Been crazy busy with work. But should be able to post some pics here in a bit. got my fish room drywalled and taped - ready to paint :)

What sizes did that surgical tubing come in? I've got some vibration issues on mine as well and any flexible tubing I've tried thus far hasn't much helped, they're still too firm and transmit the vibration through still.

It comes in all sizes up to 1" ID, but that's $10.57/ft. Not cheap! http://www.new-line.com/hose/tubing/...medical-tubing

Does New-Line sell it by the foot? It doesn't really say on the website unless I missed it.

Yes they do. A few of the hoses they supply only come in prepackaged rolls, but some are sold by the foot, including the medical tubing.

Good to know, thanks Warren

After reading several threads involving rock work I finally worked up the courage to start. Changed my plans from the mock-up Eli made for me, but overall, it's pretty close.

First, I figured out the best angle for the base rock. This ended up being a little back heavy...

https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8617/...de1972ff_b.jpg

...so I chopped that booty off!

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7514/...c90b5502_b.jpg

Front left corner was a little low. Added a small chunk as a foot. Found a good spot on top for the left-overs from the back.

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7557/...0c0e2fb4_b.jpg

Used some FijiCrete as per Eli's instructional videos. Holy crap, this stuff sets fast. You don't have much time to work with it!
I'm just hoping it's as strong as advertised. Gunna give it 24hrs before I even touch it.

https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8673/...a8924551_b.jpg

What you see here measures 16L x 12W x 17 tall. Due to the centre brace on the tank this structure will need to be dropped in and any additional rock will need to be added (I will never make the mistake of a centre brace again).
Busy weekend ahead and next weeks work is looking swamped. Not sure how much more I will be able to do before the holidays. Really looking forward to my 3 and a 1/2 week staycation!
Thanks for looking and Merry Christmas to all!

Looks good, I like the area you have under the rock now that you put the small leg on the left. Diggers and cave dwellers will be happy too. I'm looking forward to Christmas with my newest grandson and the rest of the family as well.
Merry Christmas and a happy new year to you and your family Warren.

Merry Christmas Laurie, have a great time with your family! Hope to see you in the new year!

Now that all the excitement of Christmas has past, and the wife is back to work for a week, I have time to finally get this fishbowl rolling.
Display is all dusty and dingy so I need to start by giving it a good cleaning.
Set up my 'workbench', now begins the task of bringing it all together... and I thought I was on vacation.
Still need salt, substrate and test kits.

Come Hell or high water, this project WILL be cycling before the 16th! Then it's back to the grind.

https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8622/...70d7023c_b.jpg

Look at all those toys new toys. Can you take another picture with them under the Christmas tree :lol:

Yes Ian, you are right! Where is my holiday spirit?

Here ya go.

https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8654/...cf8a49b1_b.jpg

I don't know what I like more all the sweet toys you got or the stormtrooper hanging in your tree :twised:

Started wire management yesterday. This is proving quite tedious. Left side almost done.

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7479/...859484f2_b.jpg

Still trying to wrap my head around the right side.

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7575/...c769a059_b.jpg

Thanks for looking, and a Happy New Year!

wow your xmas stash is impressive! great job on the cabling you're a step above my tie-wrapping obsession in that you can actually remove your devices for cleaning etc which must be nice lol.

Good eye! It wouldn't be Christmas without a little bit of Star Wars!

Lol, I've been collecting all those goodies for the last year and a half... only got the Kessil's for Christmas... which is still a great score.
Gotta give credit to the wife, she's been most generous and supportive!

Left side pretty much done, I'm happy with it. The fan is going to be a pain in the a** to pull out when it dies though.

https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8588/...51f2a58e_b.jpg

Right side starting to come together.

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7570/...8dafd9b7_b.jpg

Overall progress thus far.

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7546/...1ec3676a_b.jpg

Its......Beautiful :cry:

Thanks Pike, I just wish it was finished!

Right side coming along... I'm just not sure if I can plug the Apex Energy Bar in (and all the probes and modules for that matter) without setting up the Apex first?

Don't want to put the Panduit covers on before all that stuff is hooked up. Any insight would be appreciated.

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7512/...32195d0c_b.jpg

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7541/...be4a12fe_b.jpg

Happy New Year everyone!

Lookin' great Warren
I know your dilemma. It's kinda hard to visualize where all the wires will go unless they're already in place

What'd you pay for the Panduit and where from ?

