[jerryclunsford]

Ok, dug it out of it’s corner.
A couple of of cracks on outside, nothing major, hinges aren’t perfect but functional and I will have to get the water hose out as it is rather filthy on one end.
It is around a 4 foot long Igloo cooler.

 

[Wiskey]

View attachment 245434
Ok, dug it out of it’s corner.
A couple of of cracks on outside, nothing major, hinges aren’t perfect but functional and I will have to get the water hose out as it is rather filthy on one end.
It is around a 4 foot long Igloo cooler.

Dang!! 4 Foot long? What are the dimensions? That might hold all the smaller corals in one.

Whiskey

 

[jerryclunsford]

I will measure inside.

 

[jerryclunsford]

I was wrong only 40 inches long
37 1/2 x 15
About a half inch narrower at the bottom.
I measured at first inside below the top ledge.
if you made stackable racks of egg crate would work well.

 

[Wiskey]

I was wrong only 40 inches long
37 1/2 x 15
About a half inch narrower at the bottom.
I measured at first inside below the top ledge.
if you made stackable racks of egg crate would work well.
View attachment 245436

That is still huge! It would hold a ton of coral and be fantastic for transportation in the back of the Uhaul. I may not need it though, because I have a new plan. I'm now going down a couple weeks early to pickup the coral and transport it back in the cab of my car. With the car being heated I'm much less concerned about the container I put them in.

Depending on how close to getting everything I get on the first trip I might still need it, I'll let you know after we do the fist leg.

Thanks for the thought!!! It will be awesome if I need it!
Whiskey

 

[jerryclunsford]

That is a good idea. Getting the livestock before you mess with the tank.
A lot less stressful.

 

[Wiskey]

My first shipment for this project arrived!!! Man fittings for 1 1/2 inch plumbing are a fortune! Hydrored did a fantastic job with the current tank's plumbing being all grey and blue. I need to extend the plumbing so that the sump will be in my Filtration room. I can actually do this by disconnecting the unions and putting a section of pipe between them so I have the blue pipe in this pile, and the Unions, but I just couldn't pay the price for the BRS Grey fittings. Parts of it might need to be Blue and White, I haven't decided. I need 6 45 degree fittings just for starters, and I can't pay $12 each for them. That hurts, they are $2 for the white ones at Lowes.

Other things! Salt! Need lots of that, I have 4, 160 gallon boxes total. Better to have more than you need. I currently use a 400W Finnex titanium heater and a 300W Backup on my Apex. I hear that the Apex power bar can wear out relays if you put heaters on them, so I got the dual temp probe, dual relay, wifi connected InkBird controller, and I have a 600W Titanium heater on it. I will keep the 400W Finnex, and the 300W on the Apex. The goal is that the Apex one never turns on. Hopefully with the thicker glass, and the Acrylic sump with lids this tank actually retains heat a little better than my current one. We will see. Also! A couple extra 1 1/2 bulkheads. The plumbing design on the tank is really good so we can take most of it apart without cutting, but bulkhead leaks happen, and it's good to have spares.

Whiskey

 

[Wiskey]

That is a good idea. Getting the livestock before you mess with the tank.
A lot less stressful.

So much less stressful! I love the idea honestly. Well worth the trip.

Whiskey

 

[Wiskey]

In other news, the temporary setup progress continues. Hydrored came up with a fantastic idea, that is coming and getting the bulk, if not all the coral early. This way I get to transport the coral in a heated car, which is going to be much easier to ensure they are safe and happy. We are going to try and take advantage of the holidays and do that in the next few days if the weather cooperates, so I'm progressing on the Stock Tank. These are backup LED lights I have, I bought them with a tank setup and upgraded, but they are perfect for this. They may not have the best color, but they put out a huge amount of power, and the center 3 feet of this stock tank has 350 PAR at the center of the water, around 150 at the outside wings lowest spot. I put some LR in there from my frag tank, and of course it's covered in leather. Anyone want some leather? Next step is making racks. That temporary light bar is bolted to the stock tank BTW, it won't slip off.

Whiskey

 

[jerryclunsford]

There is always spray paint.

