Joe, I actually may look into getting one of those. I did some decorative routing on the crown of the hoods and then got the tile cut and glued in. Norman ordered his VHO's today so they can be but in before he takes delivery on the hood. Next up is the rest of the trim, unfortunatly I am working for the next 8 days so I will not be able to progress for a while.
Great joib as usual Chris. Got the lights ordered today and decided to go with the 2-4 bulb 36" VHO retrofits and 3- 250 watt Double ended MH's. Now I can put anything I want in there and not limited to fish only like we discussed. Since you are making me take down some of my tanks I've got to keep my bases covered !!! I know quality not quanity. I'm trying.
Finally got some days off after an 8 day stretch at work. I got the framing done on the hoods, the doors built and the tile grouted. I like when things start to look like you intend them to. Unfortunatly, next up is my least favorite event - Sanding. I have to alot a whole day to sanding and it really sucks - see - I am already looking forward to it. Nothing I love more than the taste of saw dust and dry skin after sanding for several hours. I will let you know how it went when I am done, but it always goes the same way - It sucks.
I got hoods sanded yesterday, it took about 6 house. It was as bad as I thought but over now. I got the wrong hinges, again, and had to run to Lowes this morning to exchange them but I was able to get everything on and working when I returned. I was able to find to door holders that Norman wanted, the keep the lids up really nice. Now I will have to take it all off and stain but that is next week.
I got the hoods for both tanks puttied and sanded this morning. I went ahead and put a coat of stain on them. I don't know whether I will do a second coat yet because the first went on very well. I is so humid outside it will probably take several days to dry. Next up is the poly.
I always knew Chris was one of the chosen ones. !!! Guess I better change the way I treat him so he won't sick his buddy on me.
Norman and I decided to enamel in the inside of the hoods for several reasons. One is to help maximize the reflection in the tank, while not that much it is a help, and second to protect the wood from salt creep. After 5 years of running, my main tank has really seen the hood ware and degrade from salt. Because the wood wasn't protected by anything it is impossible to keep clean - the enamel surface should made for a slick surface to wipe away dried salt. Next up is making the mounts for the lights and wiring everything up.
Roxanne and I delivered Normans hood so that he would have a consolation when he returned after the tank incident. I spent the morning putting the lighting in which doubled the weight of the hood, but I really kept the hood light so despite its size it is easily manageable by two people.
I have been waiting on a new post from you guys. I see a lot about the stand and canopy build, but nothing about the tank demolition. Lets see some pics of the drilling process. Seriously, I would like to thank everyone for their attempt to give me one of the nicest surprises I could ever hope for. I wish it had worked out for you guys as well as me. I am now looking to buy a reef ready tank so the set up should go smoothly. I may still need your help if you are still interested. Thanks again, Norman
Thought I would post an up-date on the 200 build. After the great meeting we had last Sat here at my house several of the guys grabbed a handfull of the 200 gal that was outside and placed it softly on the stand Chris made for it. It had been drilled, shattered and repaired, and painted while outside so it was ready for the plumbing. Chris and Blake came up yesterday and by 7:00 pm it was finished. (photos to follow) It has 2- corner overflow boxes with 11/2" durso standpipe overflows into a drilled 75 gal sump, with 2- 1" returns powered by a sequence dart pump. It also has a closed loop with 11/2" suction and 4- 1" returns powered by a sequence barracuda pump. Having placed the stand about 2 feet from the back wall there is room behind the finished system to access all of the plumbing if a problem shows up. The lighting in the canopy is 3- 250 watt MH with 8- VHO (4- 10000K and 4- actinic) The plans for this system is to have only very small fish, clams, and corals. I'll post again when we get the rest of the equipment installed and water in it.
Very Impressive. Great craftsmanship, I'm looking forward to watching your continued progress. You also gave me a couple of ideas for the stand I'm planning to build for my AP24, thank you.
