My 75G starfire display refugium feeding by gravity my 150G starfire reef tank build up

[basile]

Intrusion

Thank you , guess who i found spoiling my sand this morning.......what punishment should i inflic do you think. Bare in mind these guys already got castrated lol. Are they intitle to some mistchivism?????

 

[basile]

Well the fuge is almost ready, the back plumbing has to be done. The main reef tank can't be done until the sump is put into place and for that we have to move the heavy 150G and i need at least 4 other guys, thats going to be next wekend. More over, the system won't be started until my air-exchanger unit is installed thats mid dec so yes mid dec about. The reason is the humidity level will rise and warm humidity on my cold winter windows will freeze on contact and my window frames will collect ice. Very bad for the integrity of the structure of the building. Hence the wait so sorry guys . But mid nov about in the mean time i'm continuying on other stuff.

 

[basile]

Cat on the prowl

Look at the picture, and envision a pair of Maspect Razors LED lights side by side and hanging there on top of that tank. Now i don't know if you've seen the Razor's profile but they're shaped like a nice walkway , and perfect for the cats to climb on unfortunatly. So i plan to hook from the ceilling , the same as the LED lights, a panel of plexiglas the lenght of the tank coming down behind the tank and cutting off access to the tank, so my feline friends don't hop on my warm LED's and plunge them into the water.

By the way while i was writing this one of them was talking, yes you know, the way they are in the morning lol. Anyway all innocent and climbing slowly up and acting all innocent and looking around and walking back and forth , pacing, if i hadn't been there , i know where he'd been going, lol and as soon as i leave i'll be going in , they're so deliberate, and anyone saying they're not intelligent are crazy, they choose their timing and act so innocently before ...grrr we love them so much don't we, i do.

 

[basile]

Doom and gloom

Well , i've taken the trim off the sump.I shaved the silicone off the sump following the edge of the glass and taken mesurements; here's the mesurements i get so far;(all in inches)


The top of the sump; 19 7/8
Bottom of the sump; 20 1/16
Legs of the stand, bottom 19 15/16
Legs of the stand, middle 20
Legs of the stand top 20
Inside the stand 20 1/16


We are making the last attempt tonight.


You asked me if it will fit i d o n o t k no w snif :sweat::sweat:

 

[tjgr34]

Cool build! The cats are going to love watching things swim around in the tanks. I may have missed this in an earlier post, but where did you get the ceramic background pieces?

 

[basile]

Cool build! The cats are going to love watching things swim around in the tanks. I may have missed this in an earlier post, but where did you get the ceramic background pieces?

They come from Germany , but bought from a closing shop in Toronto. Usually $17.00 to $19 .00/Lb i got them at $3.00 /Lb got 197Lb a real steal.They're 30% more porous than live rock and its specialy made for aquariums so they don't leach.

 

[Vwtbug]

This tank is all that I love cat the cat walk so cool there going to love it

 

[kacrocorals581]

How did the 65 blow out exactly?

 

[basile]

This tank is all that I love cat the cat walk so cool there going to love it

Thanks; originally the cats walk was on one wall for them to have fun and play , thats their playroom as well and the thank system was on the other wall with all the tanks on top of each other like so but the floor couldn't take it after a floor surver, by engineers that i contracted i view of my first blowout incident. and subscequent damages i didn't want to cause unnecessary risk to the other condo members. It's also why al ot of my choice in equipment came to play. The Maxspect Razor for instance is due to the fact that beween the tanks i didn't have much space, so their sleak nature was appreciated, the fact that they defuse the heat better than most was also important since they were going to be trapped between two tanks, i didn't want the top fuge to overheat, the fact that the tanks were 2inch was because that's the maximum i could have in the height of the whole trio system. and so on . So many of the equipment and decision still reflect the original plans because most of the stuff was bought during that phase of the project. Befor it had to be change. I actually gain in the change of plan, the 75g reef became a 150 reef .

How did the 65 blow out exactly?

That is still a mistery i wasn't there when it happened i was away for 4 months i was still sailing at that time thats why i stopped after that incident ; but i suspect the stand, thats why these are steel now good old powder coated 2 inch steel , they'll outlast me, lol.

