In Wall - going for it! - seeking your ideas/feedback/advice

[class clown]

Maybe another ball union so you can run only one of either the O.M. or the M.B.V.
should you need to work on one of them for maintenance
Paul


P.S. while trying to improve mine the sand got stirred too much and I belive was the sole cause for the rtn of 2 of my favorite colonies 1 I fragged and should grow back the other tabeling acro went too fast while I was at work :-(

Nice - we were thinking alike - got an extra ball valve on the order yesterday, jsut forgot to update the drawing. Sorry to hear about the corals man having just been through a big loss, I know it isn't fun. Hopefully your orange crush is doing well though

 

[brady816]

wow wow wow wow this is going to be nice!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[class clown]

wow wow wow wow this is going to be nice!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

thanks for the encouragement Brady. This is a much bigger project than I originally anticipated. Thanks to lots of good people on here providing advice and helping out though, I'm starting to get past some of the obstacles, and it's coming together.

I worked on hanging the rails this evening - and there up. Next step - duct work, sheetrocking, and more duct work.... stay tuned.

 

[Scooterman]

Sweet but man I see lots of painting needing to be done UGGGGG!

 

[class clown]

Sweet but man I see lots of painting needing to be done UGGGGG!

Think it's necessary to paint all of the walls? or are you just talking the stand?

think I'll be cool w/ a satin based paint?

color opinions anyone? Egg White or light grey on the walls, black or brown on the stand is kinda what I'm thinking.

 

[trido]

I wouldnt paint the Garage. Can you say nightmare work load? If you decide to paint it I have an airless paint sprayer you can borrow. I won't volunteer any help on that one.

I dont beleive that the humidity in the garage, with adequate ventilation, will ever be high enough to cause problems to the sheetrock in the garage as a whole. Heck, in the Seattle area the humidty averages 83% in the morning and 62% in the after noon anyway . http://www.cityrating.com/cityhumidity.asp?City=Seattle
I don think your tank will raise it much higher with the luminarc ventilation etc.. However, I have been wrong before. The garage is near 4800cu. ft. and approx. 4Gs of evap. a day IMO shouldnt be to catostrophic.

 

[trido]

Post 666. Wow this is a big thread. I figured Id bump it past that number for those superstitious people out there..

 

[Scooterman]

IIf you decide to paint it I have an airless paint sprayer you can borrow. I won't volunteer any help on that one.

That is why I mentioned it, lots of work but sealing it using a sprayer would really help with any possible mold on the underside, I know a rare possibility but do it & be done I say. We hit humidity in the 90's here but very similar to WA area most of the time. I hate painting but really It would benefit at the least your eye.

Post 666. Wow this is a big thread. I figured Id bump it past that number for those superstitious people out there..

Yea, glad we got through that quickly!


Today I'm making a power strip, replacing the store brought strips! Curt brought this up again recently & I've first hand had several burn up on me, him doing this made me decide to go build one, so look at my thread later & I'll picture it up & explain a few good reasons why we should use something like this, even though I've been lazy up to this point & haven't made one!

 

[NC2WA]

Ben,

I agree with you about the project being bigger than I thought. It also was more expensive than I thought, so be prepared.

 

[trido]

Ben,

I agree with you about the project being bigger than I thought. It also was more expensive than I thought, so be prepared.

Me too, and all I have is a standard AGA 120

 

[class clown]

Me too, and all I have is a standard AGA 120

Duane - come on.. "just a standard AGA 120" - uh huh..it's not "just" anything except "just" one of the coolest tanks I've ever seen. It's definately what got me going on this project . It's a true inspiration, that's for sure.

 

[class clown]

Whoaaaa.... holy macral... now I'm getting excited. Just got an e-mail and voicemail from Jason at CFI. He said he would be putting the bottom on the tank this morning, and later be flush trimming the top, and bottom. Then he'll be chamfering everything and polishing all the edges.

And...ready for this.. says there is a slight possibility it could even be done this weekend. - Scheesh - I'm impressed, I didn't think it'd be done this early. I can't wait to see it.

This is awesome, but now it means it's crunch time. Now on my immediate to do list:

• map out hole placement for the bulkheads
• figure out how to get it to my house
• paint/stain the stand
• get Vent pipes installed
• make the sheer wall a sheer wall again and re-sheetrock
• possibly paint the garage - golly - that one scares me, may have to take a rain check until later

ok.. no time to waste.. off to Lowes for some paint

 

[class clown]

I picked up some tinted Polyeurthane for the stand - I think this is my best bet, don't you? I figured it'd be better than paint for a water repellant & sealant.

