# 90G Jungle Tank Journal ...



## Harry Muscle

*The slow 112G jungle tank build ...*

I wanted to start this journal to document my 90G jungle tank. I'm currently in the planning stages, although I have already started construction on the fish room in the basement that will house all of the equipment.

I've also narrowed down the equipment list and started looking for deals. Here's my list so far:


















I got an good deal on the Mag 12 pump ($100 brand new) so that's already bought and an amazing deal on the ProFlex Model 3 sump ($140 new).

I've also got some rocks (some are from a previous tank from a few years ago, others I bought recently).










The rocks on the left are dragon stone and the gray rocks are seiryu stones. I'm thinking of going with the seiryu stones and possibly getting a few more.

Here's the driftwood I was going to get from Tom Barr so I could do a trunk with roots effect.










However there was a bit of a mix up and I believe here's the pieces I'll be getting instead (I'll know for sure next week when I'm back in town to actually check what arrived).


















Well that's all I got so far. Feel free to provide feedback or suggestions and ask questions. I'll post updates as I make progress on getting this tank up and ruining.

Thanks,
Harry


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## Harry Muscle

Did a bit more work in the fish room today. It's going under the stairs. There will be just enough room for a 30" cabinet, water change container (hopefully 55G drum) and a small sink.










First thing that needs to be done is to fix some of the bad work the builder did in supporting the stairs. At the same time I'll be making everything square and plumb.

Thanks,
Harry


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## Pruss

Subscribed.

Looking forward, with interest, to your build. Thanks for posting.

-- Pat


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## Harry Muscle

A few more details ...

I'm planning on going with Tom Barr's non CO2 method as outlined on his site (and probably several other places). I had great success with it in the past so why mess with a good thing.

Here's a picture of my 55G tank that I used to have about 6 or 7 years ago. It used Tom's method and I'm hoping to reproduce this again just on a larger scale.










On the left side the tank had a trunk with some roots. I'm hoping to go with something similar again. The right side in the new tank will be some sort of seiryu rock arrangement.

Here's a picture of the 55G when it was first setup. It's easier to see the trunk and roots in this picture.










That's all for now,
Harry


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## cb1021

Your previous tanks look awesome. That background, is it tiles??? It's fricking awesome. 

Regarding your new tank - get on it!!


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## Harry Muscle

cb1021 said:


> Your previous tanks look awesome. That background, is it tiles??? It's fricking awesome.
> 
> Regarding your new tank - get on it!!


Thanks. Yes that background was made from slate tiles glued onto thin styrofoam strips that in turn were glued onto the back glass. It was a lot of work so I don't think my new tank will have it.

Thanks,
Harry


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## Harry Muscle

I did some plumbing work today.

There are two main drain stacks close to the future fish room, so I've tied into both of them. One will be used for draining my sump for water changes and the other as the drain for the sink in the fish room. Cause of the layout of things it was easier to split this up instead of tying everything into one drain.

Here's what I started with










And here's what the finished products looked like



















By taking advantage of the existing cleanouts I was able to avoid have to cut the main stacks ... something that was a big no no with my better half . And everything is still to code (more or less ).

Thanks,
Harry


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## iamaloner

update please?


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## Harry Muscle

Things have been going slower than I would have hoped for but I've been making progress. Most of the work since the last update has been to the area surrounding the fishroom. Here's the wall opposite the fishroom:










The moisture barrier against the concrete is all up and the framing is coming along nicely.

I've also run four circuits to the basement from the electrical panel:










One of these circuits will be dedicated for the fishroom and fish tank.

I've also been busy writing a IR Light Controller based on an Arduino Uno board with an Ethernet shield. I'm most likely going to get an Ecoxotic E Series light for the tank so this controller will automate things for me ... too bad these lights don't work with an Apex controller. There's still work left on the controller but I'd say it's probably 75% done. Here's a link to the code in case anyone is curious:

https://github.com/Stonyx/IRLightController

Once I get further with the controller I'll create a sperate thread with more details on it.

I think that about sums up the last little while.

Thanks for reading,
Harry


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## Harry Muscle

I finally got to check out some of the stuff I've been ordering over the last few months (I ship things to a relative's place to save a bundle on shipping costs).

Turns out I received a larger sump (Aqueon Proflex Model 4) than the one I ordered (Aqueon Proflex Model 3). Pleasant surprise ... I'll just have to adjust the space I allotted for the sump in the fishroom.










I also finally got to checkout the driftwood I got from Tom Barr. Here's a picture of some of the nicer pieces arranged together:










I was a bit disappointed with the wood ... as mentioned in one of my previous posts the wood I got wasn't the one I ordered so I'm gonna have to play around more to figure out how to combine the pieces to get the look I'm going for. Also all the manzanita wood that I've ever had before was a lot smoother and slicker . This wood is more weathered and rougher. I believe Tom only collects dead wood which would explain things ... I guess it's better for the environment .

Most of the other things were as I expected them. Although the Mag 12 pump got damaged in shipping ... hopefully spare parts can fix it.

Thanks,
Harry


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## kuopan

Awesome Equipment! By that, I mean the tank and the weights = )


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## Harry Muscle

I went to visit Miracles Aquariums on Monday and again today. I decided to order the 112G tank instead of the 90G. I also placed an order for a custom maple plywood stand. The new tank dimensions are going to be 60" wide, 18" front to back, and 24" high. I'll be getting three holes drilled in the back, one for the overflow and two for the returns. Here's the hole layout:










I took a bunch of close up pictures of the stand style I'll be getting. I've never been able to find these kind of close-up pictures of their stands before, so here they are for the benefit of anyone else considering a Miracles stand.

Here's the overall stand ... it's the picture supplied by Miracles ... ironically I didn't take one myself of the whole stand. Mine will be a foot longer and have three doors. It will also have a full flat top.










Here's the inside back left corner:










Here's the inside back right corner:










Here's the inside front left corner:










Here's the back of the stand:



















Here's the front with one door open and one closed:










Thanks,
Harry


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## FlyingHellFish

That some fine work there Harry, its going to look great once planted. What happen to the mix up wood? Did some unfortunately person end up with your piece instead? How does a giant piece of wood get mix up anyways, small stones I can understand but that thing is huge.


