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[Foosinho]

Today I finished door assembly, finished canopy frame assembly, and started electrical installation.

First, I glued up the door frame.



While that was setting, I finished assembling the canopy frame. Yes, it's framed a little funny, but it has to be that way to accomodate the T5 fixtures. This is the third time I've assembled the frame, so I'm pretty sure I've got it right this time.



Finally, I ran and got some electrical supplies and started installing the boxes. It's *extremely* tight, but they do actually fit when the tanks and plumbing are inserted.



I'm letting the glue on the door set up overnight, and tomorrow I'm hoping to install the hinges, and cut the left side of the face frame to accept the hinges. The door has a slight cup to it, so I may not be able to finish the installation without installing some braces across the back of the door to make it more rigid. Hopefully I can either install the wiring, or start skinning the canopy and installing the lights and hinges on that as well.

[Foosinho]

Didn't do much today. Too hot, and I went straight from work to my dad's workshop...

But, I did manage to hang the door and attach the last piece of trim.



I'm pretty much ready to paint. I'll do the paint prep tomorrow (setting nails, filling the nailholes, sanding, and a coat of primer). And, if I feel like it, I'll work on the canopy.

It's feeling like it's starting to come together!

[Foosinho]

Primed the back, stand, and door today.



Either a 2nd coat of primer, or first coat of paint, tomorrow.

[Foosinho]

I took Wednesday off to complete some other business, but I was back at it today painting the stand, and skinning the canopy. I would have completed the canopy today, except I ran out of brads, so I marked the last few pieces to cut and left them until Saturday (I'm going to a Major League Soccer game tomorrow night).




Saturday should be a busy day - I'll touch up the paint, and do a second coat if necessary. Finish skinning the canopy. Hinge the canopy. Trim the canopy (I've got some corner trim to dress the plywood edges). Maybe even stain the canopy. Install the lights. Wire the stand. Install the upper shelf in the stand.

If I manage to get all that done, the only stuff left would be:
- Install the float valve for the auto-topoff
- Silicone in the baffles in the sump
- Build the skimmer

It's the homestretch! I'm probably looking at saltwater on the 23rd - with one week to spare (whew!).

[Foosinho]

Got a lot done today.

For starters, everything got a 2nd coat of paint. I also finished the rough skinning of the canopy.

From there, I moved on to installing the hinge on the canopy. I was going to use a pair of small hinges, but I managed to find a 12" stainless steel piano hinge the other day, so - time to chisel!





So, once that was done, I slathered some paint on the inside of the canopy, and moved on to installing some trim on the stand. This same trim style will be used to clean up the corners on the canopy.



Then, it's time to install the lights. T5's provide the main light, while an old PC will provide actinics.



So, this is where we stand:



Tomorrow will be continuing work on trim detail on the canopy, and wiring the stand. Hopefully I'll get the 2nd shelf installed. The trim detail is taking a long time so far, so I doubt I'll get around to staining the top, but that's what I'm aiming for.

[Foosinho]

Ended up taking Sunday and Wednesday off for a variety of reasons, but I've still been plugging away at the thing Monday, Tuesday, and today. And I hit a milestone!

I finally finished the trim. What a bear that was - nothing was quite square, and I had to make all the cuts with a coping saw, and in some instances I had to use a chisel to split the trim! A lot of filler, some sandpaper, and this piece will be ready for the finishing room.



I also started installing the baffles. I only got two in, before I discovered that the third is a smidge too wide! I don't remember that from the test fit a few weeks ago...



I also installed the shelf. My Q-tank and freshwater topoff reservoir will both fit here.



Gotta keep truckin' - almost out of time! I'll probably start the electric tomorrow, as well as trim cutouts in the shelf to allow clearance for the drain and return lines.

[Foosinho]

Got a good deal done tonight.

First, I did a leak test on my first two baffles. Not that it matters much, but I had three small leaks. I'll probably slap some more silicone on there when I insert the last baffle and the refugium divider. Also, FWIW, I cut a new piece of glass to replace the piece that was about 1/8th an inch too wide. The new piece is a little narrow, but I can work with that.

