BaghdadBean

Thank you, really looking forward to bringing this home! 

What kind of clown is she? I had a maroon one that was gorgeous but possessed by the same forces of evil that power my cat.  They’re such trippy fish!

I got one in my garage you could have.  

14 hours ago, ArrowDragon said:

Battleground washington and there's no lights needs them for sure it's just the fixture

Those look like maybe VHO ends in the photo??? Maybe a photo of the tank facing side of the light hood and a close up on the ballasts would help folks see what’s there better.  

On 10/15/2022 at 6:53 PM, islandVib3s said:

I've done a dozen or so diy stands. It all depends on materials.  For skinning, HD has 1/4 wood panels thatre 5x9ft? If i remember correctly.  Its about $27 a panel. I like to make my stands 1/2 bigger on each side. That way it sit in the middle of the 2x4s. But I mean its all up to you imagination and hand skills. Good luck!🤙 lol btw I just picked up a table saw finally.  Yay more possibilities lol 

I’ve been on the fence about a table saw for years.  We’re getting ready to do some major work in the house though, so I’m leaning harder towards biting the bullet and getting one before freight increases make them cost 1000% more than they already do.  We have about every other kind of saw.  I’m a rancher by trade though, not a carpenter, and I don’t mind saying that woodworking and structural engineering type stuff is a little intimidating to me.  Fences, goat sheds, and barn repair is one thing, something holding 3000 plus pounds of sloshing weight?  Yeah no I’m not trying to bluff that I’m that good. I wish I’d paid more attention when I was younger to my cousin Dale, he was a master woodworker and old school cabinet maker whose skills I really miss.  I don’t mind laying tile but I’m not confident enough in my math or my welding to try to make a stand without adult supervision.  Heh.   

Around here, those light 1/4” panels would quickly become kindling. We run a ranch, so our house has a constant stream of kids, large dogs skidding around, and annual seasonal invasions of bottle lambs or goat kids.  You ever see that scene in Bambi where the little deer hits the ice and all four legs go out and he skids around?  That’s my house every morning as our Dobermans  come thundering down the halls and around the corners once freed from the bedrooms of their respective favorite family members.  Multiply that by 3-8 when we’ve got bottle lambs in the house.  It’s adorable but terrifying.  Let’s just say we earthquake proofed this place BEFORE the earthquake actually hit.  

On 10/15/2022 at 8:31 AM, obrien.david.j said:

When I did mine two years ago, I couldn't find anyone with past skills in tank cabinet making.  So I sketched up what I wanted, with specific measurements, and started bringing in cabinet makers.   First one, was clueless.  Wanted to silicon glue braces to the top of the tank and all kinds of crazy crap.  Clearly just couldn't wrap his head around a wrap.  (pun intended).   Second one understood the concept, and filled in the blanks on how to skin a steel stand - without drilling into it.   (I hadn't figured that out).  

Here's the basic progression

 

 

That looks super sharp! I like the way your hood works too.  We’re going for kinda a more gritty steam punk meets forest by the sea aesthetic, but I really like how that sleek look gives life in your living room.  

12 minutes ago, John Vinson said:

Hah....I wish.... They're actually up here now, so I'd just give it to them to take home when they drive back later today... Let me know if that's how your want to do it and I'll make sure to give it to them and I'll PM their address

Ah well I tried.   Sure that works. 

That would work great.  I could even meet you there.  You guys eat lamb? I’ll bring you some fresh organic pasture raised chops as a thanks for the drive halfway. 

Happy Valley is a bit of a hike.  At the price of diesel these days… would you mind shipping to 97374? 

6 hours ago, John Vinson said:

I doubt it....I'd say it'd probably take 2 or 3 to fit them all (I was putting them in a Red Sea blue bucket after they were used and the bucket would only hold about half of them)

Where are you located? 

Could all those socks fit in a flat rate priority mail box? 

I used to get my aquarium cabinetry done by a guy in Salem who owned a fish store in south Salem, but I heard his light departed this world.  Looking around for somebody who still does that kind of thing.  Our local cabinet makers give me deer in headlights looks when I bring it up.  

I’m the weirdo who tests the water in the bag for ph & salinity, then compares to quarantine tank water. If it’s close on ph and not too far off on salinity, I’ll float n separate fish from water to quarantine tank.  If it’s way freaking off, I’ll adjust my qtank to match closer and then over the course of the observation period, bring the fish/invert up to speed to where I keep my display.   Seems to me like moving back up in salinity is harder than going down, and ph differences seem to affect things more than salinity.  Kinda depends on source too, store vs mail order.  I made the mistake of drip acclimating mail order fish once, before understanding the role oxygen and ammonia play with each other.  

Pretty sure RO/DI doesn’t actually remove everything.  It gets a good percentage of things, but you can’t really get all of it unless it’s super clean water to begin with or you’re running multiple membranes. 

Dimensions and photos? Who manufactured it?

Wondering if there’s any PNWers who run seagrass tanks.  Seems to be pretty hard to find reliable growers, and most of the ones I’m seeing are east coast.  

1 hour ago, jtichenor said:

Welcome back to the hobby!

Thanks! 

My name is Bean and I’m addicted to collecting equipment and staring at a dry build in my dining room for over a decade… oh wait, wrong support group.  Or is it? I’ve been out of hobby for a loooong time. Used to be pretty deep into blackwater planted freshie tanks in the 80’s, then switched to saltwater (hard to call those early ones reef tanks) and ran a succession of variously successful or painful mixed reefs through into the early 2000’s.  Had just started my dream tank build in 2009 when life took some twists, I sold my house, and bought a small ranch. I’ve been running livestock out here ever since, but my reef systems had to be dismantled due to water quality and quantity issues out here, and some electrical concerns with this old ranch house.  So fast forward, and I have the electrical recently upgraded with four dedicated circuits installed for aquarium use, we resurrected a well for the livestock which allows us to use the house well for more than bare necessity, and I’m finally getting things together to restart my stalled out reef build.  We still have to do some structural work to the house (supports, subfloor & tile, moving a HVAC vent, adding a couple oh crap drains) so I won’t be getting the system started in the house until next spring, but I’m at the point where it’s okay to start cycling rock, building my water station, and begin building the live food culturing systems in the garage.  Gotta say, technology sure evolved. With that said, I hope y’all don’t mind if I come in with some questions about some of what’s changed in the hobby.