Well I saw a great idea for a cinder block stand that is painted and looks good enough to be in the house. I thought I would try it....The thread got moved to the Setup forum. I am going to tell you what happened and how I almost lost my natives and the catfish being so PISSED OFF at the airstone he attacked it.
I went to home depot to get the regular sized cinder blocks. Well they were chipped pretty badly so I chose the larger blocks with the two holes. That was the only choice. So needed 30. As I have the blocks loading, I notice that some have the long edges still attached.The others had a line that varied from being in the middle or to side of the block. I was only able to get a few that were completely smooth and no line. I was not happy about that. I thought okay I will design this a decent way.
The wood that I needed was cut wrong, I should have left more room for things to be put in front of the tank while I would be working on it. The guy didn't want to cut the length off any of the boards. We had to repeat ourselves and he would say I know how you want it. Needless to say he had to cut the length. So the blocks get painted black that night. I chose to get new wood the next day with enough width. We get the wood and stain it.
We had started about 12:30 am(won't even bother telling you that story) and I had been up already for 36 hours. We now had to tear down 2 tanks(40) and the 75. We had to use a shop vac to suck out water and use buckets. The guys helping had started getting tired( had to throw and unload 30 large cinder blocks and empty buckets of water. A few times the hose was put on the blower end of the vac and large amounts of water had to be mopped up. A few times the vacuum filled past the hose and the lid was pulled up to empty water. So that means lots os water to be mopped again.
When I had to take the fish out of the 75(Natives and a few large specimens) I got soaked from the fish. It got so bad that one of the guys put on a jacket. The other guy told him, "Just think the catfish isn't out yet." Sure enough the waterfall happened with the catfish, so of course more mopping. Sweeping, mopping, cleaning and fans ensued to make sure the floor was dry for the stand build.
I kept thinking of the person who designed this stand saying that the wood in between the cinder blocks are there to absorb the weight. I decided we had better put in the shelves(wood). I thought the extra pieces were wide enough(only 2) I needed three. So I used the skinner piece in the center. The blocks were too wide, so we had to center them on the smaller piece. We started adding the third layers and I noticed that the blocks were wobbling. Third layer was elimnated, no wobbling.
Meanwhile, the natives had started gasping at the surface twice already. I had added an airstone and submersible filter.
We realized that the wood for the top would have to be cut again. Just as we use the saw, the saw stops cutting.
One of the guys says the fish are dying. Sure enough I see a fish on it's side and the others are starting to slightly turn over. All my hard work was now over. I had nothing else to use. Stress coat had already been added no more airstones or pumps. The 2nd filter stopped working.
I could only look at them dying as I was trying to think of anything I could possibly use. The same guy said use the turtle filter. I thought for a half second, SAMONELLA OR DEATH!!!! These were 5 wild turtles, including two little ones. I thought immediately of the fish and water now having the possiblilty of samonella.
I snatched the filter from the turtles and the fish started righting themselves. I knew I probably had some loses. We finished the stand, made sure the blocks were away from the wall, the wood had enough width. We lined the tanks up with the blocks and started filling 2 of the 4 tanks. Time to add the filters, perfect right??? WRONG!!!!!
Even though we had enough room from the wall, the tanks were centered, there was not enough room for the filters for the 2 breeder tanks. I managed to squeeze a canister on the side of the 75 and had to put the filters in front of the 40.
We finished around 8:30 am. Did I mention that the keys were locked in the truck? Did I also mention that my dry shoes were in the truck also? My friend sent her younger son to hang out with his big brother(one of the guys helping) on the worst and busiest night to work.
He is a chatterbox and constantly wanted to help. We had to keep both eyes on him, he would pick up wood, the stain, the spray paint, try to move cinder blocks. He had a smart mouth that evening and night. He would not listen and argued very loudly at everything anyone said to him.
He threw a set of 14 keys at the other guy's face and grazed him. He would walk off in the store, etc...talk exceptionally loud and got mad because I told him that he will never say "Sure, whatever" to me and expect me to buy him anything or do anything for him. Did I mention, cries too.
I took everyone home. I got some sleep and went back to the fish at 8:00 pm. I cleaned up everything. I got to the cooler were the natives were in during the stand build around 12:00 a.m. I was about to pour out the water, when I thought I saw a fish. My first green sunfish was still in there and very much alive.
I noticed the native tank had the fish near the top, so I added an airstone. I cleaned the filter that quit and it worked. I added the filter to the tank too. I am just sitting looking at my fish....then I hear a loud CRACK, BOOM and splashing. All the fish flee and it's the catfish. The cat does it again and before I could even move the airstone..CRACK, BOOM SPLASH!!! I pull the airstone up higher in the tank and the cat is fine. The cat swims around and I see that it has nicked itself on the mouth trying to make a 4 inch long airstone move from it's territory.
I am thinking about getting 2 canister filters that can sit on the floor and run the tubing behind the breeder tanks. I can cover the filters with wood. Or I can take the tanks down and move the cinder blocks.
