Novahobbies official 110g rebuild thread

novahobbies

Well-Known Member
Bummer. I cut one of the cabinet doors the other day, thinking I would use some quarter-round to trim it up and leave the side doors without the trim I've been using.
Unfortunately it just looks like a wood plank to me when I look at the picture. So I played in photoshop today to see what the cabinet door would look like if I added the same trim as the rest of the stand.

I think I like it better this way. Which is a PITA, because I already cut the one side down with the assumption that I was going to add 1/2" worth of quarter round on all the sides. In other words...it's an inch short.
So basically useless.
Oh well. I have a decent amount of nice grade 1/4 inch ply left over from the skinning of the stand. Maybe I'll go for some cheap grade 1/2 inch ply (or chip board) and laminate the two together, then veneer the edge with the white birch stripping. I don't relish the idea of spending $35 for a full sheet of cabinet grade ply, and I'd still have to veneer the edge anyway. I could use edge-glued pine project panels, but between you and me the stock that's available at my local places looks like it was cut from the knottiest tree by a cross-eyed lumberjack in the dead of night.
 

novahobbies

Well-Known Member

So last night I got a text from my Aunt saying, "What time is the cookout on Sunday, and what should I bring??"
My response was a very hurriedly-typed "EH?!!?" Seems I missed the memo.

Since we're having guests over, I decided to put the tank up on the stand to get it out of the way. Doesn't hurt that I get to finally see it in a semi-finished form, either!
You can see that I went ahead and cut two new cabinet doors yesterday, and with a little luck I'll get the trim on them after the cookout. But I thought I'd snap a pic of the cat checking out the new high places while she was up there.
 
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siptang

Guest
Wow looking fantabolous buddy.
I serious am envious of you handy people.
 

novahobbies

Well-Known Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by SnakeBlitz33 http:///t/391428/novahobbies-official-110g-rebuild-thread/100#post_3476341
Nice work buddy! Who helped you put it up there?!??!
...Wifey did. She's strong, like Russian peasant woman.
Although I don't think she'd find that to be a flattering comparison. o_O
The cookout yesterday was a TON of fun. It's the first time we'd had a lot of people over, and I had just recently set up the daybed in the doom room, and made that guest room a little less "doomy," to boot...so there was plenty of places for people to scatter, relax, and enjoy company. Had a small grease fire on the tiny 9-burger cooking excuse I call a gas grill...that nobody noticed but me, 'cause they were all too busy watching Pirates Of The Caribbean.
I slept in until noon today, but I still managed to get a little done on the stand. THe cabinet doors are squared up, sanded, and the trim is installed. Therefore....picture time!


I also got SOME of the nail holes filled with putty....might get the rest of the filler putty work applied, dried and sanded before I'm off to Hawaii. I don't see any real need to take the tank off the stand until I've come back. Once I get back I'll apply the birch laminate trim on the exposed plywood edges, then it's final sanding and staining time!
 

novahobbies

Well-Known Member
LOL you're REALLY pushing it...but I appreciate the sentiment.

Now let's get down to brass tacks.....or in our case....down to glass tanks. Sump tanks.
I have a 29g sump that I've used for this aquarium. It's fine, and affords me a nice deep reservoir for a fuge and return pump area. Problem is,I just tested it in this "new" stand, and I can BARELY get my hand in to the sump with the new skin....and I really don't think I can reach the bottom back of the return pump area if I need to clear the pump of debris, etc.
Am I just fooling myself with the notion that a 20g tank would adequately filter this aquarium?? Should I look to enlarge the access hole? I'm worried if I did that, I might screw up the general look of the tank...and I don't think I could fit a 30g long into the area, either. Hmm.....
 

novahobbies

Well-Known Member
Well, I just stuck my arm in there with the 29g sump in place. I can fit....but barely....with my arm scratching and scraping against the wood. But I CAN reach everywhere I would need to go.
On the other hand, a standard 30g would give me an extra inch and a half clearance....and I can fit a 36.5 inch tank down there. I just can't do a breeder....only have 17 inches of width to play with.
I dunno. Since my hand can fit...albeit painfully...maybe I should just let sleeping dogs lie and save the room for the phosban and/or biopellet reactor....
 
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siptang

Guest
I see a diatom bloom in your immediate future should you take that route lol.
 

novahobbies

Well-Known Member
Heh, we'll see, we'll see. I have some thoughts on that issue that I want to experiment with before I start running my gob. Besides, we're still months away from ANY reactors being set up, so no need to worry about what isn't here.
JUST got back home from Hawaii today. Gads, what a great trip. Spent most of the time in the water, the rest of the time out on the trails. We did a Zodiac trip out to the north shore of Kauai along the Napali coast, hiked a little of the Hanakapiai trail (didn't have time to do more than a couple miles), swam in Tunnels beach, and hiked out to Queens Bath. Spent a lot of time with family in Maui, hiked up Ea valley to swim in the waterfalls, and had some AMAZING snorkeling time at Kapalua bay. I'll post pics up when I get a chance.
We're a little jetlagged from the trip.....it's 2pm Maui time, and I've been up since 7am yesterday morning....and seeing as how I have to work tomorrow, I odbt any sanding or filling is getting done today. I'm just going to sit back, recuperate, and see what transpires this weekend. Hopefully I can get some stand work done.
 
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siptang

Guest
Ahhh Hawaii.... I wanna go there so bad... did you have a good times? Take any cool pictures?
 

novahobbies

Well-Known Member
Yeah, I got a lot of cool pictures, will post them when I can. Right now I'm basically working my shifts, then going home and straight to bed.....still getting used to a 6 hour jump forward (it was much easier to jump 6 hours back, esp. when it was all fun and games!) and an ear infection from all the time in the water combined with the 3 flights it took to get home. Hopefully I can get thru today, then take it easy this weekend and knock the stupid infection out.
On the other hand, I got the rest of the nail heads and small cracks filled with sandable putty last night. Hopefully I can start sanding down and staining the unit piece by piece this weekend. Gonna start small and...shocking...move slowly.
 
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