Urbanek's ADA Trio

Sir Chris · May 2, 2017

urbaneks said:
Painting the Glass and Installing the Returns and Overflows
I mentioned in the previous post that I forgot to take photos when I was painting the tanks. In order to prep the tanks for paint, I simply taped off all surfaces that I did not want to see paint. I'm sure any masking tape will do but I prefer and used 3M Blue Painters Tape. With the tanks taped off, I applied several light coats of spray paint. I test painted another piece of glass with a couple brands of spray paint. I found that the Rust-Oleum paint with a prime r was the ticket. If I had to give some advice on the painting, it would be to take an entire day to complete this task, don't have other tasks planned for the tanks. With a day carved out, apply a thin layer of paint, you may not get full coverage at first. Let the first layer dry for an hour or two. Come back and repeat the process applying another thin layer of paint. Avoid trying to get full coverage with each application. Repeat this process 5 or 6 times until you have completed coverage. Let the tanks dry until the next day before you move them. In the end you will have a great paint job free of runs/streaks/etc.

With the tanks painted, I'm ready to test fit them on supplemental cabinet and install the returns and overflows. Before the tanks go down, I added a foam pad under each tank. ADA has a great product for this. If you are in need of a material for under your tank check out the ADA Garden Mats, they come in several sizes. This product is the best I've seen for this application.

After the Garden Mats were in place, tanks were set in place to get a general idea. I couldn't help setting a piece of the reclaimed wood next to the cabinet to get a sense for what the finished product will look like.

Here is a photo of the tanks in place, painted with returns and overflows installed. I mentioned this in the first post but the drains and overflows came from Glass Holes. Here is a link to the exact product that I purchased. I chose this product for the size and ease of installation. I could not find another overflow and return that I could fit on a single panel of the tanks. Overall, I'm very pleased with how the paint/overflows look.

so do u like that overflow. I've been eyeing a shadow box. Lmk if u can thanks

Janci · May 2, 2017

Amazingly detailed thread full with inspiration for future builds.
This setup is something I will keep for later.
Congratulations on originality and design.

Hagios · May 2, 2017

Speechless! Amazingly inspirational and original! Great job!

william24 · May 2, 2017

Wow [emoji7][emoji7][emoji7]

revhtree · May 2, 2017

Umm crazy awesome!!

beastium · May 2, 2017

SUPERB.

urbaneks · May 2, 2017

choss said:
Basically, its a Nano fantasy - I really love this idea of creating these mini dioramas next to each other. I googled the Red Rooster Wasp Fish as I had never heard of this fish. What a stunning beauty! Can't wait to see how these tanks mature.

Your comment reminds me of the Aldo Nova song, Life is just a Fantasy.

I should rename my thread to Nano Fantasy! The waspfish arrived today. He's very shy but very cool. I'm sure he will come around with time.

mdbannister said:
Man! Everything is looking great!!

Thanks so much for the view and comment. Slow and steady.

Those corals are Gonipora. They do add great color and movement.

Lord Chris said:
so do u like that overflow. I've been eyeing a shadow box. Lmk if u can thanks

The overflow is great for a single drain and return. My old tank had a bean animal drain which I liked better but that was not an option in the small limited space that I have. I certainly don't regret buying these.

Janci said:
Amazingly detailed thread full with inspiration for future builds.
This setup is something I will keep for later.
Congratulations on originality and design.

Thanks so much for the very meaningful comment. I did want to do something a bit different which I think I accomplished.

Hagios said:
Speechless! Amazingly inspirational and original! Great job!

Thanks so much!

william24 said:
Wow [emoji7][emoji7][emoji7]

Thanks!

revhtree said:
Umm crazy awesome!!

Thanks Rev. Appreciate the visit and comment.

beastium said:
SUPERB.

THANK YOU!

yellojello · May 3, 2017

Yellow background is my favorite. I might be biased.

usernam invalid · May 3, 2017

Looking great Brad your work and attention to detail is always top notch.
I'm still waiting for my coffee table book from your project 365 even thou might be a few pages light.
Jk keep up the great work

Aleks · May 5, 2017

Very nice and clean. Each new project is a masterpiece.

tripdad · May 6, 2017

This is turning out very nice, well done. I am really liking the shrimp/Yasha pairing. Watching the relationship is so cool.

KJ · May 6, 2017

Looks great!!

urbaneks · May 6, 2017

yellojello said:
Yellow background is my favorite. I might be biased.

Biased you are - I personally like the orange the best, looks like a sunrise.

usernam invalid said:
Looking great Brad your work and attention to detail is always top notch.
I'm still waiting for my coffee table book from your project 365 even thou might be a few pages light.
Jk keep up the great work

Ah yes, the coffee table book. Another great idea not executed. Thanks for checking things out and leaving a comment.

Aleks said:
Very nice and clean. Each new project is a masterpiece.

Thanks for the kind words. Very much appreciated.

tripdad said:
This is turning out very nice, well done. I am really liking the shrimp/Yasha pairing. Watching the relationship is so cool.

Thanks! Agree on all the goby/shrimp pairs, they have always been some of my faves.

KJ said:
Looks great!!

Thanks!

urbaneks · May 7, 2017

May 7th, 2017 - Weekly Update
I forgot what a PITA it is to have a nano in regards to fish jumping. Since starting the tanks up, I've lost a Cherub Angel and a High Fin Goby. Call it luck but when I had my larger tank, I did not have issues with fish jumping. After the 2nd loss, I decided I was going to break down and add lids, I love the look of a clean top without distraction but I want to keep some Helfrichi Fire Fish and a Pygmy Wrasse which are known jumpers. I priced Artfully Acrylic and was about to order when I found someone local who makes a similar product and was over $100 less for the 3 lids. He did a great job on the lids, I'm happy with the way they turned out. Here's a shot of the lids with some nice orange backlight.

While I had the camera out, I decided it was time to add some FTS of all 3 tanks. As you can see, I'm still pretty bare when it comes to coral. I'm taking it sloooooooow. The SPS that I added a month ago are encrusted now so I'm feeling pretty good about the state of the tanks. I have an order in with BattleCorals which will be here on Tuesday. That will certainly help to get the tanks a bit fuller. Here are the FTS (Left, Middle, Right)

And here is the 3 of them stitched together into a single image. Thanks for looking.

urbaneks · May 7, 2017

May 7th, 2017 - Photo Update
This is my latest addition. I've wanted these for a long time but have always resisted without lids. With lids in place, I have my Helfichi's!