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## Harry Muscle

FlyingHellFish said:


> That some fine work there Harry, its going to look great once planted. What happen to the mix up wood? Did some unfortunately person end up with your piece instead? How does a giant piece of wood get mix up anyways, small stones I can understand but that thing is huge.


I'm not sure if someone else ended up with the pieces I originally ordered. Apparently I ended up with someone else's pieces though. I think the mix up happened with shipping labels once everything was boxed up.

Since I paid way less that what they are worth I decided to keep the pieces and make things work.

Thanks,
Harry


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## Harry Muscle

Most of the framing in other areas of the basement that I'm working on are now done, so I started adding structural supports for dealing with the weight of a 112G tank. I decided to create a closet in the basement that is right underneath where the tank will be in the living room and use it for providing extra support

The first step is to add extra joists. This might be a bit overkill but I prefer that than the tank ending up in the basement 

I sistered the two end joists and added extra joists in between so that they are now 8" on center.



















Next will come beams to support the joists and then columns to support the beams.

Thanks,
Harry


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## Harry Muscle

Did more work today ... the two support beams are up.










Thanks,
Harry


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## Harry Muscle

The columns are starting to go in. Three 2x4s at each corner plus additional support around the closet door opening and the back wall.










I also took a picture of my cutting area in case anyone wants to copy it. It's ABS pipe and fittings that fit together to make a cube that is then covered in thin plastic. Allows me to do so my cutting in the basement (instead of the driveway) and keep the dust from going everywhere.










Thanks,
Harry


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## FlyingHellFish

You got the whole American Psycho crime screen look going, ahhah


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## Harry Muscle

The structural support for the tank is all done ... I just haven't taken a picture if it yet. Lots of other framing work has also been finished in the basement including the fish room.

I started work in the living room where the plumbing and electrical will be next to the fish tank:










Here's what's inside the wall:










That's all for now.

Thanks,
Harry


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## islanddave

Hey Harry Beautiful build!

How did you arrange to get the pieces if wood from Mr.Barr? Was it spendy to ship?

Thanks Dave


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## Harry Muscle

islanddave said:


> Hey Harry Beautiful build!
> 
> How did you arrange to get the pieces if wood from Mr.Barr? Was it spendy to ship?
> 
> Thanks Dave


Thanks.

I had the wood shipped to a relative in the US, so the cost wasn't too bad, I think around $30-40 was the shipping for all the wood I got. To Canada it would be around double that.

Thanks,
Harry


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## cb1021

I was looking at this thread for an update yesterday. 

Get that tank running Harry Muscle!!!! You'll love growing plants and seeing the fish interact.


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## Harry Muscle

I've been slowly getting things ready for running the pipes inside the wall. I have added additional supports around where the pipes will exit the wall so that they can be attached better.










I have also added supports to the drain pipe that I'll be running aquarium pipes beside ... didn't want to accidentally damage it.



















Thanks,
Harry


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## Harry Muscle

The pipes went into the wall today. This was probably the hardest part of all the plumbing since I'm working in an existing wall and the only access I have is through the small opening where the electrical will go afterwards. Here's what the living room part looks like:










Here's what we have in the basement:










And here's what's in the wall:



















You might notice that I insulated the pipe a bit. I figure I'll have about 15' of pipe for the round trip from tank to sump and back to the tank, which is a lot of surface area to lose heat.

Thanks,
Harry


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## Bebu

Looking good! Good idea with the supports.


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## Bebu

Soooo.... Long weekend's passed... Update?


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## Harry Muscle

Bebu said:


> Soooo.... Long weekend's passed... Update?


I got to enjoy a nice cold/flu this weekend ... so nothing physical got done unfortunately ... although I did work on debugging the IR controller I'm putting together for the lights that I talked about earlier in this thread. Here's a link to the thread on the controller: http://www.gtaaquaria.com/forum/showthread.php?p=1100866

Thanks,
Harry


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## Harry Muscle

I went to Miracles on Wednesday cause the tank and stand was finally ready and I wanted to check them out before they get delivered ... unfortunately things didn't go so well.

The wrong color background was applied to the back of the tank. Apparently they will have to take the trim of the tank to fix that (the background goes under the trim).

Also there were a handful of issues with the stand. I asked for a bunch of modifications to the standard design. Most of them were done, but they forgot to double up the front supports like I asked. Also it looks like the stand got damaged when it was moved from where their carpenter works to their main warehouse.

Nathan (factory manager and super nice guy) assures me that they'll make everything right, but I still haven't heard back from Derek, the company owner who's call it actually is.

I'm a bit disappointed with Miracles at this point in time. A wooden stand is definitely fixable, but having to take the trim of the tank makes me worry that the silicone might get damaged during the process and cause a leak for me down the road.

An another note, the stand definitely looks nice:










Here's pictures of a big scratch right on the top front trim and one of the corners that got crushed, most likely when they moved the stand:



















Thanks,
Harry


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## Bebu

That's disappointing. Especially when you've planned and waited so long and most likely put in serious coin into it. But I don't understand, weren't the specifications put in writing (i.e. Black background, double supports in front, etc.,)? How do things like that get past quality control or a checklist prior to pushing further along in production?


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## Harry Muscle

Bebu said:


> That's disappointing. Especially when you've planned and waited so long and most likely put in serious coin into it. But I don't understand, weren't the specifications put in writing (i.e. Black background, double supports in front, etc.,)? How do things like that get past quality control or a checklist prior to pushing further along in production?


Yup, everything was in writing, I even provided diagrams. I guess something got lost in communicating these things to the actual people doing the work.

We'll see if Derek (the owner) gets back to me today ... hopefully.

Thanks,
Harry


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## Bebu

Well, on the plus side, the stand looks pretty great. Finish looks very refined and not cheap laminate like.


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## Harry Muscle

Finally got over my cold ... took long enough. I've been working on the electrical in the fish room this week. Here's the main panel which will house 6 switched outlets, two always on outlets, low voltage connections for the Apex unit to communicate with hardware in the living room, and a few other odds and ends:










And here's the wiring diagram for this:










I'm also still waiting on Miracles ... not really ready for the tank yet, but still wish I had it already 

Thanks,
Harry


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## jimmyjam

looks great so far, cant wait to see the final product


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## Harry Muscle

Since not much exciting has been happening lately, I thought I'd share some background info and extra details on this whole build by posting my plethora of notes.

