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So I'm Building Stuff Again. 150g Plus Fish Room. (2 Viewers)

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RobertP

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Cody this looks really nice! Those louvers look tight enough to keep the dirt dobbers out but still move some air. Make sure you keep some ant killer around the base...something about electrical that tends to bring the ants in. Sure looks like it will work nicely and looks good too. So when people ask, what is it? You cant tell them it's a generator or everyone will want to plug in their stuff when the power goes out. :)
 
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Cody this looks really nice! Those louvers look tight enough to keep the dirt dobbers out but still move some air. Make sure you keep some ant killer around the base...something about electrical that tends to bring the ants in. Sure looks like it will work nicely and looks good too. So when people ask, what is it? You cant tell them it's a generator or everyone will want to plug in their stuff when the power goes out. :)
Thanks! I already told my neighbor that shares the fence it’s on that I can throw them an extension chord if they don’t use too much power.

There’s a gap between the metal roof and the wood. It’s 2” in the front but goes to no gap at the back. I’m not sure what I want to do to keep the mud dobbers out, but I’m wondering if the metal roof will get too hot for them to want to put a hive on it.
 

RobertP

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Thanks! I already told my neighbor that shares the fence it’s on that I can throw them an extension chord if they don’t use too much power.

There’s a gap between the metal roof and the wood. It’s 2” in the front but goes to no gap at the back. I’m not sure what I want to do to keep the mud dobbers out, but I’m wondering if the metal roof will get too hot for them to want to put a hive on it.
Trust me it WONT be too hot for dobbers. Use metal window screen and built a little frame and you can tack in place to close the gap. That way it still have more vent but will keep the bugs out. Dont use plastic screen because the bugs can chew right through it and will dry rot. Yeah I have a little experience with this on some bee hives I built.
 
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Cody

Cody

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Trust me it WONT be too hot for dobbers. Use metal window screen and built a little frame and you can tack in place to close the gap. That way it still have more vent but will keep the bugs out. Dont use plastic screen because the bugs can chew right through it and will dry rot. Yeah I have a little experience with this on some bee hives I built.
I was considering something to this effect. It would be so much easier if I could attach the top part of the mesh to the roof but I haven’t figured that one out yet. Maybe just make a frame out of wood and attach it to the wood below.
 

RobertP

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I was considering something to this effect. It would be so much easier if I could attach the top part of the mesh to the roof but I haven’t figured that one out yet. Maybe just make a frame out of wood and attach it to the wood below.
Looks like you already have some wood supporting the metal. You could just add some bracing between them and let the wood lift off the box with the metal. Not sure if you glued those bracings down though...
 
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Cody

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I got the natural gas quick connect installed yesterday and the electrical panel inlet installed today. The electrician couldn’t get an interlock due to inventory issues but I will order one and install it myself when it gets in. The most important thing was just getting access to the house panel. I’m just waiting on the natural gas conversion kit that should be here tomorrow. With ERCOT already threatening blackouts, I’ll feel much better once I’m finished with this project.

Also, the electrician was great and did it pretty quickly. If anyone is interested in doing this too then I would highly recommend my guy.

D6F702FB-EA31-4B5C-8297-F5E92E31E251.jpeg

780BACE9-9DBE-4FD3-BF01-F55ACF155045.jpeg
 

gregg

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I got the natural gas quick connect installed yesterday and the electrical panel inlet installed today. The electrician couldn’t get an interlock due to inventory issues but I will order one and install it myself when it gets in. The most important thing was just getting access to the house panel. I’m just waiting on the natural gas conversion kit that should be here tomorrow. With ERCOT already threatening blackouts, I’ll feel much better once I’m finished with this project.

Also, the electrician was great and did it pretty quickly. If anyone is interested in doing this too then I would highly recommend my guy.

D6F702FB-EA31-4B5C-8297-F5E92E31E251.jpeg

780BACE9-9DBE-4FD3-BF01-F55ACF155045.jpeg
What do you mean “my guy”?? 🤷🏻‍♂️ I literally found him and sent him to your house.
 
