Through the wall / My Fish Room

[fishguy1978]

I went home for lunch and put 7in of water in the 220g which should be about 50g. I measured the height of the water front, back, left, and right sides.
Left to right 3/8” difference
Front to back 1/4” ish difference
This is a minor set back as I will now need to drain move the aquarium off the stand and relevel.
A happier note I scored 5 large rocks for free. Now to figure out how to lower 1.5 man rocks into a 30in deep aquarium . I’m planning on using only one or two of the largest and then the corkscrew hazelnut.

 

[sir_keith]

... A happier note I scored 5 large rocks for free. Now to figure out how to lower 1.5 man rocks into a 30in deep aquarium ...

What's a 1.5 man rock? Assuming they're not crazy heavy, try this- put the rock into an old (but strong) pillowcase, and carefully lower it into the tank (I'd actually use nylon netting for this, if available). Once it's sitting on the bottom, jiggle it gently from side-to-side to liberate the pillow case from under the rock.

You're on your own as to how to get the damn thing out of the tank.

 

[DMD123]

Im picturing a tool that could help... the claw! lol

 

[fishguy1978]

What's a 1.5 man rock? Assuming they're not crazy heavy, try this- put the rock into an old (but strong) pillowcase, and carefully lower it into the tank (I'd actually use nylon netting for this, if available). Once it's sitting on the bottom, jiggle it gently from side-to-side to liberate the pillow case from under the rock.

You're on your own as to how to get the damn thing out of the tank.

Overhead gantry. 3/4” black pipe and chain. Cloth grocery bag reinforced for the sling.

 

[fishguy1978]

I found some marine grade paint the previous owners left behind and painted the wood for the stand.
I found the can of blue that I used on the back of the planted 55g and painted one coat on the back of the 220 and then a second with the lighter blue.

 

[fishguy1978]

Checked this morning and the paint is repeating the same adhesion failure. The dark blue dried and did not pull away but the other blue paint must be too old and tired. I have some kilz that I’m going to paint over the blue.
I posted on MFK asking how to add one of the large rocks to the 220. I need to grab a beer and a bag of popcorn because the responses I’m getting. Posters think I’m crazy for trying to lift an object I can’t lift by myself to place it in another object I can’t lift by myself

 

[fishguy1978]

Have second thoughts on paint. It looks kinda cool.

 

[sir_keith]

It does look cool. I have 'crystal paint' on the backs of many of my glass tanks. This was all the rage in the aquarium hobby back in the '60's, and I've always liked the look- maybe a bit of nostalgia on my part. It's pretty nasty stuff to apply because of the volatile carrier solvents, and hard to find, but you can get it at art supply stores. One LFS that I went to as a kid had different colors on the backs of all their tanks, which was pretty cool. I like this turquoise best-

 

[fishguy1978]

Shim, shim, shiminy........

 

[sir_keith]

Shim, shim, shiminy........

Yes, it's like doing a dance. And your floor must have a decent slope for the drains. Fun.

I have slate tile floors in my fish room and the adjacent TV room, so even if the floor were perfectly level- which it is not- you still have to shim everything because each slate tile is different, and they have irregular surfaces. That's a lot of shims under a 6-foot tank. Also fun.

 

[fishguy1978]

Yes, it's like doing a dance. And your floor must have a decent slope for the drains. Fun.

I have slate tile floors in my fish room and the adjacent TV room, so even if the floor were perfectly level- which it is not- you still have to shim everything because each slate tile is different, and they have irregular surfaces. That's a lot of shims under a 6-foot tank. Also fun.

View attachment 6080

Yes, there is a drain in the corner for the shower and then a drain in the middle of the room so multiple angles to account for. Currently, level front to back but off a 1/4in left to right. I’m going to cut some 1/4in material for that so I don’t have to use tapered shims.

 

[fishguy1978]

Borrowed a laser level should make this task doable.

 

[fishguy1978]

Well, I was able to level the piers to within 1/16 of an inch. Should be good enough.

 

[fishguy1978]

So, I put 21.75 inches of water in the 220 and was within 1/16 or better in 4 places. I call leveled and filled half way.
Rock is where I wanted but I could not get it stable in the verticals so opted for horizontal.

 

[DMD123]

Looking good! That is a massive rock. I love large statement pieces like that. Ive tried to accomplish it with large pieces of driftwood but love the thought of rock work like that

 

[fishguy1978]

So, the silicone on the side braces does not have good adhesion. I picked up some GE Silicone 1 to fix them.

 

[fishguy1978]

Side braces are back on. Tomorrow around 1700 I can start adding water.

 

[fishguy1978]

Filled the 220g. Seeded the aquarium with dirty filter muck and added the filter media I waiting in the 90g. Not the light I’m going to use but it was handy.

 

[sir_keith]

Filled the 220g. Seeded the aquarium with dirty filter muck and added the filter media I waiting in the 90g. Not the light I’m going to use but it was handy.

I have some 48" HO T5 fixtures with bulbs that you can have if you're interested. They work fine, but I converted everything over to LED's a while back.

 

[fishguy1978]

I have some 48" HO T5 fixtures with bulbs that you can have if you're interested. They work fine, but I converted everything over to LED's a while back.

Thanks for the offer. I have a 48” LED Finnex and a 48” LED Current USA. I just need to order new power supply for each. I may even order a 72” Beamswork as they are pretty reasonable priced.