SaltwaterandLime's epic adhd build thread....

[SaltwaterandLime]

We all know that most great projects start with a trip to Lowe's...

... but this one actually started with a trip to the Toyota dealership...

Now, I promise that this is a thread about a new reef tank, but nothing in my brain works in a straight line so you'll just have to follow along to see!


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Just to keep some relevant information in the top post..

Current tanks;
10g waterbox cube, SPS dominated mixed reef
-AI prime light
-icecap k1 Nero skimmer
-sicce syncra silent 1.0
-inTank media basket with filter floss and chemipure blue
-innovative marine helio heater and controller
-AI Nero 3 WaveMaker
-lid and nem guard from kraken reef


32g fluval flex marine, softys and gha dominated reef

-sicce syncra silent 1.5
-fluval marine 3.0 lights x 2
-bubblemagus qq2 skimmer
-AI Nero 3 WaveMaker x 2
-fluval m50 heater
-inkbird heater controller
-cpu fans x 2
-inTank media baskets x 2
-ultraviolet 8w UV powered by sicce nano


Instant Ocean Reef Crystals
Brightwell ReefCode

 

[SaltwaterandLime]

I've always been a Jeep person, I learned to drive on an old ww2 jeep that my grandfather brought back from the war. I've always loved cars and 4 wheeling and camping and getting muddy and turning my own wrenches.

My grandfather taught me most of the skills I use in reef keeping honestly. He taught me plumbing and carpentry and a million other things I never knew I needed.

I was very blessed to have a papa with the patience of a saint and the willingness to teach a girl anything she wanted to know.

Papa gave me a love for anything with wheels, and a love for doing things myself.

 

[SaltwaterandLime]

When I was 15 I inherited a 1966 Malibu Chevelle from my grandmother, and my papa and my older cousin helped me restore it so that it was ready to drive by the time I was 16.

When we got done with all the body work, I begged them to let me paint it lime green but they refused. We ended up painting it a rather pretty icey blue silver but I never got over wanting a lime green car.

 

[SaltwaterandLime]

Clayton was my first born child. I had him when I was 19. From the time he could sit up on his own, he was my copilot and riding buddy. From 4 wheeling to trucks to boats to anything that moved he was right there with me. Clayton had always heard me talk about wanting a lime green car and he loved the idea. He and I had even talked about rebuilding an old jeep and painting it lime green. He once begged me to trade in his Honda 4wheeler for a Polaris model just because they came with lime green trim.

We lost Clayton to a tragic car accident 3 years ago. I stopped going to the woods. I stopped enjoying the jeep. The 4wheelers have been sitting in the barn ever since, and I've been terrified of the road.

Clayton also loved my freshwater aquariums, and enjoyed helping with them. I was given my very first saltwater tank a few months after he was killed and it helped give me something to focus on to keep from losing myself. My two younger boys have also gotten involved and it's given us something to do together.

My husband has been wonderfully supportive and helpful, but reefing is definitely "my" hobby much more than his.

 

[SaltwaterandLime]

We had been talking on and off about selling my jeep, but hadn't made any real decisions about it.

My husband had mentioned the possibility of a Toyota 4runner and we test drove a couple but it didn't quite feel right...

..... and then one day I drove past our local Toyota dealership and saw them unloading the perfect one. I walked in and signed the papers that very night.

The very first thing we did was load it up and drive to Orlando for Reefapalooza. Not only did we drive to Orlando, but I drove myself on the interstate without having a panic attack for the first time in three years.

I know it's dumb, and I know it's just a truck, but it's hard to explain and somehow in this truck I feel like a have a part of Clayton with me beside me again, my copilot back again.

 

[SaltwaterandLime]

Now I promised this thread was about a new reef build.... but I couldn't explain how big of a deal it is without including the back story.

While we were at reefapalooza we picked up a new tank from worldwide corals (WWC).

If we hadn't found the new truck, I wouldn't have driven to Orlando, and I wouldn't have had a vehicle capable of fitting a 48" tank in the back.

 

[SaltwaterandLime]

The new tank is a Planet Aquariums Tideline AIO. It's 62 gallons and 48" x 18" x 15"

(Really only about 14" front to back in the display section, 4" for the sump area in the back)

Right now it's sitting in storage at the old house while I get a stand and space set up.

