OldSchool 225 build with some new twists.

[OldSchool Reefer]

Juvenile Atlantic blue tangs for sure one of my favorites!

Sunny settled in nicely and within days started turning blue…… they grow up so fast he is still my favorite!

 

[OldSchool Reefer]

Hurricane Elsa is heading this way and there is lots of work to do to get ready. Battery backups tested fine, I have salt on hand but need to make some RO water incase. I have had my Neptune ATK for weeks and never was ready to install it, the sump level kept fluctuating because I kept adjusting the overflows for the perfect level and wasn’t able to to keep them stable. I realized that I was thinking about emergency drain when I didn’t have one, so I trimmed the backup pipes to the level I wanted. It was so simple and the water level in the sump is rock solid. So now it’s tme to get working on the water change station. The 40 gal top off reservoir wouldn’t fit under the cabinet so I had to cut some bracing to squeeze it in so I could make some water. ATO is working like a champ now and the project list shortening! The last bit of plumbing and a few others small projects are dependent on the water change station but that is going to have to wait! Still on the list is some cabinetry and the Dosing pumps. First I need to finish the lighting situation, I’m tired of sliding the light rack back to feed the fish or flip over a suicidal snail

This fixture is big and bulky so the mount will have to be substantial! I bought a long travel Flat screen TV mount that will handle up to a 70” TV and 99lbs so that’s the starting point. There are still some issues to be addressed;
1. The Wall Mount is too tall for the space so I have to move the attachment locations to inside of the arms.
2. The TV Mount needs to be 90° from the original orientation and hinge like a door. This is going to take some though!

Spent some time on the Drafting table and at the drill press, got a good start but this is going to take some time!

 

[OldSchool Reefer]

Finished up the last bits of the Wall Mount this morning. Cut and drilled the arm brackets. Marked center of the tabs, lined everything up and center drilled, pilot drilled through both sides and drove a 3/8th bit home.

Everything lines up but I gotta take 3/8” off one arm.

So cutting the long pivot is a challenge if I had access to a Bridgeport Mill it would be quite simple what I do have is a cutoff wheel a grinder , a belt sander a square, calipers and a file so let’s get to it! Cutting the section of Allthread to hold it all together was simple!

Time to weld it all up and mill out some openings But that will wait until Elsa decides what she is going to do!

 

[OldSchool Reefer]

Hurricane prep means cleaning up the mountain of junk on the back porch to keep it from flying off. Several buckets 3 large totes and some plumbing odds and ends cleaned and put up! I needed an excuse to clean the old ORCA 250 but this wasn’t the one I was looking for Scrubbed down all the parts reassembled and ran with citric acid for a few hours, nowI have to drain rinse and dry before I put it up!

 

[OldSchool Reefer]

Spent a lot of time at the drafting table today waiting for Elsa to show us what she has. The light mount design is finished and tested in VR.

Now we will see if i can actually make the last 2 parts, there is a big difference between what can be drawn and what can be made with hand tools! the hinging parts will prove to be a challenge.

 

[OldSchool Reefer]

I picked up a sweet Green and Purple Acan Lord last week ( I know it’s Micromussa lordhowensis but I’m OldSchool). I had been eyeballing it since it came in but it was way overpriced:mad: so at lunch on Thursday I stopped by the LFS to see what’s new. The owner was in and I asked what his bottom line was for it. Well he also threw in a cooler so it could ride out the day in my hot truck.
Work on the Mangrove tank continues! I ordered some macro and 2 large Red Mangroves from Algebarn. I couldn’t wait for all the seed pods I have collected to grow out. Well for some strange reason they arrived 2 days early I was working and didn’t get home until 8 and had been sitting in the sun for several hours.Well we will see how it works out but they have a fantastic Arive Alive guaranty so I’m not worried!

The Mangroves are huge they reach the bottom of a 16” tank and stick out of the top over8 inches! I am definitely going to need some different lighting than the Radion that is over it now! It’s funny how there is not much reliable information on lighting requirements. The only consensus is intense lighting, at least 60 watts and 6K, well that isn’t good enough! I have been looking at Kessil lights mainly because theiy are known for their punch and glimmer lines but their narrow beams were a weakness that’s exactly what I’m looking for! What I need is a spread of 24” X 24” at 24 inches above this tank! Unfortunately they have decided that they need to up the anti and pack more punch into a wider beam, Jack the price a hundred dollars and if you want to control it it’s another hundred for a WiFI dongle or a spectral controller and $40 for reflector to narrow the beam so we are looking at about $600 in lights for basically a big fuge I have 2 new 250 watt 14k Radion bulbs and Ice Cap ballasts for them, that I could use for nothing and Marine Depot is having a liquidation sale and I can get a Hamilton 10k DE bulb for $20 that I have a fixture for also! I wanted this build to be energy efficient but how much savings will LEDs provide with a $600 starting point? I collected a few dozen more mangrove seed pods and will continue to experiment with sprouting them, who knows I may get a few trades for frags out of the effort or some LFS store credit. I had a MaxiJet 1200 with a Quick filter as a circulation pump but the flow was just too much for the macro. The PomPom was fine but the Red Ogo and lettuce was getting ripped to shreds so I had to remove it.

