180 Gal Brick Setup Begins...

[Sherri]

Well...finally everything is pretty much ready to get started. Will be breaking down 100 gal today (food poisoning & all!!!) and replacing with 180 gal tomorrow. If anyone has the time tomorrow afternoonish to help move 100 out of the way & replace with 180, it would be appreciated The 180 is sitting on the MAAST cart that has wheels - which will make it a bit easier.

I wanted to thank Pete for doing an outstanding job on our 50 gal sump/fuge - very pleased!! :) He'll be making our canopy also.

I will be glad when its' all over. It has been a major job getting everything situated. But I know it will be worth it when it's all said & done. Thanks to everyone that has been involved so far. Will be posting updates as we go... :)

[Sherri]

Sump/Fuge by Pete

[::pete::]

:D Now the fun begins. I have the boxes made for the pump and skimmer.

Did you post in the directors forum on purpose? Want it moved to general?

[Sherri]

Yeah Pete, I didn't realize that I did....thanks!

[mathias]

I wanna see pics of this new tank and brick?

[grapplert]

I will be available if it is in the morning or early afternoon...gotta be home for supper!

LMK...823-7000

Tim

[cpreefguy]

Man, that tank is HEAVY too! 3/4 glass all the way around. I may be able to help. I will see what my work schedule is like.

[Sherri]

mathias....will get a pic as soon as I can turn it around - right now it has its backside showing which I painted. Not much to look at right now. Tim...if the time is right, I'll give you a call - it should be early afternoon and shouldn't take that long to do. Appreciate the offer.

Pete....boxes for pump & skimmer...awesome.

Well...It took me about 4 hours to get it unloaded...took my time and made sure everything was ok. The only fish I couldn't find to net was my orchid dottyback. Sure hope she was hiding in the rocks. I'd hate to lose her.

[::pete::]

Well...It took me about 4 hours to get it unloaded...took my time and made sure everything was ok. The only fish I couldn't find to net was my orchid dottyback. Sure hope she was hiding in the rocks. I'd hate to lose her.

$hrs isnt bad at all ... the fish is probably in a rock.

[Sherri]

In fact....just saw the dottyback....she's fine! :)

[captexas]

If I didn't have to go out to Bastrop tomorrow for a very long days work, I'd come help. Love to see the new tank and how you have it plumbed.

[Sherri]

Chris....both the 100 gal & the 50 gal tub are working great. We put a bulkhead screen on the 100 gal so it wouldn't suck any fish into it....will be sending it back with the tub as you'll need it also when you change over. Really appreciate you lending them...they're perfect. You'll have to come over when we've got it running so you can see it....

[NaCl_H2O]

Looking good Sherri! Looks like Gilbert is getting some PVC experience :)

Note on those Bulkheads: Some of them are mounted with the flat piece to the outside & threads inside. If you can, turn them around. The flat part has the washer which gives you the water tight seal (on the inside), and if you keep the threaded end outside, it is easier to tighten it a little more if you have a small leak. I put a small bead of silicone on top of the washer (up against the threads) before I put thrugh the hole. Hand tighten the nut, then add 1/4 to 1/2 turn with a wrench. If the washer starts "Squeezing" out - it is too tight.

[Sherri]

Steve...LOL - Home Depot now knows Gilbert personally. With what we will have left over, we could prob plumb another tank....too funny. We are going with the spa flex hose...glad about that. Will let him know about the bulkheads...thanks.

[NaCl_H2O]

Steve...LOL - Home Depot now knows Gilbert personally.

lol - but, does he know which specialty PVC pieces are carried by Home Depot, which ones are carried by Lowe's, and does he make regular trips to both in one outing :) ... and, has he found the isle with the MPT/Barbed fittings yet ;)

[Sherri]

LOL - Yes to all the above. He goes from Home Depot to Lowe's...same trip - one outing. And he has found the barbed fittings...too funny. It would be funny to check out each other's "spare" PVC pieces! :roll

[Sherri]

OK...I just found a HUGE worm at the bottom of my old sand bed....Is this guy worth keeping??? He's about 14-16" long....YUK! And I touched him! :sick

[don-n-sa]

OK...I just found a HUGE worm at the bottom of my old sand bed....Is this guy worth keeping??? He's about 14-16" long....YUK! And I touched him! :sick

If you decide to get rid of him I will take him.

[Sherri]

But does that mean he is a good worm or what?

[Sherri]

Don, he's yours if you want him. How soon can you do it? How about a small crab to go with him? lol

[don-n-sa]

Sherri,
It should be very benificial, but I heard that some of the larger ones can be a pain.

PM sent

[::pete::]

Well ... how did the setup go?!?

[demodiki]

The idea of a huge worm kinda makes my stomach do loops.

