Simplycoral's 165g Upgrade... RANDOM PICTURES.

[simplycoral]

Originally Posted by Dez

New corals are awesome. Love the colours. Thanks! I'm sure you'll see pictures of them later when they grow

Thanks for the full tank shots. Beautiful tank! Love the birdsnest!

Looking forward to the rest of the build. That stand is looking SEXY!

Thanks Dez. Glad the corals are doing well

[simplycoral]

Originally Posted by lastlight

That stand is incredibly well made I think! The way you've sandwiched the plywood together must make that thing ROCK SOLID. One suggestion (might be too late) would be to use stainless pipe handles rather than knobs. That way you tie into the steel pole on the other side of the stand...bringing it all together. Strictly my opinion. Love what you're done so far.



How did you skirt the bottom? Is that metal plating?

I picked up the pipe handles originally.. but thought they made the unit look a little like a kitchen unit. I wanted to try and make it look like an individual piece of freestanding furniture. Well that was the plan

The metal is Octolux which is brushed stainless steel to match the legs.

Regards, Simon..

[simplycoral]

Well the stand is finished (other than a coat of oil) and has been transported to my house! Hell of a job getting it into position but we got there...

Red Coral are building the tank which should be ready on Wednesday. Starting to get a little nervous about transfering the corals & fish praying that it will all go to plan..

Any tips or advice to ensure a smooth transfer would always be welcome

Simon

[SmallFry]

Really nice looking stand, I like the three doors - I only have two on mine as I had enough trouble making two doors let alone three!

I was wondering, what kind of oil do you use? Having just built a stand myself the cautious part of me wants to use satin varnish, but the adventurous part likes the idea of oiling it. I've never used oil (other than teak oil) before, does it stand up to water OK and how exactly do you go about applying it?

Rob.

[fishytime]

Beautiful job on the stand.....and a natural oil finish will be perfect...maple is not the easiest wood to stain and stain on maple tends to hide the little bit of grain that it has...

In house transfers are not that big o deal IME....just have a few bins/buckets for rock and water and a cooler or two for your fish and corals....spare heaters and power heads will allow you to take your time a little more....

[Lance]

Nice job on the stand.

[Boomboy]

very impressed on the stand, and i love the side cabinet to be able to store all those things that dont fit in the sump area. very clean. are you staining it or anything like that? now put the tank on top of this bad boy already.

[simplycoral]

Originally Posted by SmallFry

Really nice looking stand, I like the three doors - I only have two on mine as I had enough trouble making two doors let alone three!

I was wondering, what kind of oil do you use? Having just built a stand myself the cautious part of me wants to use satin varnish, but the adventurous part likes the idea of oiling it. I've never used oil (other than teak oil) before, does it stand up to water OK and how exactly do you go about applying it?

Rob.

Hi, Thanks!

I will be using 2 coats of Danish Oil and Varathane to protect it from the saltwater I have just finished applying the Oil. Doug (Fishytime) is right; the maple has a very fine grain which would not show very well with most stains. Danish Oil highlights the grain very well and i love the way it brings out the different colours in the maple..

The Oil i apply with a rag & the Varathane with a brush.. The Varathane is a little more work though as you have to rub it down with wire wool between coats. 4 coats in total...

[simplycoral]

Originally Posted by fishytime

Beautiful job on the stand.....and a natural oil finish will be perfect...maple is not the easiest wood to stain and stain on maple tends to hide the little bit of grain that it has...

In house transfers are not that big o deal IME....just have a few bins/buckets for rock and water and a cooler or two for your fish and corals....spare heaters and power heads will allow you to take your time a little more....

Thanks

Got the rubbermaid containers ready! Thinking of doing it at night to minimise the stress.. Nervous about the change in conditions as i have lost corals like this in the past

[simplycoral]

Originally Posted by Lance

Nice job on the stand.

Originally Posted by Boomboy

very impressed on the stand, and i love the side cabinet to be able to store all those things that dont fit in the sump area. very clean. are you staining it or anything like that? now put the tank on top of this bad boy already.

Thanks Guy's.. Hoping to get the tank into position on Wednesday

Will take me a little while to get it all plumbed though, before i make the switch!