This is my equipment list. A bunch of things have been crossed out as the list progressed.























































Next are my plumbing related notes:






















































































































...


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## Harry Muscle

Fish room notes:










I've got lots more notes, but I'll save those for another post.

Thanks,
Harry


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## Sunstar

I am really impressed how you shored up the floor that is soimething a l ot of people may not think of. fortunately your house is build with real wood joist as opposed to what I see lately which is chipboard.


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## Harry Muscle

Sunstar said:


> I am really impressed how you shored up the floor that is soimething a l ot of people may not think of. fortunately your house is build with real wood joist as opposed to what I see lately which is chipboard.


Thanks. It's a new construction home so it probably could have handled the weight but better safe than sorry.

Harry


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## Harry Muscle

More notes ...

Various light calculations when I was trying to figure out what kind of lighting to go with for this tank:





































Various heater calculations:























































Calculations for when I was contemplating a DIY stand for the tank:























































Thanks,
Harry


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## Harry Muscle

Another round of notes ... for those really interested in all that went on behind the scenes to make this happen ... slowly.

Electrical notes:























































Light research:



















Glass Holes order:










Miracles Aquarium notes:
































































More notes related to Miracles Aquarium are next ...


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## Harry Muscle

More notes related to my order with Miracles Aquarium:





































Armpit calculations to determine the ideal stand height:










Return line notes:





































Magnet calculations got attaching things to the glass:



















Shopping list of things needed to connect the living room to the fish room electronically:










More return plumbing notes:










Shopping list for basement plumbing:










Notes about the plumbing that went inside the wall connecting the living room and basement:


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## Harry Muscle

Arduino notes when researching which brand to get for the IR light controller:










Notes related to determining where the holes will go in the aquarium:



























































































Notes from when I looked at the tank and stand in September:



















Congratulations for getting thru all my notes ... hope some of you benefit from all this research.

Now back to our regularly scheduled program ...


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## Harry Muscle

Now that all the notes are posted, time for a status update. I finished the IR Light Controller:



















I also installed the electrical box in the hole in the living room. You can also see in the pic that the plumbing has been finished with one half of the Union join glued in (I'll post a better pic later on).










Thanks,
Harry


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## Quartapound

Wow, that's a lot of notes! Doesn't seem like you left any mental stone unturned 

Sent from my Nexus 9 using Tapatalk


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## Harry Muscle

The electrical outlets went in along with the first set of keystone jacks. This also shows better the union joins that have been attached to the plumbing.










Thanks,
Harry


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## Harry Muscle

I drove out to Miracles this last Wednesday ... that was disappointing. I thought they wanted me to come in and take a look at the fixes they made to the tank and stand ... turns out they wanted me to come in and discuss what I wanted fixed because the original discussion about two months ago was via email. 

I have to say their quality is definitely nice, but I'm either not a big enough client for them or they are just disorganized.

They had the tank more accessible this time than before so I measured all the holes that they drilled and it returns out that they misread my diagrams and drilled all the holes 3/8" too high. Somewhat aggrevating ... but the only solution would be to build a new tank. The downside with that is that they threw in 1/2" glass as a favor instead of the 3/8" glass that I actually paid for ... pretty sure a new tank wouldn't include that.

Fortunately I measured things and the glass holes overflow I will be using will still fit ... the water level will just be 3/8" higher than I expected. Also the return lines will be a little higher so there won't be as much back siphon into the sump. Unfortunately though this does mean that the bulkheads will hit into the trim ... they realized this and cut the trim a bit around the holes ... I'll just have to do a nicer and more symmetrical job once I finally get the tank. Here's what it looks like:



















Thanks,
Harry


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## Yann

*Sweet!*

Looks like you got a very nice set up planned!

I've had the same experience with Miracles... I had all the instructions lined up for them (clear as day) and they didn't follow exactly and made some creative adaptations. Needless to say I retuned the delivered tank and had to wait for the tank I had asked for to get built.

As long as you have been clear in your instructions, they will get it to you the tank of your dreams in the end (I will order from them again). From my understanding, this is why we don't usually direct anyone to Miracles anymore at the Menagerie. Too much hassle for the customer (happens almost every time).

As long as you expect it...

Cheers.


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## Harry Muscle

Much much happening lately ... the rest of the electrical in the living room has been completed. That's about it.



















Thanks,
Harry


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## Harry Muscle

I'm heading out to Miracles Aquarium again today. Apparently all the repairs to the stand are complete. Assuming everything checks out fine it should get delivered tomorrow.

Thanks,
Harry


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## Harry Muscle

Today was another disappointing drive out to Miracles Aquarium (it's over an hour drive for me ... so it's not like they are around the corner).

First, lets start with the good. They did a very nice job fixing the stand issues that I reported the last two times I drive out there. They also said that they will make sure I'm happy or they'll refund my money. And they might even credit me some money to pay for all the gas I've spent going there five times now.

Now for the bad. They once again had damage on the stand, most likely from moving or hitting it in the shop after it came from the carpenter. On its own that's not too bad, but combined with the fact that this is the third time I've driven out there to deal with the stand it's really annoying and doesn't make for a good customer experience.

I've definitely come to the conclusion that if you're obsessive, particular, or anal and you're looking for a company that will deliver "perfection" on the first go around (or even the second), you should definitely look elsewhere. On the other hand if you're just an average Joe looking for a good quality but not necessarily "perfect" tank and stand then definitely give them a try. They are nice to deal with, although quite disorganized based on my experience.

It looks like they'll be aiming to get the tank and stand delivered to me December 28 ... hopefully.

Thanks,
Harry


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## Harry Muscle

It's looking like I've got several months to go still until I actually have plants in the tank, but I decided to start preparing. I figure it's going to cost several hundred dollars to fill the tank heavily with plants, so I've started growing some of them emersed. That way hopefully I can start with smaller cheaper portions. Or at the very least scratch the plant growing itch.

Here's what I setup today:




























So far I have some fissidens moss, windolev java fern, and micro anubias. We'll see how this works out.