Still learning the camera thing and can’t seem to get the colors right but here are a few shots I’m not too embarrassed to show.

 

[OldSchool Reefer]

OldSchool winns out again! Sure I could have dropped $600 and hung a Kessil but I have way too much old reliable equipment around to let it go to waist!

I had this old IceCap 250watt DE HQI fixture that was the perfect size and shape for the job but needed a bulb. I had 2 old ugly mogul base Luminux fixtures with new bulbs that I’m not going to use anytime soon. So let’s strip the DE pendant and rebuild with a Mogul base

Mogul base mount needs cutting down a bit but it’s going to fit nicely!

Everything gets a good sanding followed by some high temp primer before paint!

Reassemble it all to make sure it goes back together before I put the rivets in.

Reflectors get added and it’s tested.

Pop the last rivets in the reflectors clean it all up and hang it!

 

[F i s h y]

OldSchool winns out again! Sure I could have dropped $600 and hung a Kessil but I have way too much old reliable equipment around to let it go to waist!

I had this old IceCap 250watt DE HQI fixture that was the perfect size and shap for the job but needed a bulb. I had 2 old ugly mogul base Luminux fixtures with new bulbs that I’m not going to use anytime soon. So let’s strip the DE pendant and rebuild with a Mogul base

Mogul base mount needs cutting down a bit but it’s going to fit nicely!

Everything gets a good sanding followed by some high temp primer before paint!

Reassemble it all to make sure it goes back together before I put the rivets in.

Reflectors get added and it’s tested.

Pop the last rivets in the reflectors clean it all up and hang it!

Fantastic!

 

[OldSchool Reefer]

So I’m in the metal shop getting the last bits for the light mount hoping to get it all welded up this weekend. It was going to take 20 minutes until they could do the cuts, so I’m thinking t he LFS (Frag Freak) is only a block away so I might as well wait there.! I had some questions but The owner was busy and I said don’t worry I didn’t have time either so I said I’ll be back on Saturday. He said sorry I’ll be at the FragFest on Saturday. What? I missed out on Reefapaloza and Aquachilla and there is a local show I’m not going to miss this one too! So I’m trying to figure out what is going on that I haven’t heard of. I hate FB so that may explain a lot!

A Tampa club is holding an event on my side of the bay, I gotta see this! …. I didn’t bring enough cash

There were vendors from as far as Indiana and it was well worth the time! Shout out to Wayne and the crew from RVC for a great event! Here is my meager haul.
Cheezy Corals;
Montipora Spongodes
JF John Deere Leptastrea

Coral Connection;
WWC Toxic Pie Chalice

Beautiful Corals;
Bubblegum Montipora Digitata
24 Karat Leptasera
2Crazy Cyphastrea I don’t even know what to say

Lost Lagoon;
Utter Chaos Zoanthids
Blue Macaw Zoanthids
Wan-N-Watermelon Zoanthids
Some blue variant Forest Fire Rodactis

I’ll just. Have to work harder on Sunday to get some progress on the light mount.

 

[OldSchool Reefer]

Managed to get some metal work done but my buddy that was going to do the welding is in the same boat as I am, the shop is a wreck and you can’t get to anything- I may have to farm this out to a pro! The hinge parts were a bear without a Bridgeport or a Lathe but It’s all there and it only needs some dressing up and welded!

 

[DH78]

I rely on my wife and her Facebook usage to let me know when frag swaps and local shows are happening. She likes going with me and getting to pick out coral without the price shock she usually gets online.

Can't wait to see the mount in action.

 

[OldSchool Reefer]

I rely on my wife and her Facebook usage to let me know when frag swaps and local shows are happening. She likes going with me and getting to pick out coral without the price shock she usually gets online.

Can't wait to see the mount in action.

Neither can I wait to see the mount in action. I’m tired of the lights just sitting on the top of the tank. It’s a pain to slide them back just to feed. I had powder coating lined up but I may have missed the boat for that and don’t think I want to wait a week for that process. But first things first I have to get the welding done!