 

[Jaymeany]

I used the exact same stain on my old stand and my canopy. I agree it will be better then paint but I would still get some poly to seal the whole thing up and give it a better texture. The stain is kind of dull. nice work so far.

 

[trido]

Sheesh... I wish you would have mentioned paints and stains when you were over. I have enough in my HAZMAT throw out bin to do most, if not all of what you need to do. If you want to put a shiny coat of clear over the color coat I have plenty if you want to save a few bucks.

Thanks for the compliments on my tank BTW. I believe yours will be much nicer when things start to grow in.

 

[class clown]

Shucks Duane - that would've been cool. Ahh, the stain was only $10 anyway, not that big of a deal. thanks for the offer on the polyeurathane, we'll see if I need it. After 2 coats, it look pretty good. Even though I got the Satin finish, it still looks somewhat glossy. I'm really impressed with how the stain turned out though. I think it looks great.

here are a couple pics of me mapping out my tank dimensions & rough dimensions of the rock islands - you can see the finish on it too.

I'm going for just kinda of a random semi penut shape on each one. One I measured out at roughly 28" X 13". The other I measured out at roughly 26 x 12". Then again, how do you measure a distorted peanut, ya know.

Also, I ended up sawing off both of the legs that butt against the wall and lagging the joist to the studs and adding a couple big boy steel braces for support. I did this b/c Scott is going to need some room to work with the duct work and with my new plumbing design and because I'm going to have piping running up there too, so this'll make it a little easier for access and such.

 

[trido]

For some reason I woke up thinking about your tank. You'd think I'd be more concerned with the huge holes I just made in my yard with the back hoe. Dont forget to take the stand framing into account when you decide where to put the front bulkheads. You can cut some rather large holes in the sill plate at the front of the tank but if you put them where a vertical stud is then it will make for alot of extra work. Keep in mind, If you put them in the front, you will have to plumb underneath the ledger and work up in a hole behind it.

Also, I am jealous of your 30"x19" tape outline of a rock pile. Its going to be nice.

 

[class clown]

For some reason I woke up thinking about your tank. You'd think I'd be more concerned with the huge holes I just made in my yard with the back hoe. Dont forget to take the stand framing into account when you decide where to put the front bulkheads. You can cut some rather large holes in the sill plate at the front of the tank but if you put them where a vertical stud is then it will make for alot of extra work. Keep in mind, If you put them in the front, you will have to plumb underneath the ledger and work up in a hole behind it.

Also, I am jealous of your 30"x19" tape outline of a rock pile. Its going to be nice.

hmmmm.. so it's you and me both that wake up w/ the project first thing on the mind ehh Duane.. not good, not good.. we need a counsler Let me know if you need a hand w/ any landscaping - be glad to help.

As for the hole placement, that's good advice. I mapped out the holes a little later last night.

I too was thinking about what a challenge those front holes will be and we'll pretty much ahve to go right up underneath the ledger, through the wall (assuming I actually get it sheet rocked) and then up between the studs. I measured it out and I think we're good. It just won't be the easiest to access. hmmm...

Here's a closeup of the front holes that but against the back side of the wall.

So my biggest question is ----> How am I going to tighten these bulkheads If they are going through the 2 x 6 car decking top?

 

[class clown]

So my biggest question is[/B] ----> How am I going to tighten these bulkheads If they are going through the 2 x 6 car decking top?

This is a toughy...

• find a gigantic socket wrench - nahhh - don't think they make those that big and if they did, they'd be super expensive
• cut the hole big enough where I can get a pair of channel locks in there to try to crank it down- maybe - but still don't see how I can get much leverage
• Other thoughts/ideas?

anyone ever have this same predicament- trying tightening a bulkhead w/ out much leverage? how did it work out?

 

[Scooterman]

Strap wrench? Plumbers wrench? Tighten them from the inside while someone holds the nut, you only hand tighten them anyways! I would just make a big enough hole to get a hand in there & then figure it out afterward, it'll be ok!

Edit!
Oh I see the back holes are the problem, it will be tight but you should be able to have someone hold the nut while it is tighten inside the tank.

BTW! I would add two support legs on the outside of the wall & not just rely on the brackets being attached to the studs, even with lag bolts, I'd have two post underneath, your carrying around 12 to 15 hundred lbs of weight in a small area. I would finish everything off first & then add them after it is all plumbed & before adding water! It is cheap assurance!

Edit again!

That is a lot of holes up front, be careful!