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Cody

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So, a quick update. The only thing I was waiting on was the natural gas conversion kit. It came in on Friday, but I worked all weekend and couldn't try to install it until yesterday. I got it from Century Fuel and it doesn't fit. Complete ripoff. I ended up having to order another $80 piece to hopefully make it work and that will arrive on Friday. @steveb thanks for recommending Century Fuel to me haha
 

RobertP

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Since you are not doing an automatic switch, then you are killing the main breaker before starting up the generator...you MUST do this or you can kill a lineman. The main problem is you cannot tell when the power is back on unless you are looking at your neighbor's light at night. A former coworker of mine added a light above his breaker box that was always attached to the main line. This way when the power is restored, the light comes on and he knows he can shut down the generator and turn on the main again. Yeah it would require a small breaker box but still liked the idea. Hmm, well technically you could get away with just a light switch but I seriously doubt that would pass code.
This is really more of an issue out here in the country since my closest neighbor is a 1/4 mile away and if it is daytime I cannot tell if power is back on.
 
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BigRick

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So, a quick update. The only thing I was waiting on was the natural gas conversion kit. It came in on Friday, but I worked all weekend and couldn't try to install it until yesterday. I got it from Century Fuel and it doesn't fit. Complete ripoff. I ended up having to order another $80 piece to hopefully make it work and that will arrive on Friday. @steveb thanks for recommending Century Fuel to me haha
Great i got a century fuel also
 
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Cody

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Since you are not doing an automatic switch, then you are killing the main breaker before starting up the generator...you MUST do this or you can kill a lineman. The main problem is you cannot tell when the power is back on unless you are looking at your neighbor's light at night. A former coworker of mine added a light above his breaker box that was always attached to the main line. This way when the power is restored, the light comes on and he knows he can shut down the generator and turn on the main again. Yeah it would require a small breaker box but still liked the idea. Hmm, well technically you could get away with just a light switch but I seriously doubt that would pass code.
This is really more of an issue out here in the country since my closest neighbor is a 1/4 mile away and if it is daytime I cannot tell if power is back on.
I didn’t feel like paying $75 for a small metal plate so I just bought a $5 piece of 22 gauge steel, designed and printed a template, then used a metal cutting wheel on my dremel. Voila, my own interlock switch for about $10.

C33A45F3-DD39-46DB-9488-53E846CA4885.jpeg

533BA76A-840F-472C-B31E-6786D06F95E9.jpeg
 

gregg

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I didn’t feel like paying $75 for a small metal plate so I just bought a $5 piece of 22 gauge steel, designed and printed a template, then used a metal cutting wheel on my dremel. Voila, my own interlock switch for about $10.

C33A45F3-DD39-46DB-9488-53E846CA4885.jpeg

533BA76A-840F-472C-B31E-6786D06F95E9.jpeg
Smart idea!!! Looks commercial!
 
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HA! Love it!
Yep! Me too! It’s my second favorite part of this whole build along side the neoprene gaskets I made for my electrical cable and gas tube outlets on my generator shed.
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Before I painted the mounting board.
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So, I'm building stuff again. I've been burned out on reef tanks for 3-6 months now, I think. Nothing new and I just don't have the space to do what I want to do. So, I figured I'd just build some new stuff, which honestly is my favorite part of reefing. I like making things. The plan is to expand the fish room. However, I also have a very full garage and I don't want to pay a monthly storage fee to have my tools away from me. The solution, despite having a small back yard, is to build a storage shed in my back yard for the tools and equipment that I don't use so often but don't want to get rid of. I have already made a lot of progress but I will post more regularly as I finish things.

There storage shed is 72"x90" and overall height less than 8', per the HOA rules. Here I started getting a level ground to work on. I ended up putting pavers under each of the lats (four more were added after this pic was taken). It was a pain to get everything nice and level, in addition to cutting down the tree that was in the way, but I got it done.

frame.jpg



I forgot to take pics of the base being built and laid down, but you get the idea. The base is made with 2x4s and everything else is 2x3s. No need to waste precious space with 2x4s all the way around when 2x3s designed correctly are overkill. Getting the framed walls up. I used this little piece of wood to hold things in place while I got all the walls up.

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Cody

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The window is framed. This is the window that I use for my fish room during the winter time when the window AC unit comes out. I'm going to put a much bigger window in the new fish room so I figured I might as well reuse this one.

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The rain last week shut me down for a bit while things dried out. I tried using a tarp but everything got wet.

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And finally, tonight I got the rafters cut and the roof decking on. I've never done this style of cut rafters, which rest basically perfectly on the frame. I forget the name for it, but I am loving the results! I also threw on hurricane strap brackets where I could.

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looks nice. next time you need something metal cut. let me know, i got a cnc in the garage
 
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