Aquarium Bar build

[danny zubot]

Well, I'm at it again. Since I haven't had any luck finding the tank I want within my budget I'm going to work with my existing 60 gallon cube. It's dimensions are 25x25x22". I've decided that I'm going to build a stand for it that doubles as a bar for my downstairs family room. For the past half a year it's been hidden away in my laundry room so that my kids can't get at it easily. Now I've had enough, and its time to bring it out into the open. Here's a shot of where it is right now.

http://www.canreef.com/photopost/data/500/medium/IMGP3463.JPG

[danny zubot]

First I had to rip up the carpet in the area where the bar will go. The carpet is pretty ugly so I'm glad to be rid of at least some of it. I painted the concrete floor just for looks, until I can afford to lay down hardwood in the entire house. I figure it will be better for the splashes that happen from time to time.
http://www.canreef.com/photopost/data/500/medium/IMGP3603.JPG

[danny zubot]

Here is the first part of the framing that will eventually become the bar.
http://www.canreef.com/photopost/data/500/medium/IMGP3602.JPG

[Veng68]

I see you already have the washroom set up :) ;)

Cheers,
Vic

[danny zubot]

Haha, TIME!!!! It only took 3 minutes before someone commented on the potty. Don't worry, I'll move it before I move the tank. Like I said, concrete is better for the splashes.:lol:

[chris121277]

So what are the plans for how the bar / stand are going to look?

[whatcaneyedo]

Tagging along. Building an in-wall tank behind a bar is my dream for when I buy a house... somewhere in the near future I hope. In the meantime I'm getting by with my 'meth lab' reef sprawled out around the basement. lol

I thought it was just standard to have a toilet in ones fish room? (lower right corner)

http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/hh109/whatcaneyedo/eqip.jpg

[rstar]

I dont think i could use the toilet there, i would be too disrtracted with tinckering with all the stuff in my fish room!

[danny zubot]

I only have an idea about how I want it to look in the end. It miight end up part contemperary, part disco, part old English, part..... I do want to tile the bar top, and have some sort of raised paneling on the sides. Thats all I really know at this point. I was debating an in wall tank originally, but the tank is too small to justify it IMO. Plus, if I went in wall, I'd have to deal with re-doing the laundry room. Which is littered with the previous home owners shelving and other contructs. It really would be too much work.

Incidentally the nearest real toilet to the tank is through the laundry room, where I have fish magazines for reading material. Not quite as good as having a toilet right there, haha!

[lastlight]

I dont think i could use the toilet there, i would be too disrtracted with tinckering with all the stuff in my fish room!

Nobody's saying you can't still tinker while you're on there!

[danny zubot]

Just finished framing the canopy. Framers don't laugh, I'm' not a pro. I did manage to get it to within 95% plum and level. It's pretty sturdy too, more than enough to house my luminarc reflector and dual t-5 lights.
http://www.canreef.com/photopost/data/500/medium/IMGP3604.JPG

[Skimmerking]

wow that is it for pictures come on DANNY

[danny zubot]

What? What do you mean? I can't tell if you are being sarcastic.:mrgreen:

[Skimmerking]

:mrgreen: there

[chris121277]

So.....hows the build coming? any progress or new pictures?

[danny zubot]

I ran out of screws the other day and company has been here, so nothing new to report. The next steps will be skinning it, then resisting the urge to move the tank right away.:biggrin:

[robzilla]

looking good!! you might motivate me to build a stand... working on a tree house for the kids currently :)

[danny zubot]

looking good!! you might motivate me to build a stand... working on a tree house for the kids currently :)

I might have had this done a while ago if it wasn't for things that I was doing for the kids. :wink:

Not much to add. I just added the shelves for the refugium and sump, and gave them a preliminary coat of paint.



http://www.canreef.com/photopost/data/500/medium/IMGP3610.JPG

[danny zubot]

