Waking up from the nightmare build: the reboot

[Gregg @ ADP]

Just a suggestion, I have Sheetrock behind and above my 250 gallon tank. I put on a heavy coat of a rubberized low VOC paint I got from Amazon. Works like a charm.

That’s a great idea. Will definitely do that. Thanks!

 

[twotangs]

tagging........

 

[Gregg @ ADP]

Finished the epoxy painting:

A couple of thoughts...

-painting that far left clear end panel seems to have absolutely been the right move. It changes the whole dynamic of the tank. It just looks bigger. Especially when viewed from the kitchen and diagonally from that end. Gives it a lot of depth.

In my mind, the idea behind using the dark blue, rock structures, and light distribution was to mitigate the visual effect of those two corners in the tank and offer multiple different visual perspectives depending on which direction one was viewing the tank from. We’ll see how it plays out.

-one thing is evident right away when we view it with light hitting directly, and that is the sort of mountain effect of some sides of the boxes being highlighted by direct light and others sides being more shadowed.

Now, final light placements will have a lot to do with how much that manifests in the end. But it is going to be difficult to eliminate, especially if the goal is to keep as much direct light off those panels as possible.

But...I think I can make the uneven look work for me. Light manipulation, water movement, and structure placement can (again...fingers crossed) give the background a little more of a real open water look...imagine highlights from sunlight being refracted and focalized by wave action, giving the vertical light bars against the deeper blue backdrop that we see in the ocean.

Anyway...the blue backdrop sorta made me fall in love with this tank a little. It’s always amazing how something so minor can change everything.

Overall?

 

[Sallstrom]

Finished the epoxy painting:

A couple of thoughts...

-painting that far left clear end panel seems to have absolutely been the right move. It changes the whole dynamic of the tank. It just looks bigger. Especially when viewed from the kitchen and diagonally from that end. Gives it a lot of depth.

In my mind, the idea behind using the dark blue, rock structures, and light distribution was to mitigate the visual effect of those two corners in the tank and offer multiple different visual perspectives depending on which direction one was viewing the tank from. We’ll see how it plays out.

-one thing is evident right away when we view it with light hitting directly, and that is the sort of mountain effect of some sides of the boxes being highlighted by direct light and others sides being more shadowed.

Now, final light placements will have a lot to do with how much that manifests in the end. But it is going to be difficult to eliminate, especially if the goal is to keep as much direct light off those panels as possible.

But...I think I can make the uneven look work for me. Light manipulation, water movement, and structure placement can (again...fingers crossed) give the background a little more of a real open water look...imagine highlights from sunlight being refracted and focalized by wave action, giving the vertical light bars against the deeper blue backdrop that we see in the ocean.

Anyway...the blue backdrop sorta made me fall in love with this tank a little. It’s always amazing how something so minor can change everything.

Overall?

I like the colour. Great job!

 

[Gregg @ ADP]

I like the colour. Great job!

Thank you! I’m hoping that once water and rock is in, and lights are placed, I can get it to look 1/2 shade darker. It’s just a touch more royal blue than I want.

The only part that I didn’t like was that it was impossible me to keep the dust out of the paint. Every time I moved, dry wall dust would rain down. So, there is a little bumpiness in the paint in some spots. Won’t notice it visually...I just worry about it being an issue with cleaning the surface.

 

[._Z_.]

Thank you! I’m hoping that once water and rock is in, and lights are placed, I can get it to look 1/2 shade darker. It’s just a touch more royal blue than I want.

The only part that I didn’t like was that it was impossible me to keep the dust out of the paint. Every time I moved, dry wall dust would rain down. So, there is a little bumpiness in the paint in some spots. Won’t notice it visually...I just worry about it being an issue with cleaning the surface.

Looking slick! Sorry if I missed it, but Is the goal to keep the blue surface coralline free long term?

 

[Gregg @ ADP]

Looking slick! Sorry if I missed it, but Is the goal to keep the blue surface coralline free long term?

Not only coralline, but clean of all algae. Ambitious goal, for sure.

