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Sfpatentcat's Solana

sfpatentcat

sfpatentcat

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Baymac 2010: volunteering; seeing old & new reef friends; learning from speakers and vendors; winning the raffle-- Neptune’s gift card; and getting a 25 gallon Solana tank!
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Next steps: finding a light and thinking about stand design. Luckily, Mario (xcaret) was available and did an amazing job building a custom stand!
Used Giesemann 150 watt pendant & ballast
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Halfway finished...
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Setup day...Mario even fabricated a light bar!
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The stand opens on two sides and has a modern look with internal hinges and no knobs
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Believe it or not, the saltwater was pre-mixed!
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Weeks later, after adding equipment from Neptune and coral and fish (2 tank-raised percula clowns and 2 cardinalfish, both from Aquatic Collections)
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Nice clean office tank!

I miss having an office tank sometimes, having a tank at home really limits how many people get to see it, especially if you are private like I am. An office tank is a lot of fun.
 
Really like the clean look of the set up :) Is there any space in the back chamber to hide the heater or a smaller heater?
 
Love the nitrogen cycle sign. Good idea that.
Friends get excited about water in the new tank, then whine about no fish yet.
 
I like the nitrogen cycling explanation printout. Have you thought about doing something with the back wall- adding zoas, GSP, Xenia (moving corals are always a hit for non-reefing tank observers) or maybe putting 1 long piece of the branching tonga rock and growing some corals on it? Just throwing out some ideas. Good job on everything and that stand is really 1st rate!
 
"PATENT IT YOURSELF"

Don't let your clients see that :lol:

I LOVE your stand :D
 
I really like the finish on the stand. I assume it's specifically chosen to tolerate salt water drips. Did you use a marine urethane or extra coats? From all the talk of salt water destroying hardwood floor finish I assume something non-standard is required.
 
Thanks everyone for the nice comments. My coworkers enjoy stopping by to see the fish. So far, nobody has ordered me to remove the tank. CookieJar, like your idea of using a big piece of tonga rock for the back area, and attaching coral to the tonga stick.

GreshamH, I love the stand also! Mario did a great job, creating the entire design from a tank thread we found on Reef Central involving a much bigger cube. Funny you noticed the Nolo book :D

Bondolo, Mario added the stain and the clear coat. Maybe he will weigh in on this thread and explain the staining method. He also put a water resistant coat on the inside of the stand. So far, stray drips are very easy to wipe off the clear finish. Will have to add photos over the weekend showing the stand as it was being built.
 
I'm really glad Cathy and Christina liked the stand and of course you guys giving it a thumbs up is a compliment.
Stain used was Minwax Red Mahogany an coated with polyurethane, three coats.
I have used it and seems to hold really good to drips, figured since it's not going to be in the upcoming America's Cup competing, the finish will hold for a long time; IMO water damage is more due to neglect or a really bad accident, all joints have water-resistant glue. Hole pocket joinery I find it to work pretty good.

Zoanthids look pretty cool growing on the back wall, an assortment of colors; GSP too but has to be kept in check.
 
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