We’ve idee’d the substance as likely silicone, having gotten there via a wiping rag…

…at the factory. But we think we’ve got it handled.

The new Easy Blade scraper works really well, which will enable us to clean all the front glass, beyond arm’s reach, even with coralline.

And, after 2, count ‘em, two trips to Lowe’s in a 40 mph gale, I got all the pieces I need except the 2 valves. We have the tank plumbed, ready to connect to the sump. We have determined we didn’t get enough rock for the rockwork we want.

We have some planning on the rockwork, we have the eggcrate liner laid down, we’ve got everything ready to plug in except we need the bottom ‘junk’ rock to lay down as a base for the prettier rockwork, and we need to start unbuilding the main tank WITHOUT stirring its sandbed, which is incredibly bad juju in a marine tank. That’s where, once we start to move, we need to have our wits about us and hours when shops are open to work in. So since the fish store doesn’t open until Wednesday, we’d be crazy to start this going— without recourse to them for additional rock, to take the fish I want to get rid of, to take the coral I want to trade in, and to be open and able to provide things I forgot to get.

So tomorrow may be a day off from this, except for connecting up the new drain line and pulling some of the old hose up to give us more maneuverability with the elephant-dance above. We’ll later cut it off, when the ability to go out from the wall is less important.