392 gallon commences

[lastlight]

It's past my bedtime so i'll keep this brief:

392 gallons
7L x 3W x 2.5H
Starphire front
external overflows

Here's some construction pics. Please note that i just grouted and the film on the tile hasn't been wiped off just yet so it looks a little dusty.

http://www.thelastlight.net/temp/tank/1.jpg

http://www.thelastlight.net/temp/tank/2.jpg

http://www.thelastlight.net/temp/tank/3.jpg

http://www.thelastlight.net/temp/tank/4.jpg

http://www.thelastlight.net/temp/tank/5.jpg

http://www.thelastlight.net/temp/tank/6.jpg

http://www.thelastlight.net/temp/tank/7.jpg

http://www.thelastlight.net/temp/tank/8.jpg

http://www.thelastlight.net/temp/tank/9.jpg

http://www.thelastlight.net/temp/tank/10.jpg

http://www.thelastlight.net/temp/tank/11.jpg

http://www.thelastlight.net/temp/tank/12.jpg

http://www.thelastlight.net/temp/tank/13.jpg

http://www.thelastlight.net/temp/tank/14.jpg

http://www.thelastlight.net/temp/tank/15.jpg

[Chin_Lee]

Nice finishing. All these big tanks are popping up everywhere and they are all so nicely finished. Very nice.

[Doug]

Wow. Nice looking work.

[Razz]

Great looking project, love the tile job. Keep the photos coming.

[Farrmanchu]

The tile is OUTSTANDING, and I like the way it meets up to the glass. External overflows are so cool, more display room, and the invisible access to the lights from the front is GREAT!

[Jason McK]

WOW Looks great.

Keep the pics coming

J

[christyf5]

That looks fantastic. Can't wait to see more! :biggrin:

[Chowder]

Wow great set up !!! The work you have done is awsome.

[MikeP]

Looks great! I'll have to invite myself over to check it out when you're done :biggrin:.
Keep us updated.

[Midknight]

Man, the tile work is amazing!!!:biggrin:
Keep the pic coming so guys like me can dream of the day....:lol:

[Delphinus]

Wow, looks great!

What kind of timeframe are we looking at in the above pictures?

[lastlight]

Thanks for the kind words folks!

The stand took about a week to build and the wall about another week. It was waiting for the tank to be built that took the longest but it turned out beautifully I think. I'm waiting for the builder to return with the black plexi that will span the entire back of the tank.

Everything is being done as I can afford it and in the middle of doing renos all over my house so things are chaotic at home. I don't think I'll have it totally operational until next summer or later unfortunately.

In a couple of weeks I'll be able to fill it tho and I'm sure a pile of freshwater to stare at will keep me content whenever the wife isn't beating me up with breakneck renovations!

Speaking of wives tho...mine is truly amazing to be cool with this. She knew it would be big but until I helped haul in the glass I don't think she had a clear picture. Thankfully!

Cheers,

Brett

[woodcarver]

Stunning !!!

[Delphinus]

Are you modifying an existing basement or developing from scratch?

I have to do the "from scratch" and the big hurdle holding me up more than anything is I just haven't found the time to get some drawings made up and getting the necessary permitation (electrical, plumbing and development). Did you have to go through this, and how was it in the end for you?

[lastlight]

We bought a new house and the basement was just cement and studs.

My wife's dad is an electrician so I had help there. The rest I'm just learning as I go.

[littlesilvermax]

Me likey!:biggrin:

[lastlight]

A few small updates on the construction front:

- paint and carpet in
- current tank moved from kitchen to basement. wife rejoices!

The tiled pocket in the wall is a wall-fountain and has a 10 gallon hidden in the wall's bottom. It will be run with an eheim 1260. I went through the trouble of exhanging a mag5 that was too loud with an eheim 1250. Plumbed it only to find it didn't have the juice to get the water up over the wall! Doh!

http://www.thelastlight.net/temp/tank/21.jpg

http://www.thelastlight.net/temp/tank/22.jpg

http://www.thelastlight.net/temp/tank/16.jpg

[lastlight]

Now I'd like to share some pics of my current tank. It's only been setup for 2 days so a few things haven't fully returned to their former glories (Mushrooms, coco-worm). I've been really busy with renos and quite depressed about my battle with a red hair algae. I spent 4 hours hand-pulling it from a few rocks and the rest of the rock i placed upside down to light-starve it. I also went into a murderous frenzy and tooth-brushed about a million rogue feather dusters that had taken over. I did all my plucking in-tank and simply rinsed my fingers off in the overflow each time. All the algae was collected in a filter floss trap in the sump. I highly recommend this method!