I got out the wood filler and filled in the nail holes and gaps in the canopy.

I hooked up the PC light (photo below).

I tried some PVC traps for my returns (to get the pipe level high for a siphon break), but they were too big. So, I used a few 90's. Glued those up tonight. Additionally, I reworked the drain pipe to better fit around the pump manifold.



As I mentioned above, I also hooked up the 32W PC.



So, some sanding, staining, and a little bit of painting still to go. I need to cut a notch in the shelf to accomodate the plumbing. I need to silicone in the last two pieces of glass. And I need run the electric.

Then I'll be ready for a final water test, installing the autotopoff float valve, and then transport home. I'll complete the skimmer and moonlight projects after I get the tank up and running.

[Foosinho]

Well, a lot has happened since my last update, and not all of it good. Let's start with the slightly bizzare: it snowed last Saturday in western Ohio.



Now for the bad... I broke the bottom glass on my overflow when I was testfitting my shelf cutout. Put too much pressure (it wasn't much!) on the drain pipe, and *CRACK*. !^&*(#)!%^@)!



Like my father said, this wasn't a problem, it was an opportunity to excel.

With some care, I was able to remove the bulkhead and glass, clean up the old joints, and replace with a new piece of glass. Unfortunately, I had glued the ball valve to the bulkhead, so I had to cut them apart and butt-glue them back together after reinstalling the bulkhead. A little "magic tape", and the joint was sealed tight again.



So, this is pretty much what the system looks like completely assembled:




Proceeded to fill the holes in the canopy and stain it (pictured wet), and installed the electric. For a big guy like me, with large hands, this was excruciatingly long and painful. I've got lots of war wounds from the 12ga wire.



After another water test on the only nice day this week (have to take the setup out in the driveway), I confirmed the baffles were positioned correctly, the approximate running water level, and began installation of the auto topoff.



The last item remaining were the lights for the refuge, and the QT tank. So I built a little mounting bracket for the refuge light from some scrap lumber (since been painted, and had a reflector attached - see below).



Finally, the QT light. Fosters, it's Australian for "cheap-ass reflector".



So, virtually everything is done. I'm moving it all from the workshop to the condo tomorrow, and starting setup! Yay!

[Foosinho]

Well, I brought the contraption home from the workshop yesterday, set it up, and started filling it.



Unfortunately, one of the bulkheads had a drip leak, and since I couldn't get my hands at it I had to stop filling the tank until I got an adjustable wrench that could fit.

Which I got today. Finished my fill (exactly 16 gallons of water), and fired up the pump.





Clearly, I'm going to have to do something about that spray in the sump, or my stand will be coated in salt within a month.

I still have a few odds and ends to fix (continue checking for drip leaks, the sump spray issue, light for refuge, finish auto topoff, fix T5 wiring, build the skimmer, wire the moonlights), but in the interim I've got the heater running to bring the RO/DI up to temp, and then I'll dump in the salt. I expect I'll be adding the sand and some live rock tomorrow, after the saltwater "matures".

[Foosinho]

Water is still crashing around in the sump - I've got to solve that. But I added the salt last night, and let it mix well overnight. I just added the sand, and the water is a little murky.



That's with only the 32W PC - I've still got to fix the T5's.

I'm going to be heading out to get some rock today as well, but none of the stores open until 10AM, and my wife is leaving for the weekend (with the camera!) at 10:30AM, so this is it for pictures today. I'll get the rock in and muck around with the aquascaping, and post a picture on Monday.

[Foosinho]

My wife just got back from her horse show - and after making all that fuss about NEEDING the camera, she took zero photos. Sigh.

Alright, so after my wife took off with the camera, I went out and got about 9lbs of live rock, and tossed that in. I also got a filter sock yesterday, and put that on the drain into the sump to help reduce the splashing (success). So, no more excessive salt spray, but I do still have a micro bubble problem. I should have put my baffles further apart - I'll just have to consider that a lesson learned for my next tank.

