The LAST big upgrade

[michika]

So we just sent off the money to pay out a huge portion of our car, so now we can finally get back to the business of building this tank. It sucked for awhile there, but having considerably smaller car payments now makes it worth it.

In celebration we went shopping at the hardware store:

New Siemans 100Amp 32/64 panel. It already has more breakers then our current one, and we'll have tons of extra space for any future requirements. We have to pull a permit and call the utility company to temporarily cut off service for the change over. Calgary's homeowners permits don't cover panel replacement, and Kevin doesn't have his Masters, so he needs someone to pull him a permit.


Look at how cute and tiny that work lamp is! Its the perfect size for what we need!


We've decided we'll move the wall that separates the laundry room and fish room to give us more space. We stacked our washer and dryer to give us the extra 3ft of space we're hoping for. Before:


After:


We'll be moving those taps behind the washer and dryer. The new wall will probably be about 6" to the left of the appliances give or take.

[Pazil]

Wow looking really good.... You should make sure that your main shut off valve for the water is accessable and for the EP you will need to have a full 36" clear in front of the panel to get it passed.... Good luck with it... looking forward to more pics.

[michika]

Its all good! The new panel will not be going in the place of the old one, but rather on the same wall as the washer and dryer.

[michika]

The skimmer for the big tank has been purchased! I'm so excited that I can stop reading up on other skimmers.

Its an awesomely huge dual beckett 63.5" tall acrylic monster! I can't wait to get this puppy up and running on the new tank!

I absolutely have to thank Asmodeus (Mike) for the awesome deal and bringing it to my attention! Thanks Mike!

[michika]

Today I started the process for having the City come out to do a temporary disconnect on our power to do the switch over to the new panel. We've decided to move our meters outside as well as some genius inistalled the water meter with the readable side facing the wall.

We're now just waiting on the permit to be pulled so we can submit the number and get a booking.

We're going to have them provide us a newer upto date meter, and to replace the outside lines as they appear to be sagging and starting to degrade. All this for the low price of $181/hr for the disconnect and whatever we have to pay for materials and the permit.

I also think that this fall, if its in the budget, we're going to try and spray some additional insultation into the attic, assuming we need it. I'm also hunting around for better utility rates so that when the new tank comes online its not such a huge shock to the pocket book.

[untamed]

Originally Posted by michika

The skimmer for the big tank has been purchased! I'm so excited that I can stop reading up on other skimmers.

Its an awesomely huge dual beckett 63.5" tall acrylic monster! I can't wait to get this puppy up and running on the new tank!

I absolutely have to thank Asmodeus (Mike) for the awesome deal and bringing it to my attention! Thanks Mike!

C'mon tell.... I like large skimmers... I'll show you mine if you show me yours!

[michika]

But where is the mystery in that?

So let me do some more teasing! This baby has a 6" chamber, and when the becketts are fully open can generate 31" of crap collecting foam! Plus it comes with a waste collector.

I'll confirm with Mike that its ok to post the photos he sent me, then everyone can see this huge beast!

[Parker]

Originally Posted by michika

We're actually thinking of upgrading to a hammerhead pump. Plus I'm concerned that in the future I'll have to up the flow and I don't want to be held back by the drains. You're right though, we could could with 1.5" drains and probably be safe for years to come. We haven't really finalized anything yet so there is still the option of going with 1.5".

The Hammerheads a pretty big return pump? What about going with a smaller return pump through some wavey seas to randomized some flow and saving the hammerhead to run the 4-way?

[michika]

I've honestly never thought of that option. I do however know that I hate powerheads in the tank so I just ignored the idea of Wavy Seas. I'll go back and take another look though, as it might be worth the change.

I'm going to visit the Land of Seagulls (the city dump) again this weekend. We're trying to make a huge push to get all the construction debris out of the house by the end of September, before any ice or snow is on the ground.

I also treated myself to a "congrats your contract got extended gift", and bought myself a photobox from Melev's site. I love the floater box too, but I had to choose only one.

[muck]

I went to the dump last night... can't say I saw even 1 seagull. The flys though... FAT and PLUMP and numerous!! Maybe they ate the seagulls... I dunno.