Help with a rebuild!

kiefers

Active Member
I don't think that what cory was laughing about Rae...... Handy bwhahahahahaaaaaaa
On another note, Come on over and start helping me with my projects! I have power tools too, and steak, and beer, tequilla, a pool, and ........................
Lol!
 

rlablan

Active Member
Haha kief... You lost me at tequila and beer.
It's all about the scotch. And while I do love a good New York strip... I prefer Danish lol
 

rlablan

Active Member
I need help with this paint!!!
Alright... I know this is hard to imagine... But I am gonna ask anyone who is on to chime in on this and help me out.
I have decided that my kitchen is going steampunk "lite" for it's motif. It'll basically be tradtional color palette full of dark metals, vintage things and whimsical touches.
That being said, steampunk stuff usually ends up being very heavy both physically and to the eye.
I wanted to brighten up the kitchen space with something "antiqued" looking but also bright.
I also wanted to use the accent color yellow to play up all the copper and brass metals, also to play on the oxidized rusty orange/yellow in the slate tile that I have just installed (and is across the room).
I bought this color and I thought I hated it. I put it up with the intention of muting it WAY down with lots of brown patina glaze and also possibly a copper that I have.
I SERIOUSLY want to know... do we hate it? Part of me is really starting to like it and I think if I just faux paint the crap out of it, I'm gonna love it. But before I put in all of the work... Does anyone have any thoughts? Do we think it'll look really cool? Or does it hit you in the face too much?
Just a side note. The island counter is going absolute black granite, the island underneath is going to be DARK brown cabinetry. The white doors you see are the pantry and they are going dark brown just like the cabinetry. There will be a DARK pot rack over the island and an oil rubbed bronze pendant over the island. The floors are light but there are going to be a medium would, like a more brown cherry. The appliances will be black. My thought is that something kinda bright with depth would be great in this (going to be) very dark space.
Any thoughts are welcome and I am nearly begging for them :)
 

rlablan

Active Member
So here is the newly installed slate "pillar" (getting dark grey grout today)
This is the part that I have glazed already and may glaze a little more. The brighter parts are just the paint as it is.
Here is a shot of the slate with the yellow next to it. The doors and trim of door with be a dark brown like the cabinets (the cabinets are not done yet, all pine will be hidden.)
What do you think?
 

kiefers

Active Member
Oh wow...... not to sure of what to think the Rae. Hmmmmm
I can see where it would blend in a little with the slate to the right but the floors not so much. It is rather heavy on the eyes for sure, not ganna lie to you
I see where you wanted it to bounce off the other colors and blend in. But how did you come up with "stampunk"? Can't believe it's actually a color Lol....
Hard to say without a FRS.
I do like the texture though...... very appealing. Now if you will excuse me, I have sick crals that need the once a day dipping and a now whay looks like a one eyed multicolored angel needing to be hand fed. Then finish repairing my washer and dryer before the lady buys a new set (1200.00 bucks! Oh hell to the no!!)
She told me "well, just let me know when your done destroying the old ones so I can order the new." Now it's a challenge!!! Go figure, workd 1o hours and now coming home for man chores, wow.
 

rlablan

Active Member
Bummer man. I guess either it's man chores or you're out 1200.00 bucks. That is an easy choice, if you know how to fix laundry equipment.
So I blended the paint and added more faux texture. It's more brown now and we like it a lot more.
The color is not called "steampunk"... Steampunk is the theme... It's the marriage of old and new, vintage science fiction meets futuristic technology...
I don't remember the color name... I think it's Pencil?
Anyway, I have finished the wall and once we redo the rest of the kitchen, If I'm not crazy about it, I'll just have to repaint. I am not sure what I think. I think it's just a little too bold.
Thanks for the honesty.
Here is what I am left with. Tomorrow, I will darken the doors to match the cabinetry.
 

kiefers

Active Member
oh..... okay, now THAT looks pretty nice, wild, but nice! It would take me personally awhile to get used to that. Over all it looks cool! Impressed!
 

rlablan

Active Member
Thanks. I think I may give it just a little more brown... tone it down a couple more notches. I think it will be nice once I get all of the dark cabinetry, floors, doors and appliances surrounding it.
 

kiefers

Active Member
true true....... looks good chica.
Now, get your butt up here and start on mine, I will even clean up after you Lol....
 

kiefers

Active Member
okay fine.
Gatta go try anf find these darned parts for my washer and dryer. Washer needs a new shock absorber and the dryer needs a new heating element. Soon, very soon I hope to be able claim victory!
Now for the tank..... OMG
I just need to run away and go surfing!! Need some musa!
 

rlablan

Active Member
Yesterday I was mounting a bunch of particularly pissed off pieces of Kenya tree coral that had just shipped from OK. They had been in their bags of water, which were brown and smelly by the time they arrived. I unpacked all the little pieces, dipped them in revive and washed them with RO water. I mounted the pieces in clusters on frag plugs with super glue, cured them and then put them on an egg crate screen in the 150 DT so that they could heal up and do their thing.
Seems simple enough, right?
As most of you know, I have been going through a little kitchen project at home. I have recently given myself a few minor cuts... like paper cuts really. And then I have grouted so much lately, my hands are a little chapped and a bit raw from all the sanded grout, the hand washing, the general overuse of my paws...
Well, today I was doing nothing interesting or intensive... just filling in a little of the grout on the slate "pillar" and I became VERY short of breath. Some of my joints started to hurt and I felt really dizzy. Then the fever came on... I felt nauseous and a sudden need to sit down.
I had a touch of food poisoning on monday evening/tuesday AM... By last night I was feeling fine... no problems. This AM I had my coffee, figured I would take it easy for the day, hang out... did this little bit of grouting... and BAM!
I am on my couch now, trying to relax and breathe. If I am sitting/lay, no big deal. The minute I stand up or walk around... I have issues. I dunno if it's directly related to the coral but after looking a few things up today... I have realized that ALL soft corals carry neurotoxins... symptoms can include shortness of breath, joint pain, fever, chills... dizziness, headaches, rash, infections... lots of other stuff... ugh.
I can say maybe this is a combination of the corals/food poisoning. I know it's not just the food poisoning. I am REALLY short of breath and I do not have asthma or anything like that... As well as my jaw hurts and feels achey. Odd.
Lets all just agree to wear gloves from now on... especially when we are mounting like 2 lbs of kenya tree frags to plugs...

