Pictures of Shavo's Tank

[shavo]

IMO IME, I did have plastic dowells I bought at home depot for gardening, but once i cut to size i noticed the inside was metal. I had already begun drilling rocks and taking the tank apart. I scoured through home depot and found things like plastic poles for driveway reflectors, and plastic for venetian blinds. nothing that was the right size and rigidity for the project. the last thing that I could find to possibly do this was wood. it was not treated wood!!!! anyhow I do have concerns and I am always looking around for some suitable replacement fo them but in the meantime. the wood is not exactly "load Bearing" and I am curious if the wood will just expand to fit the drilled holes and stop there.
The concern about the nitrates with rotting wood? hmmm, why do they sell giant pieces of drift wood for tanks if this is a problem? I found a piece of drift wood in the deleware river about the size of my tank and had it in there for years (freshwater tank). and honestly the amout of wood in my tank is minimal. I have not had any die off or any ill effects to mention as of yet.
agree/disagree?

 

[bleedingthought]

Well, saltwater reacts to wood differently than freshwater. You're right about home depot not having anything, though. I would assume that the wooden dowels would take a little while before they start rotting and might cause some problems for your tank.

But if you're looking for something solid/rigid to replace it, here's a link to acrylic rods: http://www.usplastic.com/catalog/produc ... 5Fid=21166 and the cheaper extruded: http://www.usplastic.com/catalog/produc ... 5Fid=18413 . I don't think the extruded would be a problem (as far as I know) and it's very cheap. That's where I was considering purchasing from. :wink:

 

[bleedingthought]

...and might cause some problems for your tank.

Well, besides your rocks falling over.

 

[shavo]

believe me I am quite concerned about it. I think that the wood will last for a while though.
thanks for the link i will get on it

 

[shavo]

Hey bleeding thought, Thanks I ordered the rods and recieved them and they are in place. what a ***** it was to remove the wood from the rock, a little elbow grease and some hunks of wood left in with new drilled holes and some broken rock for new fuge rubble and wharlah! fineeto. I also added a deep sand bed in the process and took out most of my crushed coral. tank looks alot different and I am more comfortable with the acrylic rods instead of the wood. Thanks!!
needs new light that I am getting most likely tuesday and then an R/O unit when norton peices out. and I is done for now
going to work on livestock very shortly

 

[bleedingthought]

Sounds good, then! Pictures of "new look"?

 

[shavo]

I'll post after the new light, I don't even have a camera, mr. X is in charge of that.

hey I am curious about something, I can get a light with 4X96 watt plus 3 150 watt metal halides

or 4X96 plus 3 250 watt metal halides

is the 150's enough?

 

[bleedingthought]

How much more are the 250s? The 150s should be enough for mostly everything. The more light demanding SPS are what you'll want to keep in mind but you might still be able to keep them just fine if they're up at the top of the tank. But if it's not too much more, go for the 250s and you won't have almost any limitations. HTH

 

[shavo]

hey at some point I want clams, the 250's are 999.99 but on terrific tuesday they have 30% off

I will never say this again, i am going to get a deal at the LFS, i still hate them and know they are ripping me off on a daily basis

 

[Anonymous]

Good news Shavo. I really liked the way you'd set the tank up and would have hated something small like the dowels to cause you problems down the line. Let's hope the second lot of efforts brings peace of mind.

Would also like to see pics if and when available. 8)

 

[Anonymous]

BTW, I'd go for the 250Ws if you can afford it. Builds in that much more flexibility if something (like the clams or SPS) tempts you further down the line.

 

[bleedingthought]

hey at some point I want clams, the 250's are 999.99 but on terrific tuesday they have 30% off

I will never say this again, i am going to get a deal at the LFS, i still hate them and know they are ripping me off on a daily basis

You could probably find them online for 1/3 of the price! :wink:

 

[mr_X]

300 bucks for a 72" 250 watt mh fixture? show me where you can get that! :?

 

[bleedingthought]

300 bucks for a 72" 250 watt mh fixture? show me where you can get that! :?

I wasn't talking fixture.

And by "you could probably find them" I meant that you COULD probably find them.

But either way, here's some links, without much research (EBAY would probably kill these prices but I'm not a fan. Since I purchase most things from MD, I pulled them up):

http://www.marinedepot.com/md_viewItem. ... t=MH250DIY

http://www.marinedepot.com/md_viewItem. ... uct=PF1651

http://www.marinedepot.com/md_viewItem. ... uct=PF1612

http://www.marinedepot.com/md_viewItem. ... uct=PF2613

http://www.marinedepot.com/md_viewItem. ... uct=MB6417

http://www.marinedepot.com/md_viewItem. ... uct=CP5751

So anywhere from $350-$500 depending on how you'd go about it and how elaborate you'd want to make it.

I run VHOs only, though. :wink: Although I do have 3 complete sets of 400 watters sitting in the closet with no bulbs that I bought from a fellow fish club member for 50 bucks total. So, it really depends on how much time you've got to do the research and/or wait for the deals. :mrgreen:

Make sense?

 

[shavo]

hey bleeding thought. not really i have looked everywhere and not even close to 1/3 off, i could do a lickity split Mr.X science project and buy some home depot clamps, but not what i want with my lights, I purchased thanks to mr. science project himsel, the outer orbit extremes

more info later on! just got them and didn't set em up yet, tomorrow after work!!!!

 

[bleedingthought]

hey bleeding thought. not really i have looked everywhere and not even close to 1/3 off, i could do a lickity split Mr.X science project and buy some home depot clamps, but not what i want with my lights, I purchased thanks to mr. science project himsel, the outer orbit extremes

more info later on! just got them and didn't set em up yet, tomorrow after work!!!!

I'm not about lickity split, though! Canopies is my thing. No clamps here.

Anyways, let's the pictures of the tank!

 

[mr_X]

i happen to have absolutely nothing against a few nicely placed clamps!

 

[shavo]

we know! aren't you out of clamps yet? time for another bundle at the HD? lol, it is fun to watch this guy go around every straight forward avenue and go around it at every possible place. not only does he do this but it works probabbly better than the original designed equipment. i use mr. X's theories on my tank when applicable, but ususally they are places that can't be seen!!!
lol

 

[mr_X]

wait till you see my new lighting design! i have some big plans for your old fixture. :lol:

 

[shavo]

I actually can't wait, big plans huh? what do you do that isn't big again? 75 gallon fuge on a 125 tank? hmmm kinda big, gonna buy metal halides? hmm 2 400 watters kinda big. I need a new tank for my 75 gallon (now the kinda big fuge), let me get a 125 , kinda big, I need a new stand, let me go to welding shop and and have somebody construct me a new stand outta STEAL, hmmm kinda big. so anything you do at this point would be par for the course and I just would simply not be surprised by anything that you come up with.