The 180gal Family Project

[JoJo]

i bought Sch 40 bulkheads recently, & they're the same ones that Cracker has been using since he built his tank

[Craig Manoukian]

Pictures please Nikki!

[nikkipigtails]

I'm not going to take any pictures of the sump until we get stuff in it because it just looks too bad but here are some pics of the beginning of the tank being painted.

You can kind of see the sparkle on the bottom with the sun reflecting on it.

[BarbMazz]

Looks like a good color.. are you painting the sides of the tank as well? I can't tell from the pictures. You've been very, very busy!

[framerguy]

Well! It took a while but I read through the whole thing. Very, very nice job so far. Olivia is a cutie petutie and this is your thread, you own it and can put whatever you want in it! So let's see that baby! Oh yeah,...and the tank.

I wish I had gotten here sooner and could have told you how I made the backing for my tank out of styrofoam and a torch. It's pretty cool.

You got some rock with nice color it looks like. Personally, I like green stuff growing on mine, I think it's pretty. (can a guy say pretty? Just do it with a deep voice!) I'm looking foreward to your progress. Really, I'm impressed so far!

[Craig Manoukian]

Awesome Nikki!

[JoJo]

Nice pics Nikki, nice work on the paint job & holes.

Originally Posted by framerguy

Personally, I think it's pretty. (can a guy say pretty? Just do it with a deep voice!)

Greg, you keep this up & my signature will be full of your quotes.

[thelastmucci]

I enjoyed the pics too...I can't believe how big a 180 is though..still amazes me...and I thought my little 39 gallon was big. Your doing an awesome job Nikki keep up the great work.

[nikkipigtails]

Thanks a lot guys.

Barb: We are painting the sides. The cabinetry is built so that there is a "closet" on the right for the electrical components so they're not around the water and the QT is on the other side of the DT so the sides are covered up anyway.

Talk about being busy...I decided that since I didn't have anything more I could do on the tank for now, last night was a good time to clean out our pond. Tommy bought a pond, I think it's 200 and something gallons, last summer and put in the front yard by a sable palm. We had do rip out 5 azaelas (sp) to put the pond in, but it looks really good so far. I couldn't do much since I was pregnant for the majority of last year so it's been neglected. There's a 2-tier waterfall being held up by a mound of dirt so, instead of getting rocks to build it up, we went the cheap route and got 3 $3 buckets of plants to plant around the waterfall so you can't see the lovely mound of dirt. I have to get Tommy to dig me some holes to plant the plants. I'd do it myself, but the shovel is in the back of our shed and there are spiders in there. So, last night, I pulled out all the rocks in the pond, all 10 goldfish (we started with 5...you do the math), washed out all the rocks, the filter, the pumps, scrubbed down the plastic, etc... It looks really good now. We're going to get some plants to put in there for some O2 exchange. There's a really cool pump in the middle that makes a fountain though.

Greg: Thanks. I'll probably post more pictures of Olivia than the actual tank build...but I'm a new mom, so I think it's almost expected. Do you have any pictures of your background? It sounds really cool. And...you can say "pretty" if you want to. My husband is a 6'5" super manly man and he says girly things like "did you do a poopie" or "you look so precious" or "where's your pink bunny slippers?" all said in a high pitched super girly, baby voice. It's so cute.

Thanks, Craig and JoJo.

Mucci: The entire system is 10 ft long...Our wall isn't 10 ft long but it's really close, so we're going to see what we can do to get it to fit. We may have to cut the "closet" part down b/c it's almost 2ft wide.

Tank update: Tommy's getting more spray paint for me today. And I officially can't work with silicone. Anytime I'm around something that has a really strong chemical smell, my eyes get puffy the next day. They were a little puffy after using the clear silicone but the day after using the black, my eyes were puffy and my entire face and neck are red. It feels like a sunburn, but the itchy stage. It's going down a little bit, but it really sucks. I don't know if it was the dye in the black or what, but it sucks.

[BigAl07]

Originally Posted by nikkipigtails

all 10 goldfish (we started with 5...you do the math),

You fragged your goldfish?

Tank's coming along girl! Keep us posting!!

[JoJo]

sorry to hear of your trouble Nikki.

[thelastmucci]

that sucks about the chemicals....I'm pretty lucky as far as that dept. goes...as far as I know I'm not allergic to anything..except maybe mold but the jury is still out on that. The pond sounds really cool...I've always wanted a Koi pond but never have the money plus where would I put it...can't do landscaping in the apt. complex. I would love to see pictures though just as food for thought.

[nikkipigtails]

Al, you would not believe how hard fragging those things were. They're slippery little boogers.

Ok, mucci, here are some pics...just remember that it's a work in progress. Some of the red clay and rocks got washed away with all the rinsing we were doing of the rocks on the sidewalk. We need to get some more lava rock to fill in the holes. I'm so ready to get this thing finished. I'm so tired of looking at the dirt.

[thelastmucci]

those are really cool pics nikki thanks for putting them up so quickly...honestly I don't think the rocks in the two tiers look that bad...I think bigger rocks would look cooler but if your running low on funds (or in your case energy) I think it can wait. BTW for plants I think bamboo would look really cool in there.

[BarbMazz]

Hey, Nikki, I'd like one of those ponds in MY yard. I'll fly you up and you can install it, okay? I'll feed you, too. Oh. And you have to sleep with four dogs and a Kitty. But, just think of it! You can visit the Rock-n-Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland Ohio on the beautiful shores of Lake Erie! Let me know when I should book your flight. Olivia and Tommy are welcome, too.

p.s. i think the tank will look cool with the sides done, too!