Thanks,
Harry


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## Harry Muscle

It's finally here:










Now let's hope there are no issues once I unbox everything 

Thanks,
Harry


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## Harry Muscle

So far so good with unpacking everything. Here's a quick shot of where the tank is going to end up:










Thanks,
Harry


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## Harry Muscle

My Miracles Aquariums issues seem to continue ... instead if reposting please see this thread for this particular issue.

http://www.gtaaquaria.com/forum/showthread.php?t=201578

Thanks,
Harry


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## Harry Muscle

Harry Muscle said:


> My Miracles Aquariums issues seem to continue ... instead if reposting please see this thread for this particular issue.
> 
> http://www.gtaaquaria.com/forum/showthread.php?t=201578
> 
> Thanks,
> Harry


The solution that I decided to go with was to get strips of wood to go underneath the tank trim and sand the strips down to compensate for the hump.

I keep forgetting to take better pictures while I'm working on this, but here's what I bought to fix the problem:










The strips are teak wood which does great around water and won't require any coat to provide protection. They are just a little over 1/4" tall and a little less than 2" wide.

I'm almost done sanding the pieces to compensate for the hump and a few other minor irregularities in the stand top. There where a few spots that needed filler, so I used water proof wood glue to provide the extra depth where needed.

I've also ordered neoprene rubber strips that will go in between the teak strips and stand top (overkill probably, but I like overkill).

Thanks,
Harry


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## Harry Muscle

I've been working on assembling the strips of wood that will go on top of the stand. I just finished gluing in the last piece. It will require a bit of sanding to sit better once the glue dries, but it's almost done.










I've also expanded my grow operation. It now includes Ranunculus Inundatus which is doing great already.










Thanks,
Harry


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## Harry Muscle

I've been expanding my grow operation a bit more. Here's what it looks like now:










I added a Lagenandra meeboldii 'Red' plant today and some pygmy chain sword (Echinodorus tenellus or Helanthium tenellum):



















Here's what the rest of the containers look like:




























Thanks,
Harry


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## Harry Muscle

My plan to use neoprene rubber strips between the strips of teak and the stand didn't work out as expected. The rubber wasn't as "perfect" as I'd like it to be and the glue on back of the rubber was very gunky which added more imperfections to the finished product that it fixed. Fortunately I realized this early on and only had to deal with removing glue residue from one section.

So I've spent the last week or so trying to find a replacement product to use to go between the teak strips and stand. Standard styrofoam is not an option cause I've read that it can retain water and eventually lead to mold issues. The denser foams available at home renovation places turned out to be too dense. I've used flooring under-padding with great success in the past (unfortunately my go to under-padding has been discontinued since). So I took an afternoon and drove around to local flooring places checking out what they have available. I found a pretty good product as Lumber Liquidators that's normally used under luxury vinyl tiles (LVT Underlayment 100 Sq Ft - Tranquility | Lumber Liquidators). It's 100% polyurethane foam and about 1/16" thick. Normally I'd want something thicker, but I've already taken care of the "larger" imperfections with the teak strips. I got a sample and ran some compression tests on it to make sure it won't compress to nothing under the load of the tank (which based on my calculations will be less than 8 PSI ... quite low).

So hopefully tomorrow I'll be getting a roll of this stuff (too bad they don't sell it by the foot) and cutting it to size. That means that hopefully on the weekend the tank will finally end up on the stand.

Thanks,
Harry


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## Harry Muscle

The foam got cut today that will go between the teak strips and the top of the stand. Here's a quick shot of the cutting.










I did the cutting on top of two joined sheets of MDF board and I used double sided tape between the strips and the foam to keep the foam from slipping as I cut around the strips.

Here's what the final product looks like on the stand.










In case anyone is as nerdy about this stuff as I am, here's the specs for the foam I used.










This weekend the tank should finally be on the stand, yay.

Thanks,
Harry


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## Harry Muscle

Here's how you get a 200+ lb tank onto a stand when all your friends have bad backs and you have to do it on your own.

First find something roughly the same height as the stand. In my case this was an old small Ikea dining table. Put a towel on top and pad one edge real well with more towels.










Next lift one edge onto the table, change sides and lift the other edge and slide it onto the table.










Get your stand ready.










Position the table behind the stand.










Slice the tank across from the table onto the stand.










And finally slide the stand into place ... more or less.










And that's how I finally got my tank onto the stand. It's finally starting to look like a tank project. Yay.

Thanks,
Harry


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## tom g

*awesome*

good job harry finally a positive to your situation 
look forward to seeing it wet ...


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## plants4fun

looking good!


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## Harry Muscle

Not much happened lately other than electrical in and around the fish room in the basement.

I got a really good deal on eBay on a high end brand new hard wired surge protector and power filter (http://www.brickwall.com/collection...20-amp-oem-industrial-surge-protection-module). I'll be installing this on the circuit dedicated for the fish room and tank. I've read a few reports of people's Neptune Apex units frying cause of power surges so hopefully this will prevent that from ever happening.

That's all for now.

Thanks,
Harry


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## Harry Muscle

I've added some Crypt Green Gecko and Crypt Parva to my grow operation:










Very excited about the Green Gecko.

Also some Crypt Affinis, Crypt Wendtii Green and Brown:










Thanks,
Harry


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## Harry Muscle

Not much to report lately, however, I did expand my growing operation. Here's what I already had:










And here's the addition. I decided to use one of the lights that will eventually end up over the tank itself. It's an Ecoxotic E-120:










Thanks,
Harry


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## Harry Muscle

Things having moving along slowly. I did get some more plants to add to my collection though. Got them at the HDAS auction. Ten plus stems of Styrogene repens:










Some narrow leaf java fern:










Bolbitis fern:










And some Asian water grass:










Thanks,
Harry


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## Dis

The s repens was probably mine. I was growing it emersed too. So it should do well in a few days. The different light really changes the way the leaves grow. When I had it in the sun it grew tall with large leaves. Once I moved it under a cfl it grew smaller more compact leaves. That's why you might see some different size leaves in it


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## Harry Muscle

Dis said:


> The s repens was probably mine. I was growing it emersed too. So it should do well in a few days. The different light really changes the way the leaves grow. When I had it in the sun it grew tall with large leaves. Once I moved it under a cfl it grew smaller more compact leaves. That's why you might see some different size leaves in it


It's doing great so far. Excited to have gotten it.

