Planning First Big DIY Systems

[Ulu]

So for any intrepid souls still following through the quagmire of my home remodeling, waiting to see a tank with fish in it, a few million things remain.

Cut the 3 plumbing holes thru the wall.
Interior plaster and paint touchups.
Exterior trims and paint.
Finish building the stand, only just begun . . .
Install stand and level with compound.
Move tank and plumb thru wall. Cap.
Fill tank.
Install 2 temp HOBs and substrate.
Begin "instant" cycle.
Make lids.
Move Africans and pleco.
Cheers! Break out the champagne!

Then . . .
Drain 55g African tank, 20g sump, 2 5gs.
Move 5's and 20 to temp stand & refill.
Move steel stand and 55 outdoors as sump.
Plumb 125 to 55 sump.
Move biomedia to new sump.
Start the bubbles!
Cheers! More bubbly!

Somewhere in the process . . .
Move Felix the Oscar to his temp 30 (running 2 weeks)
Drain his 55.
Move new 75 to his stand, plumb and fill to existing sump.
Move Felix back.
Cheers! Martinis!

Move temp 30 & stand to office as breeder.
Build bigger sump system for Felix.

Build custom 40 tall to replace old 30g on custom 40g stand in living room.
Retire old 30 tall to yard sale.

Buy/build another stand for 55g.
Move it to the office and fill with brackish.
Dump entire brackish community from the 30tall to 55.
30tall to yard sale.
Assemble 20g as brackish sump.
Establish 30g std as mass guppy breeder.

Build canopy over 125, trim mantle, wall and crown over
old wall above 125.
Cheers! Case of bubbly this time.

I'm going to put up a canopy and a structure around the outdoor tanks, but not sure what just yet.
Basically a big closet that opens up and is insulated too.

Then I can build a shed and carport and go back to building my hotrod.

 

[Ulu]

I'm pretty sure that on that list somewhere it should have said build new overflow and repair Old overflow on the African tank.


The big clear tube is from a large gravel siphon and the small clear tubes are from a clear plastic sink trap. The black and white tubes are also for residential sink plumbing.


Anyhow that's what I did today instead of working out in the 104°F Heat.

Here I am running only one of the two overflows.


Here you see them side-by-side, and they drain into a new floss bin that I built.



I also made a new siphon tube out of the larger 1.5" polypropylene.


I also got my stuck valve unstuck and so now I can throttle the whole system down quite quietly. I set the overflows at different heights so that if the tank overfills, the second overflow kicks in.

Normally the second overflow only runs at a trickle. That's my emergency drain, when I suck a big leaf into the screen on the first one.

 

[Ulu]

Felix is in the temp 30 and his 55 is dry. I'm setting it up outside tonight, with filters and no fish, just to keep things wet and warm. I thought it was going to go smoothly, but felix did not want to go, after I caught him in a bin. He struggled free and scratched himself all up.

He's OK in the 30 for now, but he is a bit shocked by it all.

I'm going to do things differently moving him to the 75 tomorrow.

 

[Ulu]

I haven't put the last trim boards up yet on my barn wood, but I have bored the holes for all the plumbing. Here's Felix's old 55, set up outdoors. Floating in the tank is the white plastic bin that I used to catch Felix the oscar.

Right now running just an HOB and absolutely no heater required. Weds hit 106°F here. I filled it up with the garden hose and the water was 80° coming from the hose.

Here is the new clear for Life custom 75 acrylic on the stand, empty. I still have to paint the back and drill the bottom.

Here's Felix and his tiny little 30. He will only be there for one day if my plans go well.


He struggled mightily when I tried to remove him from the tank. He dashed himself against the gravel and ripped off scales. Poor Felix will never be the same.


Plus he is mighty PO'd at me!

 

[Ulu]

When I moved that HOB from the 20 sump where I was running it, to the outdoor 55, it came apart and I lost both bearings and spacer into the sump.

I was able to manufacture two bearings from little fittings in my junk box. I had done this hack before, so it went fast. I cut spacers from airline tubing until it was quieter than before.

I'm thinking Felix's temp 30 will go below the outdoor 55, with a minor mod. I remove the bottom rails of the Petco steel stand, and just anchor the stand to the concrete and grout it. The 30 can sit on redwood sleepers or PVC, and will run as a sump to the 55. The 55 will run as sump to the indoor 125.

This will do until I can build a sump that fits even better.

 

[Ulu]

I got a line on some used plate glass, and maybe I will go see it tomorrow. The thing is there's more than I can use and the guy isn't easy to deal with. I'm hoping pieces will be suitable to build a custom sump.

Yesterday when I put up the roof ladder I got Roofing tar on essentially everything within a 20 ft radius, so I spent some time cleaning that up.

I hate Roofing tar.

The outdoor tank is up and now running for 2 nights. I will put them cat fish in it today. I took the wife to look at redwood lattice panels. I think they will catch crap. Spiders etc. I found some big louvered panels from a remod job that might be more practical.

I got the 75 gallon acrylic tank set up on its stand and bored the hole through the bottom for the drain. I have never thought of bottom drilling a tank before but this is what everyone does now. I still have to go buy some acrylic paint and paint the back before I can finish the plumbing and fill it up.

But I started a Civil War when I brought the big plunge router into the house and made a 4 inch hole through the 2" bar top and then another one through 3/4 particle board.

