Pies Posted May 5, 2005 Author Report Share Posted May 5, 2005 there is a inside nzl 'banner' on the tv. tv looks like a fishtank. bannerfish. comprende? Your one odd dude, is there a pill for whats wrong with you? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brianemone Posted May 5, 2005 Report Share Posted May 5, 2005 its good to get a pic with something to give the size some meaning, i hate seeing all those acros and thinking that everyone is bigger than my tank now i know its only a few that are think ill have to find a tiny woman to stand in front of my new tank to give it a feeling of adsolute grandure, (ill just dress up my baby in big people clothes) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chimera Posted May 5, 2005 Report Share Posted May 5, 2005 Your one odd dude, is there a pill for whats wrong with you? yeah, a laughter pill - it's a must have unfortunately I have to make my own amusement on this site... then again brian, alan and steve crack me up with their dry sense of humour some of the time! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pies Posted May 5, 2005 Author Report Share Posted May 5, 2005 Aye if you don't have sense of humour then the Internet is not the right place for you (unless your a porn surfing cop, in which case it the perfect place, but thats a whole different fourm) Pie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted May 5, 2005 Report Share Posted May 5, 2005 unless your a porn surfing cop, Two out of three...Close enough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aquatopia Posted May 7, 2005 Report Share Posted May 7, 2005 WOW ! Well I have made it. Its hard work but exciting reading getting into a 28 page thread when you have not been following it from the start. But PIES - I gotta say, although this has cost you heaps and loads of work, the effort that you have gone to has paid off. I have been reading this for the past week or so in total, ploughing my way through, and its been well worth it. I look forward to continuing to read on, and possibly even seeing the finished item for real if i get to Welly sometime (if you will allow a pome to cross your steps, lol). Seriously dude. This is magnificent work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RnB Posted May 8, 2005 Report Share Posted May 8, 2005 Saw pies setup again last week. The sump room is looking way good, tank looks great, corals all doing well. I love the widh of this tank! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pies Posted May 8, 2005 Author Report Share Posted May 8, 2005 Thanks guys. The tank is comming along really well. The cabinet upstairs is finished and all looking great. The tank itself, to me, still has a long way to go. But corals are growing, colour is looking reasonable, and I will be making more of an effort once the sump has been moved. Been a bit up and down with the tank though, and at the moment I would say its OK. A long way to get before I am truely happy with it. POMEREEF - Yes its been a long expensive and time consuming project. But I think all the planing etc has paid off. Can't wait to start with my clownfish breeding program Pieman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Control Posted May 9, 2005 Report Share Posted May 9, 2005 Pies More pics. Aaron Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aquatopia Posted May 9, 2005 Report Share Posted May 9, 2005 Yeh Pies - do u have one with the collar on - full size shot of the tank. Sweeeeeet......... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pies Posted May 9, 2005 Author Report Share Posted May 9, 2005 POMEREEF - Like the pictures 2 pages back? Pies Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aquatopia Posted May 9, 2005 Report Share Posted May 9, 2005 Nah, was thinking staight on to the front view. (Duh, but they will do. Theres so much on this thread i forget what i have seen now ! :lol: :lol: :lol: ) Cheers Pieman. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pies Posted May 18, 2005 Author Report Share Posted May 18, 2005 This Sat will be a big day. I (with help from many friends) be moving the sump into the new sump room! Also it is likley I will be doing a large water change (600 litres), re-plumbing the tank returns and adding a new sump. The new sump is a 7 footer, replacing the existing 3 footer. I will be removing my IWAKI RXLT30 from the system completely using gravity to feed the top sump. We will also be drilling a hole through the outside of the house for overflow protection from the sump (yay no more floods, ever!). Going to be a big day, but am really looking foward to the results of improving all of my plumbing, making the garage far tider than it is currently and conserving some power as will no longer be heating the whole garage! Watch this space. Pie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wok Posted May 18, 2005 Report Share Posted May 18, 2005 Hope things go well Pies. I saw that it will be a big job. Have you considered putting the sump on a pallet and then using a forklift or pallet truck to move the sump into position? would make it a lot easier for everyone involved. I would help but unfortunately I'm up here in Akl... however I will be thinking of you guys Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deeveus Posted May 21, 2005 Report Share Posted May 21, 2005 Hi there pies. I have just spent the last hour reading through this very interesting thread. Well done and congradulations on your tank which seemed like a huge but very worth it task. I have never in my life seen anything so extensive such as this in a home. It makes my tank look like a 20cm diameter plastic bowl with one goldfish. Would this be one of the biggest home tanks in NZ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jude Posted May 21, 2005 Report Share Posted May 21, 2005 I don't know if its the biggest but it must be well on the way to being the most visited! And I am on the list to visit it one day. Pies will have to start charging admission - or set himself up as a tourist attraction :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: Cheers Jude (who can't wait to see the tank in real life) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anthony Posted May 21, 2005 Report Share Posted May 21, 2005 hey mark wheres the pics of your sump room?? im keen to see or i could come see in person lol :lol: ant Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janey Posted May 21, 2005 Report Share Posted May 21, 2005 He's still down there admiring his days work Ant Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucid