lastlight's 404

[The Grizz]

All I can say is.................oh f*** that had to hurt. I am guessing that you were waiting for me to pick- up the pump so you could get the sump.

[zum14]

Man that sounds like it hurt, I would have done the same though. People heal, tanks dont.

[Ryan]

Wow Brett this thing is looking sweet!!

You werent kidding when you said it was a tight fit.

Have you figured out your lighting? Are you still looking for another Pendant & Ballast Combo?

[lastlight]

My wife planned a bit of a surprise bday party for me tonight. Was sorta funny hobbling around the party and showing everyone my mangled hand. Hand is crazy swollen and pretty badly scraped/cut. My right thigh however is in so much pain right now. I did the right thing and I'm sorta proud of myself for saving the tank. Lucky I never broke and bones in my hand tho. I drove out to strathmore for it too so after the hassle I really wanted it!

Ryan I actually have enough 250w M80s to power 5 halides. One will be a backup as I intend to use 4 of them. I'll be buying 2 more lumenmax elites tho.

[lastlight]

Originally Posted by The Grizz

All I can say is.................oh f*** that had to hurt. I am guessing that you were waiting for me to pick- up the pump so you could get the sump.

Not waiting specifically but yes most of that cash is in Strathmore now lol. Thanks again Greg hope that works for you.

[The Grizz]

Originally Posted by lastlight

Not waiting specifically but yes most of that cash is in Strathmore now lol. Thanks again Greg hope that works for you.

Glad I could some what keep your build going along & I am more then sure the pump will be exactly what I need on the 250

[fishytime]

good on ya man....for taken one for the cause

[kien]

ouch.. that's what you get for not calling me out to help lift :P

[fishoholic]

Ouch! but good save.

[lastlight]

My hand and legs have been healing well from the sump ordeal and I have been tinkering with the build a little on weekends. Since I posted a bit of a spoiler in my other build thread I thought I better do a photo dump here as well.

First I laid 3 coats of Kilz on some plywood and then siliconed them to my stand. The stand needs to keep the moisture in the fishroom.



Then I framed around the stand and popped insulation in there. The stand also needs to keep the noise and cool air in the fishroom.



Framed the canopy which surrounds the tank but does not touch nor rest on it. You can see the 2x4 rail mounts across the floor joists for the plywood to connect to. I had to clear all the water pipes that pass through my condo unit into the adjacent units.



Here's two shots after the 1/2" plywood went up.





Walking in the doorway to the fishroom you can see where the laundry tub will be installed. Future frag tank is sitting on it for now.



Here's the sump that nearly killed me. I smartly maneuvered this thing onto its stand alone thinking to myself 'you're a dumbass brett'. I redid all the inner silicone and removed the center brace and mounted it on-end to create my 40g water change area. I could not dry-fit the brace back into this tank after I took it out so obviously the previous owner braced the tank while full! This meant the baffle had to be installed at a slight angle but it is rock solid with tons of contact as that brace was 5/8". The tank itself is all 1/2" and won't be even close to full hence the choice to remove the brace. My frag tank will be shelf-mounted above the water change compartment.



Going further in you can see my rear access corridor. It's about 18" wide and I'll make a moveable platform that I can move around to step up on for mounting corals etc.



Here's two shots showing the skin after a few rounds of wood-filler. The first pic sorta shows the plywood ceiling I installed. You can't see in these pics but I have applied silicone between all the plywood and canopy 2x4s. The plywood seams will also be 'coned and then it will all be sealed with Kilz. Sealed room! I may even run some silicone in the 1/2" gap between the canopy and the tank itself to further seal the area and prevent water that splashes on the bracing from running down the glass.