming to he RCA event on friday cause he is finally getting his tank back up and running and needs to stock it, but we are going to a football game. We WILL however be at the one in November. Assuming my baby doesnt come early. If he does I'll send John! lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jnaylor Posted October 6, 2013 Author Share Posted October 6, 2013 Went to RCA and bought some more live rock, salt, and sand. Started the RO yesterday! Problem is I only have a short tube for waste. So I have been doing 5 gallon buckets and watering my lawn. I think I'll stop by Home Depot and get a really long tube so I can have the RO going directly into the tank and the waste going through the dog door to the backyard. I washed out the sand by putting half the bag in a bucket and rinsing over 15 times, still murky. The pic was last night and its already looking much better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jnaylor Posted October 6, 2013 Author Share Posted October 6, 2013 Apparently when uploading photos from an iPad it makes them go sideways. Also, that open photo was before I got the sump in there. My sump had all my live rock in it and I had to empty it before getting it back into the stand. Now live rock and sump are in the stand with a bubble pump. Hope to have the tank full by tonight. Finished the canopy paint job too! Now all I have to do is attach my lights to the inside. I'm trying to have a rack system that will allow me to push the lights either backwards or to the side in order to have more room to work in the tank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted October 6, 2013 Share Posted October 6, 2013 Nice cleanup job. The tank looks sharp! THANKS TY! BTW Im Johns good friend, he said you were a great RE Agent Hey Jordan. I heard you suckered John into picking up the tank with him. Haha. Thanks for the shout out for real estate! My real job is selling coral frags though so hit me up when you are up and running. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gig 'em @ NDstructible Posted October 6, 2013 Share Posted October 6, 2013 Hey everyone, this is my friend Jordan! I converted yet another person to the hobby Jordan your renovation to that stand is amazing, I never thought it would look quite this good, I'm very impressed with how it came out. I can't wait to see how it turns out once you get it filled up this weekend! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobR Posted October 6, 2013 Share Posted October 6, 2013 Great job on the stand refinish and the canopy! Great start! Can't wait to see this build progress. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gig 'em @ NDstructible Posted October 7, 2013 Share Posted October 7, 2013 News update: Jordan has decided to go all out and just turn his whole house into an aquarium. Way to go Jordan, you're living the dream none of us are bold enough to do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted October 7, 2013 Share Posted October 7, 2013 Are his admissions prices going to be competitive with the Austin Aquarium? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Planeden Posted October 7, 2013 Share Posted October 7, 2013 Are his admissions prices going to be competitive with the Austin Aquarium? depends on the size of the house. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sascha D. Posted October 7, 2013 Share Posted October 7, 2013 Congrats on the new tank! Any plans for the inhabitants? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gig 'em @ NDstructible Posted October 7, 2013 Share Posted October 7, 2013 Are his admissions prices going to be competitive with the Austin Aquarium? Absolutely because, unlike the Austin Aquarium, Jordan can legally buy his livestock whole sale, reducing his costs, which will be passed on to the customer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jnaylor Posted October 8, 2013 Author Share Posted October 8, 2013 News update: Jordan has decided to go all out and just turn his whole house into an aquarium. Way to go Jordan, you're living the dream none of us are bold enough to do. Are his admissions prices going to be competitive with the Austin Aquarium? Are his admissions prices going to be competitive with the Austin Aquarium? depends on the size of the house. Thank you John for sharing my plans with the community here. I am in fact opening up my very own housequarium. Our one and only exhibit is roughly 250 square feet, and rather shallow. No animals were harmed in the making of the housequarium and all the proper permits were obtained prior to our new installation. Entrance fees that are acceptable are large rags or towels, and VIP passes can be awarded to those that trade in a shop vac. The idea for my housequarium came to me like a storm in the night. While filling my tank with RO all weekend, I decided despite my efforts, the only way I would be able to fill the tank in time would be to have it going all night long. So I came up with the brilliant new invention the "25foot tube makes RO go all night". By using such an invention I was able to have the RO unit inside the house and have the output RO tube run into my tank while the waste water went through the tube across the kitchen floor and through the dog door to my backyard. So from 7pm to 11pm web I went to sleep my rigged setup was working like a champ. Chugging along and slowly filling the tank. Little did I know that the RO unit had planned a pool party for 4am. I wake up with a gut feeling that something is wrong and run into the kitchen with a "plop plop plop". So I grabbed my towel friends and joined in the pool party ; ) A frantic 45 minutes later and everything was fine. The entire time I kept thinking about the Mickey Mouse and the wizard video with the brooms and buckets of water. I felt like Mickey, making a plan and going to sleep only to wake up to a disaster. But there was no wizard to clean up my mess, only my and my towels. And let me tell you, what a workout. Wringing out towel after towel after towel, my forearms burned all day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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