Parker's 265 Build - Thread Retired

[Boomboy]

so purty, looks great. love the bookcases and everything with it. this tank looks great even without the rocks in there. cant wait to see this puppy full. its been a long time since your first tank.

[Parker]

Originally Posted by lastlight

Ok that is some SERIOUSLY clean plumbing! Not a spot of primer to be seen! Taking your time is all the rage. Looks great =)

Originally Posted by JDigital

Ohhh its coming along nicely!

Originally Posted by Boomboy

so purty, looks great. love the bookcases and everything with it. this tank looks great even without the rocks in there. cant wait to see this puppy full. its been a long time since your first tank.

Thanks Guys.. I've been trying to not rush anything and get it done right the first time. But I have to say it's getting harder and harder now that there is water in the tank. So far I'm resisting the urge to throw some sand and rock in there.

[Parker]

Here is a mostly complete picture of the light rack, I still need to add a couple of cross braces to square and strengthen everything up. I'm going to mount it directly to the wall behind the tank with a piano hinge so I can raise it up out of the way.

[fishytime]

The light rack looks good...are you sure about the piano hinge?....they are made from low grade metals and will rust extremely quickly...also not sure that with the rack flipped up 90 degrees to the tank, that you will have enough light to work in the tank?

[Parker]

Good point, my plan was to use a stainless hinge. I'm not sure if I'm going to use stainless screws or just throw a dab of silicone on them to keep them from rusting.

I didn't think about having enough light to work in the tank while the lights are up. That's something I'll need to address. Maybe I'll throw a couple of pot lights in the ceiling.

[Parker]

I started to do a bit of aqua scape, my wife REALLY likes the look of the rock and foam reef she's seen so I'm going to give it a shot.

Here's a pick of one of the panels in the early stages. I think I need to use more rock and pack it denser then fill the gaps in between.. I'll follow this panel all the way through and see how it turns out.. I zip-tied the rocks on then filled the gaps with foam, let it set then knocked most of it down with a wire wheel on my angle grinder. Once it dries all the way through I'll sculpt it a little more with my drill and dremel.

Again I'm not all the happy with it so far, but we'll see.

[Parker]

Haven't had much to report these days.. the summer has kept me pretty busy. I did get my Apex ordered and delivered - With UPS as the transit company It's a wonder the thing showed up at all, but that's another story.

The Apex is a pretty cool unit, I'm just diving into the programing of this thing.. If I get the code right I might be able to get this thing to bring me a beer! I have two more EB8's on order, I'll have to wait for those to arrive before I can put this thing to use.

Anyway, here's a pic, I know it's not a true update unless there's a picture! Sorry for being so blurry, I used my cell phone.