Care to watch the progress of my custom bar???

Man, I have totally dropped the ball on this project and staying updated...How did I let this drop to page 5?!?!



Progress has been slow on the project itself, because my wife turned my attention to a couple other projects that were higher on the priority list and there was a death in her family so...



Anywho, here's where I'm at now...the main bar and the sink/countertop area are pretty well finished. I got all my trim custom cut and sanded down to my liking. Couple gallons of paint, water/drainage plumbing are both completed and functional for the sink. Microwave and minifridge are in place and running. Contact paper lining all the shelves on the inside of the bar.



Today I'm working on that half wall behind the bar, which is where my liquor bottle shelf and my decorative beer tapper are going to be. I purchased the fish for the tank that will be in the wall (couldn't pass up the deal), but I don't have the tank yet...so, if anyone has a 55g tank they want to send this way...haha



Couple quick pictures to show the updated look...



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Looks great, I was going to bump the thread to see how everything is coming along.



So where are the fish if you have no tank? LOL
 
I have other tanks...I took my koi (for the pond in my front yard) out of their winter tank and put them in a big rubbermaid bin...then cleaned up that 20g tank that I just took the koi out of and I'm using that for my holding tank until I can find a deal on another 55g.



Right now I have 10g, 20g, 20g, 55g, 110g and the rubbermaid bin with the koi...



I got a dozen of these to put in the future 55 that will be behind the sink/countertop...

Pdemasoni1.jpg
 
theeloved1 said:
I have other tanks...I took my koi (for the pond in my front yard) out of their winter tank and put them in a big rubbermaid bin...then cleaned up that 20g tank that I just took the koi out of and I'm using that for my holding tank until I can find a deal on another 55g.



Right now I have 10g, 20g, 20g, 55g, 110g and the rubbermaid bin with the koi...



I got a dozen of these to put in the future 55 that will be behind the sink/countertop...

Pdemasoni1.jpg
Click to expand...



Sweet! One of my buddies has a HUGE cichlid tank that we did a major cleaning to over the weekend. They can be territorial. My other friend has 2 salt water tanks. Talk about maintenance.



DEFINATELY post pics of the 55. That's going to be sweet :2thumbs: Great work so far. You're quite the crafstman!
 
You can stop udating this thread anytime you want because every time I see your progress reports I get more and more jealous! That's gonna be a nice place to hang man. Keep those pics coming.
 
Not trying to hijack or anything, but I got two questions! One, I remember reading somewhere that I could use pool filter sand in my aquarium instead of gravel....true or false? I love aquariums but have only had a 5 gallon tank with a beta in it and a 55gal that had my python in it. I have neither anymore but I would like to get one again. Any tips on cleaning a 55 gal? Do you have to empty all the fish and what not to clean it and how often? Also, one of the buildings I go to here in Nashville has this big Koi pond out back. It has a waterfall and its just awesome. They leave there fish in there year round. Im guessing they have a tank heater. Couldnt you use a tank heater for your pond or is it just personal preference? Sorry for going off topic there! Back on topic, you should check out ebay. I bid on a commercial ice dispenser for 40 dollars! There are also coolers on there like you would see in a gas station for around 100 dollars. I saw alot of commercial stuff on there that would be a deal if you didnt bid too high. I missed out on that ice dispenser because someone ran the bid up past what I was willing to pay. Just one question about your fridge install, does it have room to breathe? Is there good airflow going to the coils on the back? That kind of install needs good airflow to the coils in the back or the coils to be in the front in order for the fridge to work efficiently and last a long while. I like it all so far.....I wanna see what you do with that tap! Too bad you are in Chi town, I have a 7 foot neon Miller Lite sign that I would make a great deal on if you were interested! I would sell it online but I already cracked a tube on it one the way home from work, Im afraid it would break totally in shipping!
 
Spilchy said:
Sweet! One of my buddies has a HUGE cichlid tank that we did a major cleaning to over the weekend. They can be territorial. My other friend has 2 salt water tanks. Talk about maintenance.



DEFINATELY post pics of the 55. That's going to be sweet :2thumbs: Great work so far. You're quite the crafstman!
Click to expand...



All of my tanks are cichlid tanks. I tried the community fish thing on my first try and I killed all the fish on my first attempt at cleaning the tank. After doing some research on the web, I realized that my tap water is PERFECT for Lake Malawi cichlids...Plus, they are the most colorful freshwater fish out there. Lets just say the addicting started in a hurry once I got the tank stocked with these amazing little fish. I thought I had posted my fish tanks in this thread earlier when I was talking about the future 55g, but I guess I was wrong. I'll see what I can dig up right now.