I snapped this photo in full-auto - so the white balance is off. The big rock on the left has tons of great purple coraline algae. Even in this photo, it's pretty clear that the bubble problem is drastically reduced, and the silt settled from adding the sand.


I need to get another rock or two, and some cleanup crew - I'll probably go do that tomorrow, and then do some aquascaping. The tank is far less blue than it looks in the photo - the 32W PC actinic and the two 24W T5 bulbs (blue+ and aquablue) really "blue up" the photos! Oh yeah, the light is on in this room (a 60W soft white bulb in a "paper lantern" fixture just to the right of the camera), so you can see how powerful the tank lights are.

[Foosinho]

Parameters were all good (the rock I used was literally out of water for less than 15 minutes from store to tank) last night, and I'm seeing a diatom bloom and some turf algae, so I added a nice sized scarlet hermit and a cerith snail today. Set them both down on the rock after acclimitization, and the hermit promptly came out and started feeding. The snail righted itself, and has pretty much stayed put for the last 30 minutes or so.

Unfortunately, due to the microbubble issue I can't get my camera to focus, and the manual focus isn't letting me get close enough to get good photos. I'll have to figure something out.

Additionally, I had to shift the rock a little bit, and a crustacean shell from a molt shook loose and started floating around! It was about 3 mm long or so, and it looked like it might have been a copepod. I'll have to stay up one of these nights and see if any interesting hitchhikers came in on the rock.

Finally, did a small water change (about 1/2 gallon) to adjust the salinity (creeping downwards due to salt spray) and make up for the water used in acclimitizing the new arrivals.

[Foosinho]

Well, the hermit moved into a spot where I could snap a photo of both. The white balance is better on this one, but still not perfect. You can see the microbubble problem - it looks like a blizzard!

[Foosinho]

Added a nassarius snail (who immediately shot into the sand bed) and a trochus snail today, as well as another cured piece of live rock. No pictures yet of the new additions.

Additionally, some chaeto arrived via mail, so I dropped that in the refuge.

Stock list:
~ 11.5 lbs live rock
1 ball of chaeto in refuge (full of pods, it looked).
1 scarlet hermit crab
1 cerith snail
1 trochus snail
1 nassarius snail

I'll try to update the photos soon. The cerith has mowed the rock to the right in the photo near clean of algae, while the hermit is active at night but hides in a nice recess in the rock during the day. I think I'm going to start a web page in addition to the work log here.

[Foosinho]

Added some more snails today to try and keep up with the prodigious algae growth.

Stock list:
~ 11.5 lbs live rock
1 ball of chaeto in refuge (full of pods, it looked).
1 scarlet hermit crab
2 cerith snails
2 trochus snails
1 nassarius snail (MIA - haven't seen this guy in a while)
1 turbo snail

Unfortunately, while most of the algae popping up is hair (and the additional snails should be able to keep that mowed down), I've noticed some bubble algae starting to show up, and some (so far) unidentified stuff that looks like little fans.

But worst of all, I see an aiptasia, and it's inside a little cave on one of the rocks. Will be very very difficult to eliminate by hand.

[Foosinho]

Well, it appears one of the cerith snails might be dead. He's mostly buried in the sand in the back, and doesn't appear to have moved in a while.

I was beginning to wonder about the hermit for a while, as he seemed to never be active - but as it turned out, he was molting. Now he's very active, 24/7.

I think I need another snail or two - the rocks are completely clean, as is about half the back glass and about half the sand bed, but it looks like we are at an equilibrium point. I didn't want to overload with snails and then have a dieoff as they ate all the food. Need a few more to knock down the hair algae and keep it down.

The chaeto in the sump seems to be starting to grow. I might have to lengthen the cycle, since it's getting lower quality light than the hair algae in the main tank, so it can outcompete the hair for the nutrients in the water.

Finally, after seeing what appeared to be copepod "husks" from molts, I saw a single copepod working on some turbo snail waste yesterday, and I saw two large copepods (2-3 mm in length) on the sand bed in full light today. Must be a thriving population hidden away in the very porous rock got.