Just finished the first phase of skinning the bar. I now have to remove all of the panels so that I can seal and paint them. I also have to re-level the whole thing a bit since the kids have adopted the bar as their new jungle gym.:mad:

Once I've re-installed the panels I'll have a bunch of taping and mudding to do. Booooo!

http://www.canreef.com/photopost/data/500/medium/IMGP3614.JPG

http://www.canreef.com/photopost/data/500/medium/IMGP3615.JPG

[chris121277]

Just finished the first phase of skinning the bar. I now have to remove all of the panels so that I can seal and paint them. I also have to re-level the whole thing a bit since the kids have adopted the bar as their new jungle gym.:mad:

Once I've re-installed the panels I'll have a bunch of taping and mudding to do. Booooo!

http://www.canreef.com/photopost/data/500/medium/IMGP3614.JPG

http://www.canreef.com/photopost/data/500/medium/IMGP3615.JPG

Taping and mudding? your using drywall mud?
on MDF you might be better off to use bondo....others my disagree with me but thats what I've always used (then tape isn't necessary)

[danny zubot]

Bondo? What about for the outside corner beads? My goal was to try to make the bar blend into and resemble the walls around it, that's why all of the extra work. Man I hate this part.:lol:

[chris121277]

How goes the painting? Getting any closer to getting your tank moved over?

[danny zubot]

I've managed to finally find time to finish mudding, taping and putting a coat of primer on everything. What does everyone think of the color? It's only primer so if the wife doesn't agree with it I can easily change it.

http://www.canreef.com/photopost/data/500/medium/IMGP3617.JPG

http://www.canreef.com/photopost/data/500/medium/IMGP3616.JPG

[Lance]

Go with it. It's a great colour.

[globaldesigns]

Wow, this is great looking... If I ever move, I want to do something like you are doing. Look forward to seeing more pic's

[chris121277]

wow....lookin great man, when do you figure you will have the tank all moved over there?

On a side note, you said you were interested in a toad stool frag...how big of one did you want?

[danny zubot]

Thanks everyone. I have a lot of respect for the tradesman who do stuff like this every day. Mudding and taping truley is an art form.:lol: The actual tank move will likely not happen for a couple of weeks yet, I need to acquire all of the plumbing parts still.

Chris, small is better right now due to the space issue in the tank. If you can hold off until I move the tank I will have pobably (accidentally) made more room in case you have a larger frag. I was eyeing them when I was feeding your fish. I think they're cool, and a good potential host for a clown fish.

[globaldesigns]

mudding and taping an ART FORM!!!! I would say so, I did the work in my server room for the data center for my company. You woulda howled.... I would start on one end with the tape, work my way across, while doing so when finishing the strip, the start would already be falling off.

NEVER AGAIN!!!! leave that to the pro's

Again great job!

[muck]

Looks great so far Danny.
Really looking forward to the finished product.

[danny zubot]

Work is coming along every day now. I've finished painting the area, as well as finished the mouldings around the top of the bar. I tiled the bar top but have run into my first real issue. All of the grout cracked, and I'm not sure why? I used a tube of grout and it was just enough to get the job done. I see now that the grout has shrunk a bit, so I'm wondering if I can add more grout? I don't want to do that until I find out what I did that made it crack though. Any thoughts?

http://www.canreef.com/photopost/data/500/medium/IMGP3660.JPG

[danny zubot]

I ran a line from where the RODI top up will enter the sump, along the under side of the base boards to the laundry room where the unit is set up. I'll need to buy about 30-40 feet of line to make it all the back though.
http://www.canreef.com/photopost/data/500/medium/IMGP3661.JPG

http://www.canreef.com/photopost/data/500/medium/IMGP3662.JPG

[Jason McK]

Sweet I've been waiting for updates. Great Idea how far is the run from the tank to the RO/DI?

[lastlight]

This will be unique and stylin' when complete. Looking forward to seeing a tank on that stand.

