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my new project-Aquarium keeping part 2

ocnbrze said:
not difficult but can be expensive. plants need two things....light and co2. if you provide those two things, you can have a nice planted tank. but they are not cheap, if you want to do it right. planted tanks are the equivalent to keeping a reef tank, in terms of care and cost.
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I sure would like to see some pics of your tank Mr. @ocnbrze :) I know you have years of experience from prior posts. You a man of many talents.

ocnbrze said:
ok so doing some more research i think for my reef tank i want a really cool and clean look which means i want to color coordinate my plumbing and filtration.

i think i will go with my favorite color blue....kind of like this:
colored_pipes.jpg

the blue and grey look is striking, especially if i go with a blue sump:
trigger_system_sump.jpg

which is why i want the stand to be open.
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WoW!!! So cool !!!
 
MrJavi said:
I sure would like to see some pics of your tank Mr. @ocnbrze :) I know you have years of experience from prior posts. You a man of many talents.

WoW!!! So cool !!!
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yes yes photos will be coming once i have everything coming in which might not be for a few months. however, the end result of the 180 will be easy.....that should be done in a few weeks.

.....the reef tank will take many many months to a year before it will get it to be where i want it!!!!

for the reef here will be the steps:
  1. order the tank, rocks, plumbing, and filtration
  2. cure the rock (i'll talk about that later on when i decide what rock i want)
  3. aquascape the rock which means gluing and cementing them together in cool rock formations (again i'll discuss that later on)
  4. plumb the tank and get it up and running with the aquascape finished.
  5. let the tank run for a few months with some fish (not sure what i want to start out with)
  6. once the tank settles down and stabilizes, hopefully (by then i can install the lights i want), i can start adding some coral.
  7. in about 6 months to a year i will have the tank fully stocked with what i want.
i'll discuss each step and post pics as it comes together.....also keep in mind this thing will not be cheap. my current reef tank i went in a more budget DYI tank. it worked for a while, but it did look like a dyi project. this new tank i want it to look super clean and professional. i have the income now to do everything the right way and not cut corners. the idea for my tank will be clean and simple. i have a design in mind that will make maintenance very easy and simple to do.....but again it will not be cheap.

i do not know what the price of the tank and filtration will be yet. probably will make some phone calls either this week or next. i might post the price......but keep in mind, i'm getting a huge discount as i will be paying 10% above the wholesale price....for everybody else the cost will be a lot more.
 
OMG this hobby is going to kill me.....financially.

so i just dropped another $480 on fish........ON FISH!!!!!!!!!!!!

so i guess the anaegyns are getting super rare to find let alone find ones that can be easily sexed. Butch said that they are getting harder and harder to come by. he was lucky enough to secure some pretty big fish for me. They are gonna be coming in at 4.5" which are pretty good size, but still small considering the males can reach 12" while the females get around 8"

so i will be getting 5 of them at $70 a piece!!!!!!!!!!! there will be 2 males and 3 females

i also ordered more polli cats....3 more to be exact.

ok i'm done with this tank for a while.....LOL

now after the big mama as i like to call my 180 is all said and done, i will have to save up for the saltwater tank. i may have get things in pieces before i can really work on it. do not expect too many updates on the this tank. i may post and discuss what i'm thinking i want to do with the tank, but getting the equipment all together might take some time.
 
OH YEAH!!!!!!!!
i'm getting the 3D background delivered this friday. i will post pics of the unboxing and also the installation.

....SO EXCITED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
ocnbrze said:
....and please loose the Mr.....we are all family here;):p;)
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Sorry my friend, It's o
ocnbrze said:
....and please loose the Mr.....we are all family here;):p;)
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Thank you, yes family and friends.

I noticed you posted to this thread and came back to read how tjings are going and realized I hadn't tapped 'post reply" yesterday. Thnks for reminding me.
You know, I should have learned my lesson. A few weeks afte becoming a member I said thanks Mr. @MoodyBlues . She corrected me in a kind , sweethearted nature along with a little happy face. A few months lster I told her "your so smart I thought you were a man". I never considered myself a male chauvinist.
 