Here is my current 55g which is right inside the main entrance door upstairs. This picture is like an hour after a MAJOR tear down cleaning, and I changed the decoration in the tank, so the water is crystal clear yet, but you get the idea.



o88bgo.jpg




Here's a couple shots of the fish in that tank...pardon the dirty glass :mad: The fish in this tank are all about 1/3 full size right now.



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showdown1.jpg








...and a couple shots of my 110g tank. Again, Mbuna from Lake Malawi in Africa



DSCN1733.jpg




CLICK FOR FULLSIZE TO SEE FISH BETTER > http://upshizzle.com/files/DSCN1733.JPG





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FULLSIZE >>> http://upshizzle.com/files/DSCN1787.JPG





I just put some dwarf cichlids in my 20g. 2 Apistogramma Cacatuoides OrangeFlash and 3 Blue Rams...I don't have pics of those yet.



I don't have any pics of my 10g either, but its just babies from a few of the species in the 110g tank that are growing up now.
 
Swoop411 said:
Not trying to hijack or anything, but I got two questions! One, I remember reading somewhere that I could use pool filter sand in my aquarium instead of gravel....true or false? I love aquariums but have only had a 5 gallon tank with a beta in it and a 55gal that had my python in it. I have neither anymore but I would like to get one again. Any tips on cleaning a 55 gal? Do you have to empty all the fish and what not to clean it and how often? Also, one of the buildings I go to here in Nashville has this big Koi pond out back. It has a waterfall and its just awesome. They leave there fish in there year round. Im guessing they have a tank heater. Couldnt you use a tank heater for your pond or is it just personal preference? Sorry for going off topic there! Back on topic, you should check out ebay. I bid on a commercial ice dispenser for 40 dollars! There are also coolers on there like you would see in a gas station for around 100 dollars. I saw alot of commercial stuff on there that would be a deal if you didnt bid too high. I missed out on that ice dispenser because someone ran the bid up past what I was willing to pay. Just one question about your fridge install, does it have room to breathe? Is there good airflow going to the coils on the back? That kind of install needs good airflow to the coils in the back or the coils to be in the front in order for the fridge to work efficiently and last a long while. I like it all so far.....I wanna see what you do with that tap! Too bad you are in Chi town, I have a 7 foot neon Miller Lite sign that I would make a great deal on if you were interested! I would sell it online but I already cracked a tube on it one the way home from work, Im afraid it would break totally in shipping!
Click to expand...





I'm very tempted to write a very long winded response to all this...I'll give you the Cliffs notes version first. If you want the detailed answer to the fish stuff, don't hesitate to ask, I'll answer anything I can.



Short version:



Pool Filter Sand = best all around choice for a tank if you ask me.



Cleaning a tank = NO, DO NOT take every down/out and clean everything. With any size tank, the best thing you can do is "overfilter" if thats even possible.



My Koi Pond = not all that big...~700g...This is my first winter with the pond so I wasn't sure if it would freeze all the way or what to do with it...brought the fish in to be cautious. I think I'm glad I did.



Ice Machine = We were just looking at them at Home Depot. "Counter Top" style, nothing huge, still $200. I didn't even bother to look on Ebay, but I'll get around to it.



Mini Fridge = Its not pushed all the way back to the wall, and its not boxed in on the left or right sides. Left side doesn't have a "center wall" seperating the fridge from the microwave side. Same on the right side...its just open to the shelves on the right.



Miller Lite Sign = Post a pic of the sign, and PM me what you'd want for it...just for $hits and giggles if nothing else :clap:



Again, just let me know if you want more detailed information on setting up/maintaining a fish tank. Its really not much work once you have the water stabilized after the first ~month.
 
mini fridge is too mini, :LOLOL



Nice work and thanks for the progress report, I'm at :work: so it's nice to see someone whos productive.
 
Those tanks are awesome! :bow I know all about the cloudy water when I had my 2 tanks. I used to catch sun fish and raise them at home in one tank. I had mostly schools of community fish as I like all the action and breeding fancy tail guppies. I had these mini-like cichlids that nipped the fins of the other fish when she laid eggs. They had really pink bellies - don't remember the name. I even had a little crab with baby claws. He was a favorite as a kid. My other favorites as a kid were the Khuli Loach and the Red Tail Shark that looked purple under the lights.



Thanks for posting! I'm e-mailing the thread to my fish friend with the cichlids. He has those same ones including some clown loaches in there for bottom feeding. What a pain to clean his huge fluval filter! His wife freaked when she smelled it as we left it on the new granite counter top while washing it in the new kitchen sink :lol
 
The water isn't usually that cloudy...I took those pics of the 55g about an hour after having EVERYTHING out of the tank because I had a snail problem. My water is always crystal clear.