[Pazil]

Work is coming along every day now. I've finished painting the area, as well as finished the mouldings around the top of the bar. I tiled the bar top but have run into my first real issue. All of the grout cracked, and I'm not sure why? I used a tube of grout and it was just enough to get the job done. I see now that the grout has shrunk a bit, so I'm wondering if I can add more grout? I don't want to do that until I find out what I did that made it crack though. Any thoughts?

http://www.canreef.com/photopost/data/500/medium/IMGP3660.JPG

What type of grout did you use? What material did you adhere the tile to? Can you get a close up of the grout joints?

[danny zubot]

Thanks everyone. It appears to be turning out pretty good if I do say so myself. I've done a lot of reno's since I moved in here last winter, and each time I acquire new knowledge and skills. My wife is pleased with how it looks and thats all that matters.:wink:

Pazil; The grout I used is called Karacaulk, made by Mapei. It comes in a caulking tube and says that it is sanded acrylic caulk. Here's a pic of the cracks.

http://www.canreef.com/photopost/data/500/medium/IMGP3663.JPG

[JDigital]

That's a sweet looking bar! Great work so far. Can't wait to see the tank on there. :mrgreen:

[Pazil]

Thanks everyone. It appears to be turning out pretty good if I do say so myself. I've done a lot of reno's since I moved in here last winter, and each time I acquire new knowledge and skills. My wife is pleased with how it looks and thats all that matters.:wink:

Pazil; The grout I used is called Karacaulk, made by Mapei. It comes in a caulking tube and says that it is sanded acrylic caulk. Here's a pic of the cracks.

http://www.canreef.com/photopost/data/500/medium/IMGP3663.JPG

Mapei makes a great product... I typically use the the caulking for inside corners when tiling and where the tiles meet another material (ie. tile backsplash to counter top). You should also be able to pick up the sanded grout from the same supplier. I would use that for the grount lines rather than the caulk. Also what material did you use under the tile?

[chris121277]

wow....looking awesome there man, can't wait to see it all moved over and set up.

[danny zubot]

Pazil; should I have not used sanded caulk? I thought it was grout. Will I be able to grout over this since it has shrunk so much or should I be removing the caulk first?

[sharuq1]

I'm loving the color, it is looking good! According to my fiance (he's a contractor) you should take out the caulking between the tiles and replace it with regular grout, then seal.

[danny zubot]

I'm loving the color, it is looking good! According to my fiance (he's a contractor) you should take out the caulking between the tiles and replace it with regular grout, then seal.

According for my 2 year old I should do the same thing, since he's already started it for me. My bad for leaving my tools laying around.:redface:

[Pazil]

Pazil; should I have not used sanded caulk? I thought it was grout. Will I be able to grout over this since it has shrunk so much or should I be removing the caulk first?

Remove the caulking and use the sanded grout. You can use the color matched sanded caulking for the joints that meet the wood. If you try to grout those joints the caulking will crack. If you need any other help you can PM me I am always around.

[UnderTheSea]

Looking great. Can't wait to see the final pics......

Do you still run your RO with the carbon filter? You may want to consider removing as I noticed TDS to climb quickly with it on. I own an Aqua-Safe as well, are they even still in business?

[danny zubot]

I never knew that the carbon raised the TDS. Yes I still run it. As far as I know Aqua-safe has new owners and will be up and running again soon.

[danny zubot]

Just picked up some 1/4" line for the auto top up, but I'm not sure now if I can use the kind I bought. It's the black vinyl tubing that is normally used for out door drip lines. It says for out door coldwater use only. Does anyone out there use this for their tanks? Will something bad happen if I use this line?

[danny zubot]

For the past week I've been tying up all of the loose ends before the big move. I managed to get the bar and room finished, well, as far as a I can for now.

