Day 1, build progress

OK, everything is out, time to start putting things back in.

On the right side, the spacing on the vertical supports was a little too close, so one of them had to be moved. This is relatively easy.

1. Cut a new board of the exact length, hammer it into place right next to the other one.
2. Bi-metal blade on a reciprocating saw cuts out the old one.

One thing I've learned over the years, is that saltwater is constructed of pure evil.  It will spray a little, drip a little, creep all over the place, find some tiny hole and be annoying, etc etc.  It is not possible to have a perfect floor around it.  Even if all my plumbing was perfect, I'm going to fumble a bit of algae, or slip a fitting around and dump some on the floor.  I just need to assume this upfront and plan for it.

In this vein, the insides of the stand need to be protected.  Every time a drop of water hit the wood of the stand (no, do not tell me it should have been metal, that time has passed), I had a mini heart-attack.  So first I cut some cheap carpet, and lined the floor of the stand.  This is to give a little insulation between the concrete and the bits, and even out any rough spots before I place an acrylic sump on it.

 Next, I bought some pond liner.  The idea here is not to survive a flood.  The idea is that if a gallon drops into the area, it stays there.  No more seeping under the bottom, creeping up the drywall and making me cry.  I cut a big section of the liner out, and made a small tray with it in each section, with walls about 3" tall.  Mostly the idea here is just catch the drips and sprays, keep it contained.

OK, time to start loading in the sumps!

Argh.  We already have a new lesson.  When you have a stand like this, don't measure the first section, and assume the other three are the same size.  Turns out the right section, was 35 3/4" wide, not 36 1/8" like the left, which I carefully measured.  So the Ruby 36 instead has to be turned sideways in the sump area.  That's ok, I'm rolling with problems today.  I turned it 90', cut a chunk of the side wall off the stand so I can get to it from the side, and oh look, now I have a nice area to place that ATO reservoir now.  Win?  eh..

Not pictured, but I also managed to jam the Ruby Elite into the other side.  That one was a bit hairy.  It's one thing to measure that a 36" wide object will fit into a 36" wide spot, through a 15" opening.  Sure, it fits, but one forgets it has to rotate in there somehow once you load it in perpendicular.  2 hours later, somehow.. I managed.

Day 1 over.  Exhausted, going to bed.