 

[VWD]

Sounds like a good plan. All the work will be worth it. Getting the corals first is probably a better and less stressful way .
If you live closer I would probably take you up on the leather coral. But shipping live is so expensive these days if you aren’t a regular shipper.

 

[Wiskey]

There is always spray paint.

I had not considered that, but you do have a point!

Whiskey

 

[Wiskey]

Sounds like a good plan. All the work will be worth it. Getting the corals first is probably a better and less stressful way .
If you live closer I would probably take you up on the leather coral. But shipping live is so expensive these days if you aren’t a regular shipper.

Yeah, less stressful for me and the corals! Lol.

I wish overnight shipping would come down in cost a bit. I get that it's a pain, but I bet the profit margin has to be through the roof on it.

Whiskey

 

[Wiskey]

The coral move day got pushed back because of damage caused by the cold weather. This will now happen next weekend. In the meantime I have some tester corals in the tub, I'm sure it's fine but never hurts to test it out.

Since I don't have a ton of pictures to share of the build, I figure I'd share a few from the current tank!

Whiskey

 

[VWD]

When a place offers 49 dollars shipping that’s a bargain and even better if they offer free after a certain amount.
fir me yo ship an overnight package with seahorses overnight the minimum cost fir me is about 85 dollars to about 110 for a ten pound box. Then add the supplies. It’s outrageous . Then add in late arrivals.

 

[Wiskey]

When a place offers 49 dollars shipping that’s a bargain and even better if they offer free after a certain amount.
fir me yo ship an overnight package with seahorses overnight the minimum cost fir me is about 85 dollars to about 110 for a ten pound box. Then add the supplies. It’s outrageous . Then add in late arrivals.

Yeah, when you order coral online I'm sure way more than half the cost goes directly to shipping.

Whiskey

 

[Wiskey]

I got a little bit of work done this weekend, I prefer to have a Canopy on my tanks so I don't look directly into the light when I'm viewing them. My house is a great room style layout, and the tank is in the living room. I bought this house for optimal tank viewing, and it sits in the center of everything, it's the first thing you see coming in the door, it's right next to the TV when you are sitting on the couch, you can see it looking in the wall of windows from the porch, and my desk points toward it from in the office. For that reason I like all the cabinetry to match the kitchen since they are on opposing walls.

Here is the start of the canopy buildout. This will need 8 shaker style doors to finish it out, 4 across the front, and 2 on each of the sides. The back will be a door style panel glue up because I don't own a car large enough to transport full sheets of plywood, so I build without it.

You can see the cabinets I'm replicating as well in that photo. The finished result will look something like this image from my current tank's canopy build, this was before door hardware was installed:

Whiskey

 

[Wiskey]

I have an update!! This really was a ton of work, even if it doesn't look like it.

As I said earlier, the biggest piece of plywood I can put in my car is 48x30, with that I need to duck when I'm driving, if I go with 48x24 I can use the passthrough and it's more comfortable. So I needed to get a little creative with the back panel. I think I ended up with a nicer look in the end, and it's super light, I decided to glue it up like the worlds largest shaker style door.

This was a test fit with one panel, where you can see the routing that it drops into, and the counter routed styles for strength.

Comet inspecting my work:

This is the panel glue-up. Once again, the size is the biggest challenge here. This panel is bigger than any work table I have so my only choice was to use the hardwood floor. If you choose to copy my method I have two tips:
1. Make sure to get divorced first.
2. Wax paper is the best thing to use to protect the floor. The glue doesn't really stick to it.

Finally, and this step was finished only a few minutes ago,... I have the holes for light wires, pump wires, and the two fans routed out, the pocket holes drilled, and the glue attaching it to the main box is drying now.

Comet seems proud of me:

Whiskey

 

[jerryclunsford]

Looks good so far. Like all of your cabinet work.

 

[VWD]

Looks really good. You have a way with wood . I never was really good at it. Mainly because I don’t plan things out. Lol
When I did my 150 back in Kansas and my neighbor came to help and ask me where are my plans , told him in my head. He laughed and made me draw up plans. It did come out nice , my VHO’s were on rails that pulled out to change bulbs. .