I moved the fuge and sump first so that I could get 90% of the plumbing done before the tank move. Here's a shot of them. The tank drains to the fuge where I have my 2 stage GFO/NO3 reactor as well as macros and some live rock chunks.

http://www.canreef.com/photopost/data/500/medium/IMGP3666.JPG

Then from the fugethe water drains into the sump. I have my ASM G3 skimmer, carbon bag, filter sock, heater, PH probe, thermometer sensor and return pump all situated in the sump.

You can see on the right that I used a one way check valve and union for the return line. I ran it into my SQWD and then up to the tank via mostly 1" line. With all of that plumbing I figure I went from a 950 GPH pump to only 600-650 GPH. I guess thats fine seeing as how it only runs out of one exit at a time.
http://www.canreef.com/photopost/data/500/medium/IMGP3667.JPG

[danny zubot]

The light sit quite nicely in the cantalevered canopy, but I overlooked one crutial element when I designed it. I didn't account for the actinic T5's at all, so they aren't intalled right now. I will have to figure out a way to install them that doesn't look crappy.

http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f343/3214dannyzubot/IMGP3669.jpg

And now for the 99% finished product............
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http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f343/3214dannyzubot/IMGP3670.jpg

[sphelps]

Damn! Looks good and I love how well it blends in. The only problem I see is the limited space for a keg. This is a bar right?

[lastlight]

RAD! How is the light bleed from that badboy?

I'm noting a lack of a kid-potty but the addition of a child-gate. Moving on up in every way =)

And what is your flooring?

[Lance]

Nice job Danny. Looks great!

[danny zubot]

Thanks all. There is absolutely no room under there for a keg.:lol: It's really just a dry bar so the most I'll do is put up shelves along the back wall for alcohol. There is enought room for our little fridge behind the bar though, provided I ever get around to having it fixed.

The light bleed is emense, but thats kind of what I wanted since the room sort of doubles as a solarium. And the floor is just painted concrete, that is until I can afford hard wood.

The one thing I noticed today was an increase in the tanks temperature. The room does heat up due to the south exposure and patio doors, so I'll have to remember to keep the curtains drawn.

[chris121277]

wow...thats awesome man!!! very nice job!

How did the move go? everything make the transfer ok?

[danny zubot]

The move was hectic even with all of the prep work I put in. Thats what you get for being a stay at home dad I guess. I managed to drop only two colonies while attempting transfer them. I should have been more careful when choping them down because all I was left with at the end of the day was crushed coral instead of the frags I was trying make. Thats what I get for rushing. But don't worry there's still plenty of frags if you want, and I can always make frags of the SPS.

[danny zubot]

The tank is looking surprisingly healthy after the move so here's a couple of close ups.

Front:
http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f343/3214dannyzubot/IMGP3674.jpg

Inside:
http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f343/3214dannyzubot/IMGP3673.jpg

Outside:
http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f343/3214dannyzubot/IMGP3675.jpg

[JDigital]

Looks fantastic!! Congrats on a successful build, it turned out awesome.:biggrin:

[chris121277]

Tank is looking great man, I like the new aquascaping

[bauder1986]

very nice! Everything compliments wel together!

[danny zubot]

Thanks again all. A few of my SPS have dulled in color since the move but will they should recover soon. I still have to build the doors for the cabinet under the bar. Right now that flimsy baby gate is the only things keeping the kids out, and I just don't trust it.

[globaldesigns]

Wow, GREAT colors on those pic's

[Parker]

Wow, that truned out great!

[JDigital]

I just noticed looking back at the 99% finished product pic that the ONLY thing I can actually nitpick (sorry.. :mrgreen:) about is the black trim on the tank... it kinda throws off the aesthetic balance of the room (to my eye anyways), as the room is trimmed all in bright white.

Would look awesome as a Rimless but I assume it's to late to remove it, perhaps testing out some bright white tape on the trim (then paint white later) would work to see if it blends into the surroundings better but still catches the eye of the viewer.?? Just tossing it out there. :P :razz:

[danny zubot]

It's funny you should mention that because I've been toying with various ideas about finishing the trim around the tank. Right now there is a gap around the tank that shows the styrofoam. I've pondered covering the bottom with some finger joint trim, but that may not work for the top of the tank. White tape might be the answer for that though, thanks for the idea.

