DuffyGeos December 18, 2014 Author Share December 18, 2014 Pictures of the rock after pressure washing and being soaked in a 10%+/- bleach water solution. I laid them out after a freshwater rinse to dry and get rid of the bleach smell and any gases. I read they will produce a poisonous chlorine gas if the bleach and the muriatic acid were mixed. I wore shoulder length rubber gloves, full face mask, and a respirator rated for gases....no problems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DuffyGeos December 18, 2014 Author Share December 18, 2014 Here is the production line. The first trashcan is the muriatic acid (15-20%) and water. I only filled it up about 30-40% so I was able to retrieve the rock off the bottom with out having my face buried in the liquid. I would fill it up and let it sit for about 20 min. This picture shows the acid bubbling away and eating away at the rock and anything else that was left on it. I would then pull them out and dip them in the second trashcan which is about 30 gal of water and 15lbs of lime. I not sure what mix to use on that, but since it was going to neutralize the muriatic acid I did not think it would hurt if it was too strong. I would dip and swish two pieces around at a time making sure I dipped my gloves as deep as I did in the acid bath to get rid of any acid on the gloves. Then they would get a dip in the first bucket of fresh water to rinse them off, and then the second one for more fresh water. I would change the fresh water buckets out after each trashcan load. I would then lay them out on the plastic and hose them down some more after I got another batch cooking. I found that I would add a cup or two of acid to the trashcan after each batch, since it seemed like the mix was weaker after each batch. The acid trashcan probably has about 3 inches of foam that bubbles up as it is cooking, then disappears when it is done, or maybe the bath gets used up and becomes to weak....maybe someone with more chemistry knowledge can explain what really happens vs. my observations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DuffyGeos December 18, 2014 Author Share December 18, 2014 Here are the finished rocks all packed together. As you can see some came out a lot cleaner, and some just a little. After a couple days I moved them all down to the gym so that I can work on building the rock structures for the tank. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DuffyGeos December 18, 2014 Author Share December 18, 2014 Started doing a build out for the closet under the stairs with some shelves. The bottom of the shelves are PVC in case of another flood. Added some small angular shelves on the sides to hold all the small stuff that reefing generates. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DuffyGeos December 18, 2014 Author Share December 18, 2014 (edited) Hard to get a good shot of the full shelving system, but here is the front, and the bucket for the skimmer overflow from the tank upstairs. I am going to add one more shelf in the larger opening in the middle, but we ran out of wood yesterday. There are angular shelves on the far side to match the left side. Still need to finish it and add two coats of paint, just primed right now. Edited December 18, 2014 by DuffyGeos Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seahorseconservancy December 18, 2014 Share December 18, 2014 wow i did not know white guys did carpentry, we should alert the media, muy bueno Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DuffyGeos December 18, 2014 Author Share December 18, 2014 wow i did not know white guys did carpentry, we should alert the media, muy bueno You sir put out some amazing wood products. I believe anyone can do anything if they really put their minds to it. Most things take practice. I could actually learn to take the pictures off my camera and get them into my gallery, but I have not taken the time. Once they are in the gallery I can now post them without looking at the 15 step process that my wife wrote down! Now it is second hand, not a big deal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DuffyGeos December 18, 2014 Author Share December 18, 2014 Here is a picture of the bottom of the rollout sump platform. I used Hudson 1 1/2" nylon roller bearings. They won't rust or scratch the floor. Each bearing housing is about 3.5" x 3.5" to get the scale of these monsters. I used 8 of them and each one has a 125lb. rating so I should be good for rolling out 1000lbs of platform, sump, and water. We built a guide system to keep the platform straight as it rolls out, and it seems to work well. Then I added a lip to the front of the platform to be able to grab it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DuffyGeos December 18, 2014 Author Share December 18, 2014 Here is a picture with the platform installed and pushed in with the sump. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DuffyGeos December 18, 2014 Author Share December 18, 2014 And with one hand, here is the sump pulled out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DCReefer1964 December 18, 2014 Share December 18, 2014 Love the work Duff ! All I want for Xmas is for the tank to get WET!!!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DuffyGeos December 18, 2014 Author Share December 18, 2014 Love the work Duff ! All I want for Xmas is for the tank to get WET!!!!!!! What are you talking about? it is wet!, it is full of water. I just don't have any plumbing set up to get it circulating. All in due time, as I set things up and slightly changing some locations they will all modify the plumbing. So I need to get everything in it's place, see if that works, and then the plumbing can start. I expect fish in the tank by the Spring of 2018....hopefully a little before that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orion December 18, 2014 Share December 18, 2014 (edited) Great job so far! Get any odd looks from your neighbors while you were in full protective gear with the rock outside? Edited December 18, 2014 by Orion Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DuffyGeos December 18, 2014 Author Share December 18, 2014 Great job so far! Get any odd looks from your neighbors while you were in full protective gear with the rock outside? Yea, one of my neighbors looked over like "What the He** are you doing? " I just told her that Walter White made a lot of money with his meth lab so I thought I would give it a shot!"....not sure she knew what to say. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryan S December 18, 2014 Share December 18, 2014 And with one hand, here is the sump pulled out. Fantastic work. My only complaint would be - how will you work in the sump when it's pulled out? You can't access it from either of the long sides, I would guess you can't put weight on the slide out wood? And from the ends you have a foot to reach over to get into the sump? So it's not ideal. If that room was a little bigger, and you could walk down the side of the sump when it's fully pulled out, that would be ideal? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArtFully Acrylic (Adam B) December 18, 2014 Share December 18, 2014 Yea, one of my neighbors looked over like "What the He** are you doing? " I just told her that Walter White made a lot of money with his meth lab so I thought I would give it a shot!"....not sure she knew what to say. THANK GOD I wasn't actively drinking anything when I read that ROFLMFAO!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DuffyGeos December 18, 2014 Author Share December 18, 2014 Fantastic work. My only complaint would be - how will you work in the sump when it's pulled out? You can't access it from either of the long sides, I would guess you can't put weight on the slide out wood? And from the ends you have a foot to reach over to get into the sump? So it's not ideal. If that room was a little bigger, and you could walk down the side of the sump when it's fully pulled out, that would be ideal? I am just showing how far out I can pull it, actually I could pull it all the way to the frag tank stand on the left, but I was standing in the way when I pulled it out. I could walk on the wood if I needed to, but I don't. Really to service it I will only have to pull it out about halfway (which I just did) and I can touch the back side bottom of the sump without putting my head under the stand which was the goal. This also leaves a 18" wide +/- walking area , so no problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DuffyGeos December 18, 2014 Author Share December 18, 2014 THANK GOD I wasn't actively drinking anything when I read that ROFLMFAO!!!! Her husband got it once I texted him what had happened, so we both had a good laugh. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flooddc December 18, 2014 Share December 18, 2014 Looking great! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DuffyGeos December 18, 2014 Author Share December 18, 2014 Looking great! Thank you! I am getting there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryan S December 18, 2014 Share December 18, 2014 Awesome. Wish I had your skills! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DuffyGeos December 18, 2014 Author Share December 18, 2014 I have never seen a Mermaid sump pic...so maybe this will start a trend. Now you see him..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DuffyGeos December 18, 2014 Author Share December 18, 2014 Now you don't!....Ok you can actually see him, but he is under the stand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrueTricia December 18, 2014 Share December 18, 2014 The build is looking great, my friend. And I love the humor... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DuffyGeos December 18, 2014 Author Share December 18, 2014 (edited) The build is looking great, my friend. And I love the humor... Sarcasm will get you everywhere Edited December 18, 2014 by DuffyGeos Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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