Sorry so long, trust me it was even longer for me and the guys. I will post some pics of the so, so, stand.
The lady who designed the painted cinder block stand did a spectacular job!
I went to home depot to get the regular sized cinder blocks. Well they were chipped pretty badly so I chose the larger blocks with the two holes. That was the only choice. So needed 30. As I have the blocks loading, I notice that some have the long edges still attached.The others had a line that varied from being in the middle or to side of the block. I was only able to get a few that were completely smooth and no line. I was not happy about that. I thought okay I will design this a decent way.
The wood that I needed was cut wrong, I should have left more room for things to be put in front of the tank while I would be working on it. The guy didn't want to cut the length off any of the boards. We had to repeat ourselves and he would say I know how you want it. Needless to say he had to cut the length. So the blocks get painted black that night. I chose to get new wood the next day with enough width. We get the wood and stain it.
We had started about 12:30 am(won't even bother telling you that story) and I had been up already for 36 hours. We now had to tear down 2 tanks(40) and the 75. We had to use a shop vac to suck out water and use buckets. The guys helping had started getting tired( had to throw and unload 30 large cinder blocks and empty buckets of water. A few times the hose was put on the blower end of the vac and large amounts of water had to be mopped up. A few times the vacuum filled past the hose and the lid was pulled up to empty water. So that means lots os water to be mopped again.
When I had to take the fish out of the 75(Natives and a few large specimens) I got soaked from the fish. It got so bad that one of the guys put on a jacket. The other guy told him, "Just think the catfish isn't out yet." Sure enough the waterfall happened with the catfish, so of course more mopping. Sweeping, mopping, cleaning and fans ensued to make sure the floor was dry for the stand build.
I kept thinking of the person who designed this stand saying that the wood in between the cinder blocks are there to absorb the weight. I decided we had better put in the shelves(wood). I thought the extra pieces were wide enough(only 2) I needed three. So I used the skinner piece in the center. The blocks were too wide, so we had to center them on the smaller piece. We started adding the third layers and I noticed that the blocks were wobbling. Third layer was elimnated, no wobbling.
Meanwhile, the natives had started gasping at the surface twice already. I had added an airstone and submersible filter.
We realized that the wood for the top would have to be cut again. Just as we use the saw, the saw stops cutting.
One of the guys says the fish are dying. Sure enough I see a fish on it's side and the others are starting to slightly turn over. All my hard work was now over. I had nothing else to use. Stress coat had already been added no more airstones or pumps. The 2nd filter stopped working.
I could only look at them dying as I was trying to think of anything I could possibly use. The same guy said use the turtle filter. I thought for a half second, SAMONELLA OR DEATH!!!! These were 5 wild turtles, including two little ones. I thought immediately of the fish and water now having the possiblilty of samonella.
I snatched the filter from the turtles and the fish started righting themselves. I knew I probably had some loses. We finished the stand, made sure the blocks were away from the wall, the wood had enough width. We lined the tanks up with the blocks and started filling 2 of the 4 tanks. Time to add the filters, perfect right??? WRONG!!!!!
Even though we had enough room from the wall, the tanks were centered, there was not enough room for the filters for the 2 breeder tanks. I managed to squeeze a canister on the side of the 75 and had to put the filters in front of the 40.
We finished around 8:30 am. Did I mention that the keys were locked in the truck? Did I also mention that my dry shoes were in the truck also? My friend sent her younger son to hang out with his big brother(one of the guys helping) on the worst and busiest night to work.
He is a chatterbox and constantly wanted to help. We had to keep both eyes on him, he would pick up wood, the stain, the spray paint, try to move cinder blocks. He had a smart mouth that evening and night. He would not listen and argued very loudly at everything anyone said to him.
He threw a set of 14 keys at the other guy's face and grazed him. He would walk off in the store, etc...talk exceptionally loud and got mad because I told him that he will never say "Sure, whatever" to me and expect me to buy him anything or do anything for him. Did I mention, cries too.
I took everyone home. I got some sleep and went back to the fish at 8:00 pm. I cleaned up everything. I got to the cooler were the natives were in during the stand build around 12:00 a.m. I was about to pour out the water, when I thought I saw a fish. My first green sunfish was still in there and very much alive.
I noticed the native tank had the fish near the top, so I added an airstone. I cleaned the filter that quit and it worked. I added the filter to the tank too. I am just sitting looking at my fish....then I hear a loud CRACK, BOOM and splashing. All the fish flee and it's the catfish. The cat does it again and before I could even move the airstone..CRACK, BOOM SPLASH!!! I pull the airstone up higher in the tank and the cat is fine. The cat swims around and I see that it has nicked itself on the mouth trying to make a 4 inch long airstone move from it's territory.
I am thinking about getting 2 canister filters that can sit on the floor and run the tubing behind the breeder tanks. I can cover the filters with wood. Or I can take the tanks down and move the cinder blocks.
Sorry so long, trust me it was even longer for me and the guys. I will post some pics of the so, so, stand.
The lady who designed the painted cinder block stand did a spectacular job!
!