 

[basile]

Its a missed sump

We tried and its a missed sump. It doesn't fit between the legs and even if it did their's not room for a hair to move between the bottom braces for the sump. Concept told me they hadn't tried the sump under the stand before shipping it. OOPs not a good move. We tried removing the trim but ultimatly its no go. They said they'd build me another one if that solution didn't work, which i'm greatfull.After all sending the sump and the stand without seing if it fits, is kina strange.

 

[basile]

My Razors

If the weekend was disapointing it was still productive. I managed to installed some of my Maspect Razors light system, one was missing its hanging kit , which i'm going to claim at the store who sold it to me. It was a chore because living in a building with cement slabs 8 inches thick .....I had to drill that concrete! Those tanks will never go anywhere and certainly not those lights.

The hooks are good for 67 lb, the razors are 5.5 lb, i'm good.

When i chose the razors , it was suppose to be between two tanks; one on top of each other, the shape of the Razors made perfect sense at that time. The other factors were; at the time of the conception of the tanks, i had chosen a light to be just right for the dept of the tanks, 21". The Razor's PAR was perfect for that, plus , since it was suppose to be between two tanks i didn't want the heat to overheat the top tank above. Again the wing shape and design of the Razors proved to be perfect for it, even its operation, the fans only working when it becomes too hot made sense, still do. Yes they're still my choice even after the changes in the layout of my system; Razors Rule!!!!

I'm leaving the wall blank, to me it makes the room bigger and symbolises vastnest and makes the effect really interesting in the room

 

[basile]

Tylenol Day


Well i woke up this morning with 101o temperature ,a head the size of a blimp,
two purring cats beside me and not much focus in my eyes. I greeded winter with both nostrills. Its now noon i got up to take my food for the day; it comes in a shape of two round white pellets with a funny desing on it. An orange juice that taste like crap and hurts my throat when i swallow. I have the same expression when i make my income taxes . I just had a phone call, its was as if a train was comming into my room. As soon as i explain that i had the flu , the person at the other end start telling what she does when she has the flu. Why is that? Why do people feel the need to tell other people how they deal with their flu symptoms they had last year while i'm the one having it right now, is a mystery to me. Whining, i'm a man , we whine when we have the flu, women talk about their hair and dress and don't shut up about it until we say something we whine about are flu, we each have are fixation , lol. In any case i'm going back to bed with my silent partners who's only sound is purr, soft kitty, soft kitty, little ball of fur, happy kitty, sleepy kitty purr purr purr. If you have no idea punch Big Bang theory; soft kitty.

 

[basile]

caught in the act!

Ah HA ! Caught in the act this morning , laying on the beach......when he saw me he new he was in trouble he started to cry, the kind that make your blood ice cold, he was scared, so i went easy on him he was so scared he didn't want to come down from behind the tank, i found out later that Lulu was also there hiding terrified, lol so i took them down gently this time. They know when i'm not happy. I don't talk very loud only when angry and they know the difference.
I was quick with the cam yes lol. Don't know how i managed that,lol.

This morning feeling a bit better i took the ceramic panels that will be behind the primary sculpture out of the reef tank and cleaned up the space.

Now the inside of the tank whith is 22 5/8 , see the tape.....Remember when i said to wait to have your tank before making a sculpture , because it helps with the scale of your piece. I didn't have my tank when i started and this is the result. The sculpture is actually too big for my tank. Its still usable but it wont have the effect i was counting on or that it should have if it was in a ; let say a 30 wide tank. I have to stick it close to the backwall for it to fit because of the foward arm, from which the stalactite will drop.

As you can see the space between the sculpture and the backwall is very narrow, so much so i had to chizel some piece of the wall off. So i can lower down the sculpture without a hitch. Its a very snug fit.

I'm not sure about the waterflow of the tank anymore, because of those tight spots. In the original plan 2 tunze 6095 was enough but now , it may require a third we'll see.

The forward shelves creating the arm and support for the stalactite , takes a lot of room and pushes the main body againts the wall, literaly, lol. It'll make a cool display when finished but some of the details will be lost because of the scale i used. so when you start your piece make sure you have your tank very important. I'll make my stalactite when the water is in the tank . This is for several reasons.