Posted May 21, 2005 Report Share Posted May 21, 2005 how did sump move day go, and how did you acheive it in the end. And gouges in the new sump room walls :lol: B Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pies Posted May 21, 2005 Author Report Share Posted May 21, 2005 The importance of having a plan became evident after todays efforts. I've been planing today for months, thinking about all the bits and pieces that needed to be done proior to the move. So with the help of my good mate Suphew, scones from my partner Jane, muscle from another of my good friends Ralph and several other friends on 'call' including SteveA from this site, we begun. We collected about 450 litres of water early on in the week and had it ready. Peter at Port Nicholson Glass finished the sump and I had it at home on Thursday. Great job on the sump as always with Peter, built to my design and perfect dimentions, baffles and holes. First order of the day was to disconnect the downstairs from the upstairs. We cranked the fire up to hold the temprature in the display. Then we plumbed in the skimmer, which was an awkward but straightfoward job: That done and out of the way, the big job was on. First off it was drain the sump, gut the small sump, and remove the fish and water and rock. After that it was time to move the tank out from the wall so I could spray paint the other end. Once that was done we needed to remove one end off the existing cabinet so we could slot the new sump into place. The exiting cabinet is 5 feet, the sump to go under it is 7 feet, so it sticks out a little: All done and looking good: What was going to be the worst part of the day was actually moving the tank into place. If you have been following whats being going on you will know that we have built a room less 1 wall. The new sump is 7 feet long, the room in only a few inches wider than this. With the kickboards and door frame we had approx 1cm free on the right and 2 on the left. We needed to slid the half ton tank into a slop without gouging holes in the wall (thanks for you concern Ballastic) and get it square with the back of the room whiles avoiding the shelf we had put in earlier: This photo is the 'grab the tape measure its not going to fit' photo: Good thing I am dead on when it comes to measuring does no one remember the crane incident? Ralph squeezing out through a hole that there was little chance of me getting out of: To say it was hard work would be a major understatement. However it took problaby less than 15 mintues all up and fitted PERFECTLY. Did I mention it was hard work? Once the tank is in place, plumb EVERYTHING back together! Problaby the most rewarding part of the whole job was seeing my nightmare of plumbing turn into something much more organised and failsafe. Here is a pic of the return pump, note 40mm out and 50mm! in. Janes favorite part of the entire system is this. This overflow means that in the event of powercuts, blocked or failing return pumps etc all the water goes into the drain out side, not a drop of water in the house again! No more midnight clean ups, no more monday morning 'surprises'. Add a little water, and here is one I had prepared earlier: Shame to spoild this one with Suphew in it: Suphew in his usual position: in front of the camera I mean So thats it! All done, well almost, certainly the worst of it done. A million tidy up tasks of course, but the worse of it is all behind us and we couldn't be happier. Other than taking longer everything went as planed, nothing hasn't worked, everything fits where it should and there is little that could or would be changed if I were to do it again. Thanks to EVERYONE who has contributed on todays effort, or helped us get to this point. Special thanks go to Suphew, who has done more than anyone one person on the team (including myself) and if he spent any more time around here he may as well just move in. Jane for letting me spend the money Ralph, Chris and anyone else who has provided 'on call' muscle. Peter at Port Nichloson Glass for letting me be such a pain in the neck. JetSkiSteve who may not be in Wellington but has posted me so many things so quickly, and sourced so much of the hardware I have needed from Auckland becuase its not available here. Anyone else I missed, sorry but thanks. Visitors welcome Pie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anthony Posted May 21, 2005 Report Share Posted May 21, 2005 thats awersom pies i wish i could have some thing like that one day how much rock do u have in your main tank? ant Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pies Posted May 21, 2005 Author Report Share Posted May 21, 2005 Approx 220kg. Pie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucid Posted May 21, 2005 Report Share Posted May 21, 2005 awesome dude, bet you are stoked with it, I know I would be. A job well done and looking good. B Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lduncan Posted May 21, 2005 Report Share Posted May 21, 2005 So it must be about time to upgrade to a bigger tank! Are you happy with the size? Or do you wish you had have gone bigger? I'm just wondering if I should go to the effort of knocking two walls out to get more depth, or whether 1 will do. at the moment i could fit a 6' x 4' x 2' knocking out 1 wall, but would be nice to go a bit bigger i think. Layton Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pies Posted May 21, 2005 Author Report Share Posted May 21, 2005 Bigger tank? Yes and no. 1st off given out house, I couldn't have a larger tank without setting it up in the garage or giving up the HT room or blocking a window with good views off, none of which I am prepared to do. So its as big as I can have it in this house. Dimentions are perfect for the effect I wanted. Still a bigger tank would mena more room for fish, the ability to keep larger fish and a wider type of fish and inverts. So yes I would like larger. The other issues is one of money. I am not sure we could afford to run a tank any bigger without it having such a serious impact on our financial position. Running the lights and pumps costs money, replacing the bulbs costs money. It doesn't take long for it to add up. So can't see the tank changing at all within the next 5+ years. Not sure about your situation, its a big call kocking out walls, drilling through floors etc. Still if you know your going to be living there for a long time, then may as well set it up the way your really want it, otherwise you will only be dissapointed. Pie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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