Hope everybody else is doing well! :) Have a great day!
 

gemmy

Active Member
OH WOW!!! Feel better soon!!
BTW, I am so sorry for not getting you the frag club info. How far from Tempe are you?
 

meowzer

Moderator
OH RAE......I am soooo sorry....I literally rip this stuff out never wearing anything EEK.....
I hope you feel better....I hate to think anything I sent you may have made you sick :(
 

rlablan

Active Member
Hahaha no worries Meowzer... I'm not dying. lol it's just uncomfortable. I have played in my tank a zillion times and never had an issue. I frag a lot too. I don't think it was your fault. I was thinking that perhaps the corals were in the bag over night and had released the toxins or something while they were being shipped, so maybe they were just super potent? They are pretty shriveled so I am thinking that they just expelled everything they had in em.
I just ate some dinner and have had lots of water and am sitting so I feel a lot better.
I was more just posting that to add to the thread and to let others know what I had researched. I never knew that coral toxicity could such a big deal. Apparently, it can really injure some.
I also think I would have been fine if it was not for all of the fine abrasion all over my hands. :)
I seriously would not be worried but just watch out for those in the future. I would hate for you to get all light headed

Thanks for the well wishes guys! I am glad that I didn't get the rashes and stuff too. Mostly just the shortness of breath and the dizziness. I think that the shortness of breath is also getting a little better... If I am up too much, the dizziness still gets me a little.
 

rlablan

Active Member
Gemmy- Thanks for the info. That would be really cool if that reef club is close!
Thanks for the info! I am pretty close to tempe. Most of our LFSs are in tempe so... Hopefully I will be able to make it to a meeting.
 

rlablan

Active Member
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

This is TOO funny!!!! Gemmy!!! You're killing me!! LMAO!!!
Okay so... years back when we started this hobby, we had a store called Arizona Sea Bottom that we LOVED. We bought our first tanks from them... We spent all of our money there. Bought EVERYTHING from there. We were hooked on the hobby and were literally at this store every other day buying new lights, skimmers, whatever they told us to buy and we never questioned the price. No joke. We got to be pretty close with the guy running it, who led us to believe he was the owner. Then this happened:
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Arizona Seabottom

Category: Pet Stores
Bought broken equipment from this store about a month ago, brought it back the same day (tried to take it home twice and set it up, it didn't work properly) multiple times and the manager, Carlos, said that he couldn't do anything about it because it was "a bad time for the store, since some guy ordered tons of equipment and never paid for it." I had to keep my equipment that didn't work and sell it on Craigslist, and I could only get half of what I paid for it!!! That manager wouldn't even exchange it! we even asked for a store credit! He said no!
I went home and filed a complaint with the BBB and I told them exactly what happened.
Today, at about 3 in the afternoon, the manager, Carlos, called my HOME TELEPHONE and yelled and cursed at me! He said that I made the situation up, that I was a liar!! He cursed at me, and told me to "never come in my fucking store again!"
Since I reported him, I found two new shops that are much better than AZ sea bottom and also cheaper! they answer my questions, give good deals and don't call my home and use profanity.
I don't understand how any business person can get away with that? They had my number in their computer, along with my address and full name, and they used it to call me and harass me.
This store doesn't deserve 1 star, your business, or your money.
Go to Aquarium arts or About the reef. Their staff is more knowledgeable, prices are better, and they aren't jerks!
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The equipment I was talking about in my yelp.com review was a 1/10th HP JBJ arctica chiller
I got my mom into the hobby shortly after this incident and she started going to the store... he came to do some work on her tank for her... totally screwed up the whole thing. He drilled right through the bottom of her tank AND stand... then said he would replace it and did... with a totally breaking and bowing acrylic tank.
After all of this, we never went back to his shop and the real owner closed the place down. About a year goes by and a new LFS in the valley opens. All the local reefers are flocking to it and who should be working there but this ^^ guy from the above yelp review. Once we saw him, we never went back to that store again. Well like 6 mos in to them being open, I HAD to go to that particular LFS for something only they had.
I went and asked while checking out if carlos still worked there. They made a terrible face and told me in not so many words that he no longer worked there and they seemed pretty happy about that.
Well, I have heard from all the LFSs that we are friends with that he is super shady (As I know first hand) and that he opened that little cracker box of a store (called the Aquarius) to start a pissing contest with his former employer. From what I hear and have seen, his store is REALLY small and super crappy. It's a bunch of cement mixing barrels that he keeps the fish in... and like rubber maid tubs? He is kind of a joke to the other, real, LFSs here in AZ. Everyone knows him... he is kind of the butt of all the jokes here just because he is kind of an ar-tard, not to mention a royal jerk.
Guess I won't be going to those meetings. hehehehe
Thanks anyways though. I appreciate you following back up. haha How could you have known?
 
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