Let's just say that it took a while to clean up the sawdust and my mrs is still sore.

I must finish trimming the barnwood today, before it gets hot outside. It's been in the high nineties. The new wood needs more paint.

Most of the Interior plaster work looks great, there's a bit of trimming, and I'm going to paint it today. I hope to finish cutting, and start to assemble, the big aquarium stand.

I hope none of you retired guys are working as hard as I am, because it's really starting to get to me.

 

[Ulu]

Felix is in his 75 now.




Also, the patio tank (which is Felix's old tank) now has a 30-gallon sump, (which was Felix's temporary home, and formerly housed Mojo and Pepper in the living room.)

 

[Ulu]

A lot of things are crossed off my list.

Cut the 3 plumbing holes thru the wall.
Interior plaster and paint touchups.
Exterior trims and paint.
Finish building the stand, only just begun . . .
Install stand and level with compound.
Move tank and plumb thru wall. Cap.
Fill tank.
Install 2 temp HOBs and substrate.
Begin "instant" cycle.
Make lids.
Move Africans and pleco.
Cheers! Break out the champagne!

Then . . .
Drain 55g African tank, 20g sump, 2 5gs.
Move 5's and 20 to temp stand & refill.
Move steel stand and 55 outdoors as sump.
Plumb 125 to 55 sump.
Move biomedia to new sump.
Start the bubbles!
Cheers! More bubbly!


Move Felix the Oscar to his temp 30 (running 2 weeks)
Drain his 55.
Move new 75 to his stand, plumb and fill to existing sump.
Move Felix back.
Cheers! Martinis!
Move temp 30 & stand to office as breeder.
Build bigger sump system for Felix.

Build custom 40 tall to replace old 30g on custom 40g stand in living room.
Retire old 30 tall to yard sale.

Buy/build another stand for 55g.
Move it to the office and fill with brackish.
Dump entire brackish community from the 30tall to 55.
30tall to yard sale.
Assemble 20g as brackish sump.
Establish 30g std as mass guppy breeder.

Build canopy over 125, trim mantle, wall and crown over
old wall above 125.

Some plans changed. I bought another 55 stand earlier than I thought I would. Also I have established a 55 gallon outdoor sump.

I was going to wait to fill Felix's tank but I felt the need to get that going.

 

[Ulu]

Folks, the temperatures have gone down about 20 degrees since the day we shingled the roof. I thought my patio aquarium fish would suffer but they are doing quite well now and I have managed to keep their water temperatures below 90.

Well today is the last big clean-up day before my wife's big party this weekend. I have a ton of stuff to do and it's not all going to get done.

I think I'm going to hang some pictures and a clock today and make sure that all the aquariums have clean water.

I'm not sure how I ended up running 10 aquariums at once (only 7 currently) as this was never my goal. But sometimes in life it's not all about getting to a goal post.

Since the peak tankage of 2018, I have turned the 20 and 30 into sumps, and I have retired a 16 gal, a 5 and two 10s. The 125 is still empty.

So, in taking stock, I am currently running:
a 75 gal Oscar
two 55's cichlids/plecos
two 30's brackish & corydoras
two 5's bettas

The 5 gallon tanks just have sponge filters but the 5 large tanks all have sumps.

When the 125 is set up one of the 55s will be its sump, and one more of the 30's will be retired. I want to refill one of the fives and build a new rack for the three of them.

Either that or I will quit keeping bettas.

I was working like a madman to finish the stand for the 125 gallon tank but I hate working under pressure, and I just decided it's not going to get done this weekend.

It is absolutely no fun to have to do your hobby under the pressure of a deadline.

The new tank stand sits partially finished in my sawdust infused garage . . .

 

[Ulu]

A few more things crossed off my list, some because plans changed and some because things were done in a different order.

Cut the 3 plumbing holes thru the wall.
Interior plaster and paint touchups.
Exterior trims and paint.

Finish building the stand, only just begun . . .
Install stand and level with compound.
Move tank and plumb thru wall. Cap.
Fill tank.
Install 2 temp HOBs and substrate.
Begin "instant" cycle.
Make lids.
Move Africans and pleco.
Cheers! Break out the champagne!

Then . . .
Drain 55g African tank, 20g sump, 2 5gs.
Move 5's and 20 to temp stand & refill.
Move steel stand and 55 outdoors as sump.
Plumb 125 to 55 sump.
Move biomedia to new sump.
Start the bubbles!
Cheers! More bubbly!


Move Felix the Oscar to his temp 30 (running 2 weeks)
Drain his 55.
Move new 75 to his stand, plumb and fill to existing sump.
Move Felix back.
Cheers! Martinis!
Move temp 30 & stand to office as breeder.
Build bigger sump system for Felix.

Build custom 40 tall to replace old 30g on custom 40g stand in living room.
Retire old 30 tall to yard sale.

Buy/build another stand for 55g.
Move it to the office and fill with brackish.
Dump entire brackish community from the 30tall to 55.
30tall to yard sale.
Assemble 20g as brackish sump.
Establish 30g std as mass guppy breeder.

Build canopy over 125, trim mantle, wall and crown over
old wall above 125.

I decided to skip the brick red paint for now and keep the gray barn wood look.

I spend most of today hanging pictures instead of working on my stand. I hadn't planned it that way but there were 31 pictures and a clock to hang!