Things are looking up...

In the tank I have:

- frogspawn
- blue/green mushrooms
- capinella
- some green, red and other miscellaneous zoos
- pulsing xenia
- hawaiian feather duster
- pink yuma that I've never gotten to 'fill out' like when I bought it
- gsp

- orchid dottyback
- lawnmower blenny
- 2 tomatoes
- cleaner shrimp
large anonymous crab which i tried forever to kill but decided to leave in-tank when i dismantled it and had a chance to get him. He's been a good guy and has fought hard to stay =)

in the sump is a green brittle star. I was worried about him in the tank after i bought him. crabs were attacking him for his food. I then discovered he's a fish HUNTER. SUMP!!!

Pics in no particular order:

http://www.thelastlight.net/temp/tank/17.jpg

http://www.thelastlight.net/temp/tank/18.jpg

http://www.thelastlight.net/temp/tank/19.jpg

http://www.thelastlight.net/temp/tank/20.jpg

http://www.thelastlight.net/temp/tank/23.jpg

[lastlight]

http://www.thelastlight.net/temp/tank/29.jpg

http://www.thelastlight.net/temp/tank/25.jpg

http://www.thelastlight.net/temp/tank/26.jpg

http://www.thelastlight.net/temp/tank/27.jpg

http://www.thelastlight.net/temp/tank/28.jpg

[niloc16]

looks great, good job.

[littlesilvermax]

You've gone tile crazy, me likey!:biggrin:

[Der_Iron_Chef]

Agreed. Very nice :smile:

[Pescador]

Lastlight those are fantastic pics great job.

And Tony
We pulled our own permit when we did our basement, the drawing doesn't have to be very fancy at all, make sure you have the window sizes and heights. (for emergency exits) Then you phone them to come out for the plumbing, elec, pre and final.

[untamed]

Nice...I particularly like the overhead doors. You've achieved something there that I've not been able to get right, yet.

Are the doors held up by some sort of gas strut? If so, where did you get it and what model is it?

[lastlight]

Currently the 2 doors are just on the large hinges. I propped the door open for photos with a hammer I believe. VERY high-tech. I've seen people use linear actuators to open canopies and might look into this later on. I need to fix the spacing between the doors because currently they can't both be open at the same time. I made the surfaces a little TOO seamless. oops...

Brett

[MoeReefer]

wow, there seems to be alot of very handy hobbiest lately. love the tile, very clean and professional looking. great pics of new and old. what is the littel tile nook to the right for?

cheers

[untamed]

Currently the 2 doors are just on the large hinges. I propped the door open for photos with a hammer I believe. VERY high-tech. I've seen people use linear actuators to open canopies and might look into this later on. I need to fix the spacing between the doors because currently they can't both be open at the same time. I made the surfaces a little TOO seamless. oops...

Brett

I'm using a stick of wood..which fell out the other day and hit me between the eyes! I'm looking for a better prop...

[SeaHorse_Fanatic]

Sweet job. Now I want an in-wall tank. Wahhhhhhhh!:mrgreen:

[lastlight]

The tile nook is a wall-fountain. It has lights hidden up inside the top.

Cheers,

Brett

[danny zubot]

Very cool Brett. I just moved into my new house which has an undeveloped basment as well. Its good to get ideas from other people for my future reno's. One thing though; aren't you worried about accidentally slamming those top doors and breaking them?

[lastlight]

Yeah Danny it scares the royal 5 outta me!

Right now when I open a door i reach around and support it from the inside to let them shut again. Like I sorta mentioned I'm going to look into something with shocks or maybe even a mechanical device later down the road. The doors are very heavy so i'm equally careful to say the last.

Thanks again for the comments folks!

Brett

[michika]

Beautiful work!