MrJavi said:
Sorry my friend, It's o


Thank you, yes family and friends.

I noticed you posted to this thread and came back to read how tjings are going and realized I hadn't tapped 'post reply" yesterday. Thnks for reminding me.
You know, I should have learned my lesson. A few weeks afte becoming a member I said thanks Mr. @MoodyBlues . She corrected me in a kind , sweethearted nature along with a little happy face. A few months lster I told her "your so smart I thought you were a man". I never considered myself a male chauvinist.
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its all good......like i said any member here i consider my family....even the weird and crazy folks who post here. sure i disagree with some, but that does not mean they are not family. i appreciate your contribution.

on another note, i think i'm gonna tear down my saltwater tank, clean that area up and get it prepped for my last project. this way the empty space will motivate me to hurry it up and get that spaced filled with a new tank. i just submitted my quote for the tank. i will know how much it will set me back hopefully tomorrow or the next. this will also determine when and how long the final project will be.
 
ok so here are some updates.

i just got back from work and low and behold, my background has arrived!!!!!! i am contemplating at attempting to install it tonight.

i'll keep you posted.

secondly, i got my quote. the 36"x30"x15" will set me back $500 which is right where i expected it to be.....now do not expect to find the same price for y'all. i am in the business and this is my price at 10% above wholesale. now i need to find out where and how much for my metal stand.

so for now, i just had my dinner, drank some of my delicious kombucha, and currently now smoking my cigar. after that i am most likely gonna work on the background.....i'll post pics later.
 
ok another quick update.....

so i cut the holes, rinsed and washed the background. the only thing left was to glue the screens so the fish will not swim behind the background. the only problem is that superglue will not bond with the screen. so now tomorrow, Saturday, i will have to head on out to Home Depot to find something that will glue the screen to the background. i plan to glue the screen on the backside of the of the background. i'm thinking that maybe silicone might work, but it will take some time to dry and bond.

anybody know of a good glue to use, please let me know.

edit: i'll post picks tomorrow of the unboxing
 
It's always something... right? I think you are onto something with the silicone idea. I can think of some good adhesives but I'd be afraid they might be harmful for the fish environment. Surely silicon would be nontoxic after it cured.
 
olbriar said:
It's always something... right? I think you are onto something with the silicone idea. I can think of some good adhesives but I'd be afraid they might be harmful for the fish environment. Surely silicon would be nontoxic after it cured.
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yeah i forgot to mention that it has to be something that will be non toxic.

ok so i just saw a youtube video of someone prepping his 3D background and they had a brilliant idea of using zip ties.....genius!!!!! i still might use silicone as well to make it completely sealed and will not have to ever worry that the mesh will come off at some point.

....which means installing this background will have to wait until Sunday:(:(:(
 
ocnbrze said:
OH YEAH!!!!!!!!
i'm getting the 3D background delivered this friday. i will post pics of the unboxing and also the installation.

....SO EXCITED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Earlier today, I was thinking to myself, "I wonder how @ocnbrze 's aquarium is coming along.
ocnbrze said:
its all good......like i said any member here i consider my family....even the weird and crazy folks who post here. sure i disagree with some, but that does not mean they are not family. i appreciate your contribution.

on another note, i think i'm gonna tear down my saltwater tank, clean that area up and get it prepped for my last project. this way the empty space will motivate me to hurry it up and get that spaced filled with a new tank. i just submitted my quote for the tank. i will know how much it will set me back hopefully tomorrow or the next. this will also determine when and how long the final project will be.
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Im really looking forward to seeing any photos you wish to share. I imagine tank will turn out beautiful. Especially with the plants it'll like of live artwork. :)
 
MrJavi said:
Im really looking forward to seeing any photos you wish to share. I imagine tank will turn out beautiful. Especially with the plants it'll like of live artwork. :)
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no plants in the 180. african cichlids will either eat or uproot them. there are a few plants that might work with them, but i have 3 algea eaters that i'm keeping and they will for sure eat the plants. plus i have the wrong substrate (sand) and lights for them.

i'll post some of the unboxing and the progress i will be making later today.
 