 

[SaltwaterandLime]

As it turns out, I didn't actually have a spot available in my house for a 4' long tank. So first I had to convince my family to help me move some furniture.

Now, I tend to move furniture often. My husband refers to it as my second favorite hobby. Even the mention of moving thing around causes my teenage boys to declare mutiny.

After a good bit of bribery I got some help and started moving things around. Somehow in the midst of moving things I realized that nothing I had matched and I had a meltdown and panicked and convinced my family we needed an entire new furniture set.

So out with the old, and in with the new!!
(New to me at least. I found an amazing deal on Facebook market place)

I started looking for just a dresser that I could convert into a stand for the new tank and instead found an entire 5 piece wood bedroom set for only $125

 

[SaltwaterandLime]

Once we got all the new furniture into the house, I had a brief moment of panic while I realized that it didn't match the house at all since it's a pretty yellow cream off-white and my walls are all bright white and gray. I tried to convince everyone that I now needed to re-paint the entire house (or paint the furniture) but I lost that battle and we are moving forward with everything staying the same color it is currently.

 

[SaltwaterandLime]

My original plan had been to move my 10g waterbox from the dresser it had previously been on to the new nightstand. Once I started looking closer at the nightstand I realized it wasn't solid wood like I first thought. Even though the tank is only 10g I knew it would need some reinforcements if I wanted it to last.

 

[SaltwaterandLime]

As a side track, I'm still really struggling with finding a name for the new truck.

It's a 4runner.... so part of me really wants to give it a name from the HALO video game series. I'm even currently re-reading the book series to help with ideas.

But then part of me wants to give it a name based on the color. Like Tinkerbell or something.

 

[CoralB]

We had been talking on and off about selling my jeep, but hadn't made any real decisions about it.

My husband had mentioned the possibility of a Toyota 4runner and we test drove a couple but it didn't quite feel right...

..... and then one day I drove past our local Toyota dealership and saw them unloading the perfect one. I walked in and signed the papers that very night.

The very first thing we did was load it up and drive to Orlando for Reefapalooza. Not only did we drive to Orlando, but I drove myself on the interstate without having a panic attack for the first time in three years.

I know it's dumb, and I know it's just a truck, but it's hard to explain and somehow in this truck I feel like a have a part of Clayton with me beside me again, my copilot back again.

Not dumb at all , it’s always tough losing someone . Good luck on your build .

 

[Mark Goode]

As another reefkeeper with ADHD, I eagerly await the rest of your tale.

 

[jazzfisher]

As a side track, I'm still really struggling with finding a name for the new truck.

It's a 4runner.... so part of me really wants to give it a name from the HALO video game series. I'm even currently re-reading the book series to help with ideas.

But then part of me wants to give it a name based on the color. Like Tinkerbell or something.

Looks like a margarita without the salt! Or AB Plus energy! Looking forward to your tanks.

 

[New&no clue]

I love how you think. I am very similar; when I start down a path, I end up somewhere completely different and have no idea how I got from plan A to result Z. Good luck; I can't wait to see how the tank progresses.

 

[SaltwaterandLime]

Looks like a margarita without the salt! Or AB Plus energy! Looking forward to your tanks.

When my kids were little, I convinced them that margaritas were spicy lemonade and that they wouldn't like it

 

[SaltwaterandLime]

I've been bad about not updating the thread, but I've moved along quite a bit with the tanks.

I decided to replace the top of the night stand with a piece of butcherblock so that took some time to cut and finish.

 

[SaltwaterandLime]

The next project I decided to tackle was setting up my RODI system.

I actually bought it at least 6 months ago if not longer, but I keep changing my mind about where I want to install it so I had still been buying water from my LFS

 

[SaltwaterandLime]

We finally decided to install it under my kitchen island, with the hook up being under my sink, and the filter and water containers sitting under the island counter top

The booster pump took me from about 30psi up to almost 90psi

I know that eventually i want to add more stages to the system and split the anion/cation resins because of my well water, but for now this is working really well.

 

[SaltwaterandLime]

In other news, I've decided to sell the new planet aquariums tideline AIO before I've ever even set it up.

I've known for a long time that my real goal is to have a tank with a sump, and the more we planned the more we realized that I would fairly soon be trying to upgrade the tideline tank and at decided it would be smarter to just go ahead and save up for the tank I really wanted instead of putting so much money and effort into a system I knew I would never be happy with.