JChristophersAdventures Posted September 3, 2023 Author Share Posted September 3, 2023 (edited) Just Now Finished Installing Floor Jack Support Below Fish Tank! I wasn't really looking forward to this... except for having it done and off my To Do list! Our old house, built in the year 1900, has the original plank wooden flooring which sits only 18" above the ground (just bare dirt). The foundation has been stabilized, but not completely re-leveled. The section holding the piano/75G was only off by about 1/4" (which is better than a lot of the house) and I shimmed the base before fastening everything in place. 3 of the 4 corners of the piano/aquarium are against/supported by load bearing walls, however the one corner that isn't was the corner I had to raise by the 1/4" in order to level everything. While additional settling is unlikely now, and the piano is bolted to the wall, I was still concerned that if the floor ever did sink further it could still negatively impact the fish tank set-up. So I bought a floor jack (had to special order it to get one that short), added 2x6s to the base plates, scooted on my back about 10' under the house, through the 18" clearance and cranked it up hard against the floor joist closest to that corner of the aquarium. NOT for the claustrophobic at heart! lol. There wasn't any way I was going to try to take pictures down there, but here's a few top-side pics: Edited September 3, 2023 by JChristophersAdventures 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rube_Goldfish Posted September 6, 2023 Share Posted September 6, 2023 I'm claustrophobic just thinking about that! My old house had a crawl space with an average of about four feet of clearance and I hated even going down into there. Can't put a price tag on peace of mind, though! Can't wait to see this thing filled! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JChristophersAdventures Posted September 21, 2023 Author Share Posted September 21, 2023 Next Step In The Bonsai Style Aquarium Driftwood Build! After 3 days rolling around on a FedEx truck supposedly "out for delivery"(and with the assistance of a FedEx Shipping Store Manager, which is a totally separate division of the company... only human being I could reach)... My driftwood order (shipped on the 13th) arrived just an hour ago. It was ordered from an independent seller on Amazon, "Substrate Source", which is known to most of the Aquarium world as "Buce Plant". I knew this going in, as both entities have the same Woodland Hills, CA address and had the exact same bundle offers and pictures, except that the total price when shipping was figured in was significantly cheaper than their own website... plus, perhaps there is a little more security with Amazon involved. I would give the individual who picked my pieces 5 stars for sure... very nice over-all! But, I would give the packing department 2 stars, tops. There are supposed to be 6 pieces, but one of the pieces is itself in several pieces (the box was old, re-used and weak... and not well taped... coming apart with just a few pieces of brown paper thrown in). Yes, I will be gluing all these together into one magnificent center piece anyway, so it's all good. Honestly, after visiting a number of LFSs about 2-2 1/2 hours away, just 2 smaller pieces mounted to pieces of slate (and I didn't find any ghost wood like these) were a lot more than these 6 pcs cost delivered. Can't wait to get started on it tomorrow! 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JChristophersAdventures Posted September 30, 2023 Author Share Posted September 30, 2023 Update: Went to pick up some black ceramic tile I special ordered (12"x12") to mount aquarium wood to, but when I picked them up at the special order desk at Menards, almost all of them were cracked... so, had to get a refund and decided I didn't really like them that well anyway. So, I ordered a 8"x12" dark black slate instead... but, still waiting before I can continue the driftwood decor project... very frustrating... sigh! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JChristophersAdventures Posted October 24, 2023 Author Share Posted October 24, 2023 Here's a few pics of what I made from the pieces of ghost wood I received from Buce Plant a few weeks back. Took awhile doing it in my spare time... lots of super glue, sawdust and patience... but, I think it turned out pretty well. It measures approximately 36" long and 16" wide, and 18" tall at the highest platform. I even turned it upside down to make the underside look as nice as possible (see the pic), even though most of it won't show so much when the plants have grown out. There are 48 platforms in all which will be planted in weeping willow aquarium moss, and there will be some anubias petite, buce mini and dwarf java fern accents around the base, along some of the branches and in some of the boughs. It is installed in the aquarium (it has a slate base with rubber feet to cushion it against the bottom glass). The slate base will be covered up along with the bottom edge of the trunk when the substrate is added later. I am still waiting for some items to ship before I can fill it with water again, and start the cycling process. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guppysnail Posted October 24, 2023 Share Posted October 24, 2023 That looks amazing 🤩 you really did a fabulous job. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JChristophersAdventures Posted October 24, 2023 Author Share Posted October 24, 2023 @Guppysnail Thank you so much! I have to say it isn't hard, but it is time consuming. Letting each little stage of the process cure over night before moving on causes it to take awhile. And, it was challenging to figure out how to put all the major pieces together, bore the holes and drive the screws at the right angle to make it look like I wanted. It took 6 aquarium safe screws coated with silicone, and nearly 50 of those tiny tubes of super glue to finish it. I found Harbor Freight had super glue gel for $4.50 for 10 tubes which I thought was a pretty good deal, when I didn't want to wait for Amazon. Thanks. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Odd Duck Posted October 24, 2023 Share Posted October 24, 2023 That looks fantastic! Excellent work! Can’t wait to see it come to life with plants and moss! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JChristophersAdventures Posted October 24, 2023 Author Share Posted October 24, 2023 @Odd Duck Thanks! I highly recommend this kind of project. It was challenging and fun, and what you get is something you would pay many times what the materials cost, if you could even find it to buy. Not to mention that it fits your set-up perfectly because it is made-to-order. On the down-side, the seller I ordered cholla wood from 2 weeks ago, just cancelled the order yesterday... no communication... no nothing! So, now I will be ordering from another source that is more expensive, but which can hopefully deliver! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Odd Duck Posted October 25, 2023 Share Posted October 25, 2023 On 10/24/2023 at 1:15 PM, JChristophersAdventures said: just cancelled the order yesterday... no communication... no nothing I’ll never figure out why some people are so flaky. 🤷🏻♀️ Sorry, are we inconveniencing you by trying to pay you money? So very, very sorry. 🤦🏻♀️ Your tank is going to look spectacular at least! 😃 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JChristophersAdventures Posted October 25, 2023 Author Share Posted October 25, 2023 @Odd Duck It didn't bother me so much except that they had really good prices... but, it is easy to have attractive deals when you don't have the inventory, never ship the items and never message anybody! lol 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Odd Duck Posted October 26, 2023 Share Posted October 26, 2023 On 10/25/2023 at 9:57 AM, JChristophersAdventures said: @Odd Duck It didn't bother me so much except that they had really good prices... but, it is easy to have attractive deals when you don't have the inventory, never ship the items and never message anybody! lol Truth right there. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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