The pieces i took out off the wall;

My 2 pieces of plexiglass to support the sculpture should spread the load evenly over the entire area. The dam silicone; they sell that for aquarium tanks, white? Never paid attention when i bought it. Why white? For aquariums, can anybody tell me where in the world did you ever see white silicone in a tank? rant over...

Putting the ceramic panels on top of the plexiglass at precise markings, because the sculpture is 3 feet long and a few inches seperates it from the other set of sculpture, the Tonga Branch sculptures....

 

[basile]

Actually i'll be hanging a plexiglass from the ceiling , behind the overflow, effectively cutting off access to the tank. I just haven't around to it yet. Got my hanging kit, just want to wait i've finished all the plumbing . It wont be in the way, i'll still have access to the tank and overflow but not the cats lol. They'll be trapped behind and on their stairscase, lol.

The plexiglass will drop to the edge of the top of the overflow

They actually didn't do anything in the sand ....yet, lol

 

[basile]

Concept Aquarium from Calgary

Concept Aquariums are building me a brand new Sump free of charge and sending it first thing next week, priority one, no charge for their mistake, they hadn't tried it under the stand before shipping it, and it didn't fit. Its going to be in two pieces so easier to install front loader no more moving that big 150G to fit it in . They're doing the new plans this weekend, building it and i should have it next week. Great service. So now i have a sump to sell; 48"X20"X16" . The new sump will have one piece of 32"X19"X16" and the other 10"X19"X16" .


The old one, or should i say the one that doesn't fit

 

[basile]

Sculptures are in

Well my sculptures are in the tank, while i'm waiting for my new sump. Since Concept has built me a new one and shipping it this week it should arrive next week. Its in 2 part; part one, drains and skimmer; 32"X19"X16" and the reactors and return module 18"X19"X16" . Both part will be loaded from the from of the stand which will be more practicle actually, if i have to change, sump in the future... Done at no extra cost since they'd build it and not tried it under the stand before sending it, they stood behind their service . Extremely good service with that company.


Well here's my finished sculptures, in the tank and backwalls

One reason i said in my videos about having your tank when you do your sculpture is to have a better sense of scale. Well here's a good example of this. As you can see the piece is stuck to the backwall. The sculpture is actually too big for the tank; still usable but i made it without the tank and could ajust the scale correctly. Because of that its off center, and pushed back. It would be more at home in a 30" wide tank rather tank a 24". I'm still using it and happy about it, but food for thought.

Because i didn't have the tank the height as also been miscalculated. The plexiglass has risen the piece; replacing the 1/2"pvc with 1" pvc as well . So now the sculpture will be partly out of the water . It doesn't compromise its use but changes ; the lighting, the waterflow expectations, and the stalactite position and lenght as a result.

I plan to have little crab climbing outside the water onto those selves, got to find the species that does that lol. Some sargasum can grow near the surface as well.

The stalactite will still look cool there.

The waterflow has to go throught this now eeewweww grrrrrrrr

Two inch of sand will cover the plexiglass and the feet of the support structure. One inch will be clear for water to flow through and under . A cave will be formed with corals positioned around the feet and the structure hiding most of it.

The 2 " sand covering the eggcrates will make these branch rise from the sea floor and stand on their own, one covered with green star polyp, the other with zoas and keeping the shape of the branch will make a stunning effect.

The refugium

 

[basile]

Finally finished the Stalactite and its really cool looking

It made of an eggcrate core, with rubble rocks tied with zip ties, around the eggcrate, foamed between the rocks tied to a nylon rod , sanded with epoxy resin and sand and voila.


I have no word to describe how cool ...just check it out

Lulu was guarding it ....

 

[basile]

Its better to have a thick resin because the sand stick to it much better so a 5min one works best, so don't mess around get going with it.

While i did the foam i sprinkled some crush coral on it , but be carefull on the edges otherwise it'll fall over,that technique is better just on the top of the stalactite .

After the sanding even on top of the crush coral

Always start at the end

My first one same process

I can't wait for the fish to swim around that and the gorgonians and the likes.