Thanks,
Harry


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## Harry Muscle

Found some Micranthemum "Monte Carlo" locally so it's now part of my growing operation:










Also finally back to working in the basement to get things ready for the fish room. Lots of electrical work happening. Finally wired up the junction box that connects the circuits coming in from the garage circuit breaker to the wiring the basement:










Thanks,
Harry


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## Harry Muscle

The circuit for the fish room is finally done (until the drywall goes up and all the fixtures go in). This included the Transit Voltage Surge protection that I installed under the stairs:










This means that soon the plumbing for the fish room sink will start ... and then I'm hiring the rest of the work out cause this is taking forever .

Thanks,
Harry


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## planter

What an awesome project. So much to learn from this thread. 

Subscribed.


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## vincel892

Harry Muscle said:


> Found some Micranthemum "Monte Carlo" locally so it's now part of my growing operation:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Thanks,
> Harry


Do you think the water level is too high? I'm currently growing monte carlo emersed using miracle gro soil and fertilizing with miracle gro plant food. The soil is always moist but water level never above substrate level.


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## Harry Muscle

vincel892 said:


> Do you think the water level is too high? I'm currently growing monte carlo emersed using miracle gro soil and fertilizing with miracle gro plant food. The soil is always moist but water level never above substrate level.


I'm using Flourite (same as the main tank will have). I've found that the water level doesn't seem to matter much with the other plants so far. Since you're using soil it might be better to have a bit less water to avoid having a soup of mud.

Thanks,
Harry


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## Harry Muscle

Finally started working on the plumbing in the basement. Here's a quick shot of the drain and vent setup that will be used for draining water from the sump during automatic water changes. Also at the top is the water supply box that will supply water for water changes ... it just hasn't been connected yet.










Thanks,
Harry


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## Harry Muscle

Plumbing is all done, yay. Here's the finished water change supply and drain/vent setup:










And here's the supply and drain rough-in for the fish room sink:










Next is some insulation and vapor barrier work and the rest is being hired out. This project should soon start looking like an aquarium project again 

Thanks,
Harry


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## Harry Muscle

After way to much time dealing with "life", I'm finally back at work on the tank. Today I spent some time extending the drain pipe to where it will eventually exit the drywall in the fish room.

Here's the drain pipe and return pipe that runs from the living room:










The pipe and elbows I'll be using:










I had to do a couple test fits to get the length just right. It's a very tight fit between the concrete wall and the studs supporting the stairs:










Gluing this in was a bit hard cause of the tight space but things worked out:










Here's the other end, currently supported by tape:










Tomorrow or Monday I'll be putting in this bracket to properly support this end:










Thanks,
Harry


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## Harry Muscle

I finished attaching the pipe where it will exit the drywall in the fish room. Next I'm hoping to insulate it a bit to help with heat preservation. After that I'm gonna start working on the tank plumbing (drain, overflow, return, loc-line, etc).










Thanks,
Harry


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## Harry Muscle

I'm getting things ready for installing the Glass Holes overflow box and the return lines. One thing that Glass Holes recommends is using a gasket between the box and glass. However the gasket is round which makes keeping the box perpendicular to the glass a bit more difficult so I got the "local gasket shop" to cut one for me that fits the back of the overflow box perfectly.



















It's made of EPDM rubber, like most bulkhead gaskets, and it has a standard 60A hardness.

I also put together the Loc Line return fittings today. Soaked one end in hot water and the other in cold water to ease with the assembly.



















I also prepared the bulkheads for assembly by cleaning them up with some 400 grit sandpaper to make sure all the sealing surfaces are nice and smooth.

Thanks,
Harry


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## jimmyjam

holy molely batmen... you are doing quite a number on this 90 gallon. I have never done so much for a tank in my 20 years of aquascaping lol amazing .. I cant wait to see the end result!


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## Harry Muscle

I wanted to start playing around with the aquascaping so I set myself up with a bit of a work area and pulled out all the wood and stones I have available.





































Here are a couple driftwood arrangements that I tried out. I'd love some feedback.










Same layout, different angle. I also circled two branches that didn't seem to "go with the flow" of the rest of the wood. I'm thinking of cutting then of, depending on the feedback I get.










Here's a better shot of the piece of wood with those "offending" branches.










Here's another layout I tried, again highlighted the branches I'm thinking of removing.










And here's the same layout from a different angle.










Please feel free to let me know what you think.

Thanks,
Harry


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## Harry Muscle

jimmyjam said:


> holy molely batmen... you are doing quite a number on this 90 gallon. I have never done so much for a tank in my 20 years of aquascaping lol amazing .. I cant wait to see the end result!


Thanks. I can't wait to see the end result either 

Thanks,
Harry


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## planter

I really got to give it to you bud. This is the most thought out setup I've ever seen. There is a ton good info on this thread. Sticky worthy of you ask me. 

Well done Harry I'm really looking forward to seeing this bad boy filled with water, plants, and fish.


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## Harry Muscle

planter said:


> I really got to give it to you bud. This is the most thought out setup I've ever seen. There is a ton good info on this thread. Sticky worthy of you ask me.
> 
> Well done Harry I'm really looking forward to seeing this bad boy filled with water, plants, and fish.


Thank you.

I spent some time today creating these supports that I'm going to attach to the back of the stand. These will have several PVC support brackets attached to them to support the plumbing behind the tank so that the bulkheads aren't carrying any weight.



















They are made out of teak wood so that I don't have to worry about sealing them or them getting wet.

Thanks,
Harry


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## Harry Muscle

I was back to doing aquascaping stuff yesterday and decided to give my "seiryu" stones the muriatic acid treatment. Here's the before picture of all the rocks I got to work with.










Muriatic acid can be quite dangerous so I took all the recommended precautions.










Although in hindsight I should have used the carbon filters in addition to the particulate filters I had on my mask.

Here's the after shot of the rocks. They look wet but they are actually dry. The muriatic acid changes their look that much.










I soaked the rocks for exactly 3 minutes each to get this effect. I've read of people soaking them for longer but the acid eats away at the rocks so I wanted to err on the short side.