[Sherri]

Well ... how did the setup go?!?

Pete...the sump/fuge fit right in - excited about seeing it in action! Thank you. Thank you.

Well, it's in place...new sand is being cleaned & added...plumbing is pretty much done except for testing for leaks which we'll do as soon as Gilbert gets home. Of course, the plumbing plans changed "a bit" as we went along...sound familiar??

If all goes well as far as leaks...we'll be starting plans to get everything switched over in the next day or so...my babies are doing great in the temp tank & so are the corals from what I can tell. Steve....you would be proud! The MAAST Cart performed grand! :) It was actually a bit higher than the tank stand, so it was a bit easier to lift "down" onto the tank stand.

It's looks awesome sitting where it's gonna stay - it has had its' back turned to us since we got it - so it hasn't been much to see since I painted the back. Will post some pics here in a bit.

BTW....thought this was supposed to be "fun." Oh...right...that's afterwards!

The "worm" :sick is now with don-n-sa...This guy was BIG. Last scoop of bed & he comes popping out & I go popping across the whole house.

Will update.

[::pete::]

Well ... how did the setup go?!?

Is that good ... :huh

[don-n-sa]

Is that good ... :huh

LMAO...I dont think Sherri got much sleep last night...I stopped by at 11:00 and they were still up doing the plumbing...they wer so close that they probably pulled an all nighter to finish it up. :zzz

[Sherri]

OK OK....I hit the submit button - trigger effect I guess...or exhaustion?

[::pete::]

Glad to hear all went well and it seems that the hard part is over!

[Sherri]

Here are a few pics...

[blueboy]

lookin' good!! nice sump/fuge

[::pete::]

Its looking good!!

I guess the little stands worked out ok.

[mathias]

why is it called a brick?

[don-n-sa]

why is it called a brick?

It has no center bracing...completely open on the top. extra thick glass is used to compensate the lack of bracing. Very nice!!!

[Sherri]

why is it called a brick?

All of the glass is 3/4" thick. Heavy Heavy I like that the outside edges are beveled glass also.

Love that fact that it is totally open on top - no center brace to deal with - hated that avout my 100...couldn't do much underneath it. Hard to work around.

Pete...the stands worked out great! :)

[CD]

WOW Sherri - that looks fantastic!!! :w00t

Wendy

[JimD]

Here are a few pics...

Man, Sherri, that tank is SSSSSWEEEEEEET!!!! Making me think about getting one myself! Did the stand come with it or did, umm,,, someone local build it? You done good!!!

[NaCl_H2O]

That is AWESOME ^_^ ^_^

That's gonna be sooooo sweet, you are gonna feel tlike you have the whole ocean in your living room!

Nice clean mechanical work - Gilbert done good :) :)

... makes me want to start another tank :unsure

[::pete::]

... makes me want to start another tank

You just did ... lol with purty decorations too!!! :lol

[NaCl_H2O]

You just did ... lol with purty decorations too!!! :lol

I was thinking a little bigger, and not so "purty"

guess I'll just need to admire Sherri's, Yours, Dans, and ... I think my square footage allotment has been exceeded!

[::pete::]

Can you say addition!!

[z28pwr]

Wow Sherri, that looks like a really nice install, can't wait to see more pictures.

[Sherri]

lookin' good!! nice sump/fuge

A "Pete" special... :)

Thanks everybody....we're pretty excited...

[Sherri]

--- :blink Is there really light at the end of the tunnel??? Had trouble with one leaking bulkhead (to the sump). Hopefully we got it...

[Sherri]

Well...it's done. I am really pleased with the aquascaping. (so far- we'll see tomorrow :shades ) Both corals & fish seemed to have made the transfer OK... Of course, will keep an eye on them for a bit. Especially the Regal Tang.

On the fuge...is it wise to transfer old to new? Bed also? Never had to deal with breaking down the fuge. Any suggs?

BTW...FOR SALE: A whole box of assorted PVC pieces - elbows, T's, connectors...etc. Will trade for frag. HAHAHA But of course, I'm sure you all have a box of your own, so we will keep them for another project....another day...... :skeezy :P

Pics will follow... :pics

[Sherri]

Was too late to get a closeup..will get one tomorrow while corals are open.

ROFLMAO...Pete may have some competition on canopies. Gilbert rigged this setup with the MH's while we wait for Pete to build our canopy. Reminds me of Steve's MAAST Cart. :lol Very sturdy...but ugly.

The pic doesn't do the tank justice...not close enough - so will get better ones tomorrow...as lights are out now.

[z28pwr]

Starting to look good Sherri.

PS: Are you sure that's a canopy and not an engine lift :D

[Andrew]

Lookin good. Are those the ocean light DE fixtures?

