Basement Reno And In-wall 205g Reef

[yveterinarian]

I see...I was really looking forward to the pond liner idea. I thought it was great but I can see Beth's point as well.

 

[reeferkeeper420]

Im putting pond liner in my stand for sure, just incase a sump goes, or the plumbing. Just to be safe.

 

[curiousphil]

Test fitting some things.

 

[jroovers]

Good luck with the rest of the renos now that you have a tank to work on...

 

[curiousphil]

LOL

 

[curiousphil]

It just occurred to me that I could also do a layout like this for the lights... so I had to mock it up:

 

[Kyle1970]

Looks good. Huge project.
Have you got anything on the bottom of the metal frame legs? I found they rust quickly when on exposed concrete if they haven't been completely sealed.

 

[reeferkeeper420]

Wouldnt it be easier just to run 2 80watts on each side(long side)?? Wouldbt u get more coverage with the 80watters running the length of the tank? Just thinking out loud.

 

[curiousphil]

Wouldnt it be easier just to run 2 80watts on each side(long side)?? Wouldbt u get more coverage with the 80watters running the length of the tank? Just thinking out loud.

That would be much easier but I don't know how effective it would be. The problem is, they would be sitting directly over top of my euro bracing. The MH reflectors almost exactly fill the space between the bracing. So my thinking around the 24 watters, is the they would be over top of water rather than bracing.

Before I placed the reflectors on top of the tank and realized exactly how the layout would look, I was hoping to do two rows of 36w T5s on either side of the halides, giving total coverage over the 6 feet.

Looks good. Huge project.
Have you got anything on the bottom of the metal frame legs? I found they rust quickly when on exposed concrete if they haven't been completely sealed.

The top and bottom of the metal frames have plastic caps inserted into them. When I get the rubber paint to do the perimeter of the floor, I plan to also seal those caps. I may also do the whole stand in it... I'm still undecided on that. I don't know what kind of finish is currently on it... it's a flat black. Could be finished with paint or powder coat, could be bare, I really can't tell.

---------------------------------------------------------------

Updates:
-Bought my PVC plumbing materials!
-Bought lumber and drywall for building the storage area of the basement. Construction of that starts this weekend. Tonight if I have the energy and motivation, tomorrow morning if not.
-Ordered a new skimmer pump because the Sicce PSK-2500s are already annoying me. I decided to go with the SWC Askoll 1500 pump. Same motor block that's used in the Red Dragon pumps used on the high end Vertex Alphas and Bubble King minis - but with a different pinwheel, venturi and volute cover.
-Got some new silicone airline to replace the dried up and cracked air hoses the Sicce pumps are currently using.
-Called to have the dumpster removed but they decided to come after it snowed the other day and they epically failed in getting the bin out of my driveway. Apparently they gave up after about half an hour of spinning their big truck wheels all over my driveway, and I came home to try and park on what was literally a polished sheet of ice.... that didn't go well!! Slid right back out of my driveway. Had to spend 2 hours scraping the ice off my driveway before I could get the car in lol. Winter is so fun.....

Oh and I picked up another little toy... a dwyer air flow meter. Used for comparing air draw of skimmer pumps. Found one for 15 bucks shipped on eBay, thought it would be a fun little experiment to see what my three different skimmers pull.

 

[curiousphil]

Tasks completed:
-Dumpster removed
-Framed the first wall (wall separating storage area and spare room)
-Modified electrical to suit the needs of the storage area (installed 2 new junction boxes and ran wires, removed baseboard heater, installed ceiling light, moved a wall socket to be on the new wall)
-Touched up damaged insulation on outside wall of storage area
-Moved 8 drywall sheets from the garage to the basement (this sucked!!!!)

Next steps:
-Tape up vapour barrier
-Install drywall
-Mud the drywall
-Paint
-Replace electrical outlet covers
-Construct shelving
-Move stuff into the storage room

And then... finally spend some time working on the tank!
--Use a razor to scrape the panels clean
--Vacuum out the dirt that's accumulated on the bottom (from people pretending the tank is a coffin or a mermaid display unit)
--Measure and tape out exact position of tank, move it into place, level it with shims (my concrete floor is not level )
--Finish out the wood parts of stand and apply liquid rubber
--Assemble the plumbing
--Fill with fresh water and perform leak test
--Rinse sand and add one half bucket at a time
--Start making up saltwater!
--Build lighting rack
--Frame the rec room walls and install electrical outlets
--Apply liquid rubber to perimeter of tank area
--Install winch and hang lighting rack

 

[jroovers]

Jeezus, I thought I had a to-do list lol.

Good to hear you are making progress.

 

[Big_Als_London]

Pfft

 

[curiousphil]

Began drywalling today.

 

[curiousphil]

3/4 done drywalling the storage room

 

[curiousphil]

In a rather unexpected turn of events, I have been encouraged to move my tank sooner rather than later. The wall behind my 90 gallon tank needs an extra 24 added to in so that the drywall seam can line up better. I discovered last weekend that one of the existing studs sticks out almost half an inch further than all the other studs on that wall. I tried to shave it down with a chisel the best I could but it still isn't perfect. SO before we finish mudding that room I am going to get the new tank up and running so we can get the 90 out of the way. Today I moved the new tank into position, levelled it, and have begun framing the wall that needs to go between it and the stairwell. Once that wall is in place I can install the electrical outlets and start seriously working on getting things moved over!

Updated picture of the storage room:

The start of a new wall:

Level tank!!:

The third halide reflector:

 

[scubasteve]

looking like some pretty sweet progress

 

[curiousphil]

Thanks man, it doesn't feel like a lot tho because there is still sooooooo much to go. But I've just got to work at the office tomorrow and then I have until Jan 5 to get lots done....

Just finished the wall:

 

[jroovers]

I had the opportunity to see this tank, this is going to be one amazing set-up Looking forward to seeing what those metal hallides produce SPS wise, the pieces in your 90 certainly look like they are appreciating the light.

 

[curiousphil]

Thanks Jordan

I placed an order for the 400 watt bulbs this morning. Up until this weekend I hadn't yet decided if I was going to use the 400 watters right away or move over the 250 watt pendants and try to squeak as much life out of those bulbs as possible.

But now I've decided - I don't want to build the lighting rack twice! I've developed a good plan in my head for how I'm going to build it. I'll use aluminum angle and rivets, then coat the whole thing in white Plasti-Dip. This will both waterproof it from corrosion and provide a grippy rubber surface for the reflectors to sit on and hopefully prevent any sliding around if I ever bump the rack with my arms.

On the bottom of the rack I will be mounting two sets of T12 sockets for use with VHO Super Actinics. They sill be sitting almost above the euro bracing but I am hopeful they will put enough light into the tank to allow for daytime viewing when the halides aren't on. Down the road if I ever feel like mucking around with LEDs again there will be enough room around and between the halide reflectors to drop in 4 aluminum U channels with LEDs mounted to them.

 

[Kevin Tran]

Talk about planing ahead, great stuff Phil. How is your coral been doing, care to give use some pic of coral and grow.