Here are some of the nicer rocks.




























I noticed a few of the rocks were left with these gray patches. Not sure why, maybe I didn't soak them long enough in the acid or maybe it's a different mineral in these patches. Either way they blend in when the rock is wet.










And here's an updated shot of my evolving aquascape idea with the "new" rocks.










Thanks,
Harry


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## Harry Muscle

I attached the plumbing supports to the back of the stand today. Wiped the teak supports with acetone to remove surface oils and applied 3M Extreme double sided tape.










Applied a bit of pressure while I waited to make sure the bond was good.










Then I cleaned the back of the stand with isopropyl alcohol and applied the supports. I had previously measured exactly where the supports would go and marked the edges with masking tape.



















Thanks,
Harry


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## Harry Muscle

I prepared the plumbing mounting brackets by gluing stainless steel washers to the overly large holes they have for screws.










Then I switched gears to the outlets. I had several joints in the Loc Line sections that were really loose so I got these clamps designed for that exact purpose. Swapped the screws out for stainless steel screws and attached them to the loose joints.



















Lastly I started working on the flex pipe that will be the drain pipe. Did a rough measurement of how long it needs to be, cut and sanded one end to be square, and tried this to see if I can get the memory out of it in one section.










Thanks,
Harry


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## iamaloner

So much detail. Keep it up

Sent from my SM-N910W8 using Tapatalk


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## Harry Muscle

I was thinking about all the Seiryu stone I have to work with for the aquascape and the fact that it changes the KH, GH, and pH kept bugging me. So I ran some numbers based on data I found on Tom Barr's forum site.



















If I were to use all 45lbs of the rocks I have I would end up increasing my KH and GH about 1 degree per week. Definitely more than I was expecting when I originally choose these rocks. Since I'm hoping to keep German Rams and generally more difficult fish (which usually means they need softer more acidic water) I've decided to scrap the Seiryu stone and go with Ohko stone instead. Ironically the Ohko stone color will look more natural against the Flourite Dark gravel which has a brown color to it.

Curiously though it's pretty hard to find good examples of aquascapes that use Ohko stone and manzanita driftwood. Seiryu stone with manzanita seems to be more popular. If anyone has seen some nice aquascapes with Ohko and driftwood feel free to share, would love to see it.

Thanks,
Harry


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## Harry Muscle

I got the overflow box ready today for installation. It's a 700gph Glass Holes box. Nicely made, however, the edges were not flame polished, so I filed the inside edges of the teeth a bit to give it a slightly rounded profile. This should help slightly with keeping the water in contact with the box as it enters it, although not sure by how much since I only did a little bit of filing.

I've also read multiple times that overflows quite down once a biofilm gets established so I decided to help it by roughing up the top inch or two of the inside of the box so that the biofilm can better attach. This will also increase surface tension and/or wetting (not sure technically which term is correct in this case) due to more surface area being exposed which should also help the water cling to the box surface thus reducing noise. Again not sure by how much it will help in reality but I'm pretty sure it won't hurt so why not. Here's a shot of the inside side of the box teeth.










I also measured and put together the drain line today so that everything is ready for installing the overflow box in the tank.










Thanks,
Harry


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## Harry Muscle

The overflow and drain line got installed today. I was hoping to take pictures throughout the process but it got messy with all the silicone lubricant for all the gaskets and I didn't want to mess up the phone. I used lots of lubricant in part because of the large gasket that's the full size of the box. Also applied lots inside the glass hole around the bulkhead (where some people sometimes use silicone sealant/glue). It seems like most bulkhead leaks are quite slow and having thick non curing silicone lubricant in the way should help prevent any such leaks.

Here's the overflow.










Tightening the bulkhead nut from inside the overflow box was quite the challenge. It's as tight as humanly possible without the use of a wrench.










I should probably also mention that I decided to go with a different bulkhead than the one supplied by Glass Holes. Theirs just seemed to cheap for my taste. I got a Lifegard bulkhead and cut it to the correct length. Definitely better quality bulkhead.

I also decided to smooth out the rough parts of the inside of the overflow a bit ... it was just bugging me. So I used some Novus 2 and elbow grease and made the area more semi smooth instead of rough.

Lastly here's the drain plumbing from behind.










Thanks,
Harry


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## jimmyjam

hey bud what was the ratio of music acid that you used? And what is a good place to get it ? thanks


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## Harry Muscle

jimmyjam said:


> hey bud what was the ratio of music acid that you used? And what is a good place to get it ? thanks


I got the muriatic acid at Canadian Tire. It was the standard concentration which I believe is around 32%. I used that straight from the bottle in a 5G bucket and soaked the rocks for exactly 3 minutes each. Ended up using about 3/4 of the bottle for all those rocks and 4lbs of baking soda to neutralize it afterwards.

Thanks,
Harry


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## jimmyjam

awesome! Thanks a bunch.. I wonder if basic vinegar will do the trick..


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## Harry Muscle

jimmyjam said:


> awesome! Thanks a bunch.. I wonder if basic vinegar will do the trick..


I tried vinegar for about an hour and it bubbled a little bit but did nothing to change the appearance of the rocks.

Thanks,
Harry


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## Harry Muscle

I worked on getting the supply line ready for installation over the last few days.



And here's the memory removal process.



I also attached the Loc Line pieces to the bulkheads in preparation for the install.



Thanks,
Harry


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## Harry Muscle

The supply line got installed today along with the Loc Line pieces.











Turned out better than I had hoped.

Thanks,
Harry


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## jimmyjam

looks great man. This is by far the most detailed build thread for a planted tank I have seen and I have been here forever lol. 

Im about to run out for some muriatic acid. I have about 150 lbs of rock to clean lol . Ill post the results on my thread.


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## planter

Yeah the detail is nuts. It's on the 10 page and it's not even filled yet. I am really enjoying this thread.


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## Harry Muscle

Thanks guys.

I installed some backing in the fish room over the last few days. This way when I attach various equipment to the walls I won't have to use drywall plugs since there will be solid wood to screw into.



Thanks,
Harry


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## PlantedTank

Love this idea... hands down one of the best 'hacks' when setting up!