[NaCl_H2O]

Nice to be "done", huh? Looking good! :D

... Wait a minute, she just called my Cart "Ugly" :o

[::pete::]

Sherri
The tank is looking great!! I hope you dont want the canopy that tall .. :D

[captexas]

Sherri - The new tank is looking good. I like the improvised lighting rig, looks like you really have Gilbert into it now! :)

[demodiki]

Looks like you could throw a chain over the canopy and lower something really BIG into it.

[Triggerman]

looking good sherri...so did you have any casualties during the upgrade???

[Sherri]

Lookin good. Are those the ocean light DE fixtures?

These are 20K Aqualine 250W ea.

Ray...NO casualties at all....not even a coral. I really took extra care in breaking down the 100. The Regal Tang is doing just fine...No ich or anything. In fact, she's quite happy swimming long lengths across the 180. It was getting crowded in the 100.

Steve....Did I call the Cart "ugly?" Must have been a mistype. It's a beautiful cart with history. That temp canopy is just as strong as that cart tho!

I'm in love with this 180... :wub It's a perfect size for me & I love the 3/4" glass. Got home too late to take some closeup pics...will do tomorrow for sure.

Never did like the fuge I had on the 100...so I redid the 180 with live sand & some of the stuff I had in the other. Happy with it.

[Sherri]

Thought I'd post a few new pics...have been waiting on the canopy & for some of my softies to open up - they're shy with the MH's right now. Just wanted to thank Pete for doing an outstanding job on both the sump/fuge and the canopy! We are very pleased & mucho happy! :wub More pics will follow as the softies open up...and yes...I need more rock - which by the way, some is already curing as I speak...

The Ph probe we bought in the group order is working just fine...the cooling fans in the canopy have decreased the temperature from 82 during the day to 79. Things are moving right along...couldn't be more pleased with the outcome. :)

[Sherri]

Here is the finished deal....

[mathias]

man thats nice....

[NaCl_H2O]

**** that came out nice :D

Great looking brick!

[::pete::]

Sherri

It all looks good!! Thank You and Gilbert (our new reefer) for being patient!! Its going to be a sweet tank! ;)

[GaryP]

I'm in love with this 180... :wub It's a perfect size for me & I love the 3/4" glass.

You're welcome! :)

[z28pwr]

Looks good Sherri.

[Sherri]

Naso Tang on order...6 Line Wrasse to follow after that (or vice versa)....new flower anemone...new Derasa clam (purty purty)....new rock curing.... 2 SPS colonies coming....3 SPS frags waiting to be glued....YeeHaw! It's nice to play again. Especially with the MH's now.

Thanks everybody. Really glad we went with the Brick. Love the open top with no brace.Really easy to work in.

[NaCl_H2O]

Sounds like you got it bad :)

Don't forget the new $1,000 digital camera ;)

Where are you getting the Derasa clam? How big is it? (How much :cry ?)

[CD]

Very nice Sherri.

You guys got that done pretty darn quick.
Of course with a leaky tank, you didn't have much choice.
If we had a leaky tank, we might be somewhere close to completion.
It's going to take us awhile. :(
Looks beautiful- congrats!

Chris

[Sherri]

Yes, I have it bad...and I have more room! We already have 3 digitals... :innocent and the Derasa is about 3.5"-4" - got it at Fin Addict last Tuesday - Felipe got in a large order of clams. Paid $35 I think...not bad...plus MAAST discount. :shades Gilbert took a closeup of it, but isn't home. I'll post it when he gets back. It's nice...sitting next to my Vietnamese Teardrop Clam. I want a Maxima now. I had one sitting high on my rocks (due to VHO) for about a year and a half - went on vacation and it fell between the rocks & was dead when I got home. Sis hadn't noticed it had fallen...you couldn't see it. Miss it. It was beautiful...got it from Jim Norris.

[Sherri]

Very nice Sherri.

You guys got that done pretty darn quick.
Of course with a leaky tank, you didn't have much choice.
If we had a leaky tank, we might be somewhere close to completion.
It's going to take us awhile. :(
Looks beautiful- congrats!

Chris

Sara at Fin Addicts lit a fire under Oceanic....usually a Brick takes about 4-6 weeks to get due to it being a custom job. But Oceanic was backlogged on the regular 180's also. Due to our emergency (leak), Sara got them to push the Brick. We had it here in 1 1/2 weeks. It took us approx 3 weeks to finish. Proud of Gilbert & his Plumbing101. He did a great job. Pete too on his sump/fuge & canopy. It all came together beautifully. No losses on corals or fish. An experience like this just makes me more glad to be a part of this great group of people in MAAST. Just glad it's all over tho.

[scuba_steveo]

Just awesome!!!