Saltn00b's Multi-Phase Upgrade Diary!

saltn00b

Active Member
with the top of the tank off, mid morning, and the windows behind the tank wide open and unobstructed, an interesting phenomenon occured - a naturally sun-lit tank! it was pretty cool to see, and we snapped a few shots of the fish and corals enjoying a nice treat.


 

saltn00b

Active Member
we had to shave off 1/4" off the new structure on both sides. the cutters were too un even, and caused some warping that close to the edge. we hooked up the table saw again with the same fine tooth blade we used for the acrylic in the refuge. it worked like a charm!
so step 4)
glue 1/2's of the union valves on




step 5)
slide in the new structure and lock it down!
we had a few leaks with bulkheads, but they had just gotten a little loose with the work. we tightened them down and all is well so far.


VOILA!

also : my 55 LBS of new LR had been cured by this time, so once the endcaps were removed and the strainers replaced, i was able to put in my new LR! pics to come of the new aquascaping.
 

wangotango

Active Member
you're going to love the aquactinics fixture. i order about a month after the price increase, my fixture was $290 direct, now its like $350! im not sure if i truely understand the bulb position question (im just getting off of a 1 week vacation). i would put all the actinics on one switch, then blend the others however you like.
-Justin
 

isistius

Active Member
nice post mike-
unfortunately, the pictures don't take into account all of the time we spent. hahaha..... it's worth it tho.
maybe your lights will be in today?????
 

saltn00b

Active Member
yea the one guy scott at aquactinics is helpful on the phone, but a bit of a slacker with emails. i still havent gotten a UPS tracking number. if it went out wednesday as it should have, i am thinking it should be there today! (but to be fair to them, i did a special UPS request using a business account, so it was not their regular operation)
Reef - i plan on adding a PVC reducing Wye after the Ball valve, and before the pump. the wye split off will come throught the top of the tank and act as a drain for easy water changes. this should clean out the sediment no problem. any remaining goop will get blown back into the tank when the pump is installed, and it will eventually dissappear.
thanks for the input wango - post #117 represents my current final bulb plan, which follows your advice.
 

reefkprz

Active Member
I meant the cleaner residue so it doesnt contaminate your water, I would reccomend flushing the pipes, so any chemichal residue doesnt leach into the tank water (I dont know if you considered that or not)
 

saltn00b

Active Member
no i did not. i was under the impression that the chemical reaction between the primer, the glue and the PVC, heats the PVC up so it joins on a molecular level. anything not inside the actual joint will become just plastic or evaporate. when you leave the glues out , they dry and evaporate quickly.
 

reefkprz

Active Member
true for the most part but I beleive if you read the bottles the directions should tell you to run pipes used for drinking water for several minutes to flush out any residue before drinking. I could be wrong its been a while since I used PVC glue but I know as of a year ago the bottles said that.
 

saltn00b

Active Member
well i did rinse the inside out the inside with a garden hose for a little bit, i suppose i can always disconnect the structure again by the Union valves in place. but its not really worth it to move the rock and cap the bulkheads etc etc etc. the water is already connected to the DT...
 

reefkprz

Active Member
the project is really looking good by the way. looks like it was a lot of fun working through the window......
 

saltn00b

Active Member
lol thanks! im just amazed of the luck that it was on a window. if we werent able to get in there from the window, and use the cutters, everything would have been put on hold until i could muster up 6 guys to help us slide the tank out , if that would even have been possible.
lesson learned: if you are gonna build around an item that you don't own , than make sure you have the facts straight about it!
 

isistius

Active Member
Originally Posted by saltn00b
lesson learned: if you are gonna build around an item that you don't own , than make sure you have the facts straight about it!
HERE HERE!!!
 

saltn00b

Active Member
yea i spoke to Scott again. aparantly, they did not have the reflectors installed, so they had to wait for aquactinics to forge them. its being shipped tomorrow. they apologized to me.
 

saltn00b

Active Member
:jumping: :cheer: :jumping:
:jumping: :cheer: :jumping:

allright, so this weekend i will be planning out and building the new canopy!
recent additions / changes:
- i have taken the heater out of the back overflow column and put it in the sump for easy access.
- i have added a digital thermometer :)
 

saltn00b

Active Member
hey thanks theappe!
i got my replacement macro last night from a local guy i have traded with before. he hooked it up! i got cheato or some variation of it, enough to fill a family size wanton soup take home container (literally, thats how i took it home HA). also a a couple of different algaes as well, some sea-weed like, some red, some tan, as well as a local south floridian gorgonian he collected recently diving. thanks jamie!
 
Top