Pomacanthus Blog Page

Glass block tank

admin — Sun, 21 Sep 2008 07:58:53 +0000

Nitrates and the aquarium

admin — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 08:43:58 +0000

LED ORB - Custom Aquatic Decoration

admin — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 20:01:16 +0000

Here is a solid quartz orb i created for a unique aquarium decoration. It was smelted in China and they add some red dye to the quartz to give it the effect you see in the image. I then cut a large piece of round PVC that it sits on, and light it from underneath with a triple Red LED. One customer thought it looked like “Mars” and wanted it removed. Now that she said that all I think about is finding time to build a lunar lander model to accompany it thereby creating the full underwater Mars landscape.

1995-96 Daytons Aquatennial Display

admin — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 18:55:45 +0000

These are some shots I took at the Daytons Aquatennial Display 95-96.We filled 2 x 20 ft fashion display windows with 4 aquariums - 2 freshwater w/Koi & 2 Saltwater.The old lady you see in the thumbnail was obviously very disgusted, and not amused whatsoever.This was a challenging display we had a crew of 6 and someone had to be there to monitorevery day, all day. The hardest part was getting enough biological bateria downtown aliveso the tanks wouldnt spike for the instant display. Sun also played a big factor, the backroom with the 2 x 1/2 chillers average about 90 F & suffice to say the ventilation was”less than adequate” or another way “non existant”. The upside was my wife with her marketingdegree managed to convice some local reporters it was interesting enough to print a small articlein the Strib. I was still sleeping when she ran into the bedroom with the front page saying “it made the front page” I still cant believe it, my balding head featured right there frontand center, brush w/fame and thats the story of how i became famous beyond my wildestimagination (HaHa).

Digitized Blue Face Angel by Brian Broughten

admin — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 16:40:56 +0000

This is my second attempt at image manipulation via Paint Shop Pro (or as i like to call it Poor Mans Photoshop). Love this software, fun to play with. Gets my personal vote for “Best software under $40 hands down.

Local Frog takes a ride downtown (can you say sticky feet?)

admin — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 06:30:24 +0000

On of these tree frogs rode on the windshield of my 1998 Chevy cargo van all the way from Dayton to Downtown which Nate & I thought was pretty damn amazing considering top speeds of around 80 MPH on 94 for approx 15 miles. Those are some sticky feet ya got there! Somebody outta study it, patent it, and then sell it to 3M for a new line of Orange Tape they could charge triple what they do for the Blue. Lets see $6 per roll Blue x 3 - $18 per Orange roll.

New Kitchen Build 8_8_08

admin — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 06:11:18 +0000

Here some shots of a kitchen i decided to build after watching too many home improvement shows. Best part was i already had the all the tools on board from building fish stands and cabinets. Really fun to do this, cause you can add the neat stuff you want, Im creating a special dog water zone (saw this on TV) that features an inset with water dish (at dog height) drain and spigot that you step on with your foot to autofill the water dish when its low. I thought this idea was too good to pass up and for you non dog owners out you would be surprised how much water a full grown dog can drink!

Gear Daddies live at MN Zoo

admin — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 05:52:51 +0000

Here a shot of Randall Lee Broughten playing his new Gibson Firebird guitar at the MN Zoo gig on 8/1/2008. The band was fantastically tight, the night was perfect (outside), beer was cold, & the Firebird was HOT. Sounded really good, although Im not sure why he brought his blue Telecaster (my personal favorite) when he first bought it he let me play it and i was all smiles want definetly the nicest guitar i ever picked up he just smiled and said “almost plays itself doesnt it?” and i had to agree…

Acclimating fish the EZ way

admin — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 05:10:04 +0000

Admittedly i acclimate more fish than your average hobbyist so i thought why not make it EZ on myself. I drilled and tapped these high quality John Guest fittings into the bottom front of my quarantine system. I just start a drip into 5 Gl bucket, EZ to control, and the best part you ask? Fittings never leak. Some assembly required….

Overflow boxes installed

admin — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 05:04:25 +0000

Ive been drilling and installing these overflows in aquariums for over 15 yrs. There a numerous benefits to overflow boxes, to many to mention (google it). I built this one out of smoked acrylic so you can see what it looks like inside and outside. I will build and install these at my shop in Rogers, MN for anyone locally if you drop your tank off for a week (impossible to do onsite requires draining). The cost is as follows: $25 to drill hole $7 bulkhead $68 for fabricating overflow and installing with premium grade silicone this leaves a grand total of $100. You have your choice of 1.0 or 1.5 bulkhead with corresponding hole size.