I'll pst pics when I can to see what people think.

[danny zubot]

Just thought I'd share a couple pics of the tank with some updated aquascaping and tank trim.
http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f343/3214dannyzubot/IMGP3754.jpg

[robert]

Well done. Outstanding carpentry job and I really like the tank, simple but beautiful aquascaping. Now you just need to add a few bottles of some nice wine and I'm ready for the tank tour :mrgreen:

[JDigital]

Bottom trim looks great danny! What did you end up doing with the upper tank trim? Got a FBS (full bar shot)? :mrgreen:

[danny zubot]

Oops, I have to appolgize about the missing pics. I didn't realize that re-organizing my photo bucket albums would result in link being broken. I'll post a FBS soon.

The top trim is still black for now because I haven't been able to locate glossy white tape. I wanted to use the tape first before commiting to glueing any kind of moulding in place.

[Mrfish55]

If you are looking for white tape, try your local hobby shop, they have trim for the model airplanes that will come in gloss white and it is easy to work with and very durable (has to hold up to fuel)

[fishytime]

Nice work Danny....looks like a great place to tip a glass....cheers

[lastlight]

For people that don't have their glasses sitting on a makeshift shelf in their sump right Doug?

Those colors are popping!

[danny zubot]

I haven't updated anything for a while so while I had the ambition tonight I snapped a couple of pics of some new things that have been going on with the barquarium.

I couple of weeks ago I noticed that my SQWD went, what a pain those things are to deal with. The theory behind them is good, but the product was lacking as it turned out. one of the gears broke inside so the valve got stuck to one side. I only noticed this after sme of my corals began to show signs of stress, and GHA started to appear on one side of the tank. I pondered replacing it, but instead opted to go a different direction. Thanks to a fellow Canreefer I've now jumped up a notch in the tech ranks to a digital wavemaker.

http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f343/3214dannyzubot/IMGP3846.jpg

It runs the existing 3 Koralia 2's that I have in the tank. What a noise they make when turning on after being idle. I couldn't stand it for even a day, and it got the gears in my head turning. (turn off your smoke detectors) This is what I came up with. A simple by as it turns out, very effectiveway to shut them up. Anyone who owns Koralia's knows that the impeller flaps around when they're turned on, until it grabs. A small piece of rigid watr filter tubing did the trick, and should also extend the life of the impeller.

http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f343/3214dannyzubot/IMGP3843.jpg

Oh, I forgot to mention; When I ditched the old plumbing from when I had the SQWD I increased my return line flow a lot. Not only did I get rid of the SQWD but also, a check valve and all of the 3/4" plumbing. Now with 1" plumbing I figure I've added about 250 - 300 GPH to the return line, if not more. This caused an unexpected problem with the overflow from my refugium to the sump. It couldn't handle the increased flow due to the lack of pitch in the drain line and I had a mini flood. Rookie plumbing mistake I guess. So I had to "T" off the 1.5" drain line before the fuge so that some of the water went directly int the sump. I also added some more pitch to the drain.

http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f343/3214dannyzubot/IMGP3842.jpg

[danny zubot]

After everything was re-done I had to re-aquascape things a bit. Let me know what you think.
http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f343/3214dannyzubot/IMGP3849.jpg

Here's a shot of a couple of frags that a bought from Oceanic Corals that I'm proud of.
Purple plasma and red planet acros.
http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f343/3214dannyzubot/IMGP3847.jpg
http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f343/3214dannyzubot/IMGP3848.jpg

I've also added some Booze to the bar and the wife got me a calender to complete the "man" look.

http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f343/3214dannyzubot/IMGP3850.jpg

[Delphinus]

Lookin' great there Danny. :cool:

[chris121277]

looking good there Danny.......thats all the barquarium needed was booze and a girly calender
Some good growth on the new corals as well, should be able to frag thows babies in no time:wink:

[lastlight]

I'd definitely be spending some time down there very nice! You're playing with fire with the GSP aren't you? Looks pretty cool tho!

