A Golden Reef Tank

[halmus]

There hasn't been a lot of progress. There were issues with the contractor getting the plumbing past inspection. No comment here due to my continued efforts to keep this thread positive. Drywall is mostly up and mostly done right. Mostly. Still staying positive.

I will have a lot of leveling to do with the concrete. That will be a new experience for me. I've done a little concrete work in the past, but never with the self-leveling material. I have watched a lot of videos and asked a lot of questions from people that should know. The biggest issue is that the drain basically sits in the high spot of the room. I knew it would be an issue, but it's cheaper to do the concrete work myself than pay to locate the drain to a more ideal location. Basically, the slab slopes away from the drain 3/4". Obviously, it would be better to have the floor sloped towards the drain. So, I'll level things up. Level is better than water sloping away from the drain. I might even add some sort of ledge around the perimeter to keep any potential spills from seeping under the wall. I haven't decided exactly how I'm going to approach that issue yet.

 

[halmus]

Quick update - the tank is scheduled for delivery next Monday (7th). I've PM'd a few of you that have offered to help. I have a lot of prep work to do this weekend. I'll be taking a lot of pictures (hopefully). I am even going to try a time-lapse video of the tank coming down the stairs and being set up. We'll see if that works out.

 

[halami]

wow what an awesome build! cant wait to see the time lapse of the build! awesome!

 

[halmus]

wow what an awesome build! cant wait to see the time lapse of the build! awesome!

Thanks for following. I can't promise a time lapse of the entire build. That would be great. I am going to try a time lapse of the tank delivery and install. I will keep the pictures coming as anything interesting happens.

 

[halami]

Thanks for following. I can't promise a time lapse of the entire build. That would be great. I am going to try a time lapse of the tank delivery and install. I will keep the pictures coming as anything interesting happens.

Hey of course love to see the progression on this photos so far are awesome! and yeah time lapse of delivery and install is still awesome! waiting for more for sure!

 

[halmus]

The tank is still on schedule for delivery tomorrow. If anyone has free time and wants to come over to Golden (North Table Mountain) to watch/help with the delivery, I'd appreciate the help. I have never moved a tank of this size, so I'm not sure what to expect. Cris is the man with the experience when it comes to installs like this.

I'm asking everyone to be here at 2:00. We don't have an exact time, but that's our best guess for when everything will be downloaded from the truck and ready to move to the basement.

PM if you would like to stop by to lend a hand or just watch. I'll send the address.

 

[halmus]

I wanted to say a quick thank you again for everyone's help moving the tank in today.

Aquatic Art is awesome and everything turned out exactly as planned. I can't recommend them highly enough.

I'll post up pictures soon. I'm exhausted from the day and prepping, cleaning, moving, and reinstalling my front door that had to be removed to fit the tank inside.

 

[Balz3352]

That things a beast!! If you don't mind here's a pic I took

 

[SynDen]

Sexy!!!

 

[halami]

nice!!!!!!!! cant wait to see more!

 

[FinsUp]

WOWZERS!! Now THAT is a sweet tank. I can't wait to see the rest of this build thread.

 

[TheRealChrisBrown]

Whoa, that's AWESOME!!

 

[halmus]

A Golden Reef Tank

That things a beast!! If you don't mind here's a pic I took

Thank you for taking and posting up the picture. Things started happening so quickly that I didn't turn on my DSLR that was all set up and ready for the time-lapse video I wanted to make.

Sexy!!!

nice!!!!!!!! cant wait to see more!

WOWZERS!! Now THAT is a sweet tank. I can't wait to see the rest of this build thread.

Whoa, that's AWESOME!!

I'm really happy with the tank. Unfortunately, I had to cover up the tank this morning to protect it while the rest of the basement is finished up.

Tile goes in today in the bathroom. Electrical gets finished tomorrow. The contractors bought x4 bulb 4' T5-HO lighting fixtures for the filtration room lighting. I told them that x2 bulb units would be enough but they kept saying, "The bulbs are so skinny." There are three fixtures so x12 bulbs in total. It will be blindingly bright in there with white gloss paint and white FRP.

Once I get the vanities installed, the plumber can come back to do his final work and then the rest is on us to finish. I can't wait for plumbing to be done. We've been washing paint supplies in the kitchen sink.

 

[FinsUp]

I'd make the contractors stand in that room for 10 min once it's finished with all the lights on, and then video tape them stumbling around like fools.

 

[halmus]

I'd make the contractors stand in that room for 10 min once it's finished with all the lights on, and then video tape them stumbling around like fools.

It will be interesting. Maybe it won't be as bright as I'm expecting but that's a lot of Lumens for an all white room! I can always pull half the bulbs out if needed. (I think)

I have half that many bulbs in my work shop and it's pretty bright with taller ceilings and more square feet to cover.

 

[FinsUp]

I can't imagine the size room one would need to put 12 bulbs in. I don't know what size your filtration room is, but I'm betting it's going to be like standing in the middle of the sun in there with all white walls. You may have to paint the room black just to help with it. Alternatively, have the contractors do 2 switches, each one running half the lights. Or pull bulbs out, like you said. I know having empty holes where bulbs are supposed to go would bug the crap outta me, but I'm just weird that way.

 

[halmus]

The room is "L shaped".
20' x 14" with another 10' x 10' leg off of the end. So, it is an extremely large space for a filtration room. Still, it's not so big that you need stadium lighting.

 

[halmus]

Nothing too exciting is happening right now. I've already poured 35 x 50 lb bags of self leveling concrete in the filtration room. The contractor put the floor drain in the highest possible point in the room, against my direction. I did the math and assuming the room would have contained the water, I could have poured between 350 and 400 gallons of water on the floor of the room before it began draining down the floor drain. Brilliant! I know this based on the number of 5 gallon buckets I had to mix by hand and pour.

Anyway, I have the floor level now. I'm going to pour one final skim coat to get rid of the ridges created from 6 different pours I had to do. Then, I need to seal the floor and I'm looking at some sort of vinyl shop floor covering to lay down over everything. This self leveling concrete has good compression strength but is relatively soft compared to true concrete.

I also leveled under the tank, first with metal shims under the critical points (under all x9 legs), and then with the self leveling concrete so that every point under the stand is supported. I have a little more work to do on the stand before I do a test fill with water.

 

[FinsUp]

I'd consider taking the guy to court for damages at this point. Honestly. Someone has got to shut the guy down. Had you not leveled the floor, and there was a water leak, the mold could easily have taken over the whole room, potentially making someone very sick. Or worse. He's going to kill someone, the way he's doing things. Oy.


I continue to be impressed with your attention to detail, and drive to get this done right. I can't wait to see what the tank itself is gonna look like when it's all done.

 

[halmus]

Thanks fins.

I'd like to post up a comprehensive list of the idiocracy that has been inflicted on my basement by this crew. But, we'll keep it positive.

I am really looking forward to getting wet again. That is still months down the road. Keep the boss happy for now. Mamma needs a new laundry room.