ocnbrze said:
no plants in the 180. african cichlids will either eat or uproot them. there are a few plants that might work with them, but i have 3 algea eaters that i'm keeping and they will for sure eat the plants. plus i have the wrong substrate (sand) and lights for them.

i'll post some of the unboxing and the progress i will be making later today.
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Pardon my ignorance on the subject but when you say "algea eaters" do you mean snails or fish?.
 
ok another set back was that i incorrectly entered the wrong length. (i know measure twice cut once) but i wrote the correct length down. it was when i went to place the order i added an extra inch to the length. i also was off by an 1/8 of an inch on the center brace of the tank. so luckily a dremmel cut or two and a bunch of rolling, wiggling, scrunching, i was able to get the background in.

i decided to drain the tank completely, remove the remaining fish into a bucket, remove the sand, before i installed the background.

.....so right now, i'm filling the the tank back up. i'll post picks, once everything is cleaned up and everything is running smoothly.
 
ok as promised here are some of my photos from today. one note i did not document me trimming the background to account for my errors in entering the dimensions for it. it was pretty boring in that i used a dremmel and kitchen shears to trim the background to fit in the tank.

so here they are:

1. unboxing:
box.jpg

open_box.jpg
open_boxe_2.jpg
cut_holes.jpg
attached_screen.jpg
finished_cutting.jpg

universal(1).jpg
installed.jpg

ok i'll post more pics as the tank clears up
 
ok well i had a video uploaded on youtube intended to be shown here, but it got flagged, because i had a Beatles tune playing in the background so i can'y show that. i will probably film another later on today.

but here is the pic of it clearing up:
clearing_up.jpg


i have to play around with the phone's filters to not get so blue....yes the lights are blue, but as much as what is shown here.

now all i need for the tank are the fish i purchased and this beast is done!!!!!!
 
ocnbrze said:
ok well i had a video uploaded on youtube intended to be shown here, but it got flagged, because i had a Beatles tune playing in the background so i can'y show that. i will probably film another later on today.

but here is the pic of it clearing up:
.
clearing_up.jpg


i have to play around with the phone's filters to not get so blue....yes the lights are blue, but as much as what is shown here.

now all i need for the tank are the fish i purchased and this beast is done!!!!!!
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WoW!! Thats gorgeous @ocnbrze , Really beautiful.
 
ocnbrze said:
thanx.....i know right? i can't believe how realistic it looks. seeing it in youtube videos or pictures just does not do it justice. it will look even better when i get the fish in. i will post a video of it when i get them into the tank.
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Truly impressive
 
ok so i just am now planning the the shallow mangrove lagoon tank which i will now refer to it as SML. i need to sketch out the dimensions and plan out how and where to plumb the tank. it could get complicated and i never really drafted this kind of tank before.

i just learned of a free tool call SketchUp it is also a pretty complicated program for it being free. i just, started to play with it. i need to play with it a lot more to get more comfortable to draw and map out what i want to do with the tank.

the whole concept is simplicity. from the tank design and plumbing down to the maintenance of the tank. the idea as far as maintenance goes will be to not get my hand wet unless i really need to. for water changes it will come down to really would be hooking up a hose and just turning some valves to drain and fill the tank.

like i said in me previous post, i will update you guys and have pics for you when i get my fish into the 180.
 
definitely gonna be doing a zoanthid garden

check this guy's collection:
freakin beautiful!!!!!!! and they are super easy to keep!!!!!
 
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UGGGGGGGGGG!!!!!!!!!!!!

this waiting is killing me!!!!!

so i finally had Butch ship my first order yesterday. it is supposed to be delivered toady. i had one very long job to do. finally finished the job and rushed home trying to beat the delivery. the shipment is being delivered by UPS. since 1030am, on the ups app it has been saying "out for delivery". i get home at 445pm and the app still says"out for delivery". but now in the app it says that it is "to be delivered by 9pm"

UGGGGGGG!!!!!!!!!!!!

i'm dying here:spitoutdroid::spitoutdroid::spitoutdroid::spitoutdroid::spitoutdroid::spitoutdroid:
 
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