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#1
05-12-2013, 02:18 AM
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The Tank is at Home!
Been awhile since I updated this as I was waiting for the tank to be finished and alas it is done. Yesterday my brother and I slogged this thing downstairs to the basement.
Right now it is sitting on the floor as I need to have him come back to help carry the sump downstairs which is still sitting in the back of my SUV. My wife tried to carry it bless her heart but it was still too heavy for her.  Coming up...the old tank move and temporary Ecotech Radion hanger. 
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#2
05-12-2013, 02:33 AM
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The Old Tank Move
To complicate things more, my parents have sold their house and bought a new one, however the move out / move in dates did not line up so they are moving into our basement for the next two months! As such, I needed to keep things pretty clean and decided to execrate moving my nano into the furnace room where it will become a frag tank once all livestock is transferred over.
First step, as my Radions are currently hung from the ceiling and will only be on the frag tank until I get the new tank finished, I needed to build something to hold it in the meantime. With some leftover wood I managed to build this. Just some ripped 2x4s with some brackets in place just in case. The lights simply sit on top unrestricted.  With that ready I emptied 3/4 of the tank and managed to slide it over to the furnace room to its new home. Bad shot but you get the idea.  It is now full again and all the corals and fish have made an appearance again. That is a scary thing when you take so much water out.
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#3
05-14-2013, 01:40 AM
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Houston We Have a Stand Problem
I got the stand all set up with the sump in there and after some playing around realized that the stand is NOT going to work. Basically, it is not tall enough to work with the Vertex Alpha skimmer I have as well as giving me any semblance of being able to work in the sump.
So, I need to go back to plan A which is to finish the stand I started working on. Sucks because now I need to finish that stand which is not my forte. Oh well, sh$t happens as they say. I am going to go basic with fully removable panels on the front and two sides for full access to the sump. If anyone has any ideas please let me know! Here is what the bones of the stand looks like. Next step will be to get the tank up on the stand and the plumbing all installed. 
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#5
05-28-2013, 01:42 AM
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Placed the tank on top of the stand and now at the plumbing stages. Here are some shots of the progress to date:
 The tank is high up which will make viewing standing up accessible. However, as a short guy, my new step ladder is going to come in very handy!  A Dremel is the best tool ever. Made easy work out of cutting the holes in the back panel for the plumbing to come through/   Got the Apex controller all mounted and ready to go. This was a big decision in terms of where to put it. It is hard to see but I put in an acrylic piece on the bottom to hopefully stop splash-up from the sump. I have two EB8's, a WMX controller for my Vortechs, and a spill detector. The control panel sits on the front of the stand.     These shots show the plumbing - took the requisite multiple stops to Home Depot to get everything. Right now it is dry fitted, waiting for me to commit with "the glue"!  Finally you can see the Ecotech Radion holders I got from Martin at Modularled.ca. I had to adjust them a bit - easy cut with a hacksaw. They are slightly off-centre due to my overflow, but it is not that noticeable. I will need to touch up the paint as it comes off pretty easy. Next step is the gluing of the pipe, painting the stand, and GETTING WET!
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#6
06-02-2013, 11:21 PM
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Finished Stand
This weekend has been busy - I finished painting the stand. I used Kilz primer inside and out and then finished the outside with a high gloss interior/exterior white. The stand is not perfect - finishing is hard!
Regardless, I am happy how it turned out given that I did it all. Maybe one day I will hire someone to finish it all professional-like but this thing is costing me enough as it is so it will work for now. Anyway, here is a finished shot: 
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#7
06-02-2013, 11:27 PM
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Plumbing is 95% Done
Along with finishing the stand, I was able to finish most of the plumbing. Today I bonded the PVC together and everything went ok. Next step is getting some flex pipe to connect the return pump to the PVC return - you can see that on the left.
 Things look a bit messy with the Controller cords not properly laid out. Will get that cleaned up before I go live. Next step is rinsing the rock. I can now see the path to wetness!
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