Nice job Warren, my wiring is kinda spread all over my built in wall cabinet but does the job ok. It is nice to see a tidy wiring job though.

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO EVERYONE

It feels like I'm playing Tetris! I got the panduit from Torbram Electric Supply on Broadway in PoCo, by your work. If I remember correctly, I got 16 feet with covers for less than $40.

Thanks Laurie!

Hey that's not expensive at all, and you're right I could literally walk there from work
We use it at work but trying to take some home is a nightmare I don't want to go through

Thanks Warren :biggrin:

Happy New Year :drinking: :party:

Happy New Year Greg, all the best for 2015!

Panduits rock! I used some on my system.

Anyways, good work Warren. Happy New Year!

Sump area looks awesome!

Thank-you, and a Happy New Years to you!

Stuffed some more gear in the stand. Just waiting on an Apex PM2 and a Netgear WiFi adaptor to finish all the wiring.
I only have 13 inches of Panduit left over, so that worked out pretty good.
Hard to see, but there are 2 acrylic panels behind the sump hiding a lot of wiring as well.

https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8563/...95003c6a_b.jpg

At the same time I picked up that acrylic, I also picked up a small extra chunk, from which I fabbed a fan deflector.

https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8609/...03f1bbe0_c.jpg

...and said fan deflector installed.

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7487/...03539909_b.jpg

I look at that and can't help but be impressed by the detail. Compared to my dark sump, "in" pipe and "out" pipe, it's a work of art.

Gotta ask tho, 2015 going to be year of the water?? :)

Thanks Brad, starting to think I am paying too much attention to the detail and it has been slowing me down. Right now I'm getting my butt kicked by the rockwork (pictures to follow).
Luckily the wife just gave me financial freedom to get this thing finished. Back to work on the 19th, so I want to start cycling a few days before that. Just a few more small items and we're golden.
I'm really looking forward to getting aptasia! :)

Badass man! Definitely time for some water fish and coral!

Well, depends what you want out of a system. For me, the details don't matter. My tank, given all the parts available in the room, could be assembled in 30 minutes.
I just wanted my tank running. Would I like your system if someone else were going to build it for me? Sure!! Just not something I care enough about to actually put time and money into.

And to be honest, you're going to need a heck of a coral display or your cabinet/sump will get more attention!! :) It's probably one of the nicest I've seen.

:razz:
My build only took about 5 months War, just sayin ...

Mine took a few months too, but due to building the stand and hood. Once that was done, it was quick. I have about 5' of PVC, a couple of 90s and that's it :)

Gravity holds all my cords. I have a baby gate around my controller and reactor lol

O M G
I just looked back through your thread, checking to see if this was an extension of another build. Not
:pound:

Time to ramp it up Dog
I mean, sure, the devil's in the details, but May 2013 ??? :lol:

Yeah you guys are right. It's time to get wet! To be honest, I get a lot of satisfaction out of planning and building, of anything.
My boss expects this kind of attention to detail at work, so I guess it's just natural that it shows up here as well.
This build has been a whole new learning experience for me, plus I love to research. Frankly, due to financial limitations, I've had to take my time... but yeah, May 2013 is too long.

It's the weekend, so lots of time to add water now :)

Plans for J&L on Monday for salt... I WONT SUCCUMB TO PEER PRESSURE, LOL!!!... but maybe I could fire up the RODI!

OK, with financial restrictions I can see a build such as your's taking time
I'll admit I went waaay over budget on mine and it took some time to recover
So I'll give ya some leeway :wink:

Anything left to buy, or is it just build time now ? C'mon c'mon :biggrin:
This is how I spend my work days, being pressured with parts/time restraints

And ya, you've got all night and 2 days :boink:

Honestly though, when do you think you're going to get it salty ? You still have to test your flow - mess with pumps, valves etc ...

At least get the RO running so you're ready
Then you'll get to test out that fancy sliding unit

FWIW, I tested my system for the better part of a week with tap water before I came close to considering RO and salt
But it was my first salt system

I'm on vacation until the 19th, so plenty of time, no excuses left.

Still need:

Apex PM2
Netgear wifi
Salt
Test kits
ATO and dosing hoses
Probe holder
Substrate

Pocket change really!

Nah, no pressure.

Oh, checked their site

Hours:
Mon - Fri: 11:00 - 8:00 PT
Saturday: 11:00 - 6:00 PT
Sunday: Noon - 5:00 PT
Holidays: Noon - 5:00 PT

Open tomorrow :)