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Blown76mav

My 240g upgrade

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Well after a few years in the hobby I feel its time for an upgrade. What better time to look for a larger tank than when the wife is out of town.

So I started searching for a larger tank, luck lead me to a nice 240g along with 2 ice cap ballast's, rubbermaid holding tank, reef flo pump, and a whole lot of plumbing.

Step 1. Call wife and tell her I'm buying a tank-check

Step 2. Find a place to put it-Check

Step 3. Clean out spot-ummm ya heres what I started with.




Thats a lot of train stuff, way to much for one person so I called a buddy and we went to work. A few hours later....



Step 4. Drive 687 miles, 12 hrs, 150 in gas-Check (yesterday)

Step 5. Clean tank- Check

Before



After



Still have more cleaning to do but the major work was done outside in the truck while waiting on friends to help unload.

Ok lets see if I got the hang of this. Instead of having a ton of entries I should be able to do just one.

So after a couple of hours my friends arrive, we have to get this....



down here....



After a lot of lifting the tank made it to the basement.

Now all I needed to do was build a stand, I took what I've learned since my first tank and built a stand that will more than hold this tank.



The long 2 x4's will be part of the wall on the front and then there will be a wall added to the side making a "fish room"

After the stand was built it was decided that the tank really needed to be on the stand in order for more work to be done. So I call up some more friends and we placed the tank on its new home.



So a quick recap of my day, clean tank, move tank to basement, build stand, place tank on stand. Yep I'm done for the day more tomorrow.

Day 3

Got a little more done......









Got that ugly pole out of site. Up next is electrical, then green board on the inside. Then its on to sumps and plumbing.


Day 4

Not a lot of work, just some more planning and I picked up a 150g for a sump for free, THANKS Slandis. It needed a little work, here's how it looked when I got it, both overflows were broke, no biggie wasn't going to use them. I got half done due to knife blades breaking and running out gonna finish it tomorrow. Now all I need is a big ol glass hole saw for the end and I'm set, and a few baffles.







Well this is Day 5 of work, had to take a couple of days off due to being sick (I hate summer colds)

Got some shelves built for the wife, started the mudding of the drywall (Did I mention I hate drywalling?), and even got a door made and hung. The door was another simple job turned into a nightmare. Most doors are 80 in tall, I have room for a 73 inch tall door, the simple solution would be to cut the bottom off a pre-hung door, BUT then the door knob is too low, can't find a pre-hung without a knob hole, so it was time to fab one up. Also finished cleaning the 150g for the sump.





Day 6 of work or What a way to spend your birthday.

Well I fell into some money so I now have enough to finish this project 100%.

Well we started by doing the electrical, 20 outlets in all. I wanted to make sure I had enough....




Then it was on to insulation, and I did put 6 mil plastic on as well just no picture of the plastic.




Then I moved onto the dry wall, mold resistant of course.




Then on to the last part the mud....



Well until I get a hole saw for the bulkhead I'm at a standstill on the tank but there is plenty of finish work to do. I did get all the trim for the tank opening cut, just need to stain and clear coat it. Then pick a color for the outside wall, trim and then inside paint, trim and plumbing. Then its gonna be a party


This should catch me up to my last update/topic/blog or whatever....

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Updated 09-06-2010 at 10:54 PM by Blown76mav

Categories
Tank Entry , ‎ Electrical , ‎ Plumbing , ‎ Lighting , ‎ DIY projects

Comments

  1. Blown76mav's Avatar
    So after a couple of hours my friends arrive, we have to get this....



    down here....



    After a lot of lifting the tank made it to the basement.

    Now all I needed to do was build a stand, I took what I've learned since my first tank and built a stand that will more than hold this tank.



    The long 2 x4's will be part of the wall on the front and then there will be a wall added to the side making a "fish room"

    After the stand was built it was decided that the tank really needed to be on the stand in order for more work to be done. So I call up some more friends and we placed the tank on its new home.



    So a quick recap of my day, clean tank, move tank to basement, build stand, place tank on stand. Yep I'm done for the day more tomorrow.
  2. Ownzordage's Avatar
    woot! looking great! Can't wait to see more.
  3. melev's Avatar
    That dumb pipe is going to be in your way forever. It'll spoil pictures from the side, but you still have space for pumps and cleaning magnets. Looking forward to future blog entries by you. Congrats on your new tank.
  4. Blown76mav's Avatar
    Ya, those pipes are a pain, but have to be there. When its all done no one will see the pipes
  5. Midnight's Avatar
    I like the dimensions of that tank, you'll have plenty of real estate for aqua scaping.
  6. Hat39406's Avatar
    I think the dimensions are awesome too! Going to be a cool build for sure. Congrats on the upgrade, I know you must be excited. ;-)