:wavey::beer::dance:

 

[basile]

Did the sand bed

Did the sand bed today

I thought the sand bed was too flat but i was told it wouldn't stay flat too long, with critters and waterflow going. And if i add a goby and a pistol shrimp anyway. I still have a few bags of sand if i want to add to it. My heat exchanger is due next week my second sump is not here yet but i'm told i still can put water in for a few days , get the system going it the humidity wont hurt anything. I can't finish the plumbing without the dam sump. I'll get the sump in a few days, then the heat and air exchanger dec 3, what to what to do... my smal fuge is full of bacteria , just have to transfer half the live rock and sand in there and the cycle is started.............decisions decisions

 

[basile]

During the storm i did

During the snowstorm yesterday this was my doing, a bit of this a bit of that. I ended up with my hands full of glue anyway. Talked to the Concept guy my sump should be here next wednesday same day their installing my heat exchange unit.






No its not sewage plumbing, lol its my return line, my whole plumbing is black, i whent for the star Trek Borg look, the stands are black steel and their was no way i could hide any of the plumbing between the two tanks so why not make them part of the decor and go for a them like, so i when for it; The Borg have assimilated my fishroom and cat room. lol. Those are my cat stairs behind, so they can have their excersises.

The return line will have some weight to it so along the way i've braced it at different point, don't worry , its not harming the pipe i have a cushion between the harnest and the pipe.

Those little clamps are great , they hold 57Lb along the route of the line. By the way you see the little black tape between the clamp and the wall? Its a vibration absorbing membrane , to stop any vibration to radiate into the wall and to the rest of the condo.

This is the membrane i was talking about Sorbothane . Absorb 98% of all vibration i also put it into my sump under my pumps and skimmer. Cost $25 a sheet on Ebay. Impervious to oil, detergents water of any kind.

I've put a piece between every clamp or anything that hold a pipe conducting water.

I'll paint those hooks black later on, got to keep the Borg theme going, lol

Yes i want it to hold so i drilled every holes

Funny i found that their was a second resistance when i was drilling, never happened before couldn't understand why......This by the way is set up so i can unhook it and fill bukets, or my QT or other tanks. This is the Refugium feed to the 150G reef.

I got my answer as to why i felt a second resistance while drilling.....this is in my bedroom on the otherside, DAHHHH , HEY if you can't laugh at your self who will, life is too short to miss on that.I'm the first to laugh at you so...lol And when i'm great i'm the first to say so too lol i share my emotions, lol anyway thats easy to repair , i couldn't stop laughing when i closed my bedroom door that night lol.

Back to topic, the spout is directional hopfully it will work, lol. Got to find a way to remove the ink from the pipe.The gate valve gives me complete controle on the flow comming from the refugium. Eventually it'll drop in a 3" pipe that will be decorated with rubbles and foamed , inside will be special sheets of plastic where pods can multiply undisturbed, but a futur project.

Behind the fuge, the cats hallway, in the begining, all the tanks were on the opposite wall and this wall was for the cats exclusively, but the plan changed because the floor couldn't take 3 tanks on one side.

I glued these sucker good , i red that more was better.....If their's a leak i really don't know how to undo this really.... By the way you see now my hight tech early warning system for the cats. I call it the green sphere. Its compose of gree duranium and has at its core a plutonium bell tha gingle when the cats passes through, the sound is so awfull , it travels for light year around.......go a keep in character here lol.

The emergency drain, fuge.

The dripping has been taken care of, lol.

I finally put my toys in, as you can see they fit perfectly, specially the Tunze 6095 in the $20 wavebox, lol . The other 6095 will generate the current while the one in the box will make the wave by emptying the box in succession.

Inside the box, i hade to mesure the pump size on a glass to tell Concept Aquarium exactly how large and wide to accomodate the pump but also the magnets, the size of the hole. They nailed it!!!!

They black out the box, the only thing is either they forgot or they didn't think about it is the front toward the tank lol. but By the way to all the guys who helped me, i know how much more difficult it was to move and carry the tank with this box on the side, because we couldn't get a good grip on the dam thing because of it.