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## iamaloner

This better be one of the best setups in the history of setups lol. Been following your thread for far too long. 

Sent from my SM-N910W8 using Tapatalk


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## Harry Muscle

I finally got some time today to work a bit on the tank. I worked on a little thingy that the float switch would screw into and then it would fit perfectly in the Eshopps probe holder.

I started by cutting a short piece of 1/2" OD (3/8" ID) acrylic tube and tapping it using a 1/8" NPT tap.



Then I drilled a hole in the side and cut the piece to the correct length.



Here's what it looks like screwed onto the float switch.





And here's when it's in the probe holder.





After this was done I ran some tests on the float switch and it turned out that the magnets in the probe holder were interfering with the switch. Fortunately I had several of the probe holders and one of them had the magnetic poles opposite to the one I originally tried. For some reason when the poles are reversed they no longer interfere with the float switch.

Thanks,
Harry


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## Harry Muscle

The basement including the fish room got drywalled recently. Still needs to be mudded, but things are moving along ... slowly. I'll get pictures up soon.

I've been also doing some research on exactly which fish and shrimp I want to keep and have been going back and forth on whether to bother with an RO filter as part of the automated water change setup. I've posted more details and questions here if anyone cares to input: http://www.gtaaquaria.com/forum/showthread.php?t=258066. That post also includes the list of fish and shrimp I'm interested in if anyone's curious.

Thanks, 
Harry


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## Harry Muscle

The first coat of mud went on the drywall in the fish room. Starting to look like an actual room ... feels so much tighter now though.







Great use of "wasted" under the stairs space.

Thanks, 
Harry


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## Harry Muscle

Fish room is all painted. Floor tile will be coming next. Things are finally coming together in the fish room ... well almost.







Thanks,
Harry


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## Harry Muscle

The tile is down and the baseboards have been installed and painted. The rest of the basement work is now also done so I can focus on fish stuff only from here on. Here's what the fish room looks like now:





Next steps will be to install the sink and build and install the cabinets that the sump will sit on.

Thanks,
Harry


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## Harry Muscle

Cabinet assembly has begun. These two cabinets are going in the fish room. The larger cabinet will house the quarantine tank and the smaller cabinet will be for storing stuff. On top of these two cabinets will sit the sump.

I'm gluing all the cabinet joints. It's an all plywood cabinet but it's fairly cheap so gluing the joints should help with sturdiness.





Thanks,
Harry


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## Harry Muscle

The cabinets are coming along. Glueing the joints really helped with making things sturdy. I used Elmer's ProBond Max glue for raw wood to raw wood joints and Elmer's ProBond Advanced for joints where one or both surfaces weren't raw wood. Worked really well. Both glues are water cleanup but are water proof once dry. When attaching the front of the cabinets I needed a glue with gap filling ability so I went with No More Nails ... it's a water cleanup construction adhesive.

Here's a trial fit of the cabinets in the fish room:



I was a little worried about the low surface area of the cabinets for transferring the weight of the large sump that will sit on top so I decided to build some reinforcements:



They will fit on the top and bottom of the cabinets to provide more surface area. They are a little too thin so a nice layer of glue was needed:





It's not a perfect solution for weight transfer since the loads still have to travel through the 1/2" plywood of the cabinets but at least it reinforces the joints and spreads the load out a bit.

Thanks,
Harry


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## Harry Muscle

After a long delay dealing with life I finally had time to put the cabinets in in the fish room.

First I installed a filler piece in behind the cabinets since they form an L shape and I want full support everywhere for the large sump that will be sitting on top.



Next I measured out where the bottom of the cabinets will end up.



Then I applied a nice layer of Mono Ultra caulking. Since the cabinets will be sitting on tile and tile is almost never absolutely perfectly level or flat I wanted a layer that would better transfer the load to the tile. Usually this is done with foam or something similar but since this is a permanent installation caulking seemed like a good choice.



And finally in went the cabinets with lots of weight on top to squeeze the caulking.



The countertop is not yet secured but that will be next once everything dries.

Thanks,
Harry


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## coldmantis

that's some Pro diy, subscribed.


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## Harry Muscle

Countertop went in today. Very similar process to the cabinet install.







The countertop has a plywood core instead of the usual particleboard to avoid issues with water. I got it cheap but the plywood was a bit warped so a bit more weight was needed and some clamping to get everything perfectly flat.

Thanks,
Harry


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## Harry Muscle

The cabinets and countertop are all done.



I also had the chance to install the fish room sink finally. The faucet is from Ikea, cheap but totally adequate for my needs. I installed a Gardena adapter in the faucet so that I can attach the various hose connectors if/when needed.



Lastly, I also installed the brackets that will hold the big blue water filter canisters. There will be two and the will live behind the sink. Not exactly easy to get to but they will only need changing once every year or two.



Thanks,
Harry


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## doubledouble

Very interesting journal! Looking good


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Harry Muscle

Over the last week or so I've been spending some time creating a few items I will need for the tank.

First item was a jig to hold an optical water level sensor. I will be using an Eshopps Probe Holder to hold various things. Some of these will be a float switch and an optical sensor. I needed to create something that would allow both the float switch and optical sensor to be at the same triggering height while both being attached to the same probe holder. Here's what I created:





The tube will fit into the probe holder and the hole will hold the optical sensor. Since I'm not so good at gluing acrylic I decided to give the item a sand blasted look to mask the glue that went were it wasn't supposed to:



I also soldered up some extensions to the float switch and optical sensor:



Lastly, I've been working on creating some sort of shrimp proof cover for my Koralia Nano powerhead. I wasn't originally planning on using it but I think I will need more flow than just the sump and two Maxi Jets will provide. Here's one of the designs I played with:





I didn't love this one so I'm working on a slightly larger design that should be better able to protect baby shrimp from getting sucked in.

Thanks,
Harry


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## planter

Just thought you could try to use those stainless steel mesh squares commonly used for plants on the inside of the housing.

Loving this build thread btw


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## Harry Muscle

After several prototypes I finally came up with a really good solution for covering the Koralia Nano powerhead. I've documented the steps with lots of pictures in case anyone wants to create one for themselves. All you need is #7 needlepoint plastic canvas, a whole bunch of small zip ties, and the Fluval U3 filter foam.