 

[KenO]

I know you already applied the epoxy, but have you seen the Smooth-On epoxy products? People have done some interesting covers for overflows, plus it gives you more space for corals, and you don't have to worry about scraping coralline off it since it looks like rock when you are done.
https://www.smooth-on.com/howto/aquarium-decoration/

 

[Rcpilot]

WOW!! I read the first part, now this thread.....

 

[Lowell Lemon]

Gregg you are indeed a glutton for punishment with the polishing of the acrylic. It would be faster for me to make a whole new tank! Now getting it in and out would be another thing all together.

Looking forward to the complete remake. You are making good progress.

 

[Bronc]

I really like that blue! I can’t wait to see the end result.

 

[Gregg @ ADP]

Turning the buff game up to 11.

Started with 800 grit. Go big or go home, right? I usually start with 1500, but since I had the tank down and have a week before I can put water back in, I figured I would really work the scratches...especially those by the bottom:

The thing I was worried about was having to jump from 800 to 1500. Typically I go horizontal with one grit, vertical with the next one down, etc. But going from 800 to 1500, I went vertical and then horizontal with the 1500. Looks decent already:

 

[Gregg @ ADP]

I really like that blue! I can’t wait to see the end result.

I can’t either!

(probably for different reasons)

 

[Gregg @ ADP]

Gregg you are indeed a glutton for punishment with the polishing of the acrylic. It would be faster for me to make a whole new tank! Now getting it in and out would be another thing all together.

Looking forward to the complete remake. You are making good progress.

I would give anything...ANYTHING...to just put a new tank in.

Re: getting in and out, I thought of getting a video of it. I’m 45 years old, 6’1”, 220 lbs. If it looks anything like it feels, it would qualify as a dark comedy.

Especially getting out. I have to stand on a 3/4” lip before stepping over onto the ladder. Thank goodness I spent part of my life living in the mountains of Colorado.

 

[LBReefer]

Good question. As with most things I do, it’s going to be a fingers-crossed move.

My plan is to build a shelf that’s enclosed each end to a little more than the width of the gyre on the fabricated wall. To the underneath side, I’m going to mount two plastic c-clamps (often used for PVC and other pipes) that will hold the gyre in place. There will be an opening in the top of the shelf that the power cord can fit through. When I need to maintain it, I can just turn it off and unhook it from the clamps.

My biggest concern is going to be vibrations reverberating through the house, given that this tank butts up against the main structure of the house. Maybe I’ll coat the clamps w/silicone or something to dampen the vibration.

The beauty of gyres is that they draw all of their water from beneath, so you can literally have something right on top of it w/o impeding flow.

As for the other gyres on the opposite side, I’m just going to paint them the same color blue as the tank is being painted. It won’t totally make them disappear, but if they stay at the top, and the light stays off them, we won’t seem them.

I can't wait to see how this looks.

 

[Gregg @ ADP]

I know you already applied the epoxy, but have you seen the Smooth-On epoxy products? People have done some interesting covers for overflows, plus it gives you more space for corals, and you don't have to worry about scraping coralline off it since it looks like rock when you are done.
https://www.smooth-on.com/howto/aquarium-decoration/

I actually looked at that stuff as well as some other similar products.

Even though it would be far easier...and might even look better...to cover those boxes with a material or a wall, I wanted to take advantage of the the 36” depth to create some real dimension, and felt as if covering the back wall might make it feel closed in a little.

As for the box that covers the beam, there might be a time in the near future that I regret making a wall vs buying some sort of product like that, but...too late now.

 

[Bronc]

That’s a great idea. Will definitely do that. Thanks!

I used Flexseal in the bottom of my cabinet before I put my sump in. Worked great.

 

[Gregg @ ADP]

No work on the tank today. Heading out of town until Tues. Ready for a break from this one.

Next on the list is finish the buffing, and then actual fun starts with building rock and wall structures.

 

[Ferrell]

Just finished reading both threads. You are doing an fantastic job!
Never have performed tank maintenance for others but was in the home service industry for 25 years in Florida and I feel your pain. My saying was “no good deed goes unpunished”. Every time I tried to help someone out, I got the short end... but always finished my job. I commend you for your stick-to-itness.

 

[Gregg @ ADP]

Came back to work on the tank today.

Ugh. Disaster. Unreal.