 

[OldSchool Reefer]

Waiting on the welder so I gotta find other projects to finish. The cabinet doors were never mounted before mainly because I hate that part and the old hinges were rusted needing to be replaced or restored. The shutters took an odd size hinge to accommodate the weight so box stores were out and specialty hinges let alone in brass are outrageously priced I’ve watched countless YT videos of guys restoring all kinds of old rusty stuff and they seem to all do several days of vinegar soak and a good scrubbing, I always thought this was a load of cr@p probably because I have a sandblasting cabinet but that would require another clean out of the shop Since finding citric acid works better than vinegar and getting it cheap in bulk I had a few old jugs of vinegar left un used. I’ll Give it a try, a mason jar just fit a dozen hinges and so I poor in a pint of vinegar…. We will see! Day 1 95% clean, a quick toothbrusing rinse and back in for another day! Day 2 only a few deep spots remaining so they get a little scrape with a flat screwdriver toothbrush, rinse and back in. Day 3 squeaky clean, toothbrush, Rinse and sun dry! Good and hot ready for some rattle can oiled bronze and let bake in the sun for the day. Yesterday I got three doors hung but they need some adjustments some light sanding and a fresh coat of poly then rehung. This morning I started on the other side of the stand and noticed that I needed to change the filter sock:mad: along with the doors I put off installing the Klir 7 until I had most of the heavy work in the stand finished so I may as well get to it! It was a fairly simple install once I found the old box with fleece, power supply and controller;Facepalm

 

[OldSchool Reefer]

Mangrove tank is coming around, I did have to raise the light about 2 inches and put the defuser in because it scorched one of the mangroves, it is fine now and has new leaves sprouting.

The other never seemed to survive shipping but @AlgaeBarn is fantastic supporting their AOA guarantee so I’m not worried, They replaced a Red Ogo with no questions asked!

i have lost a few seed pods and none have sprouted leaves yet but they are growing roots like crazy!

 

[AlgaeBarn]

Thank you for the kind words and those roots are looking great!

 

[OldSchool Reefer]

Thank you for the kind words and those roots are looking great!

I have nothing but good words to say about your products and customer service! My only issues have been with shipping and I understand the challenges of shipping live goods from Colorado to Florida too well it’s either too hot or too cold! Then there is the delivery driver that wants to leave the packages in the sun when it’s 95° out

Thanks for what you do and I’ll keep ordering!

 

[AlgaeBarn]

I have nothing but good words to say about your products and customer service! My only issues have been with shipping and I understand the challenges of shipping live goods from Colorado to Florida too well it’s either too hot or too cold! Then there is the delivery driver that wants to leave the packages in the sun when it’s 95° out

Thanks for what you do and I’ll keep ordering!

Thank you for your understanding. We have bumped up our packaging with the heat waves across the country but sometimes thing still happen. Appreciate you letting us get you taken care of and I hope you have a great weekend!

 

[OldSchool Reefer]

Thank you for your understanding. We have bumped up our packaging with the heat waves across the country but sometimes thing still happen. Appreciate you letting us get you taken care of and I hope you have a great weekend!

Just note one lost mangrove on ORDER # 136916-2 and we will make it up on my next order

 

[AlgaeBarn]

Just note one lost mangrove on ORDER # 136916-2 and we will make it up on my next order

You got it! Just let us know after you place the order or we can give you store credit for it now

 

[OldSchool Reefer]

:mad:OldSchool is struggling, I have never had trouble maintaining a proper PH! I have never been cooped up in a small house with a large tank before either. I’ve had big houses with basements or bonus rooms and fish rooms and as of late huge skimmers and sumps outside!! Big tank, small skimmer inside with windows closed is keeping my PH down I’m dripping a gallon of Kalk a day and my Cal 480 DkH 10 Mg 1440, but I can’t get the PH above 7.65 It’s high CO2 levels and being stuck inside no doubt! I hooked up a on air pump to pump outside air into the skimmer and it helped .02 then I hooked up the other line from the pump to a MaxiJet power head and it went up another.04 but micro bubbles were getting into the DT so I tossed in another old skimmer to contain them.

This didn’t do anything but maintain the only skimmer levels + .01 so I went back to the power head but put it in the skimmer compartment to get it as far upstream from the DT as possible. All the bubbles in such a small space choked out the skimmer so I moved it back to the frag tank but as far upstream as possible. No bubbles in the DT and PH is 7.7, it’s a good start! Well there is plenty of detritus in the frag tank stirred up now and my ORP is falling:mad: Time to try some Ozone before my Fleece roller runs out!