Weights arrive!

Holy hell. I will tell you one thing right now. Hambase Delta is the largest single module I will ever build, because the amount of weight needed to sink this fuckin' thing very nearly exceeds what I consider to be realistically man portable. Any larger than this and we get into "requires a crane" territory.

Even with 60lbs of weight, it's just barely negatively buoyant. I haven't accounted for the air displaced by the weights (they sat inside the enclosure for the buoyancy test) so all told, it's probably still not quite negatively buoyant, but that's easily solved by pouring some lead shot into the spaces around the weights when they're inside the ballast pods. I really don't want this to be much heavier than it already is because I have to fuckin' carry it, but it also shouldn't be *barely* negatively buoyant because then even a gentle current can knock it around when it's underwater. A minimum of a few extra pounds to keep it in place will be added.

I am not pleased with the size of the skylight I purchased, which is why I've been holding off on installing it. I want the window to take up as much of the lid as possible. I've heard Home Depot will custom cut lexan to any dimensions you like. That seems like the way to go. When I have more money to spend on this project I'll head back there and have them cut a custom skylight for me.

The other thing is, this habitat doesn't make a lot of sense for use in the aquarium. It will (just barely) fit, but the roof will be no more than an inch from the surface. And there's less than an inch of clearance on either side of it, depthwise. It's looking like the only place it will make sense to deploy this huge motherfucker is in an aboveground pool (one of those blue inflatable ones maybe?) or a natural body of water.

There's always the pond I put Hampture Mk.III into that one Summer, but it's murky as fuck and there's no access to grid power or wifi to livestream. So I'm thinking once I finish the habitat itself, the next big purchase will be one of those blue inflatable pools to stick it in. Maybe with some sand poured in as a simulated ocean floor.

This way it's close enough I can still use grid power and livestream the habitat. Speaking of which I am getting ready to livestream the aquarium again for the first time in ages, now that Hambase Alpha is finally kitted out for year-round use. Stay tuned.