Tee Yeah, we're putting a union between the pump and the OM4 so we can take it off for cleaning and maintenance.
CRVZ Thanks! Nice to have ya along!
blumoon reefers Milissa - that's a great offer. I know you guys put the caribsea pink in your 150... how much did you put in? We want some fat grain substrate (4-5mm) for ours...
LHCorals Lynn - appreciate that link. I've got some of the marine epoxy that I'm going to try today with my experimental aquascaping. Gonna get a couple of beers in me first, then sit down and try it out!
Untamed Once again, we really appreciate all the helpful tips. I took out the trusty sketch pad out today and played around with a few ideas on how to elevate the Dart a bit. I really want to see if I can hit two criteria: 1) reduce noise and vibration as much as possible, and 2) eliminate strain from the bulkheads. The added benefit may be a way to make the pump easier to access for maintenance and access this little drain line.
How about a couple of updates!
Got a package in from Premium Aquatics:
Started looking at the new canopy and how we are going to mount the lighting. As mentioned earlier in the thread, we've been toying with the idea to put in an aluminum light rack into the canopy.
The canopy has got access doors on the sides and front, as well as a piano hinge that allows the front to flip upwards and the rail-mounted light board to slide out:
Here's a shot looking into the left side access door:
and here you can see a view of the front panel lifted up
here's what it looks like with the light board extended out
What we're thinking we'll do is build a light rack out of
modular aluminum tubing and attach it to the light board. Here's the design drawing:
This is inspired by
Tom's Light Rack which is a beautiful piece of work!! We've asked the EZTube people for a quote, so when that comes back, we'll see if it will fit in the budget. If not, we may be looking for some alternatives from you guys!
Another outstanding task on the project plan is getting some substrate. Recall that we picked up some live sand from the nice folks down at SeaLife Inc... very nice stuff - we're wanting some fairly chunky substrate (4-5mm), and I can't find the tropic eden reeflakes anywhere, so we're searching. Two questions for you guys. 1) how much will it take to cover the bottom of the big ol' double D with about 2" of substrate? and 2) where can we find some good chunky stuff that will look gorgeous and not break the bank? I came across
this stuff on a search today, but I'm hesitant without a couple of references from the big tank folks here on this forum...