400Gal Down Under

It's been a while, but I finally have some actual progress.

The local authorities have FINALLY finished all of the approvals for the house, and we should be breaking ground soon. [smilie=clapping.gif]

While I have been waiting I have been propagating frags and acquiring a few nice bits n pieces.

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It is 100% illegal for a private citizen to collect corals in Western Australia, there are a few very expensive licenses to do so.

Fish providing they can be caught with a hand net and meet recreational fishing species, size minima and catch quota are OK, the same with inverts.

To be honest, the logistics would be painful, Tx fits in Western Australia 11x so you can imagine the distances involved.

Now I have to stop spending money on random stuff and finish saving for the tank/stand/lights
 
Finally an update worth doing, the construction team broke ground this morning, and we should see the footings etc late next week.

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Hi All,

After a few weeks of not much, now have real tangible progress.

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Soon as the tank area has some walls I will post more.
 
OK, so it's been nearly 4 months.

Building has been a slow process due to the 110F+ days of summer, Christmas, lazy sub-contractors and the main contractor going on holiday.

Things are back on track, the top floor is now at plate height waiting for the roof, the scaffolding has been built ready for this, but in the process the scaffold contractor smashed the neighbours fence, didn't tell anyone and their dog escaped.

Main contractor has now fixed the fence and is billing the scaffolding contractor for his time.

A few pics of the house:
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Cabling channels for the just some of the tank power outlets
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This is how you get contractors to site on the hot days in Australia:
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I am expecting my new lights to arrive from Germany this week, the ATI Hybrid T5/LED Powermodules 2 of the 8x39WT5+2x75WLED units.

I will be ordering the tank in the not too distant future, I have picked the tank builder, and know his work. I very nearly got given a tank, but it was 9" too long for the hole in the wall and at this stage in the build it would have cost several thousand $'s to change things.

Hope this keeps you going for now, I will post again when things get more progressed.

Phil
 
I like the look of the brick, it looks like an older building, which I really like. That being said, is that what you're going for? It looks like some of the bricks don't even have mortar between them... Will the interior have sheet rock?
 
Wow, your home is going to be amazing. You already have a great tank, so I look forward to watching this build as well!
On a side note, 110 degrees, lazy contractors on "holiday", Christmas lul...... it sounds like this house is being built in TX not Australia.......
 
Quick update, the builder has started the top floor roof, so we have some tangible construction happening again.

I got a call from the Australian ATI distributor to say my Powermodule LED hybrids are in transit and should be in my pile of "stuff for the new tank" by next Friday.

I need to order my tank in 7 weeks so I am working on the plans.

Now to get some sleep Spar keeps messaging me at 2am my time asking stuff.
 
Are you going to have the tank built on site or will it be able to fit thru the doors and into where it is suppose to go?
 
K_Red_Raider -> I designed the house to be big enough to carry the tank in. [smilie=devil.gif]

I also am led to believe I have the first ATI Powermodule LED Hybrids in captivity. I did a brief writeup for my local forum, and thought I would share


I picked up my ATI Powermodule LED Hybrids today. and a few tubes to play with. I have 2 of the 8x39W T5 + 2x75W LED units.

First impressions are great unit, well built, and everything you would expect when dropping over a grand per light unit.

There was no manual or CD included in either unit which Aquadepot (the importer) is chasing up.

The units are well boxed and wrapped.

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The controller comes with a BEC style connector and an Australian power cord.

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All of the drivers etc are in the controller so it tanks a cable as thick as a blokes thumb with 18 connectors to feed the 8Tube beasts.

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The obligatory disco lights demo

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And finally channel 1 (of 2) of the T5s with some tubes to test they work.

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I know some of you will ask what's happening about Reef Direct customers, I don't know any more than anyone else, I hope those who have paid get things sorted soon :crossfingers:

I am planning to write a full review, but Aquadepot (the importer) are chasing up some questions I raised with ATI so I will hold off on that till I have answers.
 
ATI put the manual and software up on their site over nite.

Their hosting sucks so here is a link to a faster host https://docs.google.com/file/d/0ByVcQ_ABMNlWcEdXenJ4eThUX28/edit?usp=sharing
 
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