Christy's 180 build

[GreenSpottedPuffer]

Originally Posted by lastlight

I think we're all the same here. Saving random fts shots as we surf the forums. I must have hundreds of inspiration shots. I get what you're aiming for though and that will be nice to watch fish navigate.

Hmmm maybe I should start saving pictures too. I never save them and then often can never find them again.

[lastlight]

Justin even the pics you sent me went into my random folder of goodness.

Nobody get any fast ideas...it was interior design =)

[christyf5]

I think Brett should share his aquascaping photos in a new thread, I've only found three that do anything for me, I need more inspiration!

[christyf5]

progress!

today I moved the wavysea from its position on the side of the tank:



to the front of the tank:



Yay me!

[christyf5]

man not even one sarcastic comment

More progress.

So this is the tank room, not the fish room but the nice relaxing spot to watch the tank.



Yeah theres a whole ikea kitchen in there. Thats also why the next photos suck so hard. Its hard to balance on various boxes while taking photos


Hmm, didn't take any photos of putting the paneling up. Oh well, imagine what its like putting paneling up, with swearwords and stuff.

Got the tank framed. This color we used in our bathroom and since we had a whole can I thought I'd try it on the frame. I didn't really like it. The frame is MDF and weighs a ton but it was only $2 a foot compared to the lovely other real woods I had picked out which were $20 a foot So the MDF is screwed into the wall and then wood puttied over the countersunk heads.



Then I went to the store and bought the color I originally wanted (it sucks buying those halfy cans of paint, they're so pricey!). Got the low VOC paint so I didn't have to turn off the skimmers.



So the original plan was to copy Dez's tank frame idea, it was perfect except for the fact that my tank is longer and we don't have an Ikea here (but mail order is fun, you should try it with a kitchen sometime!). However, my husband announced that he couldn't do the dowels so he wanted to use hinges to provide access. Of course that didn't work either because you can't lever up the pointy parts of the frame (they get really tight before they start to flip upwards). So we ended up having to make a couple of cutouts:



And the lid now louvers up via 4 hinges that allow the lid to be raised 170 degrees. Of course it weighs a ton so it doesn't stay up on its own. I gotta find a big stick somewhere.



So ya, thats about all that got done. Now I just need to get the light rack built and I can move stuff over

[Mrfish55]

Looking good, need to do something about the kinky hose on the wavy, and I would cover it to slow down algae growth, big difference with the panelling and trim. How are you making out with the light rack?

[christyf5]

Originally Posted by Mrfish55

Looking good, need to do something about the kinky hose on the wavy, and I would cover it to slow down algae growth, big difference with the panelling and trim. How are you making out with the light rack?

Yeah that kinky hose was just temporary to get the tank going. I'm going to replace it, likely with a piece of the same hose, unkinky and covered in electrical tape. Cuz thats how we roll here

My light rack builder is MIA, hopefully he emails me in the next few days or I'm gonna have to find me a pro-fessional.

[lastlight]

I'm not sure I am seeing this right. So you cut the corners off your frame? Why not mount a few full extension drawer slides vertically so the top frame piece slides up and out of your way?

[christyf5]

Originally Posted by lastlight

I'm not sure I am seeing this right. So you cut the corners off your frame? Why not mount a few full extension drawer slides vertically so the top frame piece slides up and out of your way?

Yeah apparently that wasn't an option. Unless its something I can buy ready made by myself, I just get what I get. This is what I got.

[hillegom]

To keep up the canopy door, you could try one/two of those small gas shocks that hold up your hood on your car or canopy for your truck etc.
Princess auto has them as surplus and cheap