[loveless]

Grey Goose. Good choice.

[untamed]

Ha...there's no way my wife would be purchasing me a calendar like that! Your coke is going to get kind of warm up there... Looks like a wonderful place to hang out.

[dcook]

It runs the existing 3 Koralia 2's that I have in the tank. What a noise they make when turning on after being idle. I couldn't stand it for even a day, and it got the gears in my head turning. (turn off your smoke detectors) This is what I came up with. A simple by as it turns out, very effectiveway to shut them up. Anyone who owns Koralia's knows that the impeller flaps around when they're turned on, until it grabs. A small piece of rigid watr filter tubing did the trick, and should also extend the life of the impeller.please give more details ie how tooooooooooooo?

[danny zubot]

Thanks everyone. I still have plans for a few more bar items, like one of those hanging glass holder things.

As for the Koralia mod; It's pretty simple. Normally there's about an inch gap between the impeller and the end of the berring shaft. So if your Koralia is facing down the impeller could slip out a bit, causing it to bounch around upon activation right. Well, just cut a piece of rigid water filter line 1" long and place it in there. As shown in the pic with the yellow piece of tubing.
http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f343/3214dannyzubot/IMGP3843.jpg

[dcook]

Thanks danny zubot
I have 1 on a timer, it starts at 8am its so loud its my alarm clock lol
not anymore.....

[danny zubot]

So last night while re-arranging the tank again I made a discovery about my Koralia mod. It doesn't work, or should I say it doesn't work all of the time. I guess when the impeller is bouncing around upon activation it's looking for the correct polarity. By inhibiting this action by the impeller I've managed to make it run backwards, pulling water into the pump instead of pushing it out. Wierd hey? It only does this about half the time, and is completely random it seems. So I might leave the sleaves in because it doesn't seems to hurt the impeller. What it does do, is create some strange flow around the tank when one or more are running in reverse. Sorry to all who have used my mod already, please check your Koralia's to make sure they are pumping correctly.

[chris121277]

Fascinating..........that's one side effect that I never would have guessed.....so when they fire up in reverse does it cause water to splash up and over the glass at all?

[danny zubot]

No, the back of the pump inhibits that. The reverse flow isn't all that great either, it's not like it's going to suck in a fish or something. What a bummer! For a day I thought I was like some kind of briliant modifier guy, but it turns out that I suck.

[chris121277]

LOL......how about if you shortened the air line a bit, then added some kind of rubber washer or something on the other side of the impeller to cushion the clacking on start up?

[chris121277]

In fact I think mine came with a rubber bushing that fit over the bottom of the impeller (I lost them down the drain wile cleaning)

[danny zubot]

Hmm, it might just work. I've since lost mine too, if it came with them at all but I think I might have something that would work.

[danny zubot]

The weekest link in my system up until now has been my piddly little refugium / joke of a frag tank. Well, no longer. I picked up an old hagen tank from the basement of the LFS and fixed it up. I took the top trim off and added glass bracing instead, then I drilled it to house a 1.5" bulk head. It's 30x12x15" and fits quite nice in the cabinet right beside my sump.

http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f343/3214dannyzubot/IMGP3991.jpg

Holy crap there were some serious micro bubbles floating through this tank. Solution: I have an old overflow box with built in baffles. I hung it on the inside back of the tank and ran the drain into it. The results were about 90% lesss bubble, which is tolerable for a frag tank.

http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f343/3214dannyzubot/IMGP3992.jpg

I still might mess around with the frag rack a bit to create more room for the abundance of frags I plan on making soon. I just hope that the 4 T5's I have over the tank will be enough to sustain my SPS frags.