I'm a firm believer in "overfiltering"...as a guideline, people say that you should be able to move the capacity of your tank 6-10x per hour...so I'd be looking at 600-1000 gallons per hour of filter movement for my 110g tank. I have right around 1500gph moving in that tank :clap: I have a bit of a small vortext going in there with all the current.



I have a Fluval canister on that 55g tank...with all the filters in there, I only have to clean it about 1x a month and even then its not all that bad.



The fish that I keep are the most active, social, interactive fish I've ever seen. I can reach my hand in the 110g and pick the fish out by hand :grinno: I should take a short video of feeding time...they splash water all over hell when they see me coming. :LOLOL
 
Nice tanks.... One day I would lke to have one again. Perferably a 100+ gallon one. The last one I had I had Oscars, which are in the Cichlid family. Extremly aggressive fish. It was a blast to feed them live fish. When I got down to my last Oscar he was just to aggressive and rip and roared through the tank and tore it all up. I had to get rid of him once he caused the tank to leak and ruined the drywall and ceiling due to water damage.
 
General Lee said:
I had to get rid of him once he caused the tank to leak and ruined the drywall and ceiling due to water damage.
Click to expand...



:scared: :scared:



I've never really had any desire to keep Oscars. Cool looking fish, but there's just something about them that I don't like.



My fish are all aggressive as well. Ideally, they are only suppose to be kept with other fish from the same lake, and even then you have to be careful what you mix.
 
Google has failed me! I tried searching to see if I could find a picture of the sign....no luck. I will try to get one this weekend when my batteries are charged on the camera. I am moving in the next couple weeks so it will be a month or two before I take the plunge and buy a tank. Are the filters you are talking about available at PetsMart? I have a pool company I am sure I could get the sand from in town. There are lots of pet shops around here, but what about mail ordering fish? I saw several when I was looking for a yellow betta fish but thought it was hinkey. Glad to hear the fridge can breathe! You would be suprised at some of the calls I go on! I honestly had a customer straight faced tell me they didnt know you had to change your air filter once a month!! They only changed it when the cat hair built up to a point to be noticeable. The pressures were all out of whack and I couldnt figure it out till I went into the house....changed the filter and all went back to normal. It will be great this summer I can already tell....ha-ha! Would be great to know more about the fishtank. I would like to know where to get some big rocks like those. Is it slate? Also, how about keeping bass in the tank? As far as cleaning goes, if you dont tear it down how do you clean it out? If you wanna pm me a dos and donts along with a setup guide of sorts that would be cool.
 
WOW...you read my mind. I was just finishing up some painting and thinking to myself "I should really update Autopia" I'll snap some shots right now...brb
 
Alright...I'll start with the least interesting picture....but it does lead to something else. *cough* the tapper is done *cough*



First off, here is one quick shot of fully stocked underneath the bar...pretty full already. I've got 4 outlets down there for things such as a blender. Note the 2 switches to the far left.



DSCN1852.jpg






Switch #1 = rope light that is run under the overhang on the outside of the bar. Its perfect intensity to be an accent, but not light up your legs while you sit on the stools. The same switch, more importantly, is hooked up to the fluorescent liquor shelf. The entire area behind the bottles that is primed, is going to be covered with a 3'x7' mirror.



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Here's a couple full shots. There are 3 canister lights above the bar, that are controlled by a dimmer switch at the bottom of the stairs. They still need a little adjustment, but I just got the electricity to them last night.



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Thats right folks....after HOURS of polishing with steel wool, and a whole bottle of brass cleaner I got that tapper cleaned up. Its not perfect right now with fingerprints and all, but the corrosion is gone.



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...and



Switch #2 = The tapper assembly....Thats right folks...it runs. Not as a draft tapper, but as a custom water fountain/fall.



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Any questions or if you want to see some progress pictures of the fountain and stuff, I have a few.



First party is a girls night this Saturday...the mirror will be up, but we'll be short paint and the fish tank but should otherwise be ready completely. I build the thing, go out of town for the weekend, and the wife throws a party at the bar before I do.... :furious:
 
That is so awesome I'm just speechless. I want one. The pics keep getting more fun to watch, and I must say I have enjoyed seeing the build up. Very nice.
 
I really appreciate the positive comments guys. The past few weeks have been progressing rather slowly, but I try to take pride in my work when I get to it. Considering I'm a noob at all this construction stuff, I have to say that I'm pretty happy with the results so far. Its exactly what I had pictured in my head when I was designing it.
 
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