Shop addition/Office Build

[Steeldrifter 0]

Thanks Mike. It is a lot of work that's for sure, but I love creating things by hand so honestly it hardly feels like work to me.

Been working on the side panels and some lighting tonight. This is the first side panel, as you can see from this pic taken from the rear of the side panel I'm building angled "rocks" which will have an opening behind them that will have the intake tube for the filters so it's all concealed with only the strainer of the intake open to the tank.


Here's the left side panel carved and the first coat of Drylok applied.


The lighting I am doing for this tank since it is an odd size will be four dual T8 48" fixtures mounted side by side and one in front of the other so it lights the entire nice well. I bought two of the fixtures today and currently have them filled with Daylight spectrum 6500k bulbs. Once I pick up two more fixtures and some actinic bulbs each of the fixtures will end up with one actinic and one 6500k in them.

Here's a shot with just two of the fixtures let up.

[Piker20 0]

Looking sweet. Merges with the wall really well. Can't wait to see the fish in it.

[Steeldrifter 0]

Still a ways to go, still shooting for water/fish by Thanksgiving though, but getting closer every day now. Said panels are now all done. Just have to pick up some "Pond Armor" to seal the whole background with and then I can final install the background and side panels for good. Next job will probably be framing the edges of the tank window with some nice finished wood and getting the "cave lights" hooked up.. Here's the current state of the tank/office. It's amazing that a 7ft long by 31" tall tank can actually look so much smaller in a picture lol










Really starting to look forward to getting this up and running now.

[mikechell 0]

I am also looking forward to you getting this one finished!

It's looking nice so far ... maybe you can have someone stand near it to give us some scale. Know any bathing suit clad models?

[Steeldrifter 0]

Know any bathing suit clad models?

 

Why yes, I do big boy oh wait...did you mean?...nevermind.

[mikechell 0]

I guess I should have been more ... gender specific?!?!?

 

Bikini clad, I meant biki ... maybe that doesn't rule out male mod ... you're right ... nevermind!

[Steeldrifter 0]

Picked up some 1x3 select grade pine the other day and got that all sanded smooth/stained and poly coated now and installed to add a nice finished look to the window for the tank.





Still have to pick up some Pond Armor so I can seal the whole background and then final install it into the tank but no where local carries it so looks like I am going to have to order that this week.

[Piker20 0]

Looking sweet.

[frogeyes 0]

That looks awesome, is there anything you can't do LOL.

[Steeldrifter 0]

That looks awesome, is there anything you can't do LOL.

 

Sit still?

[netabrookie 0]

Steve,

I asked you a few years ago if you would adopt me and the offer still stands. I would be like "grasshopper" and you would be the "master" telling me what needs done. A handful or airbrushes could come in handy maybe??? You also told me years ago to bring my own hackle and I have considerably more now than I did back then. I think that I could concentrate on the task that you would have me doing even if you were in a bikini. If I couldn't handle the shop project and your bikini then maybe you could just point me in the direction of that GTO... Seriously, I can hardly wait to see the photos as this project steadily moves forward.

 

Take Care,

Tony

[Stippled Popper 0]

If, before you are done, you could paint the woodwork around the tank window to look like the "rocks", it would look

even more marvelous to these sore eyes.

[Steeldrifter 0]

I actually had given some thought to just making some rock pieces for the frame of the window rather than trimming it in wood but decided against it. Mainly because the wood trim helps to define the tank itself so that the size of the tank doesn't blend too much into the wall where you lose the impact of just how big the tank actually is.

[Steeldrifter 0]

Testing out my moonlight setup I am making for it now. After checking into "aquarium moonlights" from aquarium supply shops there was no way I was going to pay what they want for moonlights on a tank this big. So spent some time today running around testing out the brightness on different blue LED rope lights that stores have out for Christmas now and finally found two 15ft LED rope lights that are not only nice and bright, but LED so they will give me the shimmer effect, plus they are able to screw together end to end so once I make the light fixture for the T8 lights I will build these into the fixture as well. From the quick test I think they are going to be perfect from what I can tell.

[Spanky29ca 0]

Wow, you sure know how to make one hell of a man cave Steve, looks like a great place for work and play.