Danny

[bauder1986]

Pretty innovative dude. Liking this tank more and more with each gadget add on:razz:

[danny zubot]

I know, when will it stop eh? I had to do this one though, the little bin I had before was a detritus trap and didn't have enough room in it.

[bauder1986]

Yah I just finished reading back on this thread, that new frag tank is alot better than the one that you had....kinda uses up alot more space underneath now so that may limit future toys but it looks alot more presentable and is much more functional.

[chris121277]

nice looking frag tank man, one heck of a step up from the last one. Were did you move your macro algae to? it was in the old one wasn't it?

I don't think you should have any issue with SPS frags under thows 4 T-5's

[danny zubot]

The Cheato is still in there. Some is in the overflow box and some is to the right of it.

[vic622]

Thanks everyone. I still have plans for a few more bar items, like one of those hanging glass holder things.

As for the Koralia mod; It's pretty simple. Normally there's about an inch gap between the impeller and the end of the berring shaft. So if your Koralia is facing down the impeller could slip out a bit, causing it to bounch around upon activation right. Well, just cut a piece of rigid water filter line 1" long and place it in there. As shown in the pic with the yellow piece of tubing.
http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f343/3214dannyzubot/IMGP3843.jpg

Hey Danny,
Here's the links to two pages that talk about modding a MaxiJet and how to keep it from starting up backwards.
On reefchili - simplebuild there is a questions page
Common Questions (http://www.reefchili.com/CommonQuestions.html) that has this description of the stopper:
What is the stopper and how do I use it ?

Because the maxi jet runs on alternating current (AC) power it can spin both left or right and will do so randomly
when you first plug it in. if it starts going the right way then perfect but half the time it will start going the wrong
way and end up sucking water in the front and blowing it out the fins on the side. This is where the stopper
comes in. the stopper is simply a piece of acrylic rod shoved through the side of the housing. I drill a 3/16” hole
about a 1/8” below the top of the housing (just under the cap) and glue a ½”-1" piece of 3/16” acrylic rod. What
happens when the pump starts the wrong way is it pushes the whole impeller up towards the cap when this
happens the prop will slam into the stopper (acrylic bar) and bounce back the other way and start running in the
right direction. This is extremely easy to implement and works very well. Some people have found with the
octura props that you don’t need a stopper because the ends of the prop extend up and actually slam into the
centering cap itself. I personally always use the stopper bar because it works so well , costs almost nothing and
takes about 20 seconds to install . Mother always said “if it an’t broke don’t fix it” : ) Oh yeah, don;t try any of the links to www.mjmods.com, they don't work?!?

There is also dhnguyen's DIY build on ReefCentral The "Hitchhiker's Guide" to the Maxi-Stream mod (http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=717034&perpage=25&pagenumber=1) that goes into a bunch of detail on the MaxiJet mod, but he has a different take on how to make a stopper and there's a bunch of pic's on these pages of how and where he puts the stopper.

I think maybe a mod of one or the other of these stoppers could work for Koralia's and let us use the wavemakers.

Vic

[danny zubot]

Bump, update to follow soon.

[chris121277]

Well holy crap!!

Welcome back Danny......looking forward to seeing the update :biggrin:

[paddyob]

That looks fantastic.... and I don't mean the calendar!!

Gives me ideas for my own bar downstairs. Might have to modify it for a possible Sea Horse tank.... when the wife is not looking :twised:





I've also added some Booze to the bar and the wife got me a calender to complete the "man" look.

http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f343/3214dannyzubot/IMGP3850.jpg[/QUOTE]

[Delphinus]

Bump ... is it soon yet?? :)

Bump, update to follow soon.

[chris121277]

Helloooooo? *knock knock knock* this thing on?

[StirCrazy]

I also added some Booze to the bar and the wife got me a calender to complete the "man" look.

http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f343/3214dannyzubot/IMGP3850.jpg

would be more of a "Man look" if it wasn't pink :mrgreen:

nice build though

Steve