I think it might be about time to add a coral or two.

[Foosinho]

Update - but no photos.

First, stock list:

~ 11.5 lbs live rock
1 ball of chaeto in refuge (full of pods, it looked).
1 scarlet hermit crab
2 cerith snails
3 trochus snails
1 nassarius snail (MIA - haven't seen this guy in a while)
1 turbo snail
1 small red open brain

Well, I *still* haven't seen the nassarius, so I think he's probably dead. Added another trochus, and the cerith snails are both doing well. Added an open brain coral about a week ago. He looks OK - he looked a little bit better in the store, and his mouths are open (which they weren't at the store). I'm going to either feed him a little bit of shrimp, or see if I can find some cyclop-eeze locally to throw at him to see if I can get him to color up a bit more, and hopefully swell up during the day. Other than some yellow polyps in my old nano, this is my first "real" coral, so I'm still learning to get a feel for his health. Once I feel more comfortable, I'll add some more corals.

Saw a bristleworm, or maybe a fireworm, in the tank a few days ago and again today. He looks almost *exactly* like this guy, just really small:



Additionally, I think those things I previously identified as copepods are actually amphipods, and there are *hundreds* of them. Holy cow, they are everywhere.

The small aiptasia has grown some - it's time to get in there with a syringe and some lemon juice and see if I can eliminate him before he multiplies.

Finally, the hair algae has pretty much completely disappeared. I've been taking stocking slow while things settle, but I'm thinking about picking up the pace a little bit, as things look really good. I still need to construct a skimmer, but I've been doing small (~2 gal) waterchanges every two to three weeks. I haven't been testing as often as I should, but things look *great* in there right now. I test salinity about weekly (this was the biggest problem in my old 7gal without the autotopoff), and it's rock solid at 1.023.

[Foosinho]

Well, we had a confirmed death today - the newest of the trochus didn't make it. Fished him out so he didn't foul the water. Also, I hadn't cleaned the sock filter (aka, anti-splash/spray device) in about two weeks, and boy was that thing foul. Filthy. Cleaned off some salt spray that had built up on the durso air hole, causing some fluctuation in the water level.

Good news is, I saw the nassarius briefly. Looks bigger than I had imagined, but then again, I haven't seen him in forever. LOTS of the bristle/fire worms pictured above, especially when the snail died. Some other kind of worm has been sighted once or twice, but it's not very distinctive looking.

~ 11.5 lbs live rock
1 ball of chaeto in refuge (full of pods, it looked).
1 scarlet hermit crab
2 cerith snails
1 trochus snails
1 nassarius snail (confirmed sighting 9 July 2005)
1 turbo snail
1 small red open brain

The open brain is looking kinda blah. I'm not seeing the swelling up during the day. I think I'll try to move him to a lower-flow area.

[Foosinho]

Well, sad to say that in the end the open brain did not make it.

Shortly after that, I interviewed for and was offered a job in a different city. Unfortunately, the job required me moving prior to the household moving. Given the contraints, I elected to break down the tank rather than try to juggle a move of the tank. Sold everything else back to the store, broke down the tank, and cleaned everything.

It turned out to be a wise choice, as the tank broke during the move, which would have put me in a world of hurt.

I'm glad I did the project - I learned a LOT which I can apply towards my next tank. My current plan - after I finish all the other home improvement projects I have in our new home - is to reuse the stand but this time I can back up against the utility room - which is a whopping 200 square feet. Instead of cramming the sump in the stand, I'm going to plumb thru the wall to allow a much larger sump, and a larger water volume. I'll repair or replace the 10 gallon display. That arrangement should allow a slower flow rate thru the sump (it was like the Columbia River!) and make it easier to fit in a skimmer.

So, clearly I lost the contest, but I learned a huge amount about reefing. I'm much much happier with how this tank worked out compared with my first nano attempt. I had a tremendous amount of coraline growth.