First cut a rectangle out of the canvas matching the size shown in the picture.



Insert zip ties as shown. Zip them up and trim them.







Do almost the same to the other side of the canvas rectangle but spacing the zip ties a little differently.





Fold the rectangle to form a cylinder, overlapping by three holes, and add zip ties.





Cut a square piece and then cut it down to a circle.





Cut another square, cut it down to a circle, and cut out an opening as shown.



Lay the two circles 45 degrees rotated from each other and join them with zip ties.







Insert the joined circles into the cylinder and push it up against the side with more zip ties.





Insert the foam into the cylinder.



Push the cylinder over the powerhead and you get this.







Thanks,
Harry


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## Harry Muscle

Here's a picture of the exact foam that was used. It's a perfect fit with no cutting required.



Lastly when inserting the powerhead make sure the powerhead opening lines up with the cylinder opening.



This should work for all the Koralia Nano powerheads since they are all the same size. Enjoy.

Thanks,
Harry


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## TKo23

*Great to see all the steps*

Such great photos and details. Learning a lot from your build - thanks!!


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## characinfan

Genius design!


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## shrimpbreedershrimpeater

Very detailed, love the idea. 
Might consider doing this for my shrimps. Thanks!

Sent from my SM-G950W using Tapatalk


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## Harry Muscle

I'm finally back working on the tank again and it looks like Photo Bucket has decided to break all my images. So here's a link to the actual Photo Bucket album with all the images posted thought-out this thread: http://s1055.photobucket.com/user/HarryMuscle/library/112G Jungle Tank Journal

Also in case Google ever decides to mess things up, here's a link to some of the images that are hosted on Google Photos: https://goo.gl/photos/JD6FFTR8btgsSPmV7

Thanks,
Harry


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## Harry Muscle

I ran the various wires behind the tank and into the stand finally. Had to create this triple extension cord setup since none of the pump cords were long enough:










Here's it mounted in the stand:



















Here's a quick shot of the wire setup:



















I'm currently working on the light mount and wiring and once that is done the tank finally moves into place permanently and the focus shifts to the fish room.

Thanks,
Harry


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## Harry Muscle

Finally finished the electrical in the fish room. Here's the GFCI box that distributes electricity to the rest of the fish room. It's amazing how cramped it can be and still be to code:










And here's the rest of the switches, outlets, and communication ports:










All done:










Also did some work on the lights mount over the tank. Got a pair of Gieseman brackets cheap on eBay. Only problem was that there were no studs were I needed them so I took some of the white oak flooring I used for other stuff before, cut it to size, stained it, urethaned it, and attached the brackets to it. Here's the whole thing getting attached to the wall behind the tank and also with one of the lights mounted temporarily:



















Also started putting up the controls for the lights on the side of the stand:



















Thank for following,
Harry


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## Harry Muscle

I had some time to organize all of the cables in the stand and finish wiring everything up in the living room:



















Also connected the unions using a liberal amount of lubricant for the o-rings:










So the tank is finally pushed back into place:










Now all the attention turns to the fish room.

Thanks,
Harry


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## [KRAFTIG]

Sir, please RESIZE your images. TIA!

I see you have/had challenges with MA. Did you ever sort it out? I received my setup with two warped front doors, the side one is fine. Its been months since delivery and no action.


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## Harry Muscle

[KRAFTIG] said:


> Sir, please RESIZE your images. TIA!
> 
> I see you have/had challenges with MA. Did you ever sort it out? I received my setup with two warped front doors, the side one is fine. Its been months since delivery and no action.


I've started hosting my own images cause I got tired of services shutting down or wanting ridiculous amounts to continue hosting ... I'll look into adding code to automatically resize the images.

As for dealing with Miracles Aquarium I got most of the problems resolved before the delivery. But there still were issues after the stand was delivered. Fortunately though I hadn't paid the bill yet so I had some negotiating power. In the end though they accepted less money in exchange for not having to fix the issues. I wouldn't hold my breath on them fixing things, short of driving to their office and making a scene. You're probably better of getting a carpenter to fix things on your end or take it upon yourself to fix things.

Thanks,
Harry


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## [KRAFTIG]

I had my reservations about handing them my project, heard stories here and there. When we met in person I though Derek was a stand-up guy, I guessed wrong. All I want is my doors corrected. I think I'll talk to my lawyer or visit them in person with my cousin Vinny... I can't stand it when people think they can get away without providing you with what you paid for. Absolutely ridiculous way to conduct business. No service after the sale. Still waiting for the screws he promised to send 4 times already! Karma is a bitch!


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## carl

Derek told me he offered you a full refund. What would be the purpose of visiting with cousin Vinny


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## Harry Muscle

I'm currently posting updates about this tank build on a few forums but I've decided to consolidate. Partly because I'm slowly fixing all of the broken Photobucket images and it's a lot of extra work to fix them in multiple locations. So going forwards if you'd like to continue tagging along please follow this thread in Planted Tank:

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/showthread.php?t=826569

Thanks,
Harry


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## [KRAFTIG]

carl said:


> Derek told me he offered you a full refund. What would be the purpose of visiting with cousin Vinny


He offered a refund on the stand. It's has nothing to do with the money. I paid in full what was asked, what was delivered in not completed. The doors are warped the hinges are still missing screws (promised to send multiple times) nothing has been delivered. It is simple, service after the sale is extremely poor. I should not have to call or email multiple times to fix the issues. Step up to the plate and fix your work. Simple as that.


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## carl

Let him give you your money back and get a stand from someone else and you can have a happy life, fishies are all about fun, also, why visit with Vinny


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## [KRAFTIG]

carl said:


> Let him give you your money back and get a stand from someone else and you can have a happy life, fishies are all about fun, also, why visit with Vinny


It's the principle. Live up to your expectations, contact and agreement. I'm extremely happy and well mannered. What I don't like is being taken advantage of, ignored and dismissed. Why, because some people need a slap in the face.


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## carl

Are you seriously threatening to physically assault a man over a warped door and some missing screws?


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## [KRAFTIG]

carl said:


> Are you seriously threatening to physically assault a man over a warped door and some missing screws?


No, though I'm certainly not impressed with his lack of support and follow-up.


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